Given the amount of time and effort that curators, collectors, dealers

Given the amount of time and effort that curators,
collectors, dealers, scholars, and critics spend on
formulating judgments of taste in relation to oil
paintings, it seems odd that so few are prepared to
(5) apply some of the same skills in exploring works of art
that stimulate another sense altogether: that of smell.
Why is great perfume not taken more seriously?
While art professionals are very serious about many
branches of literature, architecture, and music, I have
(10) yet to find a curatorial colleague who regularly beats
a path to the fragrance counter in search of, say,
Joy Parfum, the 1930 masterpiece by Henri Alméras.

And yet, the parallels between what ought to be
regarded as sister arts are undeniable. Painters
(15) combine natural and, these days, synthetic pigments
with media such as oils and resins, much as the
perfumer carefully formulates natural and synthetic
chemical compounds. The Old Masters deployed oil
paint across the color spectrum, and applied layers on
(20) a determining ground and various kinds of
underpainting, slowly building up to the surface,
completing their work with thin glazes on top.
Thus various types of mashed-up earth and vegetable
suspended in linseed or poppy oil are brushed over a
(25) stretch of woven fabric. They begin to dry, and a
picture is born. Its appearance changes over time,
because the tendency of oil paint is to become
gradually more transparent.

So, too, talented “noses” experiment with
(30) complex configurations of olfactory elements and
produce in symphonic combination many small
sensations, at times discordant, sweet, bitter,
melancholy, or happy, as the case may be. These
combinations change and develop in sequence or in unison
(35) as the substance and its constituents evaporate
at different rates, some quickly, others slowly, thanks
to the warmth of our skin. A brilliant perfumer may
thus devise an imaginary world no less powerful, or
intimate, than that of a great composer or painter, and
(40) in calling on our capacity to discover there some
memory of childhood or of a long-forgotten
experience, perfumers are in the same business as
the artist who creates the illusion of life on canvas.

Perhaps one reason that truly great smells are so often
(45) undervalued is that perfumes are today made and
distributed under the not particularly watchful gaze of
a few large corporations. The cynical bean counters in
Paris and Zurich do not hesitate to tamper with old
formulas, insisting on the substitution of cheap
(50) chemical compounds that approximately resemble
rarer, better ingredients in an effort to increase profits.
They do not tell their customers when or how they do
this; indeed, they presume their customers won’t
notice the difference. Consequently, fine perfume is
(55) now hopelessly entangled with the international
cosmetic dollar, and ill-served by marketing and
public relations.

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

(A) Despite their pursuit of profit, corporations that produce and market perfumes value artistic skill.
(B) A masterpiece perfume evokes reactions that are no less powerful than those evoked by a masterpiece in music or painting.
(C) The corporate nature of the perfume business is the reason that so few truly great perfumes are now produced.
(D) Great perfumes are works of art and deserve respect and attention as such.
(E) Perfume-making and oil painting should be regarded as sister arts, both of which involve the skilled application of complex configurations of ingredients.


2. In which one of the following circumstances would the author of the passage be most likely to believe that a perfume manufacturer is justified in altering the formula of a classic perfume?

(A) The alteration makes the perfume more closely resemble Joy Parfum.
(B) The alteration is done to replace an ingredient that is currently very costly.
(C) The alteration replaces a synthetic chemical compound with a natural chemical compound.
(D) The alteration is done to make the perfume popular with a wider variety of customers.
(E) The alteration takes a previously altered perfume closer to its creator’s original formula.


3. The word “noses” (line 29) refers to

(A) perfumers
(B) perfume collectors
(C) particular perfumes
(D) people with expertise in marketing perfumes
(E) people with expertise in pricing perfumes


4. The passage provides the most support for which one of the following statements about art?

(A) A work of art can bring about an aesthetic experience through the memories that it evokes.
(B) In any work of art, one can detect the harmonious combination of many small sensations.
(C) A work of art will inevitably fail if it is created for the sake of commercial success.
(D) The best works of art improve with age.
(E) Some forms of art are superior to others.


5. The author would be most likely to hold which one of the following opinions about Joy Parfum by Henri Alméras?

(A) As time goes on, its artistry is appreciated more and more.
(B) As a work of art, it is no less important than a great piece of sculpture.
(C) It was the foremost accomplishment of its time in perfume making.
(D) It is a fragrance that is appreciated only by people with refined taste.
(E) Its original formula is similar to many other perfumes of the 1930s.


6. Which one of the following is most analogous to what the author calls the “cynical bean counters” (line 47)?

(A) an art museum curator who caters to popular tastes in choosing works for an exhibition
(B) a movie studio executive who imposes cost-saving production restrictions on a film’s director
(C) a director of an art institute who cuts the annual budget because of projections of declining revenues
(D) a business executive who convinces her company to invest in art merely for the sake of tax benefits
(E) an art school dean who slashes the budget of one project in order to increase the budget of his pet project


7. The last paragraph most strongly supports which one of the following statements?

(A) The names of the world’s best perfumes are not known to most customers.
(B) The profitability of a particular perfume is not a good indicator of its quality.
(C) Companies that sell perfume pay little attention to what their customers want.
(D) Perfume makers of the past would never tamper with established formulas.
(E) Companies that sell perfume make most of their profits on perfumes in the least expensive price ranges.


8. Which one of the following most accurately describes the organization of the passage?

(A) The first paragraph makes an observation, the middle paragraphs elaborate on that observation while considering one possible explanation for it, and the final paragraph delivers an alternative explanation.
(B) The first paragraph advances a thesis, the middle paragraphs present a case for that thesis, and the final paragraph considers and rejects one particular challenge to that thesis.
(C) The first paragraph sets out a challenge to received wisdom, the middle paragraphs present a response to that challenge, and the final paragraph presents a concrete example that supports the response.
(D) The first paragraph poses a question, the middle paragraphs present a case that helps to justify the posing of that question, and the final paragraph presents a possible answer to the question.
(E) The first paragraph outlines a problem, the middle paragraphs present two consequences of that problem, and the final paragraph attempts to identify the parties that are responsible for the problem.