It is one of the disadvantages of reading books about natural scenic

Question

It is one of the disadvantages of reading books about natural scenic wonders that they fill the mind with pictures, often exaggerated, often distorted, often blurred, and, even when well drawn, injurious to the freshness of first impressions. Such has been the fate of most of us with regard to the Falls of Niagara. There was little accuracy in the estimates of the first observers of the cataract. Startled by an exhibition of power so novel and so grand, emotion leaped beyond the control of the judgment, and gave currency to notions which have often led to disappointment.

In the winter of 1678 and 1679 the cataract was visited by Father Hennepin, and described in a book dedicated to the King of Great Britain. He gives a drawing of the waterfall, which shows that serious changes have taken place since his time. He describes it as ‘a great and prodigious cadence of water, to which the universe does not offer a parallel.’ The height of the fall, according to Hennepin, was more than 600 feet. ‘The waters,’ he says, ‘which fall from this great precipice do foam and boil in the most astonishing manner, making a noise more terrible than that of thunder. When the wind blows to the south its frightful roaring may be heard for more than fifteen leagues.’ The Baron la Hontan, who visited Niagara in 1687, makes the height 800 feet. In 1721 Charlevois, in a letter to Madame de Maintenon, after referring to the exaggerations of his predecessors, thus states the result of his own observations: ‘For my part, after examining it on all sides, I am inclined to think that we cannot allow it less than 140 or 150 feet,’—a remarkably close estimate.

As regards the noise of the fall, Charlevois declares the accounts of his predecessors, which, I may say, are repeated to the present hour, to be altogether extravagant. He is perfectly right. The thunders of Niagara are formidable enough to those who really seek them at the base of the Horseshoe Fall; but on the banks of the river, and particularly above the fall, its silence, rather than its noise, is surprising. This arises, in part, from the lack of resonance; the surrounding country being flat, and therefore furnishing no echoing surfaces to reinforce the shock of the water.    1 
 1. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with doing which of the following?

(A) Discussing a problem associated with reading books about natural wonders before visiting them 
(B) Refuting those who claimed that a natural wonder was of a particular height 
(C) Describing how the initial descriptions of a natural wonder were greatly exaggerated 
(D) Explaining why an expected aural phenomenon does not actually occur 
(E) Marvelling at the grandeur of a natural wonder

2 
 2. Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage about the height of the Niagara Falls?

(A) The Niagara Falls were higher than any other natural waterfall at the time of writing the passage.
(B) Hennepin lied about the height of the Niagara Falls in his book dedicated to the King of Great Britain.
(C) There are no mountains in the area surrounding the Niagara Falls.
(D) The actual height of the Niagara Falls is around 150 feet.
(E) The height of the Niagara Falls reduced considerably in the period between Father Hennepin’s and Charlevois’ visits.

3 
 3. According to the information in the passage, each of the following is true EXCEPT:

(A) The Niagara Falls does make a thunderous sound but it is not audible from everywhere.
(B) Reading books about natural scenery can be disadvantageous at times.
(C) A flat topography is not conducive to resonance.
(D) A person standing at the base of the Niagara Falls would actually be surprised at the silence that greets him.
(E) At times people tend to get carried away while describing the characteristics of a natural wonder.

4 
 4. If, after reading this passage, a person were to visit the Niagara Falls, which of the following would he NOT be surprised at?

(A) The Niagara Falls is 480 feet in height.
(B) There are several tall mountains in the vicinity of the Niagara Falls.
(C) There is absolute silence at the base of the Niagara Falls.
(D) There is a roaring sound above the Niagara Falls.
(E) There is a river flowing in the vicinity of the Niagara Falls.

RC Butler 2022  -  Practice Two RC Passages Everyday.   
Passage # 136 Date: 04-Apr-2022
 This question is a part of RC Butler 2022 .  Click here for Details

itskAKku · Accepted Answer

1. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with doing which of the following?

(A) Discussing a problem associated with reading books about natural wonders before visiting them - Yup this is it. The question asks for main purpose or ,in other words, the main motive of the author to discuss this passage. This can be drawn from first paragraph itself. (Hold on)
(B) Refuting those who claimed that a natural wonder was of a particular height- Nope. Can''t be the main purpose (out)
(C) Describing how the initial descriptions of a natural wonder were greatly exaggerated.Well, this option looks quite conviencing at first, but this is not the primary purpose. The author mentioned the accounts of Father Hennepin and Baron la Hontan in order to illustrate or exemplify that reading books on natural wonders can sometimes be disadvantageous for the reader, for his/her perception of a particular natural wonder might just be illusionary. (out)
(D) Explaining why an expected aural phenomenon does not actually occur- Nope. This is not it. (Out)
(E) Marvelling at the grandeur of a natural wonder. Again, the author mentions nigara falls to elucidate his point regarding reading of natural wonders from books .(out)

A it is.

2. Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage about the height of the Niagara Falls?

(A) The Niagara Falls were higher than any other natural waterfall at the time of writing the passage.Way out of context. The author ,never in the paragraph, has compared the height of niagara falls with that of other natural waterfall. (out)
(B) Hennepin lied about the height of the Niagara Falls in his book dedicated to the King of Great Britain. - The word "lied" is way too extreme. Hennepin just tried to convey, in his account, what he saw, and what he percieved of the waterfalls.
(C) There are no mountains in the area surrounding the Niagara Falls. - Out of context . "Mountains surrounding the waterfall" is not mentioned anywhere in the passage
(D) The actual height of the Niagara Falls is around 150 feet. This can be. The author mentions that the height is "remarkably close estimate". (Hold on)
(E) The height of the Niagara Falls reduced considerably in the period between Father Hennepin’s and Charlevois’ visits.- Nope this could not be inferred. (out)

D it is.

3. According to the information in the passage, each of the following is true EXCEPT:

(A) The Niagara Falls does make a thunderous sound but it is not audible from everywhere.True. Mentined in 3rd paragraph. (out)
(B) Reading books about natural scenery can be disadvantageous at times.True. Author clearly mentions it in first pparagraph(out)
(C) A flat topography is not conducive to resonance. True.The last line of the passage clearly implies this.(out)
(D) A person standing at the base of the Niagara Falls would actually be surprised at the silence that greets him. No. The silence is experienced on the banks of the river and at the top of the fall rather than at the base.(hold on)
(E) At times people tend to get carried away while describing the characteristics of a natural wonder.True.Clearly mentioned in first paragraph.(out)

D it is.

4. If, after reading this passage, a person were to visit the Niagara Falls, which of the following would he NOT be surprised at?

(A) The Niagara Falls is 480 feet in height. That person will truly be surprised because the author supports that the height is around 150 feet.(out)
(B) There are several tall mountains in the vicinity of the Niagara Falls.Tall mountains aren't mentioned anywhere so visiblity of mountains in the vicinity of niagara falls may or may not surprise that person.(out)
(C) There is absolute silence at the base of the Niagara Falls. That person would truly be surprised because the passage mentions that the silence is at the banks and on the top of nigara falls.(out)
(D) There is a roaring sound above the Niagara Falls.That person would be surprised because the passage mentions that the silence is at the banks and on the top of nigara falls and that there is a "thunder" its base.(out)
(E) There is a river flowing in the vicinity of the Niagara Falls.- Ofcouse that person wouldn't be surprised because the author says that there are banks of river nearby where it is completely silent.

E it is.

Hope this helps.

pratiksha1998 · Answer

Hi, Can you explain the answer of the first question?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

1. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with doing which of the following?

Difficulty Level:   Hard

Explanation

(A)  looks the best from the opening lines of the passage and is the correct answer.

(B)  This is only the purpose of the second paragraph of the passage.

(C)  Again, this is with specific reference to the Niagara Falls but the author’s idea is to use Niagara Falls as an example to arrive at a broader conclusion about natural wonders in general.

(D)  This is only the purpose of the third paragraph.

(E)  The author is doing more than just marvelling.

Answer: A

Aqib1 · Answer

can we eliminate the second question's option 2 by that the question is asking about niagara falls height but not about surrounding mountains ?? because its written in the passage that the surrounding country is flat, so we can assume that the second question is true but out of context??

egmat · Answer

Aqib1  You're absolutely right that option C states something about mountains (not directly about height), and you correctly identified that the passage says "the surrounding country is flat." However, you're making a critical error in thinking this makes option C "out of context."

The question asks "Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage  about  the height of the Niagara Falls?" - the phrase "about the height" is simply  introducing the topic , not limiting which inferences are valid.

The question is really asking: "Which of these statements about Niagara Falls (in the context of discussing its height) can be inferred?"

Option C states: "There are no mountains in the area surrounding the Niagara Falls."

The passage explicitly states:  "the surrounding country being flat"

If the country is flat → there are no mountains. This is a  valid inference  from the passage, even though it's about geography rather than height directly.

However, option C is still not the  best  answer. Option D is correct because the passage calls Charlevois' estimate of  140-150  feet "a remarkably close estimate," directly implying the actual height is around  150  feet.

I hope this helps!

Here is a decision tree you can use for GMAT Inference Questions:  
 
 First  5  seconds: Identify the topic mentioned in the stem (here: "height of Niagara Falls") 
 Next step: Remember this topic is for  context only  - it doesn't limit valid inferences 
 Evaluate each choice: Can this be logically inferred from  any part  of the passage? 
 Choose the answer with the  strongest textual support

Common GMAT Pattern:  Questions that say "about X" often include valid inferences about related topics Y and Z. Don't eliminate choices just because they seem tangential - evaluate them based on whether the passage supports them.

You can practice similar inference questions  here  - select  Reading Comprehension  under  Verbal  and choose  Medium  level questions (since you're already identifying relevant passage details well but need practice with question scope).

It is one of the disadvantages of reading books about natural scenic

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

It is one of the disadvantages of reading books about natural scenic

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