The corrido, a type of narrative folk song, comes from a region half

Question

The  corrido , a type of narrative folk song, comes from a region half in Mexico and half in the United States known as the Lower Rio Grande Border. Corridos, which flourished from about 1836 to the late 1930s, are part of a long-standing ballad tradition that has roots in eighteenth-century Spain. Sung in Spanish, corridos combine formal features of several different types of folk songs, but their narratives consistently deal with subject matter specific to the Border region. For example, “El Corrido de Kiansis” (c. 1870), the oldest corrido surviving in complete form, records the first cattle drives to Kansas in the late 1860s. A single important event is likely to have inspired several corrido variants, yet the different versions of any given story all partake of standard generic elements. When sung at social gatherings, corridos served to commemorate significant local happenings, but more importantly, their heavy reliance on familiar linguistic and thematic conventions served to affirm the cohesiveness of Border communities.

Corridos take their name from the Spanish verb correr, meaning to run or to flow, for corridos tell their stories simply and swiftly, without embellishments. Figures of speech such as metaphors are generally rare in corridos, and when metaphors are used, they usually incorporate everyday images that are familiar to the songs’ listeners. In the popular “El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez,” for example, the hero Cortez, fighting off pursuers, uses the metaphor of a thunderstorm to boast that he has had harder fights than the one they gave him� “I have weathered thunderstorms� / This little mist doesn’t bother me.” Similar storm imagery is found in other corridos including “Kiansis,” which tells of stampedes caused by thunderstorms during the Kansas cattle drives. Such imagery, highly conventional and readily recognizable to corrido listeners, reflects and strengthens the continuity of the corrido tradition.

The corrido is composed not only of familiar images but also of certain ready-made lines that travel easily from one ballad to another. This is most evident in the corrido’s formal closing verse, or despedida. The despedida of one variant of “Gregorio Cortez” is translated as follows� “Now with this I say farewell In the shade of a cypress tree� / This is the end of the ballad / Of Don Gregorio Cortez.” The first and third lines are a set convention. The second and fourth lines are variable, the fourth carrying the name of the corrido or expressing its subject, and the second varying according to exigencies of rhyme. In the despedida, perhaps the clearest marker of both the corrido’s uniqueness and its generic continuity, the corrido’s maker asserts that the task of relating an authentic Border tale has been accomplished.    1 
 1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

(A) Corrido imagery is one of the clearest indicators of the unique cohesiveness of Border communities.
(B) The roots of the corrido in the eighteenth-century Spanish ballad tradition are revealed in corridos’ conventional themes and language.
(C) The corrido form, which depends on conventions such as ready-made lines, finds its ideal representation in “Gregorio Cortez.”
(D) Corridos are noted for their vivid use of imagery and their attention to local events.
(E) The corrido is a type of folk song that promotes cohesiveness in Border communities through the use of familiar conventions.

2 
 2. According to the passage, which one of the following is characteristic of corridos?

(A) use of exaggeration to embellish Border events
(B) use of numerous figures of speech
(C) use of a formal closing verse
(D) use of complex rhyme schemes
(E) use of verses that combine Spanish and English

3 
 3. Given its tone and content, from which one of the following was the passage most likely drawn?

(A) a brochure for contemporary tourists to the Lower Rio Grande Border
(B) a study focusing on the ballad’s influence on the music of eighteenth-century Spain
(C) an editorial in a contemporary newspaper from the Lower Rio Grande Border
(D) a treatise on the lives of famous natives of the Lower Rio Grande Border
(E) a book describing various North American folk song forms

4 
 4. Which one of the following is mentioned in the passage as an example of the use of metaphor in corridos?

(A) cattle drives
(B) mist
(C) a cypress tree
(D) a fight
(E) stampedes

5 
 5. The author discusses metaphor in the second paragraph primarily in order to

(A) elaborate on a claim about the directness of the language used in corridos
(B) counter the commonplace assertion that narrative is the main object of corridos
(C) emphasize the centrality of poetic language to corridos
(D) point out the longevity of the corrido tradition
(E) identify an element common to all variants of a particular corrido

6 
 6. The passage provides the most support for inferring which one of the following?

(A) “El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez” was rarely sung at Border social gatherings.
(B) Most surviving corridos do not exist in complete form.
(C) All complete corridos have some lines in common.
(D) Most corrido variants have the same despedida.
(E) “El Corrido de Kiansis” was composed by someone not from the Border region.

7 
 7. The passage most strongly suggests that the author would agree with which one of the following statements?

(A) In at least some cases, the dependence of corridos on ready-made lines hindered the efforts of corrido makers to use metaphor effectively.
(B) The corrido is unique among ballad forms because it uses language that is familiar mainly to local audiences.
(C) Much of the imagery used in corridos can also be identified in ballads from Spain.
(D) The reportorial capability of corridos was probably enhanced by their freedom from the constraints of rhymed ballad forms.
(E) A corrido without a surviving despedida would probably still be identifiable as a corrido.

RC Butler 2022  -  Practice Two RC Passages Everyday.   
Passage # 345 Date: 29-Aug-2022
 This question is a part of RC Butler 2022 .  Click here for Details

Source:   LSAT Official PrepTest 68   
 Difficulty Level:   700

GautamKhanduja · Answer

Can you post explanation for Q7 please?

anupam11m · Answer

in last sentence author is saying despedida is the clearest marker for identifying despidada but that doesn't mean there aren't other ways to identify

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

7. The passage most strongly suggests that the author would agree with which one of the following statements?

Difficulty Level:   750-800

Explanation

The question asks you to find an answer choice that is supported by the author’s statements in the passage. Refer to the text to find such support for one answer choice.

A. No.  The passage does not argue that authors of corridos were attempting to use metaphor more effectively. The authors used metaphors to further their story telling.

B. No.  The uniqueness of the corrido is that it tells stories about local subjects in a specific way. There is no indication that the language of the corrido is specific to a locale.

C. No.  The passage states that the imagery is familiar to listeners but does not indicate that the images are similar to those in other Spanish ballads.

D. No.  The passage does not compare corridos to other rhymed ballad forms.

E.  Yes.   The passage indicates several elements that all corridos have in common. An incomplete corrido may still be identified by its subject matter or other conventions of language and theme that are common to corridos.

Answer: E

Vibhatu · Answer

Sajjad1994  Can you post explanation for Q4 please?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

4. Which one of the following is mentioned in the passage as an example of the use of metaphor in corridos?

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

The question asks for a specific reference to a metaphor used in  corridos.  Refer to the second paragraph where the passage discusses the thunderstorm as a metaphor in two different corridos.

A. No.  The passage does not mention cattle drives as a metaphor used in  corridos.

B.  Yes.   The passage mentions  “mist”  as part of the storm metaphor used in  “Gregorio Cortez.”

C. No.  The use of  “cypress tree”  in  “Gregorio Cortez”  is not a metaphor.

D. No.  The use of thunderstorms as a metaphor in  “Gregorio Cortez”  is used to describe a fight, but the fight is not used as a metaphor for something else.

E. No.  The passage states that  “Kansas”  uses the thunderstorm metaphor to talk about stampedes, but stampedes are not used as a metaphor for something else.

Answer: B

jim441 · Answer

Sajjad1994  Please provide the answer of Q6.
How to eliminate D.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

6. The passage provides the most support for inferring which one of the following?

Diffuculty Level:   700

The question asks you to find an inference that is supported by the text. Refer back to the passage to find the support for one answer choice over the others.

A. No.  There is no mention of the frequency of the popular “El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez.”

B. No.  There is no indication that most corridos are incomplete.

C.  Yes.   The final paragraph indicates that corridos have a lines in a formal closing verse in common.

D. No.  The final paragraph states the despedida of one variant but offers no evidence that other variants have the same despedida.

E. No.  There is no mention of the author of the corrido or his or her origin.

Answer: C

prakharpandeylaw · Answer

Sajjad1994  can you also post the explanation to question 5? Thank you!

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

5. The author discusses metaphor in the second paragraph primarily in order to

Difficulty Level:   650-700

Explanation

The question asks why the author discusses metaphor. The answer will be found in the second paragraph.

A.  Yes.   The second paragraph states that corridos flow simply and  “without embellishments,”  so metaphors that are used are typically easy to recognize. This reinforces the easy flow of the story.

B. No.  The second paragraph states that corridos flow simply and “without embellishments,” so metaphors that are used are typically easy to recognize. Metaphors are consistent with the corrido tradition.

C. No.  The second paragraph does not state that poetic language is a central component of corridos.

D. No.  While the second paragraph does state that metaphors “strengthen the continuity of the corrido tradition,” it does not state that metaphors reflect longevity.

E. No.  The passage does not identify different types of  corrido.

Answer: A

Oppenheimer1945 · Answer

Sajjad1994

3. Given its tone and content, from which one of the following was the passage most likely drawn?

(A) a brochure for contemporary tourists to the Lower Rio Grande Border
(B) a study focusing on the ballad’s influence on the music of eighteenth-century Spain
(C) an editorial in a contemporary newspaper from the Lower Rio Grande Border
(D) a treatise on the lives of famous natives of the Lower Rio Grande Border
(E) a book describing various North American folk song forms

How are we sure of various song forms as given in E? How to know that the passage is drawn from a book?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

3. Given its tone and content, from which one of the following was the passage most likely drawn?

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

The question asks for a source for the passage. Use the Bottom Line and POE to select the credited response. The passage is informative about a type a folk song sung in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

A. No.  The passage is informative and discusses a folk song from the nineteenth to the early twentieth century. It would not be in a brochure for contemporary tourists.

B. No.  The passage states that corridos are rooted in eighteenth century Spain. It would not be used in a study to explain its influence on eighteenth-century Spanish ballads.

C. No.  The passage is informative and discusses a folk song from the nineteenth to the early twentieth century. It would not be in a contemporary editorial.

D. No.  The passage is informative about folk music and does not discuss famous natives of the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

E.  Yes.   The passage is informative and discusses a type of folk song sung in the Lower Rio Grande Valley at the border of Mexico and the United States.

Answer: E

PrasadAyush · Answer

I believe, the answer for qn 6 should be D and not C. Option C says 'All' which seems to be an extreme case that is not mentioned in the para

Posted from my mobile device

Sajjad1994 · Answer

An explanation to question #6 is posted here https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-corrido- ... l#p3147695

Its_me_aka_ak · Answer

Kindly expound what common factors other than the ending verses are mentioned in the mentioned, for E to be correct

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Corridos  share many elements: They’re from the border region (the middle part of paragraph 1), they’re direct (the first sentence of paragraph 2), they use local imagery (the last sentence of paragraph 1). Even without a despedida we could probably identify them. Hence (E).

Its_me_aka_ak · Answer

oh, i assumed the border referene can only be identified via second line of the despedida

VerbalBot · Answer

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The corrido, a type of narrative folk song, comes from a region half

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The corrido, a type of narrative folk song, comes from a region half

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