Water perfectly pure is scarcely ever met with in nature. The effects

Question

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Passage # 78, Date: 09-May-2020
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Water perfectly pure is scarcely ever met with in nature. The effects produced by the foreign matters which water may contain, are more considerable, and of greater importance, than might at first be imagined. It cannot be denied, that such waters as are hard, or loaded with earthy matter, have a decided effect upon some important functions of the human body. They increase the distressing symptoms under which those persons labour who are afflicted with what is commonly called gravel complaints, and many other ailments might be named that are always aggravated by the use of waters abounding in saline and earthy substances.

The purity of the waters employed in some of the arts and manufactures, is an object of not less consequence. In the process of brewing malt liquors, soft water is preferable to hard. Every brewer knows that the largest possible quantity of the extractive matter of the malt is obtained in the least possible time, and at the smallest cost, by means of soft water.

In the art of the dyer, hard water not only opposes the solution of several dye stuffs, but it also alters the natural tints of some delicate colours, whilst in others again it precipitates the earthy and saline matters with which it is impregnated into the delicate fibres of the stuff, and thus impedes the softness and brilliancy of the dye. To the manufacturer of painters' colours, water as pure as possible is absolutely essential for the successful preparation of several delicate pigments. Carmine, madder lake, ultramarine, and Indian yellow cannot be prepared without perfectly pure water.

In the culinary art, the effects of water more or less pure are likewise obvious. Good and pure water softens the fibres of animal and vegetable matters more readily than such as is called hard. Every cook knows that dry or ripe peas, and other farinaceous seeds, cannot readily be boiled soft in hard water because the farina of the seed is not perfectly soluble in water loaded with earthy salts.   1  
 C 
 Q1) Which of the following would the author of the passage most likely agree with?

A. Pure water can never be found in nature
B. Spring water is better than saline water
C. At times the effects of impure water tend to be underestimated
D. The purity of water employed in the arts is of less consequence than the purity of water that humans drink
E. Hard water can cause colours to bleed

2  
 D 
 Q2) From the information in the passage, each of the following can be inferred about hard water EXCEPT:

A. It contains considerable amounts of earthy matter
B. It should not be used for drinking purposes
C. It is not suitable for boiling vegetables
D. It increases the extractive matter obtained from malt
E. It can make colours look dull

3  
 D 
 Q3) If perfectly pure water were not available in the world, which of the following could be an effect of the same?

A. The incidence of water-borne diseases would increase amongst humans
B. Several breweries would have to shut down their operations
C. It would be impossible to soften certain vegetables by boiling them
D. Painters would not be able to make certain colours
E. New methods of dyeing would have to be created

4  
 A 
 Q4) According to the information in the passage, why is soft water important for a dyer?

A. It does not alter the natural colour of the dye
B. It makes the fabric softer
C. It makes the fabric more brilliant
D. It is used to make certain specific colours
E. It improves the colour of the fabric

Gmatsaiyan · Answer

Topic and Scope 
The passage states that the amount of impurities present in water has a great impact on the use of that water and explains this point by giving examples from several different fields
 Passage Map 
Para 1 states that the amount of impurities present in water has a great effect on how that water is used. The paragraph goes on to state that hard water can have a negative impact on the health of humans
Para 2 explains the importance of soft water in brewery operations
Para 3 explains the importance of soft water in dyeing and painting
Para 4 explains the importance of soft water in cooking

Gmatsaiyan · Answer

Official Answers and Explanations 
 Q1) Which of the following would the author of the passage most likely agree with?
A. Pure water can never be found in nature
B. Spring water is better than saline water
C. At times the effects of impure water tend to be underestimated
D. The purity of water employed in the arts is of less consequence than the purity of water that humans drink
E. Hard water can cause colours to bleed
The second sentence of the passage states that the effects of impure water are much more considerable than what might have been imagined. From this it can be inferred that at times these effects are underestimated i.e. (C) should be the correct answer.
A – Extreme option. The first sentence of the passage states that perfectly pure water is scarcely ever met but ‗scarcely‘ does not mean ‗never‘
B – The passage makes no mention of spring water and we cannot use our knowledge of the same to answer questions
D – The first line of the 2nd para implies that this is not the case
E – The passage never states this

Q2) From the information in the passage, each of the following can be inferred about hard water EXCEPT:
A. It contains considerable amounts of earthy matter
B. It should not be used for drinking purposes
C. It is not suitable for boiling vegetables
D. It increases the extractive matter obtained from malt
E. It can make colours look dull
The last line of the 2nd para states that soft water increases the quantity of extractive matter obtained from malt, so (D) cannot be inferred from the passage and is the correct answer.
A – Para 1 states this
B – This can be inferred from the information in para 1
C – This can be inferred from the last para
E – The 3rd para states that hard water can reduce the brilliancy of the dye i.e. makecolours look dull

Q3) If perfectly pure water were not available in the world, which of the following could be an effect of the same?
A. The incidence of water-borne diseases would increase amongst humans
B. Several breweries would have to shut down their operations
C. It would be impossible to soften certain vegetables by boiling them
D. Painters would not be able to make certain colours
E. New methods of dyeing would have to be created
The last line of the 3rd para states that if perfectly pure water were not available, it would be impossible to create certain colours. Thus (D) should be the best answer
A – The passage never mentions water-borne diseases
B – This is not implied by the passage. Even if perfectly pure water were not available, the quality of water may not necessarily be so bad as to impact brewery operations
C – Again ‗impossible‘ is an extreme term. Same as B
E – This is not implied by the passage

Q4) According to the information in the passage, why is soft water important for a dyer?
A. It does not alter the natural colour of the dye
B. It makes the fabric softer
C. It makes the fabric more brilliant
D. It is used to make certain specific colours
E. It improves the colour of the fabric
Be careful this question is asking you something about soft water and not hard water. The 3rd para states that hard water should not be used by a dyer because it alters the natural tints of some colours. Thus it can be inferred that soft water would not alter the natural tint of colours i.e. (A) should be the best answer
B – The passage never states that hard water makes the fabric hard
C – The passage states that hard water reduces the brilliance of fabrics but that does not mean that soft water increase this brilliance. It may have no effect on the brilliance
D – This is true of a painter and not dyer
E – Again just because it does not make the colours worse does not necessarily mean that it improves the colours

shaarang · Answer

Fairly easy passage, with some tricky answer choices. 6:50 and all correct.

Table of contents for fairly short because most of the passage was just details:
 Water found in nature and it's effects
Unsuitability in various applications

Q1) Which of the following would the author of the passage most likely agree with?
A. Pure water can never be found in nature << Seldom, not never
B. Spring water is better than saline water << Never discussed spring water
 C. At times the effects of impure water tend to be underestimated
 D. The purity of water employed in the arts is of less consequence than the purity of water that humans drink << Never mentioned
E. Hard water can cause colours to bleed << Never mentioned

Q2) From the information in the passage, each of the following can be inferred about hard water EXCEPT:
A. It contains considerable amounts of earthy matter << First paragraph
B. It should not be used for drinking purposes << First paragraph
C. It is not suitable for boiling vegetables << Final paragraph
 D. It increases the extractive matter obtained from malt  << 2nd paragraph mentions the exact opposite
E. It can make colours look dull << Third paragraph

A. The incidence of water-borne diseases would increase amongst humans << Never mentioned
B. Several breweries would have to shut down their operations << Pure water is preferred but it is not indispensable 
C. It would be impossible to soften certain vegetables by boiling them << Pure water is preferred but it is not indispensable 
 D. Painters would not be able to make certain colours 
E. New methods of dyeing would have to be created << Pure water is preferred but it is not indispensable

Q4) According to the information in the passage, why is soft water important for a dyer?
 A. It does not alter the natural colour of the dye  
B. It makes the fabric softer << Never mentioned
C. It makes the fabric more brilliant << Never mentioned
D. It is used to make certain specific colours << That's pure water, not soft water
E. It improves the colour of the fabric << Never mentioned

varun325 · Answer

SajjadAhmad 
Please provide the explanation for Question No.3

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

Q3) If perfectly pure water were not available in the world, which of the following could be an effect of the same?

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

The  last line of the 3rd para  states that if perfectly pure water were not available, it would be impossible to create certain colors. Thus  (D)  should be the best answer

A –  The passage never mentions water-borne diseases

B –  This is not implied by the passage. Even if perfectly pure water were not available, the quality of water may not necessarily be so bad as to impact brewery operations

C –  Again impossible is an extreme term. Same as  B

E –  This is not implied by the passage

Answer: D

VerbalBot · Answer

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Water perfectly pure is scarcely ever met with in nature. The effects

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Water perfectly pure is scarcely ever met with in nature. The effects

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