Although ballet originated in lavish Italian court dances, the art for

Question

Although ballet originated in lavish Italian court dances, the art form flourished in 17th-century France, most notably under the passionate devotion of XIV. In 1653, at age 15, Louis danced the lead in Le Ballet de la Nuit, a 13-hour, all night performance. Louis appeared as the rising sun, arrayed spectacularly in gold, gems, and ostrich plumes. This role led to the popular nickname the "Sun King," by which he is still referred today. While ballet was a vanity project, Louis had talent as a dancer. Under his personal ballet master, Pierre Beauchamps, Louis worked daily to develop his technique and to enhance and display what he considered his natural-born grace and physique.

Louis demanded as much from the noble members of his court. Louis believed that inner nobility was revealed through outward appearance: physical beauty, grace, etiquette, and adherence to social convention. As a result, court ritual and etiquette were rigid and demanding, and dance, along with  fencing and equestrianism , became part of a trio of noble disciplines. A noble's social status and patronage depended on pleasing the sovereign, so many learned to dance. More than 200 dancing schools emerged in Paris to train these nobles in the art of dance. To centralize and codify ballet instruction, Louis founded the Academie Royale de Danse at the Louvre in 1661, with Beauchamps as its head. The rest of Europe fervently embraced French fashion and culture, including courtly ballet, long after the monarch's death in 1715.    1 
 1. The main purpose of the passage is to

A. examine the courtly rituals of Louis XIV.
B. demonstrate the superiority of French ballet over Italian ballet.
C. describe the interrelationship between Louis XIV, his court, and ballet.
D. explain how Louis XIV came to be called the Sun King.
E. establish for readers that ballet is a noble art form.

2 
 2. The passage implies that

A. a noble who lacked physical beauty and grace risked disfavor in Louis's court.
B. Le Ballet de la Nuit was not well received by audiences and critics due to its length.
C. Louis was unattractive and tried to compensate by excelling at dance.
D. other European countries adopted ballet because they feared France's military power.
E. Louis believed that with practice anyone could learn ballet.

3 
 3. The author probably mentions fencing and equestrianism ( Highlighted ) in order to

A. demean Louis's court by showing how trivial activities were viewed as important.
B. demonstrate that military activities were still important during a time of peace.
C. describe two activities that eventually supplanted ballet in importance.
D. hint at Louis's enjoyment of physical activity as a means of self-improvement.
E. show that nobility was revealed in many ways in Louis XIV's court.

Vie3nrose · Answer

Question 1. The main purpose of the passage is to 
 
The first sentence in the passage usually introduces us to the main topic and purpose of the discussion:  "Although ballet originated in lavish Italian court dances, the art form flourished in 17th-century France, most notably under the passionate devotion of XIV."  Based on this, we can expect some of the main themes in the passage to be "ballet" and "XIV" (and his devotion to ballet?).
 
A. examine the courtly rituals of Louis XIV.
 INCORRECT   -- Louis XIV's courtly rituals are discussed in PG2, but not in PG1. Also, this answer choice doesn't mention ballet at all
 
B. demonstrate the superiority of French ballet over Italian ballet.
 INCORRECT   -- The author never directly compares French ballet vs Italian ballet (just mentions that it originated in Italy but flourished in France). Also this answer choice doesn't mention Louis XIV at all. 
 
C. describe the interrelationship between Louis XIV, his court, and ballet.
 CORRECT   -- This answer choice has the themes we're looking for: PG1 introduces Louis XIV's relationship ballet and PG2 talks about how much ballet was valued within his court. Good fit!
 
D. explain how Louis XIV came to be called the Sun King.
 INCORRECT   -- Although this was mentioned in passing in PG1, PG2 moves on from this topic to focus more on the importance of ballet within XIV's court
 
E. establish for readers that ballet is a noble art form.
 INCORRECT   -- Although PG2 does connect ballet and nobility in XIV's court, the focus of the passage (and PG1) is more on XIV's relationship with ballet

Question 2. The passage implies that
 
A. a noble who lacked physical beauty and grace risked disfavor in Louis's court.
 CORRECT   -- PG2: "Louis demanded as much from the noble members of his court. Louis believed that inner nobility was revealed through outward appearance: physical beauty, grace... A noble's social status and patronage depended on pleasing the sovereign, so many learned to dance." Negate test: if a noble who lacked physical beauty and grace didn't risk disfavour, probably not as many nobility would have felt compelled to learn dance
 
B. Le Ballet de la Nuit was not well received by audiences and critics due to its length.
 INCORRECT   -- Although PG1 mentions the ballet was 13 hours, there was no mention that it was not received well (and specifically because it was too long - maybe it was considered standard or short at the time?)
 
C. Louis was unattractive and tried to compensate by excelling at dance.
 INCORRECT   -- No indication in the passage that he was unattractive (PG1 mentions his self-defined "natural-born grace and physique" so maybe he didn't feel the need to compensate)
 
D. other European countries adopted ballet because they feared France's military power.
 INCORRECT   -- "The rest of Europe fervently embraced French fashion and culture, including courtly ballet, long after the monarch's death in 1715." No indication that adoption was driven by military fear (maybe they just appreciated the art form)
 
E. Louis believed that with practice anyone could learn ballet.
 INCORRECT   -- No mention that he believed anyone with practice could learn ballet but PG1 mentions "what he considered his natural-born grace and physique" and PG2 mentions that "Louis believed that inner nobility was revealed through...". Maybe he believed that you must be born with the grace and physique to excel at ballet, and only true nobility is born with this gift

Question 3. The author probably mentions fencing and equestrianism (Highlighted) in order to
 
A. demean Louis's court by showing how trivial activities were viewed as important.
 INCORRECT   -- No indication that the author considered these activities trivial or demeaning, in fact they seem to be discussed in a positive light ("fencing and equestrianism, became part of a trio of noble disciplines")
 
B. demonstrate that military activities were still important during a time of peace.
 INCORRECT   -- "fencing and equestrianism, became part of a trio of noble disciplines" -- "disciplines" in this context is speaking more to i.e. aristocratic hobbies, vs i.e. military discipline (Therefore, military activities are out of scope)
 
C. describe two activities that eventually supplanted ballet in importance.
 INCORRECT   -- On the contrary, the passage suggests that they were three equally important activities: "dance, along with fencing and equestrianism, became part of a trio of noble disciplines"
 
D. hint at Louis's enjoyment of physical activity as a means of self-improvement.
 INCORRECT   -- This example was provided to show Louis's demands on his court (not necessarily himself) to  reveal  their inner nobility (not as a method of self-improvement):"Louis demanded as much from the noble members of his court. Louis believed that inner nobility was revealed through outward appearance." 
 
E. show that nobility was revealed in many ways in Louis XIV's court.
 CORRECT   -- These were listed to show the three ways that demonstrated nobility in XIV's court: "dance, along with fencing and equestrianism, became part of a trio of noble disciplines"

Tahamohsin · Answer

1. The main purpose of the passage is to

C

A. examine the courtly rituals of Louis XIV.
  This choice is wrong because it only talks about the main purpose of the second paragraph, but it doesn't cover the first paragraph.  
B. demonstrate the superiority of French ballet over Italian ballet.
  The passage only mentions that ballet originated in lavish Italian court dances, but the art form flourished in 17th-century France. NO such comparison was made.  
C. describe the interrelationship between Louis XIV, his court, and ballet.
  Yes, in the first paragraph the author describes the relationship between Louis and ballet, and in the second paragraph the author describes the relationship between Louis's court and the ballet.  
D. explain how Louis XIV came to be called the Sun King.
  Only first para talk about this.  
E. establish for readers that ballet is a noble art form.
  Yes, the ballet was a noble art, but to establish it is not the primary purpose of the author.

2. The passage implies that

A

A. a noble who lacked physical beauty and grace risked disfavor in Louis's court.
  This is an inference question so we need to find something that is absolutely undeniable based on the passage. The passage stated that 2 things from which we can infer that a noble who lacked physical beauty and grace risked disfavor in Louis's court.
 1)Louis believed that inner nobility was revealed through outward appearance: physical beauty, grace, etiquette, and adherence to social convention.
2)A noble's social status and patronage depended on pleasing the sovereign, so many learned to dance. 
Hence we can infer that a noble who lacked physical beauty and grace risked disfavor in Louis's court.  
B. Le Ballet de la Nuit was not well received by audiences and critics due to its length.
  Out of scope.The passage never stated that Le Ballet de la Nuit was not well received by audiences and critics due to its length.  
C. Louis was unattractive and tried to compensate by excelling at the dance.
  NO, wrong information. King Lousis never compensated is unattractive for the dance.  
D. other European countries adopted ballet because they feared France's military power.
  The passage never stated that other countries feared France's military power.  
E. Louis believed that with practice anyone could learn ballet.
  This could be true that Louis believed that with practice anyone could learn ballet, but we need to find something that must be true based upon the passage.

3. The author probably mentions fencing and equestrianism ( Highlighted ) in order to

E

A. demean Louis's court by showing how trivial activities were viewed as important.
  The author doesn't mention fencing and equestrianism to cause a loss in the dignity of Louis's court by showing how trivial activities were viewed as important. Instead, the author uses it to show they are part of the revealing novelty.  
B. demonstrate that military activities were still important during a time of peace.
  This choice is out of scope.  
C. describe two activities that eventually supplanted ballet in importance.
  Wrong. The author never uses these 2 activities to show that they replace the importance of the ballet.  
D. hint at Louis's enjoyment of physical activity as a means of self-improvement.
  Right but not the answer of the question. Yes, Louis enjoys the ballet. But we need to find why the author uses fencing and equestrianism in the passage.  
E. show that nobility was revealed in many ways in Louis XIV's court.
  Yes, the author uses fencing and equestrianism to show they were part of the noble disciplines. The noble uses these methods to pleasing the sovereign,

Neha2404 · Answer

IMO

1)C
2)A
3)E

1. The main purpose of the passage is to

A. examine the courtly rituals of Louis XIV.
INCORRECT: only a part of whole RC

B. demonstrate the superiority of French ballet over Italian ballet.
INCORRECT: nowhere mentioned

C. describe the interrelationship between Louis XIV, his court, and ballet.
CORRECT: The RC revolves around Louis and his devotion to ballet and his court

D. explain how Louis XIV came to be called the Sun King.
INCORRECT: Just a part of the whole RC

E. establish for readers that ballet is a noble art form.
INCORRECT: same reason as D

2. The passage implies that

A. a noble who lacked physical beauty and grace risked disfavor in Louis's court.
CORRECT: Louis believed that inner nobility was revealed through outward appearance: physical beauty, grace, etiquette, and adherence to social convention

B. Le Ballet de la Nuit was not well received by audiences and critics due to its length.
C. Louis was unattractive and tried to compensate by excelling at dance.
D. other European countries adopted ballet because they feared France's military power.
E. Louis believed that with practice anyone could learn ballet.

3. The author probably mentions fencing and equestrianism (Highlighted) in order to

A. demean Louis's court by showing how trivial activities were viewed as important.
B. demonstrate that military activities were still important during a time of peace.
C. describe two activities that eventually supplanted ballet in importance.
D. hint at Louis's enjoyment of physical activity as a means of self-improvement.
E. show that nobility was revealed in many ways in Louis XIV's court.
CORRECT: in 3 ways as fencing, equestrianism and then Ballet too

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

1. The main purpose of the passage is to

Explanation

This question is a medium-level difficult, Answer options A and C are a bit closer or the ones one needs to think about. Take a look at each choice.

A. examine the courtly rituals of Louis XIV.

Its talks about something valid but extreme still cannot cross this option right away let’s keep it for now and read the other options.

B. demonstrate the superiority of French ballet over Italian ballet.

Passage did starts from narrating that ballet was flourished in France it never at any place shows that French ballet was superior than Italian ballet. Easy to cross.

C. describe the interrelationship between Louis XIV, his court, and ballet.

This one could be the answer, passage starts from the origin of ballet then states how ballet flourished in France with the work of Louis XIV and how the court worked for the betterment of the ballet in France. Seems really nice option let's keep it too.

D. explain how Louis XIV came to be called the Sun King.

Although this is discussed in the first paragraph but this is not the main purpose of the passage, it is just one part of the passage. This option is extreme and is easy to eliminate.

E. establish for readers that ballet is a noble art form.

This one couldn’t be the main purpose of the passage so eliminate it.

Now compare A and C, the first one is too specific and sticks only to the Louis ignoring the work of courts for the ballet. So A is out and C is the correct answer

Answer: C

2. The passage implies that

Explanation

In this question we have to find something which may or may not be discussed explicitly but supported by the passage fully. Scan the answer choices.

A. a noble who lacked physical beauty and grace risked disfavor in Louis's court.

Nothing is provided straight forward to opt for this option but since the question asked for what is  “implied by the passage”  we have to search for the support to prove this option valid or invalid. The lines in the start of the  second paragraph  provide some support to this option:

“Louis believed that inner nobility was revealed through outward appearance: physical beauty, grace, etiquette, and adherence to social convention.”

Now what implies by these lines above is actually the option A. Its seems a good one to keep with until we find something better than this option.

B. Le Ballet de la Nuit was not well received by audiences and critics due to its length.

This is 180, the length of the event is discussed to probably show how the event was successful and well received by the public.

C. Louis was unattractive and tried to compensate by excelling at dance.

This option is also opposite and easy to eliminate.

D. other European countries adopted ballet because they feared France's military power.

This option is really unnecessary as nothing can be found in the passage as such talking about the French military power. The option provides outside information.

E. Louis believed that with practice anyone could learn ballet.

Now this option seems one possibility and is discussed a very little part of it in the passage but can we implied that fully is doubtful. The lines in the passage:

“More than 200 dancing schools emerged in Paris to train these nobles in the art of dance. To centralize and codify ballet instruction, Louis founded the Academie Royale de Danse at the Louvre in 1661”

May or may not support this option so this is something we are doubtful but cannot guarantee. Finally A is better among all here.

Answer: A

3. The author probably mentions fencing and equestrianism in order to

This is a medium question again, options C and E are closer. If test taker has read 2 lines provided before the mentioned words he or she could reach the true answer. Let’s have a look at the answer choices.

A. demean Louis's court by showing how trivial activities were viewed as important.

Author at any time in the passage never try to demean Louis’s work, Court, Court’s work and Ballet. This option is easy to eliminate because of its opposite direction.

B. demonstrate that military activities were still important during a time of peace.

Military activities? Oh really I don’t think so. Eliminate.

C. describe two activities that eventually supplanted ballet in importance.

Trap! The mentioned are some activities but they not at any time supplanted or demean the ballet. This could be a trap for those don’t understand its meaning completely. This is a kind of 180 answer choice.

D. hint at Louis's enjoyment of physical activity as a means of self-improvement.

Nothing is discussed about the enjoyment of the Louis. Eliminate.

E. show that nobility was revealed in many ways in Louis XIV's court.

This option is correct! When you read 2-3 lines given before the mentioned activities it is clear that there were some more activities happening in the courts to show the nobility. Read the lines below which completely supports this option

“Louis believed that inner nobility was revealed through outward appearance: physical beauty, grace, etiquette, and adherence to social convention. As a result, court ritual and etiquette were rigid and demanding, and dance, along with fencing and equestrianism, became part of a trio of noble disciplines.”

Answer: E

Although ballet originated in lavish Italian court dances, the art for

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Although ballet originated in lavish Italian court dances, the art for

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