The proponents of the Modern Movement in architecture considered that,

Question

The proponents of the Modern Movement in
architecture considered that, compared with the
historical styles that it replaced, Modernist
architecture more accurately reflected the functional
  (5)   spirit of twentieth-century technology and was better
suited to the newest building methods. It is ironic,
then, that the Movement fostered an ideology of
design that proved to be at odds with the way
buildings were really built.

(10)   The tenacious adherence of Modernist architects
and critics to this ideology was in part responsible for
the Movement’s decline. Originating in the 1920s as a
marginal, almost bohemian art movement, the Modern
Movement was never very popular with the public,
  (15)   but this very lack of popular support produced in
Modernist architects a high-minded sense of
mission—not content merely to interpret the needs of
the client, these architects now sought to persuade, to
educate, and, if necessary, to dictate. By 1945 the
  (20)   tenets of the Movement had come to dominate
mainstream architecture, and by the early 1950s, to
dominate architectural criticism—architects whose
work seemed not to advance the evolution of the
Modern Movement tended to be dismissed by
  (25)   proponents of Modernism. On the other hand, when
architects were identified as innovators—as was the
case with Otto Wagner, or the young Frank Lloyd
Wright—attention was drawn to only those features
of their work that were “Modern”; other aspects were
  (30)   conveniently ignored.

The decline of the Modern Movement later in the
twentieth century occurred partly as a result of
Modernist architects’ ignorance of building methods,
and partly because Modernist architects were
  (35)   reluctant to admit that their concerns were chiefly
aesthetic. Moreover, the building industry was
evolving in a direction Modernists had not
anticipated: it was more specialized and the process
of construction was much more fragmented than in
  (40)   the past. Up until the twentieth century, construction
had been carried out by a relatively small number of
tradespeople, but as the building industry evolved,
buildings came to be built by many specialized
subcontractors working independently. The architect’s
  (45)   design not only had to accommodate a sequence of
independent operations, but now had to reflect the
allowable degree of inaccuracy of the different trades.
However, one of the chief construction ideals of the
Modern Movement was to “honestly” expose
  (50)   structural materials such as steel and concrete. To do
this and still produce a visually acceptable interior
called for an unrealistically high level of
craftmanship. Exposure of a building’s internal
structural elements, if it could be achieved at all,
  (55)   could only be accomplished at considerable cost—
hence the well-founded reputation of Modern
architecture as prohibitively expensive.

As Postmodern architects recognized, the need to
expose structural elements imposed unnecessary
  (60)   limitations on building design. The unwillingness of
architects of the Modern Movement to abandon their
ideals contributed to the decline of interest in the
Modern Movement.    1 
 1. Which one of the following most accurately summarizes the main idea of the passage?

(A) The Modern Movement declined because its proponents were overly ideological and did not take into account the facts of building construction.
(B) Rationality was the theoretical basis for the development of the Modern Movement in architecture.
(C) Changes in architectural design introduced by the Modern Movement inspired the development of modern construction methods.
(D) The theoretical bases of the Modern Movement in architecture originated in changes in building construction methods.
(E) Proponents of the Modern Movement in architecture rejected earlier architectural styles because such styles were not functional.

2 
 2. Which one of the following is most similar to the relationship described in the passage between the new methods of the building industry and pretwentieth-century construction?

(A) Clothing produced on an assembly line is less precisely tailored than clothing produced by a single garment maker.
(B) Handwoven fabric is more beautiful than fabric produced by machine.
(C) Lenses ground on a machine are less useful than lenses ground by hand.
(D) Form letters produced by a word processor elicit fewer responses than letters typed individually on a typewriter.
(E) Furniture produced in a factory is less fashionable than handcrafted furniture.

3 
 3. With respect to the proponents of the Modern Movement, the author of the passage can best be described as

(A) forbearing
(B) defensive
(C) unimpressed
(D) exasperated
(E) indifferent

4 
 4. It can be inferred that the author of the passage believes which one of the following about Modern Movement architects’ ideal of exposing structural materials?

(A) The repudiation of the ideal by some of these architects undermined its validity.
(B) The ideal was rarely achieved because of its lack of popular appeal.
(C) The ideal was unrealistic because most builders were unwilling to attempt it.
(D) The ideal originated in the work of Otto Wagner and Frank Lloyd Wright.
(E) The ideal arose from aesthetic rather than practical concerns.

5 
 5. Which one of the following, in its context in the passage, most clearly reveals the attitude of the author toward the proponents of the Modern Movement?

(A) “functional spirit” (lines 4–5)
(B) “tended” (line 24)
(C) “innovators” (line 26)
(D) “conveniently” (line 30)
(E) “degree of inaccuracy” (line 47)

6 
 6. The author of the passage mentions Otto Wagner and the young Frank Lloyd Wright (lines 27–28) primarily as examples of

(A) innovative architects whose work was not immediately appreciated by the public
(B) architects whom proponents of the Modern Movement claimed represented the movement
(C) architects whose work helped to popularize the Modern Movement
(D) architects who generally attempted to interpret the needs of their clients, rather than dictating to them
(E) architects whose early work seemed to architects of the Modern Movement to be at odds with the principles of Modernism

7 
 7. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with

(A) analyzing the failure of a movement
(B) predicting the future course of a movement
(C) correcting a misunderstanding about a movement
(D) anticipating possible criticism of a movement
(E) contrasting incompatible viewpoints about a movement

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

2. Which one of the following is most similar to the relationship described in the passage between the new methods of the building industry and pretwentieth-century construction?

Explanation

The precise comparison we are to mimic is described in  lines 40–44 : individual craftspeople in the old days, a group of separately working craftspeople thereafter.

(A)’s  single garment maker vs. assembly line matches superbly, and its reference to  “less precise tailoring”  nicely echoes the reference in  lines 46–47  to  “allowable degree of inaccuracy.”

(B)  The issue of beauty might be roughly analogous, and  “handwoven vs. machine made”  smacks of old fashioned vs. modern, but  (B)  would only work if the author were comparing a building made by one person with one made wholly by machinery.

(C)  involves the same faulty  “by hand vs. by machine”  analogy as  (B) , and brings in the foreign issue of utility.

(D)  is one more  “hand vs. machine”  comparison, and its focus on the relative effectiveness of the two methods has no parallel with the building example.

(E) “Fashionableness”  has a doubtful connection to the building example, and since  (E)  doesn’t explicitly mention the circumstances of factory craftsmanship, we can’t match it precisely to  lines 40–44.  For all we know,  (E)  is talking about machine craftsmanship like the other three wrong choices are.

Answer: A

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

5. Which one of the following, in its context in the passage, most clearly reveals the attitude of the author toward the proponents of the Modern Movement?

Explanation

Several of the choices sound as if they might reflect a certain amount of disdain, but as the question stem helpfully suggests, we need to look at each in context. Remember, it’s the author’s attitude we’re seeking here.

(A)  The determination that the twentieth century would have a  “functional spirit”  was made by the Modernists and is reported by the author—no slam intended here.

(B)  Around  line 24 , the author is, again, reporting rather than commenting. He surely doesn’t approve of critics’ routinely dismissing all non-Modernist architecture, but critics’  “tending”  to do so is not, in itself, an expression of his viewpoint.

(C)  If anything, calling Wagner and Wright  “innovators”  is a badge of approval.

(D)  There yo go. That Modernists  “conveniently ignored”  certain troublesome aspects of Wagner’s and Wright’s work is a swipe at self-serving aesthetes.  (D)  is what we want.

(E)  Because so many subcontractors were working independently, it stands to reason that each one’s products wouldn’t necessarily fit together seamlessly. The resulting  “degree of inaccuracy”  is thus an expression of common sense and not of author disdain—for builders, or for anyone else.

Answer: D

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

3. With respect to the proponents of the Modern Movement, the author of the passage can best be described as

Explanation

In questions about the author’s attitude, start by deciding whether the author is broadly positive or negative, and then go from there.

We already know that the author has little use for Modernism or its proponents, so  (A)  and  (B)  are too positive, and  (E)  is too neutral. Meanwhile,  (D)  goes too far: this is a movement that crashed and burned half a century ago; why would the author engage in the hot emotion of  “exasperation” ?  (C)  conveys the author’s tone best. He has heard the proponents’ arguments but will have none of them.

Answer: C

VerbalBot · Answer

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The proponents of the Modern Movement in architecture considered that,

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The proponents of the Modern Movement in architecture considered that,

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