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Sajjad1994
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But in choosing option B, will we not be assuming that the character in " lightsaber wielding Jedi Knights" pleased the audiences - as it is not given in the passage that the movie was a success or if it pleased the audiences or not.
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Official Explanation

1. The author mentions “lightsaber-wielding Jedi knights” primarily in order to

Difficulty Level: Very Hard

Explanation

To understand why the author uses this detail, we must first understand the overall purpose of the passage, which is to inform readers of the etymology of a well-known term. We also note that the passage is organized chronologically—from the time the word “swashbuckler” entered the language in the 1600s until recent times. The author mentions the phrase “lightsaber-wielding Jedi knights” as an example of a swashbuckler as defined in present day. Thus, answer choice (B) is correct.

Answer choice (A) does not fit the passage’s chronological structure because the origins of the swashbuckler were dealt with much earlier in the passage.

Answer choice (C) may look attractive at first if we rely on personal preferences for certain movies, but it is not supported by the passage, which states that the definition of “swashbuckler” became more positive in the early 20th century, not the late 20th century.

Answer choice (D) is incorrect because the passage contrasts the definition of a swashbuckler in the 1600s with a revised definition based on movie characters of the early 20th century, not to compare swashbucklers of these two different time periods.

Answer choice (E) is also incorrect because the passage makes no comparison between any types of weapons.

Therefore the correct answer is (B).
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1. The author mentions “lightsaber-wielding Jedi knights” primarily in order to

The passage explains linguistic amelioration using “swashbuckler”: it started as an insult in the 1600s, then movies in the early 1900s reshaped it into a heroic figure, and the author notes that this heroic “swashbuckler” idea even shows up later in space movies as Jedi knights.

(A) explain the origins of the swashbuckler character.

The origins are explained earlier (1600s insult, then early twentieth century films). The Jedi example is not about origins.

(B) suggest that the swashbuckler character continues to please audiences.

This fits. The Jedi reference is a late twentieth century example showing the swashbuckler type still appears in popular stories, meaning the character remains appealing and usable.

(C) demonstrate that the definition of swashbuckler continues to become more positive.

The key positivity shift already happened when the braggart became a romantic hero. The Jedi example shows the heroic version persists in a new setting, not that the meaning becomes “more positive” than heroic.

(D) compare swashbucklers of the 1600s to recently popular movie characters.

There is no real comparison between the 1600s braggart and Jedi; the Jedi are used as a continuation of the heroic trope.

(E) show that lightsabers and swords are similar weapons.

Weapon similarity is not the author’s point; it is just a quick image to connect Jedi to swordplay.

Answer: (B)
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arushi118
But in choosing option B, will we not be assuming that the character in " lightsaber wielding Jedi Knights" pleased the audiences - as it is not given in the passage that the movie was a success or if it pleased the audiences or not.


No. “Continues to please audiences” does not require “that specific movie was a success.” It just needs the weaker idea that the swashbuckler type kept showing up in popular entertainment into the late twentieth century, and the Jedi example is used to show exactly that. If the author thought it failed to connect, they would not present it as evidence of the swashbuckler’s continuing presence.
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