bySayantani Barman Experta en el extranjero
Reading Passage Question
Correspondences were a method of thought and expression used originally in the Middle Ages to compare two different things on the basis of some perceived similarity in the order of their beings. Correspondences were used to make the world more comprehensible; for example, when lute playing was likened to the harmony or discord of the political organization to make both music and politics appear to be part of a congruent set of worldly phenomena.
Although the Elizabethan correspondences were the same as the medieval, they served different parts of the mind. It is not easy to unravel the feelings of the Elizabethans. With their passionate love of ceremony they found the formality of these correspondences very congenial. On the other hand, it was becoming more difficult for Elizabethans to understand their world as part of a rigid, coherent order: the mathematical detail of correspondences became less apt; in contrast to medieval people, Elizabethans could not base their faith on the endless accumulation of minutiae. At the same time, they desired order. They did not allow the details of a particular correspondence to take the form of minute mathematical equivalences. They made the imagination use details for its own ends; equivalences shaded off into resemblances.
This Elizabethan hovering between equivalence and metaphor may become clearer in an example. Modern astronomers, hating the asteroids for being so many and so obstructive, have named them the vermin of the sky. This expression is no more than a metaphor with emotional content. To the Middle Ages this observation would have been a highly significant fact, a new piece of evidence for the unity of creation. The Elizabethans could take the matter both ways.
It was through their retention of the main points and their flexibility in interpreting the details that the Elizabethans were able to use these correspondences in their attempt to tame a bursting and pullulating world. Even if they could not tame a new fact by fitting it into a rigid scheme, at least they could grasp it by finding that it was like something already familiar.
‘Correspondences were a method of thought and expression’ is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.
This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 7 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.
Solution and Explanation
- The author implies that the purpose of medieval correspondence was to make the world more
A) intense
B) novel
C) varied
D) mystifying
E) comprehensible
Answer: E
Explanation: The question's keywords, "The objective of medieval correspondences was to make the world more comprehensible". "Correspondences were utilized to do so," are almost direct quotes from the passage's opening paragraph, which discusses the Middle Ages (or "medieval times"). The correct answer is option (E).
- With which of the following statements concerning the Elizabethan Age would the author be most likely to agree?
A) Elizabethan knowledge about the world had outstripped the capacity of prevailing modes of thought to explain it.
B) Elizabethan knowledge had not developed to the point where it would require a scientific revolution to explain new facts.
C) The Elizabethan Age was more interested in creating a scientific image of the world than in depicting the world poetically.
D) The Elizabethan Age allowed knowledge about the world to develop gradually and was not surprised by new or strange information.
E) Elizabethans continued to think of the world in medieval ways despite the accumulation of new and strange information.
Answer: A
Explanation: It makes reference to the passage's author and queries claims made about the Elizabethan era. Although a detail from either paragraph three or four could make an appearance, we would anticipate finding our solution in paragraph two. This is an illustration of a question where finding the correct response isn't enough; disproving it is also necessary. The passage's tone supports choice (A's) positive portrayal of Elizabethan expertise.
- In comparison to modern metaphors, the author finds Elizabethan correspondences to be
A) less realistic because they were based on abstract reasoning
B) more elaborate because they were used only on formal occasions
C) less figurative because they were felt to explain an objective relationship
D) more closely attuned to the period in which they originated
E) more precise because they were based on mathematical models
Answer: C
Explanation: When it comes to metaphors, we have to look into paragraph three. We must look at the lines in the middle of the sentence because the inquiry concerns a comparison between contemporary metaphors. Elizabethan correspondences: "This [modern] statement.......... oneness of creation." This implies that C is the correct choice.
- The author implies medieval correspondences were more than mere figures of speech because they
A) were laden with historical associations
B) were used in a wide variety of contexts
C) enabled medieval people to grasp new ideas
D) enabled medieval thinkers to base their faith in an ordered universe on an endless accumulation of minutiae
E) expressed what were thought to be figurative relationships between abstract qualities
Answer: D
Explanation: A cursory check against paragraph one reveals that (A) is overdone and burdened, and historical associations are not a detail that particularly sticks out. (B) mentions a wide range of situations, and (E) goes too far in conjuring up abstract attributes. We can infer from (D) that people in the middle ages included mathematical specificity in their correspondences. At least in part, founded their trust on such intricacy. As a result, (D) is a more convincing response.
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