Hackers, As A Rule, Love Wordplay And Are Very Conscious And Inventive In Their Use Of Language. GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

Hackers, as a rule, love wordplay and are very conscious and inventive in their use of language. These traits seem to be common in young children, but the conformity-enforcing machine we are pleased to call an educational system bludgeons them out of most of us before adolescence. Thus, linguistic invention in most subcultures of the modern West is a halting and largely unconscious process. Hackers, by contrast, regard slang formation and use as a game to be played for conscious pleasure. Their inventions thus display an almost unique combination of the neotenous enjoyment of language-play with the discrimination of educated and powerful intelligence. Further, the electronic media which knit them together are fluid, ‘hot’ connections, well adapted to both the dissemination of new slang and the ruthless culling of weak and superannuated specimens. The results of this process give us perhaps a uniquely intense and accelerated view of linguistic evolution in action.

Hacker slang also challenges some common linguistic and anthropological assumptions. For example, it has recently become fashionable to speak of ‘lowcontext’ versus ‘high-context’ communication, and to classify cultures by the preferred context level of their languages and art forms. It is usually claimed that low context communication, characterized by precision, clarity, and completeness of self-contained utterances, is typical in cultures which value logic, objectivity, individualism, and competition; by contrast, high-context communication, elliptical, emotive, nuance-filled, multi-modal, heavily coded, is associated with cultures which value subjectivity, consensus, cooperation, and tradition. What then are we to make of hackerdom, which is themed around extremely low-context interaction with computers and exhibits primarily “lowcontext” values, but cultivates an almost absurdly high-context slang style?

“Hackers, as a rule, love wordplay and are very conscious and inventive in their use of language.”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 3 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

1. The author of the passage would most likely NOT agree with which of the following?

(A) Hackers have a tradition of challenging language play.
(B) The education system stamps out the inventive approach of young adults.
(C) Hackerdom is primarily rooted in cooperation and tradition.
(D) The modern West is largely unaware of linguistic changes.
(E) The electronic media phases out improbable slang.

2. According to the passage, what does the phrase ‘conformity-enforcing machine’ (Highlighted) refer to?

(A) Our archaic and traditional beliefs
(B) Our education system
(C) Our rigid use of language
(D) Our suppression of those who are inventive in their use of language
(E) Our news media

3. According to the passage, which of the following is a linguistic assumption that is challenged by hackers?

(A) Hackers do not use low-context communication style.
(B) Hackers display high context values.
(C) Low context and high context communication are manifested in separate culture types.
(D) Hackers are inventive in their use of words.
(E) Hackers do not allow tradition to suppress their creativity.

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