PrepTest 101, Section 4, Question 8
Wherever the crime novels of P. D. James(445 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(18 more words not shown)
- A"The fantasy and(14 more words not shown)
- B"The greatest work(13 more words not shown)
- C"A truly great(13 more words not shown)
- D"Although many critics(17 more words not shown)
- E"A novel need(16 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Which attitude are we matching? The second sentence describes the belief that enjoyable books are lowbrow and true literature must be a little dull. Our prediction is something like: a great book should make you work, rather than just entertain you.
What we’re looking for
The writer calls this a false opposition. We're finding a quotation that exemplifies the attitude, not one that states the writer's own view or any other theme in the discussion.
Working the answers
- A
This celebrates fantasy and whimsy as reasons for literary greatness. It doesn't express the required opposition between enjoyable qualities and serious literature.
- B
Calling a highly humorous collection great allows enjoyment and greatness to coexist. That doesn't match the attitude we're identifying.
- CCorrect
Literature should “place demands upon its readers, rather than divert them.” Here, “divert” means entertain. The quotation values demanding work over pleasure, matching the idea that a truly literary book should be at least a little dull.
- D
This defers to the judgment of millions of readers. Whether popularity establishes quality is different from whether enjoyment disqualifies a book from greatness.
- E
Genre rules matter elsewhere in the discussion, which may make this sound familiar. But this question targets the second sentence's attitude about pleasure and literary merit, not whether a novel should stay within its genre.
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