PrepTest 128, Section 1, Question 19
As the twentieth century draws to a close,(461 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(23 more words not shown)
- Aan annual ceremony(21 more words not shown)
- Ba religious service(20 more words not shown)
- Ca traditional play(20 more words not shown)
- Da ritual dance,(23 more words not shown)
- Ea traditional village(21 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
What did the rituals and ceremonies in the second paragraph accomplish? They made colonial authority look more legitimate by manufacturing or reworking tradition. An example could take an existing native ceremony and change its meaning so that it now serves the colonial relationship. Merely having two cultures interact isn't enough.
Working the answers
- A
Honoring native artists doesn't, by itself, manufacture or reinterpret a tradition to legitimize colonial authority.
- B
This adapts the colonizers' religious service to attract converts. It gives us cultural borrowing, but not the same use of a tradition to present colonial authority as legitimate.
- C
The imperial leaders enjoy the native play, but nothing has been changed or invented to serve the political purpose we're looking for. Popularity alone doesn't make the example fit.
- DCorrect
The dance originally commemorates a union between native deities. It is then modified to portray friendship between the colonial and native cultures. A traditional ceremony has been given a new meaning that presents the colonial relationship favorably. That matches the use of tradition to reinforce authority.
- E
These speakers use a traditional event to criticize the colonizing culture. That runs against the purpose of the ceremonies described in the second paragraph.
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