PrepTest 151, Section 1, Question 17
Passage A Music does not always gain by(468 more words not shown)
Passage A(201 more words not shown)
Passage B(275 more words not shown)
Passage B, but not passage(13 more words not shown)
- Athe importance of(8 more words not shown)
- Bthe ability of(7 more words not shown)
- Cthe consequences of(9 more words not shown)
- Dthe relative roles(6 more words not shown)
- Ethe differences among(4 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Now the direction reverses: we need something B discusses that A doesn't. B opens with a classification—music-first operas, operas with greater balance among elements, and an earlier kind that subordinated music. A discusses opera generally without dividing it into types.
Working the answers
- A
A expressly mentions plot and scenery when explaining what opera's aesthetic value does not depend on. Saying those elements are not the main source of value still addresses their importance. A topic doesn't disappear just because an author gives it a negative answer.
- B
A's opening explicitly discusses images and words exciting deep emotions. This cannot be something found in B but absent from A.
- C
A discusses a striking effect, loss of purity, and some benefits from combining poetry and music. B has a different account of the combination, but disagreement doesn't make the topic unique to B.
- D
A says words should be subordinated to music and emphasizes music's contribution to opera. That directly addresses their relative roles.
- ECorrect
B distinguishes types of opera by the relative prominence of music and the other elements, with Italian and Wagnerian examples. It also describes the earliest type. A never offers this classification or contrasts different kinds of opera. This matches the difference we noticed before the choices.
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