PrepTest 151, Section 1, Question 21
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)
The author of passage A(36 more words not shown)
- ABoth poetry and(10 more words not shown)
- BThe aesthetic value(11 more words not shown)
- CThe musical and(9 more words not shown)
- DMusic invariably gains(5 more words not shown)
- EOpera requires the(8 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Use A's view to interpret the specific history in B. A thinks music largely supplies opera's artistic value. B describes early operas in which music was secondary: their appeal was limited, and fuller musical participation was needed to establish opera securely.
What we’re looking for
A could point to that history and say: see what happens when music doesn't have enough of a role? But we must connect the evidence to a particular proposition. Merely finding something A believes won't be enough.
Working the answers
- A
A does think combining poetry and music diminishes their individual emotional strength. But these historical operas don't compare the arts separately with the arts combined. Both the earlier operas and the later, more musical ones combine elements. What changes is music's role, so the history doesn't establish this broader claim about combination itself.
- BCorrect
The limited appeal when music was secondary, followed by the need for fuller musical participation, supports A's emphasis on music as the main source of opera's value. It is the change in music's importance that connects the historical example to A's position.
- C
This resembles B's union-of-elements view. A treats the arts as separable and opera as largely independent of words, so it wouldn't use the example to establish their indivisibility.
- D
A's opening says music does not always gain from association with words. Invariably gains directly conflicts with that position.
- E
A doesn't treat the elements as equal: music should dominate. The historical need for fuller musical participation would reinforce that priority, not establish a requirement of equal balance.
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