PrepTest 156, Section 3, Question 14
In typical accounts of the beginnings of bebop—the(447 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AHistorical inquiry into(16 more words not shown)
- BTypical accounts of(13 more words not shown)
- CBebop arose as(24 more words not shown)
- DCommercial relations permeate(7 more words not shown)
- EBebop's originators did(10 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We've already predicted the central correction: the familiar portrayal of bebop as a break from commerce misrepresents its originators' relationship to the music business. They sought autonomy and recognition through a new engagement with that world.
What we’re looking for
The answer doesn't need our exact wording. It needs the contrast between the traditional account and the author's correction, rather than simply a fact about swing or the musicians.
Working the answers
- A
This shifts the central claim to the explanation of swing's decline. The author is principally challenging the portrayal of bebop as an escape from commercialism, not deciding how much commercialism caused swing to become stale.
- BCorrect
This captures the mistaken relationship at the center of the criticism. Typical accounts picture bebop's originators rejecting mass-market capitalism; the author says they treated the commercial world as the framework of their profession and sought a different place within it.
- C
This is part of the traditional history introduced before the author's criticism. Repeating that account of stalled innovation doesn't state the author's main correction about commercial relations.
- D
This is an important supporting claim: commercial relations exist even in bebop. But the discussion uses that fact to challenge a particular historical portrayal. D leaves out the account being criticized and the misunderstanding it creates.
- E
Continued commercial engagement doesn't mean the musicians saw no fundamental difference between bebop and swing. The author explicitly recognizes a new musical subculture. New music can remain connected to commerce without being regarded as the same music.
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