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Why does the author write that the Portuguese and the Spanish have been in California longer than the "Americans?"
A. to broaden the reader's idea of what should be considered "American" folk music
B. to argue that Hungarian, Finnish, and Armenian folk musics are not truly American
C. to suggest that "American" folk music is music that has not been imported to the continent
D. to convince the reader that the Portuguese and Spanish should not be considered minority groups in California
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Pop Quiz, Common Core edition
NOTE: the reading passage is on music.
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12 comments:
I don't understand what that is supposed to mean.
I vote for A;)
I'm with both other commenters! What's better than picking the (most likely correct) answer when you have not a clue what the passage was about?!
This links to an interesting article, in terms of the creation of tests like this: http://theamericanscholar.org/tell-the-riddle-right/
At first I liked "D", because it's the politically correct answer.
On second thought, I'll go with "A", because it's politically correct and also mentions music.
It's typical of these tests that you can guess the right answer without reading the passage.
The problem with (D) is that "convince" is too extreme. It's most likely the "trick" answer for kids who know that they're supposed to picking something politically correct but don't actually understand what the passage is saying or how to "read the test" for real" (e.g. it wouldn't occur to them that "convince" is extreme because they haven't been taught to pay attention to the fact that certain types of words are stronger than other).
I lied. It's (c). I misread that answer originally.
I saw this question, with its preceding paragraph, on another website and the correct answer was listed as (a).
I'm not even sure what (C) is supposed to even mean. If my student wrote that sentence in something of hers, I'd tell her to revise it in the name of clarity.
Why would it be C?
I vote for A.
Here is the relevant part of the passage:
Local pride in the preservation of cultural things that belong to the old days should be stimulated wherever possible, particularly in the minority groups. Remember that the Anglo-Saxon music that we are inclined to think of as the only ‘American’ kind is a relatively recent importation on this continent, exactly as the Hungarian, Finnish, and Armenian folk musics are. The Portuguese and the Spanish have been in California three times as long as the "Americans."
@ Jen, I was looking back through the answers very quickly with a friend, forgot what the question said, and second-guessed myself. In context of the questions, (A) does make more sense. But that said, the negative construction in C ("music that has *not* been...) is something that often shows up in correct CB answers. I must have been focusing on that. As I say again (and again and again) to my students: read the answers *slowly* and stick with your first instinct. Note to self;)
My impressions:
A is bland, but almost certainly right. "Broaden" is hard to disprove, and every test has a reading about broadening some aspect of culture.
B, come on. The strong verb, and the list of musics (other than those in the question) give it so many chances to be false in one way or another. And it sounds opposite in temperament to what you read on tests.
C is just a weirdly-worded definition. Seems very unlikely to be the kind of thing an author would convey that way.
D, I agree with SATVerbalTutor (although I don't like the term "politically correct," I know what he means) is the "trick" answer, the one that looks fine until you think about it for a second.
The only problem with us not seeing the passage is that it took me a while to realize that "Americans" was in quotes in the passage, and not just in the question.
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