Reading comp PrepTest 147 · Section 2 · Question 13

Passage

  Best known for her work with lacquer, Eileen Gray (1878-1976) had a fascinating and multifaceted artistic career: she became a Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Humanities


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Background on Eileen Gray and description of her lacquer work
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Comparisons, according to the author:
      • Gray focused on smaller objects at beginning of her career and larger objects later, but her focus on hidden details remained the same (second sentence)
      • Gray's work is distinct from the flowing lines of the Art Nouveau movement at the time, focusing instead on straight lines and simple forms (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: “best known” (first sentence); "fascinating and multifaceted" (first sentence); "fit well" (last sentence); "austere beauty" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Author: Gray's structural use of lacquer and her interior design display an architectural quality
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Comparison, according to the author:
      • Gray made flat panels at first, but later made three-dimensional panels (third sentence)
    • Examples of Gray's work that have an architectural quality, according to the author:
      • Door panels (third sentence)
      • Screen in the lobby of an apartment, which folded out and melded with wall/brick (fourth and fifth sentences)
      • Furniture using modern materials (like tubular steel) that met occupants' needs (sixth and last sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "painstaking" (first sentence); "critical but not always apparent" (second sentence); "fully realizes" (fourth sentence); "thus becomes" (fifth sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Author: Gray's architecture was informed by her layering and holistic lacquer work
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Comparison, according to the author:
      • Gray's architecture was similar to the holistic, inside-out approach of her lacquer work (third and fourth sentences)
      • The inside and outside of an architectural work was, for Gray, same (last sentence)
    • Examples of Gray's architecture that were similar to her holistic, layered lacquer work, according to the author:
      • Storage cabinets in the staircase, desks that also functioned as cabinets, and tables that can be moved inside and outside (sixth through last sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "prefigures" (first sentence); "integrated whole" (third sentence)

Main Point: Eileen Gray's work encompassed work from the small to the large, including houses, with a focus on detail and an integration of the whole work, which was exemplified and informed by her work in lacquer.

Key Lines?

Lines 5-7 - The Author's summary of Gray's work is noted

Line 20-23 - How Gray's focus/work and lacquer's characteristics overlapped

Lines 28-33 - An example of the pinnacle of this work

Lines 40-41 - A connection between steps in Gray's progression is made

Lines 41-43 - Gray's belief on architectural design

Lines 52-56 - An example of Gray's interior/exterior connection

Meta-Structure?

Importance of Subject: Passages that focus on a single artist or artistic movement tend to fall into one of two camps. The first describes the artist as an innovator. The second describes the artist's importance, often addressing their influences and development over time. This passage arguably flirts with the former camp in discussing how Gray brought lacquer from Japan to Europe (Lines 10-11). But the passage more neatly fits in the latter camp, showing how Gray's work in lacquer developed her sensibilities of creating (hidden) layers and holistic works even as she moved into architectural design.

In such a passage, the author's opinion on the artist's importance will serve as the main point. Here, the author says that Gray's use of lacquer both presaged and exemplified her layered, holistic approach to paneling, interior design, and architecture.

Examples: This passage has a few examples of works Gray produced that embody her layered, holistic approach. It talks about a screens she lacquered, furniture she made, and architectural features that illustrate her artistic philosophy. This is common in Humanities passages. Always lookout for a description of the type of work(s) created by the artist(s) in the passage.

Last Thoughts?

This passage focuses heavily on an in-depth description of Gray's design aesthetic across multiple art forms (from ornaments to furniture to houses). As such, we should expect questions that deal with this aesthetic, so we should have a clear view of what it is. We should almost be able to picture the types of work Gray produced. So let's remember that Gray focused on details (Line 6) — including hidden details (Line 7). Let's also remember that she cared about layers and structure (Lines 21-22) and connecting the interior and exterior of works (Lines 41-42). She also preferred "the austere beauty of straight lines and simple forms juxtaposed" (Lines 16-17).

Question prompt

The passage most strongly Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: B

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Humanities

Strategy Overview

Remind ourselves of the main point of the passage, then head to the answers, focusing on those that line up with the main point and then using our notes/the passage to find the correct answer

Answer Anticipation

This is another question asks us to infer, based on the entire passage, a statement that must be true. Specifically, this question asks us to identify a principle that Gray used in her work. However, Gray's work was described throughout the entire passage, so this question provides little indication as to the topic of the correct answer or where it'll show up in the passage. Moreover, the correct answer probably won't restate something from the passage. Instead, the question will likely require us to draw a connection between a few different pieces of information.So again, we'll need to rely on our big-picture understanding of the passage to answer these questions. We should start by reminding ourselves of the main point (either by reviewing what we said after reading the passage or by re-reading our answer to the main point question). From there, we can head to the answer choices. If something in an answer choice doesn't seem familiar and isn't reflected in our notes on each paragraph, we shouldn't check the passage to see if it was mentioned. Instead, we'll table it and move on to the next answer choice. If something seems inconsistent with the main point, we can eliminate it. If something seems familiar, consistent with the main point, or reflected in our notes, we'll use our notes/highlights/underlines to find the part of the passage that proves the answer choice must be true. If we can find that confirmation, we'll select that answer choice and move on.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Traditional lacquering techniques can Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Is this related to the main point or reflected in our notes?

    No. Based on our notes, Gray's artistic philosophy centered on paying close attention to details, creating austere sculptural works, and developing holistic, functional works that blur the distinction between exterior and interior. This answer choice doesn't reflect any of these ideas. Therefore, we should table this answer choice and keep looking.

    Besides, while the passage notes that Gray lacquered bricks, the discussion of steel deals with her creation of furniture (Lines 31-32; Lines 37-39), not her lacquer work.

  2. B
    The nature and placement Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem

    (B) Is this related to the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Yes. Based on our notes, we know one part of Gray's artistic philosophy is that she wanted to develop holistic, functional works that blur the distinction between exterior and interiors. This answer choice reflects that idea. So, we can review the passage to confirm that (B) is supported.

    This answer choice focuses on Gray's architecture, so we should review the third paragraph. Upon review, we'll see that the passage states that Gray believed "one should [not] divorce the structural design of the exterior from the design of the interior." Since these two features can't be divorced, Gray clearly believes that they must be related and inform each other, as this answer choice states. Since we can find confirmation for this choice, we can select it and move on to the final question.

  3. C
    Traditional ornamental techniques that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Is this related to the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Nope. Based on our notes, Gray's artistic philosophy centered on paying close attention to details, creating austere sculptural works, and developing holistic, functional works that blur the distinction between exterior and interior. This answer choice doesn't reflect any of these ideas. Therefore, we should table this answer choice and keep looking.

    At any rate, the passage says that Gray's work with lacquer on ornamental pieces (e.g., bowls, screens, some furniture) "prefigures" her architectural work, not that she found those techniques "especially suitable" for her architectural work. Rather, she incorporated her lacquer techniques into her focus on structural elements, detail, and a connection between the interior and exterior in her architecture. She didn't lacquer a whole house!

  4. D
    Excellent artistic effects can Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Is this related to the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Not quite. While we know Gray's artistic philosophy centered on paying close attention to details and creating works with "austere elements," this answer choice also says she contrasted this austerity with "gracefully ornate elements." Our notes do not reflect that, so we can table this answer choice.

    That said, even experienced test-takers may need to review the passage to eliminate this choice. Upon review, we'll see that Gray eschewed the Art Nouveau movement's ornate designs in favor of the austere beauty of straight lines and the juxtaposition of simple forms (Lines 14-17). Eschewing means that she didn't use that movement's flowing, ornate lines, so she didn't juxtapose them against the austere lines she preferred.

  5. E
    The superficial visual aspects Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Is this related to the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Negative. Based on our notes, Gray's artistic philosophy centered on paying close attention to details, creating austere sculptural works, and developing holistic, functional works that blur the distinction between exterior and interior. This answer choice doesn't reflect any of these ideas.

    If we needed to review the passage to cross off (E), we'll see that the author, when discussing Gray's architecture, notes that we "inhabit" the hidden layers in architecture. This means there are no "unseen" components in her buildings, as in her lacquer work. Additionally, when discussing the hidden parts of the lacquer work, the author never claimed that the visible elements said something about the materials used in the unseen parts. Rather, these unseen parts had the same artistic attention to detail paid to them as the visible ones.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 22%
  2. B Credited 41%
  3. C 12%
  4. D 17%
  5. E 8%

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