Reading comp PrepTest 151 · Section 1 · Question 21

Passage

Questions 15-21  . Passage A  .       Music does not always gain by association with  . words. Like images, words can Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Humanities


Passage A

Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Author: Music is better at expressing emotions than words and images
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Comparisons, according to the author:
      • Words and images can both excite emotions but sometimes can't express those emotions (first and second sentences)
      • Music is better at expressing the emotion than words (third sentence)
    • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to the author:
      • Music (and words set to music) can cause the emotion stirred by words or images to intensify (third and last sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "can excite the deepest emotions" (second sentence); "inadequate" (second sentence); "more adequate" (third sentence); "deepen its expression, and, by so doing, excite still deeper emotion" (third sentence); "can gain" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Author: Setting words to music often diminishes the effect of each
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Definition of "libretto": words of an opera (last sentence)
    • Cause-and-effect, according to the author:
      • Setting words to music can cause striking emotions (particularly when the words are deemphasized) but reduces the purity of the words and music (first, second, and fourth sentences)
      • The emotional range of the music in an opera — not the opera's words, plot, or scenery — causes the opera's aesthetic value (last sentence)
    • Comparisons, according to the author:
      • Poetry and music are both great arts (third sentence)
      • But poetry and music are better alone than together (fourth sentence)
      • Music is more expressive than poetry (fourth sentence)
    • Example of music that would not be improved with words, according to the author:
      • Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (fifth sentence)
    • Example of an artistic medium in which the music is more impactful than the words, according to the author:
      • Opera (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "striking effect" (second sentence); "at the expense of the purity of each art" (second sentence); "Poetry is great art; so is music" (third sentence); "each is greater alone than in company" (fourth sentence); "various good ends arise ... provided that the words are subordinated to the more expressive medium of music" (fourth sentence); "depends for its aesthetic value" (last sentence); "emotional range — a region dominated by the musical element" (last sentence)

Passage B

Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Two types of operas
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • List of two types of operas:
      • Item 1: Opera in which music is primary, sometimes derisively called "singer's opera," and exemplified by Italian operas (second sentence)
      • Item 2: Opera in which music is the most important factor but balanced with other elements; exemplified by Wagner's operas (second sentence)
    • Point of intersection with passage A:
      • The author of passage A clearly believes music is more important than words in an opera, and this author agrees (second sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "underserved contempt" (second sentence); "albet the most important" (second sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Author: In both types of opera, you need to analyze the words and music together
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • When assessing an opera's music, you shouldn't judge whether the music would be a good concert piece but whether it serves the drama (second sentence)
      • When assessing an opera's poetry, you shouldn't judge whether the poetry would read well on the page but whether it supplies good material for the music and staging (third sentence)
    • Comparison, according to the author:
      • Music and poetry are as united as hydrogen and oxygen in water (fifth sentence)
    • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to the author:
      • The union of music and poetry causes opera to be completely unique (last sentence)
    • Point of intersection with passage A:
      • The author of passage A thinks opera is emotionally resonant because of the music, while the author of passage B argues that the two elements together make opera resonate (last sentence)

Main Points?

Passage A: Combining music and words can produce striking works of art, but more emotion is generally stirred by music and words by themselves, and music is more expressive than words.

Passage B: The union of music and words in opera gives opera its unique character.

Key Lines?

Passage A:

Paragraph 1, Sentence 3 (P1, S3) - Author's preference for music

P2, S3 - Author's conclusion

P2, S6 - Discussion of opera, the focus of passage B

Passage B:

P2, S1 - Author's opinion on opera

P2, S6 - Author's conclusion

Meta-Structure? Relationship Between Passages?

Relationship - Opposing Viewpoints: The authors of these two passages have slightly opposed viewpoints. The author of passage A is a big music lover and thinks music is a more emotionally impactful medium than words (PA, P1, S3). When discussing opera specifically, passage A's author argues that an opera's words are relatively unimportant and the opera's emotion is a product of the music (PA, P2, S6). On the other hand, passage B's author thinks that music and words function together to give opera its rich and unique character (PB, P2, S6). Therefore, the authors diverge in their views on opera.

Relationship - Different Scope: The topic of passage A is also quite a bit broader in scope than the topic of passage B. Passage A addresses the relationship between music and words in general. Passage A discusses opera, but just as an example of a work that combines both (PA, P2, S6). On the other hand, Passage B focuses the discussion on opera specifically. Identifying this difference in scope is relevant for the Author Agree/Disagree questions we'll likely get. Because we do not know the author of passage B's opinions on music and words generally, we can only select answer choices that bring up opera.

Last Thoughts?

Most test-takers will be able to recognize the slight shift in subject matter between passages A and B. Clearly, passage A addresses the relationship between words and music generally, while passage B specifically addresses how words and music interact in opera. However, some test-takers may not immediately recognize the different concerns the two passages have about their chosen subject matter. Notice how passage A consistently discusses the emotions music and words express and stir. Passage A doesn't discuss the quality of poems or music — just their capacity to evoke emotions. On the other hand, passage B is far more concerned with opera's aesthetic quality and unique character. Unlike passage A, passage B's author doesn't discuss the emotions stirred by operas.

Question prompt

The author of passage 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

Consult your notes or passage to recall passage A's author's attitude about the topic in question, and find the answer that (1) best reflects your understanding of the author's opinion on that topic, and (2) could be supported by the discussion of that topic

Answer Anticipation

This question asks us to find the answer choice about the "third kind of opera" that the author would most likely agree with. We can start by reviewing passage B's discussion of "a third kind of opera." After that, we can consider the author of passage A's main point to anticipate what the author of passage A would say about the "third kind of opera."Reviewing the reference to the "third kind of opera," we'll see that it refers to the "earliest operas" in which "the music is subordinated to the other features" (PB, P1, S3-4). The author of passage B says that these operas didn't catch on and that operas needed to emphasize the music before becoming a more established art form (PB, P1, S4).What would passage A's author say about the "third kind of opera"? We said that the author of passage A's main point is, "Combining music and words can produce striking works of art, but more emotion is generally stirred by music and words by themselves, and music is more expressive than words." Clearly, this author believes that music is more emotionally resonant than words. So, the author would not be surprised that operas that downplayed music didn't catch on. If we review what that author said about opera, we'd see that the author argues that an opera's words are relatively unimportant and that the opera's aesthetic value is largely driven by the music (PA, P2, S6). Again, the author would not be surprised that the public didn't see the appeal of the "third kind of opera."This question also says the correct answer must be a claim that passage A's author would think the "third kind of opera" supports. Based on that author's main point and discussion about opera, this author would probably conclude that the limited appeal of the "third kind of opera" shows that opera's music is more emotionally resonant than words or that the quality of an opera depends more on the music. Let's look for an answer choice that says something like that.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Both poetry and music Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Does this say that passage A's author would probably conclude that the limited appeal of the "third kind of opera" shows that opera's music is more emotionally resonant than words or that the quality of an opera depends more on the music?

    Not quite. For that reason, decisive test-takers would table or eliminate this choice. Still, many test-takers are understandably attracted to this answer choice. So let's unpack it.

    The author of passage A would probably agree that poetry and music are diminished when combined into a single art form (PA, P2, S3). However, why would the failure of an opera that deemphasized music support that claim? If mixing music and poetry reduces the purity of each, wouldn't deemphasizing the music allow the poetry to shine a little brighter? And, according to the author of passage A, shouldn't this make this kind of opera more appealing, at least to poetry fans?

    So although the author of passage A would probably agree with (A), we don't have any reason to think that the failure of the "third kind of opera" shows that poetry and music are diminished when combined. 

  2. B
    The aesthetic value of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem

    (B) Does this say that passage A's author would probably conclude that the limited appeal of the "third kind of opera" shows that opera's music is more emotionally resonant than words or that the quality of an opera depends more on the music?

    Yes! We know the author of passage A would agree with this statement. And the failure of an opera that deemphasizes music would support the claim that an opera's aesthetic value primarily depends on the music. Since this matches our anticipation so neatly, we'd be justified in selecting this answer choice and moving on to the next question.

  3. C
    The musical and nonmusical Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Does this say that passage A's author would probably conclude that the limited appeal of the "third kind of opera" shows that opera's music is more emotionally resonant than words or that the quality of an opera depends more on the music?

    Nope. For that reason, experienced test-takers would eliminate this option. Besides, passage A's author never says the musical and nonmusical elements are "indivisible," so we don't even know that author would agree with this claim.

  4. D
    Music invariably gains by Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Does this say that passage A's author would probably conclude that the limited appeal of the "third kind of opera" shows that opera's music is more emotionally resonant than words or that the quality of an opera depends more on the music?

    Nope. Expert test-takers would cross this off as soon as they recognized that it didn't match their anticipation. Besides, passage A's author says that the emotional resonance of music is limited when combined with poetry (PA, P2, S4). Since passage A's author doesn't even think that music invariably gains when combined with poetry, (D) is incorrect.

  5. E
    Opera requires the careful Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Does this say that passage A's author would probably conclude that the limited appeal of the "third kind of opera" shows that opera's music is more emotionally resonant than words or that the quality of an opera depends more on the music?

    Negative. So, shrewd test-takers would eliminate this choice. Further, passage A's author says that music is the most important element in an opera (PA, P2, S6). So the author would disagree with the claim that there are "many competing but equal elements" in an opera. 

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 38%
  2. B Credited 40%
  3. C 8%
  4. D 7%
  5. E 6%

Deeper help

Ask follow-ups on any step

Optional AI tutor mode will let you interrogate assumptions, compare answers, and drill weak patterns without leaving the page.

Human-written explanations stay primary; AI is an add-on when you want it.

Discussion

View all discussions Start a discussion