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- Sat Jun 03, 2017 10:31 am
#35649
Complete Question Explanation
Question #6: Main Point. The correct answer choice is (C)
This author first introduces a commonly held position and then refutes it. This pattern allows the
testmakers to add multiple viewpoints to a single speaker stimulus. The initial viewpoint is that
Handel’s de capo arias needlessly repeat texts. The author’s response is that the repetition serves an
important purpose and allows audiences to focus on the music itself. In such a stimulus, the main
point is always the author’s response.
Answer choice (A): This does not accurately describe either the initial viewpoint (that the arias
contain a disproportionate amount of text) or the author’s response (that the amount of text is vital to
appreciating the arias).
Answer choice (B): Neither the critics nor the musicologist address other arias. Thus, we cannot
infer if the musicologist believes Handel’s de capo arias to be superior to most in any way, much less
in their accessibility to diverse audiences.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. This is a relatively accurate restatement
of the musicologists claim that “such criticism is refuted by noting that repetition serves a vital
function.”
Answer choice (D): This may be an appropriate paraphrase of the critics’ complaint regarding the
disproportion between text and music in Handel’s arias, but the question stem asks us to express the
musicologist’s main point.
Answer choice (E): This answer is too broad. The musicologist rejects a particular criticism, but
makes no claim regarding most criticism of the arias.
Question #6: Main Point. The correct answer choice is (C)
This author first introduces a commonly held position and then refutes it. This pattern allows the
testmakers to add multiple viewpoints to a single speaker stimulus. The initial viewpoint is that
Handel’s de capo arias needlessly repeat texts. The author’s response is that the repetition serves an
important purpose and allows audiences to focus on the music itself. In such a stimulus, the main
point is always the author’s response.
Answer choice (A): This does not accurately describe either the initial viewpoint (that the arias
contain a disproportionate amount of text) or the author’s response (that the amount of text is vital to
appreciating the arias).
Answer choice (B): Neither the critics nor the musicologist address other arias. Thus, we cannot
infer if the musicologist believes Handel’s de capo arias to be superior to most in any way, much less
in their accessibility to diverse audiences.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. This is a relatively accurate restatement
of the musicologists claim that “such criticism is refuted by noting that repetition serves a vital
function.”
Answer choice (D): This may be an appropriate paraphrase of the critics’ complaint regarding the
disproportion between text and music in Handel’s arias, but the question stem asks us to express the
musicologist’s main point.
Answer choice (E): This answer is too broad. The musicologist rejects a particular criticism, but
makes no claim regarding most criticism of the arias.