Questions+26-28

26. Type of Question: This is a question that is about the main idea of the passage. It makes sure that the reader understands the big picture of what they just read. What do you have to know: You have to know precisely not only what exactly the passage was about, but also what exactly the passage was attempting to get across to the reader. What you need to do: You need to be able to eliminate the choices by having a thought process that allows you to determine what the passage was not about in order to arrive at the correct choice. The correct answer is: C Why? Answer choice A: While there are rival viewpoints within the passage, the analysis of these viewpoints is not the main focus of the passage. Answer choice B: While within the passage computers are described to being very useful tools in solving mathematical algorithms, the passage fails to go in depth on how computers do this, and therefore it would not be considered an “exploration” of the role of computers in these mathematical theorems. Answer Choice C: This is the correct answer because the passage goes into great detail on why these proofs work the way they do. Answer Choice D: While the passage goes into detail on why the proofs work the way they do, they do not describe the proofs themselves as well as the process for solving these proofs. Answer Choice E: This choice requires that the passage be a treatise, and in order for a piece of literature to be a treatise, it must be generally longer than an essay. The passage, however is about the length of a formal essay, and therefore would not be considered a treatise making answer choice E incorrect. 27. Type of Question: This is a question about the author’s purpose. This is because the question is asking specifically why the author did what he did in a certain area of the passage. What you have to know: You have to know what kind of author is writing this passage, as well as the general tone the author has throughout the passage in order to determine why the author did what he did in the specified area the question refers to. What you have to do: You need to go back to the lines the question mentions (8-10), reread these lines carefully, and based on what those lines say, and the type of author your dealing with, you can find the correct answer. You may also have to read the lines before and after lines 8-10 to help you come to your answer. The correct answer is: A Why? Answer Choice A: This answer is correct because the author is providing an example first of all. Also, if you look at the line right above line 8, it mentions syllogism. Therefore it can be inferred that the example being given is of syllogism. Answer Choice B: While an example is being given, it is not of logical fallacy. Answer Choice C: There is no political illustration to be found within these lines. Answer Choice D: There is no sardonic digression to be found within these lines. Answer Choice E: There is no analogy to be found within these lines. 28. Type of Question: This is a question that is simply a line number question. You must read the lines that are referred to in the question and draw a conclusion based on what these lines say. What do you have to know: You have to know what lines 10-21 are indicating about when a proof would lack beauty. What you need to do: Read lines 10-21 thoroughly and scan these lines for when they refer to a proof lacking beauty in order to obtain your answer. The correct answer is: E Why? Answer choice A: Nowhere in lines 10-21 does the passage mention that if a proof would lack beauty, it would be useful in everyday life. In fact these lines allow the reader to infer that part of the beauty of a proof is the fact that they are useful in everyday life. Answer Choice B: This answer makes no sense because in lines 10-21 the importance of the nonessential steps is emphasized making these steps part of the beauty of the proof. Answer Choice C: This answer doesn’t work because in lines 10-21 the author talks about how actually figuring out the difficult to understand proofs is also a big part of what makes them so beautiful. Answer Choice D: The author constantly throughout the passage and especially in lines 10-21 describes proofs as being so beautiful because of the amount of challenge that they bring with them, and therefore this answer choice is incorrect. Answer Choice E: This is the only choice that makes sense because it is contradicting the author’s opinion on a beautiful proof, where a proof must be challenging to be beautiful. Therefore the reader can assume that if the proof is not challenging, the author believes it lacks beauty, and answer choice E seems to match that description the closest out of the four choices.