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RC comprehension question. Help please.


duet062010

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A portrait type that appeared with relentless frequency in eighteenth-century England is the familiar image of a gentleman poised with one hand inside his partially unbuttoned waistcoat. Standard interpretations of this portrait posture offer observations of correspondence—demonstrating either that it mirrors actual social behavior or that it borrows from classical statuary. Such explanations, however, illuminate neither the source of this curious convention nor the reason for its popularity. It is true that in real life the “hand-in” was a common stance for elite men. Still, there were other ways of comporting the body that did not become winning portrait formulas. And even if the “hand-in” portrait does resemble certain classical statues, what accounts for the adoption of this particular pose?

 

Which of the following might provide an explanation for the popularity of hand-in portraits that would satisfy the author of the passage?

 

A. An eighteenth-century English etiquette manual discussing the social implications of the “hand-in” stance

B. A comprehensive catalogue of eighteenth-century English portraits that showed what proportion of portraits depicted gentlemen in the “hand-in” stance

C. A passage from an eighteenth-century English novel in which a gentleman considers what stance to adopt when his portrait is painted

 

 

Answer: A & C.

 

I understand A is correct. But I don't understand C is correct? Could someone please help me?

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  • 2 months later...

My suggestion is ignore this RC question. Such ambiguous question will not appear in the GRE test.

 

 

 

I also agree with your idea. However, if you really want a explanation for the answer C, the explanation is following:

 

1.interpretations of this portrait posture offer observations of correspondence—demonstrating either that it mirrors actual social behavior or that it borrows from classical statuary

2.illuminate neither the source of this curious convention nor the reason for its popularity

 

As the answer C do not accurately matches '1', and what the gentleman considers may be an answer of '2', then the answer C can be a plausible answer. Hope this can help you.:peach:

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