Question: Rice Fiasco

Comment on Rice Fiasco

Hi Brent,

I came across this RC passage in Princeton Review guide.

"The criticism of electronic books, or ebooks, by literary scholars reveals as much about their confusion as it does about their elitism. In recent years, many screeds have been penned by such well-known professional authors as Ursula K. LeGuin promoting the pleasures of the literary experience in printed form—the tactile feel of the paper book, the smell of its binding, and the ease of reading a printed book while in the bathtub—while simultaneously decrying the arrival of cheap, limitless digital stories, many of which are genre tales of romance, adventure, and mystery. Many of these same critics have on occasion shown their true bias—that reading remain a pastime of those sufficiently sophisticated to linger over a felicitous turn of phrase, and that published works avoid pandering to the masses eager for nothing more than cheap thrills."

However I have difficulty in comprehending what the true bias of those critics are (at last line). Could you please help me with that ? Also associated with it is the below question

Which of the following statements about “cheap thrills” is supported by the passage?

[A] Readers of genre fiction have a difficult time understanding the subtleties of literary fiction because they lack the necessary sophistication.

[B] Genre stories such as romance, adventure, and mystery are likely to contain more so called cheap thrills than do other types of books.

[C] In addition to providing intellectual stimulation, books may also provide visceral entertainment.

I chose A. But Answer is B & C. I couldn't understand why A is wrong and why B & C are correct.

It would be very much helpful if you could assist me with this

Thanks :)
greenlight-admin's picture

A) I'm not sure we can say that fiction readers have a difficult time understanding the subtleties of literary fiction. At least, I don't see how this is supported by the passage.

B) The author of the passage states that digital stories are often in the genres of romance, adventure, and mystery. At the end, the author suggests that e-books pander to the masses eager for nothing more than cheap thrills. So, e-books are typically consist of romance, adventure, and mystery themes AND e-books are for those looking for cheap thrills. Combining these ideas, it seems that statement B is supported.

C) The line "reading remains a pastime of those sufficiently sophisticated to linger over a felicitous turn of phrase" supports statement C.

Does that help?

Cheers,
Brent

Hello Brent,

I've a few confusions regarding question no. 6 in this passage.

My query:
1. How did you find out the "Two statements" mentioned in choice A as those two from the passage?

2. When any answer choice mentions "Two statements or similar things", should we find those things first in passage, before deciding if that particular choice is correct?
greenlight-admin's picture

Our goal is to not have to worry about finding the two specific statements mentioned in the question.
The solution to this question lies in taking notes and summarizing the passage.
The hard part is matching your prediction with the correct answer choice.
To do this, it's probably better to read the answer choices at a generic level to help determine which answer choice most resembles your summary of the passage.

Hello Brent,

I was going through the reinforcement questions of RC. In first question of this passage (in the link), can you please inform me why answer is C and not D?

https://gre.myprepclub.com/forum/the-condition-of-scholarship-devoted-to-the-history-1954.html
greenlight-admin's picture

Question link: https://gre.myprepclub.com/forum/the-condition-of-scholarship-devoted-to...

In the 1st half of the passage, we read two specific and contrasting stories about the confounding ways in which historians treat two female photographers (one a pro and the other an amateur).

In the 2nd half of the passage, we read that Rosenblum’s book handles history of women in photography in a way that is also confounding.

--------------------------
QUESTION: The author of the passage cites Rosenblum’s book most likely in order to

C) provide an example of a way in which scholarship on the history of women in photography has been unsatisfactory
It seems that Rosenblum’s book provides another example of the confounding ways in which historians view female photographers.
KEEP.

D) suggest that employing a strictly chronological approach when studying the history of women in photography may be unproductive
Sorry, but I don't see any text that would suggest the downsides of using a chronological approach. Am I missing something?

Cheers,
Brent

Hi Brent,
I am a bit lost here in question 5 answer C
India has at least one advantage in reaching the Millennium Development Goals that the Philippines does not.

I am a bit confused about how much can we infer in here. It is never mentioned that India has an advantage which the Philippines does not have. I was wondering how can we make sure that this should be one of the answers?
Thanks a lot, I just did not know how to pick this one besides A as this is not mentioned and sometimes we do not need to infer too much. Thanks
greenlight-admin's picture

Answer choice C is somewhat tricky.
India's rice hoarding initiative was initiated to meet the first Millennium Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. It turned out that India produced 65 million tons of rice (which it kept for itself), while it NEEDED only 60 million tons. So, India had enough rice to meet the first Millennium Development Goal. In contrast, the Philippines did NOT have enough rice, and the hoarding of rice (by other countries) made things more difficult for the Philippines.

So, in this way, India had an advantage that the Philippines did not have.

Does that help?

Cheers,
Brent

But it is not mentioned in the passage that Philippines wanting rice is a millennium development goal they need to meet.
greenlight-admin's picture

The first paragraph tells us that all 193 member states of the UN signed on to the Millennium Development Goals. One of those goals is to eradicate extreme hunger. Since India has a lot more rice than the Philippines has, it has an advantage over the Philippines with regard to eradicating extreme hunger.

So, it's not so much about the Philippines needing rice in particular; it's more about the Philippines needing food in general.

Does that help?

Regarding question number 5 from the passage, it is nowhere specifically mentioned in the passage that India is at an advantage over Philippines(even though we can infer that). So why are we assuming answer option C is correct?
greenlight-admin's picture

Be careful not to read too much into answer choice C.
(C) India has at least ONE advantage towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals that the Philippines does not.
So, if we can show that India has ONE advantage that the Philippines does not, then answer choice C is correct.

Eradicating hunger is one of the Millennium Development Goals.
India grows more rice than it needs.
The Philippines does not grow more rice than it needs.
As such, India has at least ONE advantage towards reaching the Millennium Development Goal of eradicating hunger.

Does that help?

Hi Brent,

I have two doubts here:

I) Q6- Option E : says"several specific reasons"
My understanding was there are two reasons mentioned in Paragraph 2: UN's "one size fits all" and "member states principal concern for their own citizens". However, if this answer is compared to option A, then option A makes more sense.
ii) Also, to support option A: I thought that the general statements are , again, the ones mentioned in para 2 ( UN's "one size fits all" and "member states principal concern for their own citizens") but not the ones which you got from para 3. I understood them as hypothetical scenarios( starting with "if..."). How to differentiate between a hypothetical scenario and a general statement?

Thanks!
greenlight-admin's picture

(E) Information about a beneficial, international initiative is given, and several specific reasons are given for why that initiative has not yet been successful.

i) The initiative here is the "8 Millennium Development Goals," and this initiative has not been successful due to "the INCONSISTENCY between the UN's insistence on a "one size fits all" approach and the member states' principal concern for their own citizens."
So, this INCONSISTENCY presents one reason why the initiative has not yet been successful. Since there are no other reasons presented, we can eliminate answer choice E.

I'd also suggest that the BIGGER idea here is that "no good idea goes unpunished" and the unfortunate outcomes of the 8 Millennium Development Goals just one such example of that.

(A) Two general statements in support of an idea are given, and then a specific example that incorporates information from the general examples is offered.

ii) As I discuss above, the part about the INCONSISTENCIES is 1 point (not 2). More importantly, the part about the inconsistencies specifically explains why the EXECUTION of the UN's goals has been problematic. So, I wouldn't say the part about the INCONSISTENCIES can be classified as a "general" statement.

The bigger (more general) idea to be supported is that no good deed goes unpunished (in the field of international development), and the two highlighted portions (at 6:53 in the video) are two general statements in support of this idea.

Does that help?

Hi Brent, could you help clarify Question 2 in this RC. Why is not C or D but B the correct answer? Thanks Brent

https://gre.myprepclub.com/forum/it-is-no-revelation-that-people-prefer-immediate-rewards-what-is-less-31080.html

The passage suggests which of the following about the traits of indolence and apathy?

(A) They are predicated on one’s material success.
(B) They may be regarded as the effects of a tendency toward extreme discounting.
(C) They may be manifested in present-bias.
(D) They may seem innocuous, but they have serious ramifications.
(E) They are the cause of one’s ability to identify and suppress hedonistic impulses.
greenlight-admin's picture

Question link: https://gre.myprepclub.com/forum/it-is-no-revelation-that-people-prefer-...

It looks like Domenico (the moderator at GRE Prep Club) provided the official solution here: https://gre.myprepclub.com/forum/it-is-no-revelation-that-people-prefer-...

See what you think.

Thanks Brent. I've seem that but still not understand it totally. Therefore could you kindly explain it your way please? Much appreciated Brent.
greenlight-admin's picture

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