Q18

[perng.yan]

p.18 "it can be inferred fromt he passage that the author's explanatin in line 50-54 would be most weakened if which one of the following were true?"

I could tell that this answer would need to point out something along the lines of
a) the audience of that time applauding after each section, or
b) musicians not forced into extra brilliance int he finale in order to generate applause....

both (C) and (D) talk about that.

Why is (D) more correct than (C)? Because (D) says that they STILL applaud after each section, though routinely, but they witheld their most enthusiastic appluase until the final movement, but still they would applaud ENTHUSIASTICALLY... so it is still a different situation than contemporary times, thus not weaking his explanation.

Thanks again.

[giladedelman]

The author's argument in lines 50-54 is that modern performances tend to slow down the first three movements and speed up the last one (compared to olden times) because musicians feel pressure to save the best for last, basically, in order to generate more enthusiastic applause. The author argues that this was not necessary at the time of the pieces' composition because audiences traditionally applauded after each movement, not just at the end.

(D) would weaken this explanation because if the non-final applause was merely perfunctory, then only the applause at the end of the piece would actually reflect the audience's appreciation of the performance. Therefore, musicians might still have felt pressure to perform the last movement with extra brilliance, in order to generate a more enthusiastic response.

(C) doesn't really affect the explanation either way. The author's point is not that musicians in the past were indifferent to audience reaction, but rather that because the audiences would applaud after each movement, there was no need "go big" for the final movement.

Does that answer your question?

[perng.yan]

oooh.. i see!!.. thanks again! seems strikingly simple again when you explain it.. haha...