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NOTE: This essay is used in 800score GMAT Verbal 5. Do not read this essay if you intend to take all 5 verbal tests. |
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Rupert Brooke is dead. A telegram from the Admiral at Lemnos tells us that this life has closed at the moment when it seemed to have reached its springtime. A voice had become audible, a note had been struck, more true, more thrilling, more able to do justice to the nobility of our youth in arms engaged in this present war, than any other more able to express their thoughts of self-surrender, and with a power to carry comfort to those who watch them so intently from afar. The voice has been swiftly stilled. Only the echoes and the memory remain; but they will linger.
During the last few months of his life, months of preparation in gallant comradeship and open air, the poet-soldier told with all the simple force of genius the sorrow of youth about to die, and the sure triumphant consolations of a sincere and valiant spirit. He expected to die: he was willing to die for the dear England whose beauty and majesty he knew: and he advanced towards the brink in perfect serenity, with absolute conviction of the rightness of his country's cause and a heart devoid of hate for fellow-men.
The thoughts to which he gave expression in the very few incomparable war sonnets which he has left behind will be shared by many thousands of young men moving resolutely and blithely forward in this, the hardest, the cruelest, and the least-rewarded of all the wars that men have fought. They are a whole history and revelation of Rupert Brooke himself. Joyous, fearless, versatile, deeply instructed, with classic symmetry of mind and body, ruled by high undoubting purpose, he was all that one would wish England's noblest sons to be in the days when no sacrifice but the most precious is acceptable, and the most precious is that which is most freely proffered.
1. According to the passage, Rupert Brooke was:
I. a writer
II. a soldier
III. a scientist
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) I and II
(D) I and III
(E) I, II, and III
2. What does the author mean by "this life has closed at the moment when it seemed to have reached its springtime."
(A) Brooke's life ended when he began to reach his artistic prime.
(B) Brooke suddenly died just as he was becoming a great solider.
(C) Brooke spoke for many young English men during wartime.
(D) Brooke had learned very much by the time he died.
(E) Brooke died in springtime before he could see the war end.
.
3. What is the author referring to when he says "no sacrifice but the most precious" in the last sentence?
(A) creativity
(B) guidance
(C) human life
(D) service
(E) comfort
4. We can infer from the passage that Rupert Brooke was:
(A) scholarly
(B) patriotic
(C) formal
(D) wealthy
(E) depressed
5. The tone of this passage is:
(A) sympathetic
(B) disappointed
(C) apathetic
(D) morbid
(E) lamenting
Answer Explanations:
1. According to the passage, Rupert Brooke was:
I. a writer
II. a soldier
III. a scientist
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) I and II
(D) I and III
(E) I, II, and III
Type: Detail of the passage
(C) The first sentence of the second paragraph calls Brooke "the poet-soldier" so I and II are correct. The passage never refers to Brooke as a scientist. (200)
2. What does the author mean by "this life has closed at the moment when it seemed to have reached its springtime."
(A) Brooke's life ended when he began to reach his artistic prime.
(B) Brooke suddenly died just as he was becoming a great solider.
(C) Brooke spoke for many young English men during wartime.
(D) Brooke had learned very much by the time he died.
(E) Brooke died in springtime before he could see the war end.
Type: Definition of a word of phrase
(A) The author is talking about how Brooke died just as he was writing his best poetry. "springtime" refers to a time of growth, in this case, Brooke's growth as a writer during the war. Therefore (A) is correct. (B) incorrectly refers to his ability to fight, while (C) makes a statement, that while true, does not answer the question. (D) is not discussed in the passage and (E) is too literal. (400)
3. What is the author referring to when he says "no sacrifice but the most precious" in the last sentence?
(A) creativity
(B) guidance
(C) human life
(D) service
(E) comfort
Type: Definition of a word of phrase
(C) Human life is the most precious, or significant, sacrifice one can make. The author shows Brooke to be a noble English man, because he volunteers to make this sacrifice. (A), (B), (D), and (E) can all be sacrifices, but in the case of Brooke, he gave up his life to the war effort. (400)
4. We can infer from the passage that Rupert Brooke was:
(A) scholarly
(B) patriotic
(C) formal
(D) wealthy
(E) depressed
Type: Inference
(B) The author says that Brooke "was willing to die for the dear England whose beauty and majesty he knew: and he advanced towards the brink in perfect serenity, with absolute conviction of the rightness of his country's cause and a heart devoid of hate for fellow-men," proving that Brooke was a patriotic person. There is no mention of him being specifically (A) scholarly, (C) formal, (D) wealthy, or (E) depressed. (500)
5. The tone of this passage is:
(A) sympathetic
(B) disappointed
(C) apathetic
(D) morbid
(E) lamenting
Type: Tone
(E) The passage celebrates Brooke's life, but the author is distinctly somber. Phrases like "only the echoes and the memory remain" exhibit this sentiment. The author mourns Brooke's death along with the death of soldiers Brooke wrote about: "the poet-soldier told with all the simple force of genius the sorrow of youth about to die, and the sure triumphant consolations of a sincere and valiant spirit." The author is (E) lamenting in tone. (To lament is to express grief or sorrow.) The author is a bit sympathetic to soldiers for their sacrifice, but it is not the overall tone of the passage. Thus (A) is incorrect. The author is not disappointed; he is proud of Brooke's accomplishments, so (B) is incorrect as well. Apathetic means showing no care or concern. Clearly the author cares about Brooke and his death, so (C) is incorrect. Though the passage discusses death, it is not morbid; that is too extreme of a choice, so (E) is incorrect. (700)
This passage is appeared in The Times on Monday, April 26, 1915, Winston Churchill
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