Passage 4c: G. K. Chesterton, A Defence of Baby-Worship
The sentence "As we walk the streets and see below us those delightful bulbous heads, three times too big for the body, which mark these human mushrooms, we ought always primarily to remember that within every one of these heads there is a new universe, as new as it was on the seventh day of creation" uses the rhetorical technique of: (A) allusion (B) analogy (C) paradox (D) anaphora (E) antithesis
(A) allusion Explanation: The allusion in the sentence is to the Bible's story of creation in Genesis. The phrase "the seventh day of creation" would provide an allusion, or indirect reference, to those who are familiar with Genesis.
The primary purpose of the passage is to: (A) defend the worship of babies (B) apologize for the worship of babies (C) persuade people to worship babies (D) explain why people worship babies (E) dissuade people from worshipping babies
(A) defend the worship of babies Explanation: Although he does explain why people worship babies, the writer's primary purpose in the passage is to defend the practice of worshipping babies. He explains why it happens and why it makes perfect sense. His goal is not to persuade people to worship babies, although that may be a side effect. The primary purpose is to defend baby-worship.
Which of the following merely contributes to the reasons we worship babies, and is not worthy of worship as an isolated characteristic? (A) they are very serious (B) they are very happy (C) in them, everything is new (D) they help us treat simple actions as marvelous (E) they are capable of appreciating everything
(A) they are very serious Explanation: The fact that babies are serious is stated as a fact as to why we are drawn to them in the first sentence, but their seriousness is not alone in why we worship them. Th e rest of the sentence makes it clear that their seriousness is a cause of their happiness, which is a reason to worship them. They are completely happy because of their seriousness and that is worthy of worship.
The sentence "We do (even when we are perfectly simple or ignorant)—we do actually treat talking in children as marvelous, walking in children as marvelous, common intelligence in children as marvelous," uses the rhetorical technique of: (A) paradox (B) epistrophe (C) anaphora (D) allusion (E) polysyndeton
(B) epistrophe Explanation: The repetition of "marvelous" makes this sentence use epistrophe, meaning the repetition of a word or a group of words at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences.
The sentence "The cynical philosopher fancies he has a victory in this matter—that he can laugh when he shows that the words or antics of the child, so much admired by its worshippers, are common enough" serves as: (A) example (B) expert testimony (C) counterargument (D) anecdote (E) qualifi cation
(C) counterargument Explanation: The sentence provides counterargument in that some (the cynical philosopher) would say that what babies do is common and not worthy of worship. The writer goes onto argue why that counterargument is incorrect.
The sentence "They are jolly with the completeness which is possible only in the absence of humour" uses the rhetorical technique of: (A) allusion (B) analogy (C) paradox (D) anaphora (E) antithesis
(C) paradox Explanation: The claim that jolliness in babies is a result of their humorlessness is a paradox in that one would expect jolliness to be a result of humor, but according to the writer, the truth is that their seriousness contributes to their happiness.
The last line of the first paragraph, "In each of those orbs there is a new system of stars, new grass, new cities, a new sea," underlines the wonder of the baby's astonishment with the use of: I. anaphora II. asyndeton III. allusion (A) I (B) II (C) III (D) I and II (E) I, II, and III
(D) I and II The sentence provided uses both anaphora (by repeating "new" at the beginning of the successive phrases) and asyndeton (by not having any conjunctions) to show the wonder of the newness of the universe in a baby's perspective.
In context, the word "custom" in line 17 most nearly means: (A) a practice followed by a particular group of people (B) a ritual performed at certain times (C) a habitual practice (D) a routine done with monotony (E) an inherited tradition
(D) a routine done with monotony Explanation: The sentence claims that we believe that if we could destroy custom and see the stars as a child seems them, it would be revolutionary. In this sense, "custom" is used as a routine that we follow without thinking about it, and the context that if we could destroy that monotonous routine we would see the world anew makes that particular meaning clear.
The sentence "But the influence of children goes further than its fist trifling effort of remaking heaven and earth" uses the rhetorical technique of: (A) paradox (B) allusion (C) antithesis (D) analogy (E) irony
(E) irony Explanation:The sentence uses irony in its use of "trifling." "Trifling" means lacking in significance or worth, and so the writer's modifying the "effort of remaking heaven and earth" is verbally ironic in that this effort is the opposite of meaningless and insignificant.
The tone of the passage can best be described as: (A) irreverent and sarcastic (B) moralistic and restrained (C) sentimental and poignant (D) contentious and irate (E) thoughtful and jocular
(E) thoughtful and jocular Explanation: The tone is jocular and thoughtful in that the writer is playful with his use of description of babies as "human mushrooms" and his ironic use of "trifling." But besides being playful and joking, the writer is thoughtful in that he is musing big concepts throughout the passage, such as creation, apocalypse, maturity, appreciation, and so on.