According to the author, scholars would err i… | GMAT Sprint

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RC · Reading Comprehension

sub-505

Short Passage - Science

Reading Passage

Scholars often fail to see that music played an important role in the preservation of African culture in the United States. They correctly note that slavery stripped some cultural elements from Black people—their political and economic systems—but they underestimate the significance of music in sustaining other African cultural values. African music, unlike the music of some other cultures, was based on a total vision of life in which music was not an isolated social domain. In African culture music was pervasive, serving not only religion, but all phases of life, including birth, death, work, and play. The methods that a community devises to perpetuate itself come into being to preserve aspects of the cultural legacy that that community perceives as essential. Music, like art in general, was so inextricably a part of African culture that it became a crucial means of preserving the culture during and after the dislocations of slavery.

According to the author, scholars would err in drawing which of the following conclusions?

I. Slavery stripped the slaves of their political and economic systems.
II. African music was similar to all other traditions of music in that it originated in a total vision of life.
III. Music was a crucial part of the African cultural legacy.

Answer Choices

Correct answer marked below

I only

II only

Correct

I and II only

II and III only

I, II, and III

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What this question tests

What it tests

Your ability to understand a passage, its structure, and what the author is really saying. At the sub-505 level, accuracy and speed both matter.

Common trap

Answering from memory or outside knowledge instead of strictly from the passage.