Free Practice Question
RC · Reading Comprehension
605-655
Short Passage - Social Science
Reading Passage
The coffeehouse was central to the dissemination of ideas in eighteenth-century England. In his classic work The History of England, Thomas Macaulay asserts that the coffeehouse was "not improperly called a most important political institution." Even the great late seventeenth-century diarist Samuel Pepys makes frequent reference to the London coffeehouse that was virtually his office space—the place where he sometimes made critical business transactions as the head of naval procurement for the Crown. It was not just the taste of the coffee being served or the jolt of caffeine it provided that attracted England's politicians and businesspeople to the coffeehouses day after day. Newsletters were distributed in the coffeehouses, and runners would make rounds with breaking news; the shops served as nerve centers of information in an ad hoc communication network. Many of the coffeehouses became devoted to particular trades, political parties, or impassioned cultural debates, although all were essentially democratic institutions; any decently dressed man with a penny was admitted. The result was a robust exchange of knowledge and ideas that has been credited by certain scholars with fueling the cultural and political explosion of Enlightenment.
Which of the following CANNOT be inferred from the passage?
Answer Choices
Correct answer marked belowA
Coffeehouses in 18th-century London could be scenes of fervent verbal disagreement.
Samuel Pepys maintained no formal office space in which to conduct his business.
Correct
C
A major historical development in Europe is believed by some scholars to have been fostered by what transpired in the coffeehouses.
D
The author believes that Macaulay's History of England is a credible source of information about social mores in 18th-century London.
E
The role of news runners was integral to the functioning of 18th-century English coffeehouses as hubs of information.
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What it tests
Your ability to understand a passage, its structure, and what the author is really saying. At the 605-655 level, accuracy and speed both matter.
Common trap
Answering from memory or outside knowledge instead of strictly from the passage.
Details
Difficulty
605-655
Type
RC
Category