Reading Comprehension

Please put in reasons for your answers ....


Many political theorists were taken aback by the 1992 "velvet divorce", as it has come to be called, when Czechoslovakia dissolved into The Czech Republic and Slovakia. The theorists had considered Czechoslovakia to be one of the biggest success stories of Eastern Europe both politically and economically. Unfortunately, the longstanding rift between the Czech and Slovak people proved stronger than the Czechoslovak political and economic structure. Although Czechs and Slovaks may have shared cultural and linguistic roots, they did not share a common conception of nationhood. Ultimately, the "divorce" may have been inevitable.

Some argue that Czechoslovakia was conceived artificially as an experiment in creating an Eastern European nation based on the principles of parliamentary democracy. The intrepid founders of Czechoslovakia therefore attempted to unite the multi-ethnic region by engendering loyalty not to a common history, but to a conjoint government. Disparate nationalities attempted to merge themselves into a contrived identity on the basis of this union, and what resulted was a political and economic tug of war.

In 1919, when Czechoslovakia was founded, both Czech and Slovakia had been occupied by larger empires, which largely subverted Czech and Slovak cultures. Since both lands were too small and lacking in resources to exist as individual independent states, both Czech and Slovak nationalists viewed the Czechoslovak union as a way to maintain self-determination in the tumultuous Post-war political and economic climate of Eastern Europe.

Ironically, the very reasons why Czechoslovakia was formed may ultimately have led to its dissolution. The nationalist movements that initially supported the formation of Czechoslovakia soon turned against the concept of a conjoined state, demanding complete self-determination. The economic, religious, and cultural discrepancies between Czechs and Slovaks produced discontent, particularly among Slovaks, with the structure of the new state. Therefore, the successful creation of a unified Czechoslovak national consciousness that could have held the country together was never fully realized.

The passage supports which of the following statements about nationalist movements in Czechoslovakia?

(A) After the velvet divorce, Czech and Slovak nationalists ceased to be concerned with self-determination.
(B) Slovak nationalists were more critical of the economic discrepancies than Czech nationalists.
(C) In the late twentieth century, neither Czech nor Slovak nationalists supported the Czechoslovak state.
(D) Czech nationalists did not play as instrumental a role in the velvet divorce as Slovak nationalists did.
(E) Unlike Slovak nationalists, Czech nationalists were not significantly affected by the economic discrepancies.

The answer lies in the last paragraph - it says

"The nationalist movements that initially supported the formation of Czechoslovakia soon turned against the concept of a conjoined state, demanding complete self-determination. The economic, religious, and cultural discrepancies between Czechs and Slovaks produced discontent, particularly among Slovaks, with the structure of the new state. "

A. No - we don't know what they thought after the velvet divorce, this isn't the subject of the article.
B. Yes - because is said that econmic and religious discrepancies caused trouble for each - particularly the Slovaks - which means it affected teh Slovak more than the Czech.

C. We know that they originally supported the becuase it said so - but that was in 1919 - not in the late 20th century.

D. Didn't talk about the different instrumental roles

E. NO it says they were both discontented with the discrepancies.

tpr-becky wrote:The answer lies in the last paragraph - it says

"The nationalist movements that initially supported the formation of Czechoslovakia soon turned against the concept of a conjoined state, demanding complete self-determination. The economic, religious, and cultural discrepancies between Czechs and Slovaks produced discontent, particularly among Slovaks, with the structure of the new state. "

A. No - we don't know what they thought after the velvet divorce, this isn't the subject of the article.
B. Yes - because is said that econmic and religious discrepancies caused trouble for each - particularly the Slovaks - which means it affected teh Slovak more than the Czech.

C. We know that they originally supported the becuase it said so - but that was in 1919 - not in the late 20th century.

D. Didn't talk about the different instrumental roles

E. NO it says they were both discontented with the discrepancies.

I too selected B ..However according to Knewton OA is C.
The explanation goes as follows.
We're asked to identify what the passage tells us about nationalist movements in Czechoslovakia.

These movements are discussed in the final paragraph, which states "nationalist movements that initially supported the formation of Czechoslovakia soon turned against the concept of a conjoined state, demanding complete self determination." In other words, the nationalist movements at first supported the unified state but no longer do.

Choice A states that after the velvet divorce, nationalists no longer cared about self determination. The passage does not say anything about nationalist movements after the velvet divorce.

Choice B says that Slovak nationalists were more critical of the economy than Czech nationalists. The passage does not compare Czech and Slovak nationalists. Likewise, choices D and E also compare Czech and Slovak nationalists.

This leaves choice C, which states that in the twentieth century, nationalists no longer supported a Czechoslovak state. This matches the information in the passage. Choice C is correct.


I somehow dont agree with the answer and the explanation hence I put the question for discussion.

I think the answer has to be C

A - they became independent since they wanted self-determination. It seems a little too presumptuous to say that they wouldn't be concerned about it after independence. Moreover, the passage doesn't really touch on this point at all so this choice can be eliminated.

B - Doesn't say this anywhere.
The only thing mentioned is "The economic, religious, and cultural discrepancies between Czechs and Slovaks produced discontent, particularly among Slovaks, with the structure of the new state." "particularly among Slovaks part" is a little flimsy to base an answer choice on, more so since the whole tone of the passage suggests that both Czech & Slovaks had been having problems with a unified Czechoslovakia

C - This sounds right. In early 20th century, both Czechs & Slovaks favoured a unified nation as a means of gaining self-determination; however, towards the later half rifts began appearing which culminated in the 1992 velvet divorce.

D - Again, the passage doesn't say anything about this. If anything, the overall passage suggests that both Czechs & Slovaks were dissatisfied with a unified nation.

E - Again, the passage doesn't mention this anywhere.

Moreover, if we look at "The economic, religious, and cultural discrepancies between Czechs and Slovaks produced discontent, particularly among Slovaks, with the structure of the new state." as a basis for choosing answer, then B, D & E all 3 potentially qualify for correct answers.