The immigration of Europeans (tough RC passage)

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The immigration of Europeans and the importation of West African slaves to America resulted in a convergence of cultures, traditions, and art forms, including music. Jazz, first played in New Orleans in the early 1900s, borrowed heavily from the European musical scale and harmonic system. Jazz ensembles were built predominantly on European instruments, such as the trumpet, trombone, saxophone, and piano. The West African influence on jazz was manifested primarily in its performance. Scatting, a technique used by jazz vocalists to mimic the sounds of instruments, had its origin in West African vocal traditions. The emphasis on improvisation in jazz music, in addition to group participation, also came from West African music.

Some musicologists argue that jazz is a purely American form of music. Others, however, contend that jazz is rooted in a history similar to that of America itself, a history of confluence. Proponents of the argument that jazz is purely American often point to its genesis in New Orleans as evidence for this perspective. The irony, however, is that the essence of America lies in the plurality of its roots. To deny the rich and complex history of jazz, and the true origins of the art form, is to deny the very aspects of the art form that make it undeniably American.

The author of the passage would most likely agree with which of the following statements?

a. Although American football was derived from the English sports of soccer and rugby, it should be called a purely American sport because it was first played in America.
b. Because American football was derived from the English sports of soccer and rugby, it should not be called an American sport.
c. Most sports scholars deny the English origins of American football.
d. What makes American football American is its derivation from the English sports of soccer and rugby.
e. Because the essence of America lies in the plurality of its roots, American football should not be called an American sport.

Which of the following elements of jazz most likely has its origin in West African musical traditions?

a. the emphasis on a tonal harmonic structure
b. the use of an instrument to mimic a vocalist's sound
c. the use of traditional African instruments
d. the use of many instruments in a jazz ensemble
e. an impromptu call-and-response between two instruments in the ensemble

The primary purpose of the passage is to

a. demonstrate how new art forms evolve
b. describe a medium's diverse cultural genesis and a relevant paradox
c. argue that a new art form has its origins in the geographic location where it developed
d. describe the impact of African culture on an American art form
e. claim that one culture had a greater impact than another on the evolution of a new art form

Please help me with the passage. This for me is a tough passage (plus I am not a music person) so it would be great if some expert can explain it in easy words / justify the answers because even after looking at the answers I am unable to justify why is correct answer correct. Thanks
Source: — Reading Comprehension |

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by lunarpower » Mon Aug 05, 2013 3:04 am
i received a private message about this thread.

melguy -- "please explain this whole passage and all these questions" is not a fair request. please give (and ask) specifics:
what did you understand?
what didn't you understand?

for the questions --
which answer choices were you deliberating between?
which were you able to eliminate?
what did you like about the ones you didn't eliminate?
if you accidentally eliminated the correct answer, why did you think it was wrong?

etc.

--

i noticed that these are MGMAT CAT questions.
our CAT exams have extensive answer keys, so, in response to a question like this, I'd suggest looking through those answer keys first. (if i took the time to write out a complete response to all of this, i would essentially just write something that's the same as the already existing answer key. that wouldn't be a very good idea.)

once you've read the answer keys -- if there are things that you still don't understand, then come back and ask about them. thanks.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by hemant_rajput » Mon Aug 05, 2013 6:16 am
IMO

D
A
C

I'm very doubtful about 2nd one.
I'm no expert, just trying to work on my skills. If I've made any mistakes please bear with me.

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by faraz_jeddah » Tue Aug 06, 2013 5:55 am
I would go with

1 - D (This can be inferred from the last line of the passage)
2 - E (impromptu is another word for participation - last line of 1st para)
3 - B

Can you please post OA?

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by justharsha » Tue Aug 06, 2013 4:14 pm
1. D
2. E
3. B