Question

Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.
Here are a couple of generalizations about England that would be accepted by almost all observers. One is that the English are not gifted artistically. They are not as musical as the Germans or Italians. Painting and sculpture have never flourished in England as they have in France. Another is that as Europeans go, the English are not intellectual. They have a horror of abstract thought; they feel no need for any philosophy or systematic 'world-view'. Nor is this because they are 'practical', as they are so fond of claiming for themselves. One has only to look at their methods of town planning and water supply. Their obstinate clinging to everything that is out of date and a nuisance, a selling system that defies analysis and a system of weights and measures that is intelligible only to the compiler of arithmetic books, to see how little they care about mere efficiency. But they have a certain power of acting without taking thought. Their word-famed hypocrisy - their double-faced attitude towards the Empire, for instance - is bound up with this. Also, in moments of supreme crisis, the whole nation can suddenly draw together and act upon a species of instinct, really a code of conduct which is understood by almost everyone, though never formulated.

The English are not 'gifted artistically' meaning ___________.
A) Art is not a gift with them
B) Not blessed with art
C) Possess no power to create art
D) Do not buy art

Answer 1

Hint: This question is about passages and the comprehension of the passages. Comprehension simply refers to the explanation of the meaning one gets from reading the passage. It also refers to the understanding of the context of the given passage. While working with passages and their comprehension, always focus on the main theme of the passage. This will give you insights and will help you answer the questions. Also, focus on the literary aspects of the text and be mindful of the important information you can get out of the passage.

Complete answer:
The question is asking about the author’s views on the Englishmen with regards to their artistic capabilities. According to the author, Englishmen are not particularly gifted with creativity, imagination and passion, yet they show an amazing type of solidarity when some situation demands. Reading the passage gives a clear idea about these views of the author. Keeping that in mind, the answer of the given question can be reached as followed:
Option (A)- Art is not a gift with them- is incorrect as it can make some sense with respect to the passage but is lacking the proper supportive element from the provided text.
Option (B)- Not blessed with art- is incorrect because there is no proper evidence in passage for destiny to play any role in the lack of creativity of the Englishmen.
Option (C)- Possess no power to create art- is correct as it clearly is mentioned in the passage that the Englishmen can neither be musical like Germans or Italians, nor intellectuals like other Europeans.
Option (D)- Do not buy art- is incorrect as this option has nothing to do with being creative or musical or artistic.

Therefore the correct answer is option ‘C’.

Note: While working with passages, the following tips can be helpful.
- Always keep track of the central idea of the text. This will help you to keep in mind what’s important and what’s not.
- Focus on the literary aspects as well as the chain of thought going on in the passage, this will help you to reach a proper conclusion of the given passage.
- Instead of focusing on everything mentioned in the passage, always try to grasp the meaning of the passage, i.e., what the author is trying to convey in order to work these types of questions.