Questions 27-31
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 27-31
on your answer sheet.
27. Which describes “semantic habits” as per the passage?
28. Which best describes someone with semantic habits which are different from others?
29. Defining words by using more and more words could be called…
30. What does the writer intend to show by referring to Louis Armstrong?
31. The example of “personnel manager” tells us that...
The answer is D. In the passage, semantic habits are described as our response patterns, which result from a blend of influences, including our upbringing, education, and various experiences. The text says: 'Our response patterns, or our semantic habits are the inward and most critical buildup of whatever long stretches of education or miseducation we may have gotten from our parents’ conduct toward us in adolescence just as their lessons from the formal training we may have had, from every one of the teachings we have tuned into, from the radio programs and films and network shows we have experienced, from every one of the books and papers and funny cartoons we have perused, from the discussions we have had with companions and relatives, and from every one of our experiences.' This means 'semantic habits' refer to the combination of ways we act in response to events, words, and symbols, which matches option (D).
Associated Text:
Our response patterns, or our semantic habits are the inward and most critical buildup of whatever long stretches of education or miseducation we may have gotten from our parents’ conduct toward us in adolescence just as their lessons from the formal training we may have had, from every one of the teachings we have tuned into, from the radio programs and films and network shows we have experienced, from every one of the books and papers and funny cartoons we have perused, from the discussions we have had with companions and relatives, and from every one of our experiences.
The answer is A. In the passage, it says 'If our semantic propensities are recognizably unique in relation to those of others, we are viewed as "individualistic" or "unique."' This shows that people with semantic habits different from most are considered individualistic, which is option (A).
Associated Text:
If our semantic propensities are recognizably unique in relation to those of others, we are viewed as "individualistic" or "unique."
The answer is C. The passage states: 'Defining words with more words, in short, gets us at once into what mathematicians call an “infinite regress”.' This directly matches option (C), describing the process of using words to define other words endlessly.
Associated Text:
Defining words with more words, in short, gets us at once into what mathematicians call an “infinite regress”.
The answer is B. The reference to Louis Armstrong supports the idea that he provides insights into how words are defined. The passage says: 'To a person who asked for a definition of jazz, Louis Armstrong is said to have replied, "Man. when you got to ask what it is, you’ll never get to know,” proving himself to be an intuitive semanticist as well as a great trumpet player.' This shows Armstrong's response illustrates a deeper insight into the challenge of defining meanings, supporting option (B).
Associated Text:
To a person who asked for a definition of jazz, Louis Armstrong is said to have replied, "Man. when you got to ask what it is, you’ll never get to know,” proving himself to be an intuitive semanticist as well as a great trumpet player.
The answer is B. The passage provides the example: 'Here is a personnel manager studying an application. He comes to the words “Education: Harvard University,” and drops the application in the wastebasket (that’s the “operation”) because, as he would say if you asked him, “I don’t like Harvard men.” This is an instance of "meaning” at work, but it is not a meaning that can be found in dictionaries.' This shows that meaning in these situations is personal and cannot always be shared by others, as in option (B).
Associated Text:
This is an instance of "meaning” at work, but it is not a meaning that can be found in dictionaries.
Questions 32-35
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage? In boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement reflects the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
The answer is NO. The passage critiques the notion that dictionaries can define words precisely, stating: 'Semantics is sometimes defined in dictionaries as “the science of the meaning of words”— which would not be a bad definition if people didn’t assume that the search for the meanings of words begins and ends with looking them up in a dictionary. If one stops to think for a moment, it is clear that to define a word, as a dictionary does, is simply to explain the word with more words.' This means the writer does not believe dictionaries can define words precisely.
Associated Text:
If one stops to think for a moment, it is clear that to define a word, as a dictionary does, is simply to explain the word with more words.
The answer is YES. The author discusses statements like “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.” The passage states, 'But if you say, and revolutionists have begun uprisings with this simple statement, "Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains." What operations could you perform to demonstrate its accuracy or inaccuracy?' This suggests that some statements cannot be proved or disproved, supporting YES as the answer.
Associated Text:
But if you say, and revolutionists have begun uprisings with this simple statement, "Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains." What operations could you perform to demonstrate its accuracy or inaccuracy?
The answer is YES. The author writes: 'When we react to a flag, we are not reacting simply to a piece of cloth, but to the meaning with which it has been symbolically endowed. When we react to a word, we are not reacting to a set of sounds, but to the meaning with which that set of sounds has been symbolically endowed.' This shows that both flags and words evoke responses for the same reason—the meanings attached to them.
Associated Text:
When we react to a flag, we are not reacting simply to a piece of cloth, but to the meaning with which it has been symbolically endowed. When we react to a word, we are not reacting to a set of sounds, but to the meaning with which that set of sounds has been symbolically endowed.
The answer is NO. The passage explains, 'If I somehow managed to recount an incredibly disgusting story in Arabic or Hindustani or Swahili before a group of people that understands just English, nobody would become flushed or be irate; the story would be neither stunning nor foul initiated, it would not be a story.' This means that a story in a language not understood by the audience is not meaningful to them.
Associated Text:
If I somehow managed to recount an incredibly disgusting story in Arabic or Hindustani or Swahili before a group of people that understands just English, nobody would become flushed or be irate; the story would be neither stunning nor foul initiated, it would not be a story.
Questions 36-40
Complete each sentence with the correct ending
A-J from the box below.
Write the correct letter
A-J in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
- observing “operations” to find meaning
- using a dictionary to understand the meaning of words
- can be understood only in its social context.
- on the importance of analyzing how words were used
- that the meaning of words (or other symbols) is not in the words themselves
- reflective of the variability of human behaviors.
- suggests that certain types of behaviors carry more meanings than others.
- the meaning of the words lies in our response to them
- is a symbol that has lost its meaning
- fundamental to all other areas of social science
The answer is A. The personnel manager's behavior exemplifies observing “operations” to find meaning. The passage details: 'Here is a personnel manager studying an application. He comes to the words “Education: Harvard University,” and drops the application in the wastebasket (that’s the “operation”) because, as he would say if you asked him, “I don’t like Harvard men.”' This illustrates that meaning is demonstrated through actions, supporting answer (A).
Associated Text:
Here is a personnel manager studying an application. He comes to the words “Education: Harvard University,” and drops the application in the wastebasket (that’s the “operation”) because, as he would say if you asked him, “I don’t like Harvard men.”
The answer is E. The passage says: 'An essential thought when all is said and done in semantics, subsequently, is that the meaning of words (or different symbols) isn't in the words, yet in our very own semantic responses.' This directly matches option (E), stating that the meaning of words is not in the words themselves.
Associated Text:
An essential thought when all is said and done in semantics, subsequently, is that the meaning of words (or different symbols) isn't in the words, yet in our very own semantic responses.
The answer is F. The definition of semantic habits as described in the passage is based on the complex mix of experiences and influences that shape them, reflecting the variability in human behaviors, which aligns with option (F).
Associated Text:
Our response patterns, or our semantic habits are the inward and most critical buildup of whatever long stretches of education or miseducation we may have gotten from our parents’ conduct toward us in adolescence just as their lessons from the formal training we may have had, from every one of the teachings we have tuned into, from the radio programs and films and network shows we have experienced, from every one of the books and papers and funny cartoons we have perused, from the discussions we have had with companions and relatives, and from every one of our experiences.
The answer is C. The passage states: 'the value of a dollar bill isn't in the bill, however in our social consent to acknowledge it as a symbol of value. If that agreement were to break down through the collapse of our government, the dollar bill would turn out to be just a piece of paper. We don't comprehend a dollar bill by gazing at it long and hard. We comprehend it by seeing how individuals act with respect to it. We comprehend it by understanding the social instruments and the loyalties that keep it significant.' This shows that the dollar’s meaning and value exist only within its social context, supporting answer (C).
Associated Text:
the value of a dollar bill isn't in the bill, however in our social consent to acknowledge it as a symbol of value. If that agreement were to break down through the collapse of our government, the dollar bill would turn out to be just a piece of paper.
The answer is D. Regarding Bridgman, the passage says: 'The true meaning of a term is to be found by seeing what a man does with it, not by what he says about it. He made a tremendous commitment to science by demonstrating that the significance of a scientific term lies in the operations, the things done, that establish its validity, rather than in verbal definitions.' This highlights the importance of analyzing how words were used, supporting answer (D).
Associated Text:
The true meaning of a term is to be found by seeing what a man does with it, not by what he says about it. He made a tremendous commitment to science by demonstrating that the significance of a scientific term lies in the operations, the things done, that establish its validity, rather than in verbal definitions.
