Read the passage given below and then answer the questions given below the…
2026
Read the passage given below and then answer the questions given below the passage. Some words may be highlighted for your attention. Pay careful attention.
The history of the Mona Lisa is shrouded in mystery. Among the aspects which remain unclear is the exact identity of the sitter, who commissioned the portrait, how long Leonardo worked on the painting, how long he kept it, and how it came to be in the French royal collection. The portrait may have been painted to mark one of two events - either when Francesco Del Giocondo and his wife bought their own house in 1503, or when their second son, Andrea, was born in December 1502 after the death of a daughter in 1499. The delicate dark veil that covers Mona Lisa's hair is sometimes considered a mourning veil. In fact, such veils were commonly worn as a mark of virtue. Her clothing is unremarkable. Neither the yellow sleeves of her gown, nor her pleated gown, nor the scarf delicately draped round her shoulders are signs of aristocratic status. The Mona Lisa's famous smile represents the sitter. It is a visual representation of the idea of happiness suggested by the word "gioconda" in Italian. Leonardo made this notion of happiness the central motif of the portrait: it is this notion which makes the work such an ideal. The nature of the landscape also plays a role. The middle distance, on the same level as the sitter's chest, is in warm colors. Men live in this space: there is a winding road and a bridge. This space represents the transition between the space of the sitter and the far distance, where the landscape becomes a wild and uninhabited space of rocks and water which stretches to the horizon, which Leonardo has cleverly drawn at the level of the sitter's eyes.
What is the general tone of the author?
- A.
Cynical
- B.
Euphemistic
- C.
Reverent
- D.
Critical
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Tone (or attitude) questions ask what feeling the author reveals toward the subject through word choice, not through any explicit statement of opinion. Four tones are tested here: a reverent tone shows respect or admiration; a cynical tone shows distrust or mockery of sincerity; a euphemistic tone replaces something harsh or unpleasant with a milder substitute; and a critical tone points out faults or shortcomings.
Applying this to the passage: the author calls the sitter's smile "famous", treats the happiness it conveys as "the central motif" that "makes the work such an ideal", and praises how the far landscape is "cleverly drawn" at the level of the sitter's eyes. Every detail, the veil, the plain clothing, the layered landscape, is presented as meaningful and skilfully composed. This consistent language of respect and admiration for the artist's craft is what a reverent tone looks like.
Cynical would require doubt or mockery of the painting's or artist's sincerity. The open questions about its history (a 1503 house purchase or a 1502 birth) are raised as genuine scholarly uncertainty, not as sarcasm or suspicion.
Euphemistic would require an unpleasant fact being softened into a milder term. Descriptions such as the "delicate dark veil" or the "yellow sleeves" are direct and literal, not disguised substitutes for something harsher.
Critical would require pointing out a flaw or shortcoming. No detail in the passage, the veil, the clothing, the landscape, is ever framed as a weakness; each is framed as deliberate and meaningful.
Since the language throughout is one of respect and admiration for the painting's artistry, the tone is reverent.