Read the passage and answer the questions that follow on the basis of the…
2025
Read the passage and answer the questions that follow on the basis of the information provided in the passage.
The last half of my life has been lived in one of those painful epochs of human history during which the world is getting worse, and past victories which had seemed to be definitive have turned out to be only temporary. When I was young, Victorian optimism was taken for granted. It was thought that freedom and prosperity would speed gradually throughout the world by an orderly process, and it was hoped that cruelty, tyranny, and injustice would continually diminish. Hardly anyone was haunted by the fear of great wars. Hardly anyone thought of the nineteenth century as a brief interlude between past and future barbarism.
During the Victorian age people believed that
- A.
there would be unlimited freedom.
- B.
strife would increase.
- C.
peace would prevail and happiness would engulf the whole world.
- D.
wars would be fought on a bigger scale.
Attempted by 15 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Answer: "peace would prevail and happiness would engulf the whole world."
Explanation: The passage explains that during the Victorian age people believed that freedom and prosperity would spread gradually throughout the world and that cruelty, tyranny, and injustice would continually diminish. Those expectations imply a belief that peace and general happiness would increase globally, so the statement that peace would prevail and happiness would engulf the whole world best matches the passage.
Key supporting phrases: the passage says freedom and prosperity would spread gradually and cruelty, tyranny, and injustice would continually diminish.
Why this choice fits: those expectations point to increasing peace and happiness worldwide.
Why the other choices are incorrect:
• The idea of "unlimited freedom" overstates the passage; it describes a gradual spread of freedom, not an infinite or absolute freedom.
• The suggestion that strife would increase contradicts the passage's statement that cruelty, tyranny, and injustice would continually diminish.
• The claim that wars would be fought on a bigger scale conflicts with the passage's remark that hardly anyone feared great wars.