Read the passage and answer the questions that follow on the basis of the…
2023
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.
The author feels sad about the later part of his life because
- A.
The world had not become prosperous.
- B.
He was nostalgic about his childhood.
- C.
The world was painfully disturbed during that period of time.
- D.
The author had not won any further victories.
Attempted by 2 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Answer: The world was painfully disturbed during that period of time.
Explanation: The author states, "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," which shows he believes the world was becoming worse and disturbed rather than improving.
Victorian optimism expected steady improvement in freedom and prosperity, but the author says those expectations were overturned by later, worsening events.
The phrase 'painful epochs' and 'the world is getting worse' directly support the selected answer.
Other choices are incorrect because they either focus on personal nostalgia or personal victories, whereas the passage discusses broad historical decline.