Comprehension


Direction: In the following questions, you have two brief passages with 5 questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
PASSAGE
A crucial element that defines the soap opera is the open-ended nature of the narrative, with stories spanning several episodes. One of the defining features that makes a television program a soap opera, according to Albert Moran is “that form of television that works with a continuous open narrative. Each episode ends with a promise that the storyline is to be continued in another episode.” In 2012, Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times wrote of daily dramas, “Although melodramatically eventful, soap operas such as this also have a luxury of space that makes them seem more naturalistic, indeed, the economics of the form demand long scenes, and conversations that a 22episodes-per-season weekly series might dispense with in half a dozen lines of dialogue may be drawn out, as here, for pages. You spend more time even with the minor characters, the apparent villains grow less apparently villainous.” Soap opera storylines run concurrently, intersect and lead into further developments. An individual episode of a soap opera will generally switch between several different concurrent narrative threads that may at times interconnect and effect one another or may run entirely independent of each other. Evening soap operas and serials that run for only a part of the year tend to bring things to a dramatic end of season cliffhanger.
SOME IMPORTANT WORDS
(1) spanning (V.) : to last all through a period of time or to cover the whole of it
(2) defining (Adj.) : decisive ; critically important
(3) melodramatically (Adv.) : in a way that is full of exciting and exteme emotions or events
(4) apparent (Adj.) : that seems to be real/true but may not be
(5) concurrently (Adv.) : at the same time
(6) cliff hanger (N.) : a situation in a story, film/movie, competition, etc. that is very exciting because you cannot guess what will happen next, or you do not find out immediately what happens next

  1. Soap operas that run for a part of the year usually end in









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    a cliffhanger

    Correct Option: C

    a cliffhanger


  1. An individual episode of a soap opera generally switches between









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    different concurrent narrative threads.

    Correct Option: D

    different concurrent narrative threads.



  1. The economics of a soap opera form demands for it to have









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    long scenes

    Correct Option: A

    long scenes


  1. A soap opera has the space for it to be more









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    naturalistic

    Correct Option: B

    naturalistic



Direction: In the following questions, you have two brief passages with 5 questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
Passage
By the mid-nineteenth century, mass production of paper patterns, the emergence of the home sewing machine, and the convenience of mail order catalogues brought fashionable clothing into the American home. By the early twentieth century, home economists working in extension and outreach programs taught women how to use paper patterns to improve the fit and efficiency to new garments as well as how to update existing ones. Teachers of home economics traditionally made home sewing a critical part of their curriculum, emphasizing self-sufficiency and resource fulness for young women. However, with the increasing availability of mass-produced clothing in catalogues and department stores, more and more women preferred buying garments to making them. As a result, home economists shifted their attention to consumer education. Through field study’s analysis and research, they became experts on the purchase and preservation of readyto-wear clothing for the family, offering budgeting instruction targeted at adolescent girls. Modern home sewing made it possible for American women to transcend their economic differences and geographic locations with clothing that was increasingly standardized. The democratization of fashion continued through the twentieth century as the ready-towear market expanded and home sewing became more of a pastime than a necessity.
SOME IMPORTANT WORDS
(1) outreach (N.) : the activity of an organization that provides a service/advice to people in the community, especially those who cannot/are unlikely to come to an office, a hospital, etc. for help
(2) curriculum (N.) : the subjects that are included in a course of study/taught in a school, college, etc.
(3) transcend (V.) : to be/go beyond the usual limits of something

  1. What improved the fit and efficiency of new garments?









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    Paper patterns

    Correct Option: D

    Paper patterns