Craft and StructureHardCommon ground between different emphases
Craft and Structure practice question
Text 1
Historian Ines Calder argues that the medieval spice trade was driven mainly by status: spices were expensive, and serving them displayed wealth.
Text 2
Historian Tomasz Reid emphasises medicine: physicians of the period prescribed pepper and cinnamon for a range of ailments. He grants that the prices were high enough to make spices a display of wealth as well.
Based on the texts, Calder and Reid would most likely agree with which statement?
- A. Serving spices in the medieval period signalled wealth.Correct
- B. Spices were valued chiefly for their medical uses.
- C. Spices were cheap enough for most households to afford.
- D. Physicians of the period were wrong to prescribe spices.
Answer: A. Serving spices in the medieval period signalled wealth.
Calder's main claim is status display; Reid 'grants' that spices were a display of wealth as well. That is shared ground.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Spices were valued chiefly for their medical uses.
- That is Reid's emphasis, which Calder does not share.
- C. Spices were cheap enough for most households to afford.
- Both texts say spices were expensive.
- D. Physicians of the period were wrong to prescribe spices.
- Neither text judges the medical prescriptions.
More Craft and Structure questions
- Hard
What is the main purpose of the text? - Hard
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined final sentence in the text as a whole? - Hard
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text? - Hard
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word? - Hard
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word? - Hard
What is the main purpose of the text?
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