Question 276
MediumOriginal questionIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the of belief, it was the epoch of , it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of , we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the degree of comparison only.
There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France. In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State of loaves and fishes, that things in general were settled for ever.
What is the first paragraph mainly saying about the period it describes?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
Every pair sets an opposite against a quality: wisdom and foolishness, belief and incredulity, Light and Darkness, hope and despair.
The paragraph ends by saying that people insisted on describing the time "in the superlative degree of comparison only", that is, only as the best or the worst.
Worth noting
The paragraph does not say it was simply the worst time: for every bad thing it names a good one.
- Concept
- Finding the central idea of a paragraph
- Typical timeTypical
- 50 s
- Your timeYours
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