Could you please help me answer questions 4, 5, 6 on "Blarney Stone"? 4. Which statement is true? A the Blarney Stone has magical powers В the castle was designed to attract tourists C the use of

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Sasha

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Could you please help me answer questions 4, 5, 6 on "Blarney Stone"? 4. Which statement is true? A the Blarney Stone has magical powers В the castle was designed to attract tourists C the use of the castle has changed over time D the Blarney Stone has been relocated to make it easier to find 5. How did the author learn to kiss the Blarney Stone? A he read the instructions В his tour guide taught him how C he watched other people kiss it D It was obvious. No one had to show him. 6. Which word best describes how the author felt about the visit? A relaxed В puzzled C depressed D enthusiasticRead the text. Choose one of the variants А, В, C or D. There is something every visitor to Ireland must do — kiss the Blarney Stone. On my first visit to Ireland last fall, I accomplished this. On the way to Blarney Castle, our guide tried to discourage us from climbing to the top of the five-story castle where the stone is located. However, I was not to be deterred. Entering the 15th century castle, it was obvious that it was built as a fortress, not a tourist attraction. The walls are 18 feet thick at the base, and the battlements at the top allowed the defenders to pour boiling water or tar on their visitors. To reach the stone, I had to scramble up 160 steps around a circular staircase. The steps were built too narrow so only one attacker could advance up them at a time — a great idea for the ancient lords but a bad one for modern-day tourists, especially when we had to squeeze by folks heading down. A stone walkway runs around the top of the castle offering a panoramic view of the lush green countryside. I spent a few minutes enjoying the view until I spotted a sign: “Blarney Stone”. I headed over and observed the unusual goings-on. One does not just kiss the stone; there is a ritual to follow. First I emptied my pockets. Then I lay on my back and with a guard holding my feet I bent backward down a shaft — with only a grate separating me from a five-story fall — until I could smack the magic stone. Was it worth all those contortions? I’m now one of a select group of several million or so who have a document certifying their eloquence.

May 24, 2018 7:12 AM

Answers · 12

Hi Sasha, I start from the assumption that all clues required to answer the questions must be identified or inferred from the passage. Otherwise, the comprehension exercise will be futile. 6. Which word best describes how the author felt about the visit? The answer to this question has to be inferred from the passage. When we infer, we "read between the lines" to obtain different clues that point us to the likeliest answer. The sentence "I’m now one of a select group of several million or so who have a document certifying their eloquence." provides us with important clues. "select" means a privileged group of people based on some attribute(s). In this case, these tourists are privileged as they have had a memorable experience that few others have. "eloquence" means that these people have gone through the actual "ritual" and are able to describe, in great detail and convincingly, the difficulty and danger they faced just to be able to kiss the stone. In other words, they were given a certificate to certify that they have gone through the entire arduous process to reach the stone, and their experience was genuine. Hence, they are able to describe the "ritual" any time as though they are physically there. Now, let's put these clues together and form the likeliest conclusion. Being a member of an exclusive group and being officially recognised with a certificate, how would the writer most likely feel? The answer should be rather obvious: Enthusiastic (D). I hope this helps.

May 27, 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbv6hliU8CM from two minutes into the video you can see and decide for yourself

May 24, 2018

5. How did the author learn to kiss the Blarney Stone? "One does not just kiss the stone; there is a ritual to follow. First I emptied my pockets. Then I lay on my back and with a guard holding my feet I bent backward down a shaft — with only a grate separating me from a five-story fall — until I could smack the magic stone." Taking a close look at the text above, the phrase "ritual to follow" tells us that someone had to guide or show him how to do it. Thus, option D is out. There was no mention of the author reading some instructions before being lowered to kiss the stone, so option A is out as well. As for the tour guide, he or she tried to discourage the author from climbing to the top of the castle. Thus, we can infer that it is very unlikely that the tour guide showed the author how to reach the stone while both were at the top of the castle. Option B does not make sense. Option C is correct. From the sentence "I headed over and observed the unusual goings-on", we know that the author walked over to the shaft and took a look at the other tourists who followed the "ritual" in order to kiss the stone. I hope this helps you.

May 29, 2018

4. Which statement is true? C the use of the castle has changed over time 5. How did the author learn to kiss the Blarney Stone? C he watched other people kiss it 6. Which word best describes how the author felt about the visit? В puzzled

May 24, 2018

Hi Sasha, I start from the assumption that all clues required to answer the questions must be identified or inferred from the passage. Otherwise, the comprehension exercise will be futile. 4. Which statement is true? A the Blarney Stone has magical powers (The passage does include a phrase: "....I could smack the magic stone." Here comes my personal interpretation only: Although the word "magic" is used, we may not be absolutely sure that it "has magical powers", because the passage did not specifically mention about its magical powers or how the powers were manifested. Instead, tourists flock to the castle as they believe it does.) В the castle was designed to attract tourists (Clearly, this is wrong. The castle was designed for defence (from the use of the word "fortress" in the passage.) during ancient times. As such, the castle was designed to impede invading forces ("The steps were built too narrow so only one attacker could advance up...."). Another part of a sentence: "....it was built as a fortress, not a tourist attraction." is irrefutable proof that the castle was not designed with tourists in mind. Now, the castle just happens to draw tourists due to the renowned stone. C the use of the castle has changed over time (Answer) (Indeed. It used to be for military purposes. The footsteps of invading armies have long faded into the distant past, replaced by those from tourists. Hence, the castle now serves to boost tourism in the area. From this perspective, its use has changed over time.) D the Blarney Stone has been relocated to make it easier to find (There was no mention of the stone having been relocated to make it more accessible. Throughout the passage, the stone was housed in the castle. Examples: "On the way to Blarney Castle, our guide tried to discourage us from climbing to the top of the five-story castle where the stone is located." / "I spent a few minutes enjoying the view until I spotted a sign: 'Blarney Stone' ".) I hope this helps.

May 27, 2018

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