The reading passage name is VILLAGE SCHOOLS AND TRAVELING SOLDIERS on commonlit.

Question

PART A: Which TWO of the following best identify the central ideas of this text?

A. Traditional Chinese education requires constant study.

B. Education in China is superior to education elsewhere.

C. Without traditional Chinese education, children will become arrogant.

D. The goal of education is to master many skills, both practical and intellectual.

E. Education is only for some—others become “wild” laborers.

F. With a good education, a “wild” child can become more useful to his family.

3. PART B: Which TWO phrases from the text best support the answers to Part A?

A. “The object of Chinese education is to pump up the wisdom of the ancients into the minds of the moderns” (Paragraph 1)

B. “According to Chinese theory, or practice, a school which should only be in session for six months of the year, would be a gross absurdity” (Paragraph 1)

C. “The same saying is current in regard to the second degree, and with not less reason” (Paragraph 2)

D. “He may be incomparably more useful to his family than the other, but so far as education goes he is only a ‘wild’ lad” (Paragraph 3)

E. “He has very little opportunity to learn anything of practical affairs, and still less disposition” (Paragraph 5)

F. “So far as they go these are valuable acquirements, although they can scarcely be termed an education” (Paragraph 6)

Answer 1

I'm not going to give you the direct answers, because that wouldn't help you learn. But I will point you in the direction of the right answer.

This isn't as hard as it may seem, because only two of the statements in Part A accurately reflect what is said in the reading passage. So if you figure out which two are true, those are the correct answers.

Here are some tips for discovering whether or not each statement is true:

A: Re-read the 1st paragraph and the 2nd sentence of the 2nd paragraph. According to the passage, does the Chinese student ever finish his study? Is statement A true or false?

B: Re-read the last sentence of the article. Does the author seem to be saying that Chinese education is superior?

C: Re-read the first 4 sentences and the last sentence of the 3rd paragraph. Who "stands an excellent chance of being spoiled"? Who "in reality … is the victim of the most dangerous of all flatteries"? Is it the educated child, or the uneducated one? Which one is the "wild child"?

D: What "practical skills" are listed in paragraph 4? Which child, the brother who is educated, or the one who is not, learns those practical skills? 

E: You have to evaluate each clause of this statement: Is education only for some? Does the "wild child" become a laborer? If the answer to both is yes, then E is true. 

F: Re-read the last 3 sentences of paragraph 5. Is the "wild child" the one who is getting an education? What is the educated child able to contribute to his family?

Once you've determined which 2 of the 6 statements in Part A are true, you should be able to figure out which two phrases support those 2 statements.

I hope this helpful.