400-820-0859在此与大家分享LSAC官网上公布的LSAT阅读理解样题（一），希望对大家备考LSAT阅读理解有所帮助。
Directions:
Each set of questions in this section is based on a single passage or a pair of passages. The questions are to be answered on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage or pair of passages. For some of the questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question. However, you are to choose the best answer; that is, the response that most accurately and completely answers the question, and blacken the corresponding space on your answer sheet.
Passage for Questions 1, 2, and 3
The painter Roy Lichtenstein helped to define pop art—the movement that incorporated commonplace objects and commercial-art techniques into paintings—by paraphrasing the style of comic books in his work. His merger of a popular genre with the forms and intentions of fine art generated a complex result: while poking fun at the pretensions of the art world, Lichtenstein’s work also managed to convey a seriousness of theme that enabled it to transcend mere parody.
That Lichtenstein’s images were fine art was at first difficult to see, because, with their word balloons and highly stylized figures, they looked like nothing more than the comic book panels from which they were copied. Standard art history holds that pop art emerged as an impersonal alternative to the histrionics of abstract expressionism, a movement in which painters conveyed their private attitudes and emotions using nonrepresentational techniques. The truth is that by the time pop art first appeared in the early 1960s, abstract expressionism had already lost much of its force. Pop art painters weren’t quarreling with the powerful early abstract expressionist work of the late 1940s but with a second generation of abstract expressionists whose work seemed airy, high-minded, and overly lyrical. Pop art paintings were full of simple black lines and large areas of primary color. Lichtenstein’s work was part of a general rebellion against the fading emotional power of abstract expressionism, rather than an aloof attempt to ignore it.
But if rebellion against previous art by means of the careful imitation of a popular genre were all that characterized Lichtenstein’s work, it would possess only the reflective power that parodies have in relation to their subjects. Beneath its cartoonish methods, his work displayed an impulse toward realism, an urge to say that what was missing from contemporary painting was the depiction of contemporary life. The stilted romances and war stories portrayed in the comic books on which he based his canvases, the stylized automobiles, hot dogs, and table lamps that appeared in his pictures, were reflections of the culture Lichtenstein inhabited. But, in contrast to some pop art, Lichtenstein’s work exuded not a jaded cynicism about consumer culture, but a kind of deliberate naivete, intended as a response to the excess of sophistication he observed not only in the later abstract expressionists but in some other pop artists. With the comics—typically the domain of youth and innocence—as his reference point, a nostalgia fills his paintings that gives them, for all their surface bravado, an inner sweetness. His persistent use of comic-art conventions demonstrates a faith in reconciliation, not only between cartoons and fine art, but between parody and true feeling.
Question 1
Which one of the following best captures the author’s attitude toward Lichtenstein’s work?
enthusiasm for its more rebellious aspects
respect for its successful parody of youth and innocence
pleasure in its blatant rejection of abstract expressionism
admiration for its subtle critique of contemporary culture
appreciation for its ability to incorporate both realism and naivete
Explanation for Question 1
This question requires the test taker to understand the attitude the author of the passage displays toward Lichtenstein’s work.
The correct response is (E). Response (E) most accurately and completely captures the author’s attitude. First, the author’s appreciation for Lichtenstein’s art is indicated by way of contrast with the way in which the author describes what Lichtenstein’s art is not. For example, the author asserts that Lichtenstein’s work “transcended mere parody,” and that unlike other pop art, it did not display a “jaded cynicism.” Similarly, the author holds that there is more to Lichtenstein’s work than “the reflective power that parodies possess in relation to their subjects.” Moreover, the author’s appreciation is reflected in several positive statements regarding Lichtenstein’s work. The author’s appreciation for Lichtenstein’s realism is indicated by the author’s statement that “Beneath its cartoonish methods, his work displayed an impulse toward realism, an urge to say that what was missing from contemporary painting was the depiction of contemporary life.” That the author also appreciates Lichtenstein’s naivete is demonstrated in this sentence: “Lichtenstein’s work exuded not a jaded cynicism about consumer culture, but a kind of deliberate naivete ... .” This idea is further expanded in the next sentence, which says that “for all their surface bravado,” Lichtenstein’s paintings possess “an inner sweetness.” It is important to note that these evaluations appear in the last paragraph and form part of the author’s conclusion about the importance of Lichtenstein’s art.
Response (A) is incorrect because, although in the last sentence of paragraph two the author notes Lichtenstein’s connection to a general rebellion against abstract expressionism, the author also states quite pointedly in the first sentence of the third paragraph: “But if rebellion ... were all that characterized Lichtenstein’s work, it would possess only the reflective power that parodies have ... .”
Response (B) is incorrect because, as noted in the first paragraph of the passage, the author believes Lichtenstein’s work transcended “mere parody.” Moreover, the author states in the last paragraph that comics, “typically the domain of youth and innocence,” were Lichtenstein’s “reference point” and filled his painting with “nostalgia” and an “inner sweetness.”
Response (C) is incorrect because, as mentioned above, the author believes Lichtenstein’s rebellion against abstract expressionism was not the most important aspect of his work. Indeed, if it had been, Lichtenstein’s work would have been reduced to having “only the reflective power that parodies have in relation to their subjects,” where here the “subject” refers to abstract expressionism.
Response (D) is incorrect because the author very clearly says that Lichtenstein embraced contemporary culture. In the last paragraph, the author writes, “But, in contrast to some pop art, Lichtenstein’s work exuded not a jaded cynicism about consumer culture, but a kind of deliberate naivete ... .”
Based on the number of test takers who answered this question correctly when it appeared on the LSAT, this was a middle difficulty question.
Question 2
The author most likely lists some of the themes and objects influencing and appearing in Lichtenstein’s paintings (middle of the last paragraph) primarily to
show that the paintings depict aspects of contemporary life
support the claim that Lichtenstein’s work was parodic in intent
contrast Lichtenstein’s approach to art with that of abstract expressionism
suggest the emotions that lie at the heart of Lichtenstein’s work
endorse Lichtenstein’s attitude toward consumer culture
Explanation for Question 2
This question requires the test taker to identify from the context what the author is trying to accomplish by listing some of the themes and objects that influenced and appeared in Lichtenstein’s paintings.
The correct response is (A). First, as the author notes in the same sentence, the listed themes and objects “were reflections of the culture Lichtenstein inhabited.” Moreover, as the author argues in the sentence that precedes the list, Lichtenstein’s work displayed “an impulse toward realism, an urge to say that what was missing from contemporary painting was the depiction of contemporary life.”
Response (B) is incorrect because the author does not claim that Lichtenstein’s work was parodic in intent. On the contrary, the author states in the opening paragraph that Lichtenstein’s work transcended “mere parody.”
Response (C) is incorrect because the author’s comparison between Lichtenstein’s approach to art and that of the abstract expressionists—which is located in paragraph two—concentrates on the difference between Lichtenstein’s and other pop artists’ use of “simple black lines and large areas of primary color” and the expressionists’ “airy” and “overly lyrical” work. This comparison does not involve the list of themes and objects mentioned in question 2. The list is offered instead as part of the author’s argument in paragraph three that there is more to Lichtenstein’s work than its rebellion against abstract expressionism.
Response (D) is incorrect because, although the listed themes and objects “were reflections of the culture Lichtenstein inhabited,” the list by itself does not suggest anything about the emotions that lie at the heart of Lichtenstein’s work. The emotions in Lichtenstein’s work were revealed in Lichtenstein’s treatment of those themes and objects, which “exuded not a jaded cynicism about consumer culture, but a kind of deliberate naivete ...” The author goes on to assert that it is Lichtenstein’s use of conventions of comic art that gives his art its “inner sweetness” and demonstrates his faith in the possibility of reconciliation between “parody and true feeling.”
Response (E) is incorrect because the list of themes and objects does not in itself explain Lichtenstein’s attitude toward consumer culture. Instead, it is how he dealt with these objects and themes that shows, according to the author, that Lichtenstein did not exude the “jaded cynicism” of other pop artists.
Based on the number of test takers who answered this question correctly when it appeared on the LSAT, this was an easy question.
Question 3
The primary purpose of the passage is most likely to
express curiosity about an artist’s work
clarify the motivation behind an artist’s work
contrast two opposing theories about an artist’s work
describe the evolution of an artist’s work
refute a previous overestimation of an artist’s work
Explanation for Question 3
This question requires the test taker to look at the passage as a whole and determine the author’s primary purpose in writing it.
Response (B) is the correct response because it most accurately and completely reflects the purpose of the passage as a whole. In the first two paragraphs of the passage, the author uses phrases that are suggestive of Lichtenstein’s motivations, such as “poking fun at the pretensions of the art world,” and “rebel[ling] against the fading emotional power of abstract expressionism.” Then, in the third paragraph, the author makes clear that Lichtenstein also had a more serious aim that transcended these two—namely, that of depicting contemporary life with a “kind of deliberate naivete.” As the author puts it in the final sentence, Lichtenstein’s paintings demonstrated his “faith in reconciliation ... between parody and true feeling.”
Response (A) is incorrect because the passage does not simply express curiosity about Lichtenstein’s work. Instead, the passage advances a thesis about the importance of Lichtenstein’s work as art.
Response (C) is incorrect because nowhere in the passage are two opposing theories discussed.
Response (D) is incorrect because the passage does not cover the evolution of Lichtenstein’s work. The author makes no mention of when any of the particular paintings were created in the course of Lichtenstein’s career, but instead treats the work as a unified whole.
Response (E) is incorrect because a previous overestimation of Lichtenstein’s work is neither mentioned nor alluded to. If the passage had an aim of this kind, it would seem to be the reverse, as the author clearly thinks that Lichtenstein’s work is valuable and has perhaps been underestimated by those who see pop art as primarily parodic in intent.
Based on the number of test takers who answered this question correctly when it appeared on the LSAT, this was an easy question.
