If the economy of the nineteenth-century world was
formed mainly under the influence of the British Industrial
Revolution, its politics and ideology were formed mainly
by the French. Britain provided the model for its railways
[5] and factories, the economic explosive which cracked open
the traditional economic and social structures of the
non-European world; but France made its revolutions and
gave them their ideas, to the point where a tricolour flag of
some kind became the emblem of virtually every emerging
[10] nation, and European (or indeed world) politics between
1789 and 1917 were largely the struggle for and against
the principles of 1789.
France provided the vocabulary and the issues of
liberal and radical-democratic politics for most of the
[15] world. France provided the first great example, the concept
and the vocabulary of nationalism. France provided the
codes of law, the model of scientific and technical
organization, the metric system of measurement for most
countries. The ideology of the modern world first
[20] penetrated the ancient civilizations which had until then
resisted European ideas through French influence. This
was the work of the French Revolution.
Eric Hobsbawm. The age of revolution: 1789-1848. Abacus: London, 2007, p. 73-4 (adapted).
Judge the following based on the text above
The French Revolution was an important element in the dissemination of European ideals around the world.
How can we ever change the world? Military
leaders have certainly managed to change large parts of it;
scientists devising cures and vaccines for disease can
spread a more benign influence across whole continents;
[5] the thoughts of religious leaders or philosophers can sweep
through generations like fire. But books?
Reading books is generally a solitary pastime:
bookishness is the very antithesis of the man-of-action
qualities that seem to shake the world. The pen may boast
[10] of being mightier than the sword, but it is generally the
sword that wins in the short term. It is that phrase, though,
which gives the game away: in the short term, writers can
be imprisoned or executed, their work censored, and their
books burned, but over history, it is books and the ideas
[15] expressed within them that have transformed the world.
But which books can be said to have changed the
world? There are few better ways of starting an argument
than producing a list, and I have no doubt that not
everyone will be happy about the books I included in my
[20] list. About some, like the Bible, Shakespeare’s First Folio
and Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, there can be little
argument - but what about Euclid’s Elements, Thomas
Paine’s Rights of Man or A Vindication of the Rights of
Women by Mary Wollstonecraft? The answer is that any
[25] list can only be subjective.
Andrew Taylor. Books that changed the world: the 50 most influential books in human history. Quercus Editions, 2014 (adapted).
Judge the following according to the text presented
For the author, history shows that books are effective in changing the world.
How can we ever change the world? Military
leaders have certainly managed to change large parts of it;
scientists devising cures and vaccines for disease can
spread a more benign influence across whole continents;
[5] the thoughts of religious leaders or philosophers can sweep
through generations like fire. But books?
Reading books is generally a solitary pastime:
bookishness is the very antithesis of the man-of-action
qualities that seem to shake the world. The pen may boast
[10] of being mightier than the sword, but it is generally the
sword that wins in the short term. It is that phrase, though,
which gives the game away: in the short term, writers can
be imprisoned or executed, their work censored, and their
books burned, but over history, it is books and the ideas
[15] expressed within them that have transformed the world.
But which books can be said to have changed the
world? There are few better ways of starting an argument
than producing a list, and I have no doubt that not
everyone will be happy about the books I included in my
[20] list. About some, like the Bible, Shakespeare’s First Folio
and Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, there can be little
argument - but what about Euclid’s Elements, Thomas
Paine’s Rights of Man or A Vindication of the Rights of
Women by Mary Wollstonecraft? The answer is that any
[25] list can only be subjective.
Andrew Taylor. Books that changed the world: the 50 most influential books in human history. Quercus Editions, 2014 (adapted).
Judge the following according to the text presented
In the first paragraph, the text states that military actions, scientific development, religious beliefs, and philosophical thoughts have less influence on the world than books.
How can we ever change the world? Military
leaders have certainly managed to change large parts of it;
scientists devising cures and vaccines for disease can
spread a more benign influence across whole continents;
[5] the thoughts of religious leaders or philosophers can sweep
through generations like fire. But books?
Reading books is generally a solitary pastime:
bookishness is the very antithesis of the man-of-action
qualities that seem to shake the world. The pen may boast
[10] of being mightier than the sword, but it is generally the
sword that wins in the short term. It is that phrase, though,
which gives the game away: in the short term, writers can
be imprisoned or executed, their work censored, and their
books burned, but over history, it is books and the ideas
[15] expressed within them that have transformed the world.
But which books can be said to have changed the
world? There are few better ways of starting an argument
than producing a list, and I have no doubt that not
everyone will be happy about the books I included in my
[20] list. About some, like the Bible, Shakespeare’s First Folio
and Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, there can be little
argument - but what about Euclid’s Elements, Thomas
Paine’s Rights of Man or A Vindication of the Rights of
Women by Mary Wollstonecraft? The answer is that any
[25] list can only be subjective.
Andrew Taylor. Books that changed the world: the 50 most influential books in human history. Quercus Editions, 2014 (adapted).
Judge the following according to the text presented
In the second paragraph, the author answers the question “But books?” (ℓ.6) by explaining why books and words change the world.
How can we ever change the world? Military
leaders have certainly managed to change large parts of it;
scientists devising cures and vaccines for disease can
spread a more benign influence across whole continents;
[5] the thoughts of religious leaders or philosophers can sweep
through generations like fire. But books?
Reading books is generally a solitary pastime:
bookishness is the very antithesis of the man-of-action
qualities that seem to shake the world. The pen may boast
[10] of being mightier than the sword, but it is generally the
sword that wins in the short term. It is that phrase, though,
which gives the game away: in the short term, writers can
be imprisoned or executed, their work censored, and their
books burned, but over history, it is books and the ideas
[15] expressed within them that have transformed the world.
But which books can be said to have changed the
world? There are few better ways of starting an argument
than producing a list, and I have no doubt that not
everyone will be happy about the books I included in my
[20] list. About some, like the Bible, Shakespeare’s First Folio
and Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, there can be little
argument - but what about Euclid’s Elements, Thomas
Paine’s Rights of Man or A Vindication of the Rights of
Women by Mary Wollstonecraft? The answer is that any
[25] list can only be subjective.
Andrew Taylor. Books that changed the world: the 50 most influential books in human history. Quercus Editions, 2014 (adapted).
Judge the following according to the text presented
The examples of books mentioned in the third paragraph are limited to religious and political ones.
How can we ever change the world? Military
leaders have certainly managed to change large parts of it;
scientists devising cures and vaccines for disease can
spread a more benign influence across whole continents;
[5] the thoughts of religious leaders or philosophers can sweep
through generations like fire. But books?
Reading books is generally a solitary pastime:
bookishness is the very antithesis of the man-of-action
qualities that seem to shake the world. The pen may boast
[10] of being mightier than the sword, but it is generally the
sword that wins in the short term. It is that phrase, though,
which gives the game away: in the short term, writers can
be imprisoned or executed, their work censored, and their
books burned, but over history, it is books and the ideas
[15] expressed within them that have transformed the world.
But which books can be said to have changed the
world? There are few better ways of starting an argument
than producing a list, and I have no doubt that not
everyone will be happy about the books I included in my
[20] list. About some, like the Bible, Shakespeare’s First Folio
and Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, there can be little
argument - but what about Euclid’s Elements, Thomas
Paine’s Rights of Man or A Vindication of the Rights of
Women by Mary Wollstonecraft? The answer is that any
[25] list can only be subjective.
Andrew Taylor. Books that changed the world: the 50 most influential books in human history. Quercus Editions, 2014 (adapted).
Judge the following according to the text presented
The word “mightier” (ℓ.10) expresses a comparison and could be correctly replaced by more powerful.