Miles Davis

Answer choices

1. A

   Opposite Too Strong: never2% picked this

   Because the career of Miles Davis was characterized by frequent shifts in styles, he never

   Our author says in the very first sentence that Davis had one of the most astonishingly productive careers that jazz music has ever seen. So if that guy didn't fulfill his musical potential, then nobody does!

   2%
2. B

   Correct90% picked this

   Because the career of Miles Davis does not fit neatly into their preconceptions about the life and music of jazz musicians, jazz critics have

   Why this is right

   The main clause is that "jazz critics have not accorded Davis the appreciate he deserves". That might sound too much like "complaining about critics" and not enough like "praising Davis", but 2/3 of the sentences in the first paragraph and 2/3 of the sentences in the last paragraph dealt with the critics, so it seems justifiable to be cool with them taking center stage in our correct answer. The correct answer doesn't have to be perfect (and never will be); it just has to be the best available. The final sentence of the passage matches well with "Davis's career does not fit neatly into [critics'] preconceptions" since it says "[Davis] refused to dwell in whatever niche he had previously carved, so critics find it hard to rank Davis in the aesthetic hierarchy to which they cling." The second sentence of the passage says that Davis's "genius has never received its due", which matches well with the idea that he has not been "accorded the appreciation he deserves".

   Skill tested: Main Point · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

   90%
3. C

   Trap4% picked this

   Because the career of Miles Davis was unusually long and productive, he never received the popular acclaim generally reserved for artists

   Wrong Emphasis Out of Scope: more tragic lives The main clause of this answer should match up with the main clause of the last sentence of the passage. Both that sentence and this answer choice begin with the causal wind-up of ... Because Davis had an unusually long / productive career The last sentence says that the causal result was that "critics find it difficult to rank Davis in any of their precious aesthetic hierarchies". This answer says that the causal result was that "Davis didn't get the popular acclaim that people generally reserve for tragic artists". Those are very different meanings. This last sentence was just saying anyone with very limited recordings (because of either dying young or not just recording much or any other reason) can more easily be pigeon-holed and understood by critics. This answer is saying that there's a layer of praise we generally only use on artists who had a tragic life history, and we music consumers denied Davis that popular acclaim because he had a long and productive career.

   4%
4. D

   Too Strong: most 20th century jazz4% picked this

   The long and productive career of Miles Davis spawned most of the major stylistic changes

   The passage is exalting Davis for his many, major stylistic changes, but nowhere in the passage is there any extreme claim that says, "Davis was responsible for more than 50% of the major style changes affecting 20th century jazz".

   4%
5. E

   Contradicted Too Strong: most0% picked this

   Miles Davis’s versatility and openness have inspired the admiration of most

   The overall gist of this passage is that critics didn't love Davis (because he frustrated their desire to keep people in well-defined boxes) and didn't sufficiently praise him, so this answer feels like the opposite of the main point.

   0%