C2 Reading Comprehension 2

Question 1

A C2 reader encounters the phrase 'the legislation was not without its detractors.' What does this most precisely mean?

Accepted Answer

The legislation faced some opposition

Answer

'Not without its detractors' is a double negative meaning the legislation did have critics or opponents.

Question 2

When an author describes a character as 'Sisyphean in his ambitions,' the most accurate interpretation is that the character:

Accepted Answer

Pursues unattainable goals through endless, futile effort

Answer

Sisyphean alludes to the myth of Sisyphus, condemned to roll a boulder uphill forever, symbolizing endless futile effort.

Question 3

A passage states: 'While proponents hailed the reform as transformative, its opponents decried it as a Pyrrhic victory for progressives.' What does 'Pyrrhic victory' imply here?

Accepted Answer

A victory achieved with great personal sacrifice or at too high a cost

Answer

A Pyrrhic victory is one won at such a great cost that it is tantamount to defeat, referencing King Pyrrhus's costly battles.

Question 4

In academic prose, a writer states: 'The evidence is, at best, circumstantial.' The phrase 'at best' functions here to:

Accepted Answer

Concede that even the most favorable reading of the evidence is limited

Answer

'At best' signals that even in the most favorable interpretation, the evidence is only circumstantial — a hedging device indicating its weakness.

Question 5

A literary passage describes a setting as 'suffused with a sepulchral stillness.' The word 'sepulchral' most nearly means:

Accepted Answer

Relating to tombs or death; gloomy

Answer

Sepulchral derives from 'sepulchre' (tomb) and describes a gloomy, deathly quiet atmosphere.

C2 Practice Test

C2 Practice Test

C2 Reading Comprehension 2