Determine the Point of View Expressed in a Sentence or Passage

Name:

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

Which of the following statements was written by a supporter of gun control laws?

It is not our desire to curtail individual freedoms, but we cannot allow the purchasing of small arms to spread unchecked.

Much as we appreciate the fear that widespread ownership of small arms leads to increased bloodshed, we insist on the fundamental right of American citizens to freely defend themselves and their families.

Which of the following statements was written by a person who likes Cleveland?

For all its boosters’ claims that Cleveland has again become a city to be proud of, there’s a great deal to be said for the jokes you hear about it on radio and television.

Despite the jokes about Cleveland you hear on radio and television, thanks to recent municipal efforts, it has once again become a city to be proud of.

Which of the following statements was written by someone who prefers large cars to small ones?

Their excellent gas mileage and even their improved interior design nothwithstanding, today’s compact cars simply fail to provide the feel a traditional motorist yearns for.

They lack some of the size and even the character of the full-sized cars we were accustomed to, but today’s compacts more than make up for this with their excellent gas mileage.

Which of the following statements was written by an opponent of bullfighting?

Though bullfighting may have its detractors, those are usually people who either have never been to a bull ring or are quite unable to appreciate the bravery and the art involved.

Hemingway and his ilk may write all they want about the drama of the bullfight or the matador’s “grace under pressure,” but that does nothing to mitigate the suffering of the innocent bull.

Which of the following statements was written by a proponent of the view that live theater is dying?

In this modern age, with its freely available entertainment accessible at the turn of a switch, the live theater is merely a peripheral activity, however much it might have been a vehicle for cultural progress in the past.

Of course the theater has suffered from competition that takes advantage of modern technology. All the same, there is a qualitative difference in being present at an actual performance which, though it may be a luxury, will never be replaced by second-hand audience participation.

Which of the following statements was written by a vegetarian?

The argument is sometimes put forward that man is not naturally a vegetarian since he was originally omnivorous. While such a claim may contain a grain of truth, it nevertheless ignores the obvious fact that there are many aspects of the original human condition that we have seen fit to improve.

In spite of the insistence of those who exclude meat and fish from their diet that such a course is both spiritually and physically beneficial, there is no evidence that fighting is less prevalent or exceptional longevity more likely in areas where vegetarianism is the rule.

Which of the following statements was written by a detractor of the President?

The President has certainly achieved a number of minor improvements, and there is no denying that, thus far, the country has not quite gone to rack and ruin under his leadership. Nevertheless, one searches in vain for the great attitudinal and economic breakthroughs we were so lavishly promised during the course of his campaign.

Though the great breakthroughs the President has promised obviously take some time to engineer, he can, nonetheless, already point to significant improvements in the nation’s standard of living, which are portents of the exciting changes soon to be implemented.

Which of the following statements was written by a person in favor of small town life?

Possibly there are those who derive pleasure from turning back the clock and seeking out the virtues we fondly imagine to have been associated with life in small towns in bygone days. Yet the most superficial perusal of contemporary accounts dealing with such an existence makes it quite clear that sterile deprivation of life’s true pleasures would be a much more accurate assessment.

It is true that city dwellers and suburbanites have access to certain facilities that may be denied to the inhabitants of small towns. What they miss, however, far outweighs such advantages, which, in any case, the vast majority rarely has the time or energy to take advantage of.

Which of the following statements was written by someone who opposes a particular job applicant?

Smith certainly has a number of qualities that would appeal to my colleagues on the selection panel. However, it should be noted that he has a history of flitting from one job to another, which is hardly consistent with this company’s management approach.

Although Smith has shown a perhaps regrettable tendency in the past to move rather quickly from one job to another, he is clearly the best qualified candidate and would undoubtedly respond to our own brand of company loyalty.

10.

Which of the following statements was written by a tour operator?

The cost of the tour is admittedly high. Against this, though, consideration must be given to the fact that it offers a unique opportunity to visit one of the world’s most extraordinary tourist attractions in the company of congenial fellow explorers and expert guides.

However unusual the opportunity or expert the accompanying personnel, these can hardly be a justification for charging an amount that appears to fall not far short of the gross national product in some of the world’s less developed nations, including that which is the destination of this “extraordinary” tour.