Question

read the selection and answer the questions. for instance, there is a current impression that it is unpleasant to have to run after one’s hat. why should it be unpleasant to the well - ordered and pious mind? not merely because it is running, and running exhausts one. the same people run much faster in games and sports. the same people run much more eagerly after an uninteresting little leather ball than they will after a nice silk hat. there is an idea that it is humiliating to run after one’s hat, and when people say it is humiliating they mean that it is comic. it certainly is comic; but man is a very comic creature, and most of the things he does are comic—eating, for instance. and the most comic things of all are exactly the things that are most worth doing—such as loving one’s wife. a man running after a hat is not half so ridiculous as a man running after a wife. now a man could, if he felt rightly in the matter, run after his hat with the manliest ardor and the most sacred joy. he might regard himself as a jolly huntsman pursuing a wild animal, for certainly no animal could be wilder. in fact, i am inclined to believe that hat - hunting on windy days will be the sport of the upper classes in the future. when last i saw an old gentleman running after his hat in hyde park, i told him that a heart so benevolent as his ought to be filled with peace and thanks at the thought of how much unaffected pleasure his every gesture and bodily attitude were at that moment giving to the crowd. g. k. chesterton 1. the author’s tone in this essay can be described as a. sarcastic and cynical. b. informative. c. dry and witty. d. egalitarian. e. argumentative and persuasive. 2. man is most comical when a. he is pursuing victory. b. he is playing games. c. he is doing things most worth doing. d. he is hunting. e. he is in hyde park. 3. the author uses running after a hat and running after a leather ball as examples of a. paradox. b. dichotomy. c. dilemma. d. hyperbole. e. incongruity.

Explanation:

1. The author uses witty language and humorous perspectives, not being sarcastic or overly argumentative, so the tone is dry and witty.
2. The text states that the most comic things are exactly the things that are most worth doing.
3. The contrast between running after a hat (seen as humiliating) and running after a leather - ball (eagerly done) shows an incongruity.

Answer:

1. C. dry and witty.
2. C. he is doing things most worth doing.
3. E. incongruity.