school of hard knots
by alex hanson
the typical apprenticeship with a japanese traditional
boatbuilder lasts six years, during which an apprentice can expect
to spend a lot of time sweeping the shop floor and sharpening
tools while watching the master ply his trade. work is conducted
in silence, questions are answered elliptically, if at all, and, by the
end, the master will have withheld key pieces of knowledge that
the apprentice is expected to acquire through guile or outright
theft.
even in japan, where traditional crafts are revered, this
system is too grueling, too much at odds with modern life, to
survive. it is no wonder, then, that as a generation of japanese
boatwrights has retired, their knowledge has retired with them.
vermont boatbuilder douglas brooks is trying to ensure that the
centuries - old designs for fishing boats and water taxis dont follow
these craftsmen to the grave.
for more than two decades, brooks has researched traditional
boatmaking in japan, and has done short, nontraditional
apprenticeships to record boat designs. ordinarily, no westerner
would have a hope of learning in a few weeks what usually takes
years of patient observation to acquire.
heyre willing to teach me because they realize whats about
to be lost,\ brooks says.
the challenge of preserving this art is largely pedagogical,
and thats the subject of \ways of learning,\ a slide talk brooks
gives through the vermont humanities councils speakers
bureau. through his talk, brooks has stimulated a debate about
how traditional crafts are handed down. his american audiences
expect collegiality and dialog between student and teacher and
are often shocked to hear about the japanese method.
\japanese craftspeople do not teach in a way thats familiar to
us as westerners,\ brooks says. in part, thats because the
apprentice is meant to develop a set of values as well as a set of
skills. they must learn how to observe, and they must learn
patience and cunning.
of the five masters brooks has learned from, only two had
drawings of their boat designs, and even those were incomplete.
unless an apprentice was the masters son, he could expect to
have to steal essential pieces of knowledge from the master,

14
select the correct answer.
what is a central idea of the excerpt?
a. the japanese art of boat building is a difficult skill to learn
b. the japanese art of boat building may be lost because it is taught using unconventional methods
c. americans are surprised that the japanese art of boat building is taught using unconventional methods
d. americans are unfamiliar with the japanese art of boat building
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Question

school of hard knots
by alex hanson
the typical apprenticeship with a japanese traditional
boatbuilder lasts six years, during which an apprentice can expect
to spend a lot of time sweeping the shop floor and sharpening
tools while watching the master ply his trade. work is conducted
in silence, questions are answered elliptically, if at all, and, by the
end, the master will have withheld key pieces of knowledge that
the apprentice is expected to acquire through guile or outright
theft.
even in japan, where traditional crafts are revered, this
system is too grueling, too much at odds with modern life, to
survive. it is no wonder, then, that as a generation of japanese
boatwrights has retired, their knowledge has retired with them.
vermont boatbuilder douglas brooks is trying to ensure that the
centuries - old designs for fishing boats and water taxis dont follow
these craftsmen to the grave.
for more than two decades, brooks has researched traditional
boatmaking in japan, and has done short, nontraditional
apprenticeships to record boat designs. ordinarily, no westerner
would have a hope of learning in a few weeks what usually takes
years of patient observation to acquire.
	heyre willing to teach me because they realize whats about
to be lost,\ brooks says.
the challenge of preserving this art is largely pedagogical,
and thats the subject of \ways of learning,\ a slide talk brooks
gives through the vermont humanities councils speakers
bureau. through his talk, brooks has stimulated a debate about
how traditional crafts are handed down. his american audiences
expect collegiality and dialog between student and teacher and
are often shocked to hear about the japanese method.
\japanese craftspeople do not teach in a way thats familiar to
us as westerners,\ brooks says. in part, thats because the
apprentice is meant to develop a set of values as well as a set of
skills. they must learn how to observe, and they must learn
patience and cunning.
of the five masters brooks has learned from, only two had
drawings of their boat designs, and even those were incomplete.
unless an apprentice was the masters son, he could expect to
have to steal essential pieces of knowledge from the master,

14
select the correct answer.
what is a central idea of the excerpt?
a. the japanese art of boat building is a difficult skill to learn
b. the japanese art of boat building may be lost because it is taught using unconventional methods
c. americans are surprised that the japanese art of boat building is taught using unconventional methods
d. americans are unfamiliar with the japanese art of boat building
reset  next

Accepted Answer

# Brief Explanations:
The excerpt focuses on the harsh, unconventional Japanese boatbuilding apprenticeship system (silence, withheld knowledge, needing to "steal" skills) and notes this system is incompatible with modern life, leading to the risk of the art being lost as older craftsmen retire. Option A is too narrow; options C and D focus on American reactions, which are secondary details, not the central idea.
# Answer:
B. The Japanese art of boat building may be lost because it is taught using unconventional methods

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