The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
To defend the sequence of alphabetisation may seem bizarre, so obvious is its application that it is hard to imagine a reference, catalogue or listing without it. But alphabetical order was not an immediate consequence of the alphabet itself. In the Middle Ages, deference for ecclesiastical tradition left scholars reluctant to categorise things according to the alphabet - to do so would be a rejection of the divine order. The rediscovery of the ancient Greek and Roman classics necessitated more efficient ways of ordering, searching and referencing texts. Government bureaucracy in the 16th and 17th centuries quickened the advance of alphabetical order, bringing with it pigeonholes, notebooks and card indexes.
The alphabetic order took several centuries to gain common currency because of religious beliefs and a lack of appreciation of its efficacy in the ordering of things.
The passage argues that alphabetical order, though it now seems obvious, did not follow automatically from the alphabet. In the Middle Ages, respect for church tradition made scholars reluctant to sort things alphabetically, as that seemed to reject the divine order. Only later, with the rediscovery of classical texts and the growth of government bureaucracy in the 16th and 17th centuries, did the need for efficient ordering and referencing push alphabetical order forward.
The summary saying alphabetic order took several centuries to gain common currency because of religious beliefs and a lack of appreciation of its efficacy in ordering things captures both halves: the delay caused by religious deference, and its eventual spread once efficient ordering of texts and records became necessary.
The summary that begins "Unlike the alphabet" speaks only of widespread use after its efficacy became apparent and omits the religious reason for the delay. The summary about a ban on any categorisation except the divinely ordained one overstates the passage: scholars were reluctant out of deference, not banned. The summary contrasting easy adoption of the written alphabet with slow acceptance of the sequence by scholars adds a claim about the alphabet's adoption that the passage never makes and ignores the role of bureaucracy and classical texts.
Hence, The alphabetic order took several centuries to gain common currency because of religious beliefs and a lack of appreciation of its efficacy in the ordering of things.
Similar Questions
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Study the following sets of concepts and identify the set that is conceptually closest to the concerns and arguments of the passage.
According to the passage, who or what was an “alienist”?
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According to the incentive or moral hazard argument, which one of the designs below is most consistent with the claim that some inequality can raise growth?
Which one of the options below best summarises the passage?
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Important Questions from Non Grammar
- In formulating Principle VI (a), the ILC clarified the term "waging of a war of aggression" because:
- The author attributes the growing public frustration with the UN primarily to which pair of continuous failures?
- A primary point of divergence between the US Conservative position and the Secretary-General's Conservative position on security matters, according to the summary is:
- According to the critique's conclusion, the immediate, insurmountable barrier preventing the implementation of any reform, major or minor, is:
- The Secretary-General's 'Agenda for Peace' proposed a specific military capability intended to address the gap between traditional peace-keeping and full military action. This proposed unit was explicitly characterized by the summary as being:
