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Question
Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.
Here are a couple of generalizations about England that would be accepted by almost all observers. One is that the English are not gifted artistically. They are not as musical as the Germans or Italians. Painting and sculpture have never flourished in England as they have in France. Another is that as Europeans go, the English are not intellectual. They have a horror of abstract thought, they feel no need for any philosophy or systematic 'world-view'. Nor is this because they are 'practical', as they are so fond of claiming for themselves. One has only to look at their methods of town planning and water supply. Their obstinate clinging to everything that is out of date and a nuisance, a selling system that defies analysis and a system of weights and measures that is intelligible only to the compiler of arithmetic books, to see how little they care about mere efficiency. But they have a certain power of acting without taking thought. Their word-famed hypocrisy - their double-faced attitude towards the Empire, for instance - is bound up with this. Also, in moments of supreme crisis, the whole nation can suddenly draw together and act upon a species of instinct, really a code of conduct which is understood almost by everyone, though never formulated.
'Horror of abstract thought' means ________.
Here are a couple of generalizations about England that would be accepted by almost all observers. One is that the English are not gifted artistically. They are not as musical as the Germans or Italians. Painting and sculpture have never flourished in England as they have in France. Another is that as Europeans go, the English are not intellectual. They have a horror of abstract thought, they feel no need for any philosophy or systematic 'world-view'. Nor is this because they are 'practical', as they are so fond of claiming for themselves. One has only to look at their methods of town planning and water supply. Their obstinate clinging to everything that is out of date and a nuisance, a selling system that defies analysis and a system of weights and measures that is intelligible only to the compiler of arithmetic books, to see how little they care about mere efficiency. But they have a certain power of acting without taking thought. Their word-famed hypocrisy - their double-faced attitude towards the Empire, for instance - is bound up with this. Also, in moments of supreme crisis, the whole nation can suddenly draw together and act upon a species of instinct, really a code of conduct which is understood almost by everyone, though never formulated.
'Horror of abstract thought' means ________.
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Solution
The correct option is A fear of philosophical ideas
In the fifth sentence, the author claims that the English have a fear of abstract thought and that they do not feel the need for any philosophy. He seems to connect these two statements. Thus, we can conclude that the author believes fear of abstract thought is the fear of philosophy. Hence, A is the correct answer.Although B comes close in its meaning to the given phrase, A is the better choice that expresses the meaning of the phrase in the context of the passage.C and D are rejected.
In the fifth sentence, the author claims that the English have a fear of abstract thought and that they do not feel the need for any philosophy. He seems to connect these two statements. Thus, we can conclude that the author believes fear of abstract thought is the fear of philosophy. Hence, A is the correct answer.
Although B comes close in its meaning to the given phrase, A is the better choice that expresses the meaning of the phrase in the context of the passage.
C and D are rejected.
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