The following text is adapted from Lewis Carroll's 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. Alice, a...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
The following text is adapted from Lewis Carroll's 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. Alice, a child, is talking to her cat. 'Do you hear the snow against the window-panes, Kitty? How nice and soft it sounds! Just as if someone was kissing the window all over outside.'
As used in the text, what does the word 'soft' most nearly mean?
Gentle
Sensitive
Shapeless
Bland
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Do you hear the snow against the window-panes, Kitty?' |
|
| 'How nice and soft it sounds!' |
|
| 'Just as if someone was kissing the window all over outside.' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Alice finds the sound of snow against the window pleasant and gentle, describing it through a tender comparison.
Argument Flow: Alice first gets her cat's attention to the sound, then describes it positively as nice and soft, and finally explains what makes it soft by comparing it to someone gently kissing the window.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The meaning of the word soft as Alice uses it in this specific context
What type of answer do we need? The definition that best fits how soft functions in Alice's description of the snow's sound
Any limiting keywords? As used in the text - we need the contextual meaning, not just any definition of soft
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- From our analysis, Alice uses soft to describe a sound she finds pleasant and nice
- She immediately follows this with a comparison to gentle kisses on the window
- This suggests soft here means something tender, mild, or gentle rather than loud or harsh
- The word describes the quality of the sound that makes it pleasant to Alice's ears
Gentle
✓ Correct
- Gentle perfectly captures how Alice uses soft to describe the pleasant sound
- Fits with her comparison to tender kisses on the window
Sensitive
✗ Incorrect
- Sensitive describes a person's emotional state, not a sound quality
Shapeless
✗ Incorrect
- Shapeless refers to physical form and cannot meaningfully describe a sound
Bland
✗ Incorrect
- Bland suggests something boring, which contradicts Alice's enthusiastic description