LSAT 150 | Section 4 | Reading Comprehension: Q5

RC Question 5 Explanation

DISCUSSION: The passage gives Marsalis’ views in lines 37-45. Marsalis encouraged young jazz musicians to pay attention to tradition, but also to push jazz forward.

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1. “Innovative impulses” are mentioned in line 31. That’s a line describing the views of Marsalis’ critics. They say Marsalis wanted to stifle innovation. But, lines 37-45 make clear that this isn’t true.
2. Only lines 37-45 give Marsalis’ views, and they don’t mention “composing and performing”.
3. As in B, this simply isn’t mentioned in the passage. Marsalis wanted young jazz musicians to respect tradition, but that means listening and incorporating jazz classics. It doesn’t necessarily mean “play with old people”.
4. This answer is a garble of line 37. That line says that Marsalis wanted to “elevate the public perception of jazz”. This answer takes those words, twists them, and makes a nonsense answer. If you have elevated public perception to a better, high, level, why would you ignore it?
    
   This sort of nonsense answer is common on RC. It’s like saying “The president of the United States of America” and transforming it to “Presiding over the United America Statesman awards”. It sounds similar, but it changes what was actually said in the passage.
5. CORRECT. Lines 38-40 say this directly.