12.Practice.Tests.for.the.SAT_2015-2016_1128p

Section 2
510
Practice Test Six
Questions 15-24 are based on the following passage.
The following passage is from a 2004 essay that discusses
the decline in artistic awareness, appreciation, and taste
in America.
While many of us express disdain at the declining
condition of artistic awareness, let alone
appreciation, in this country, we cannot honestly
Line express surprise. This general decline in tastes
(5) has not escaped the commentary and analysis of
cultural critics who have warned us that we may
be turning into a nation of Philistines. These same
critics have pointed to a pair of causes for this
cultural decline. Perhaps, they note, the decline
( 1 O) is due to the crumbling state of our educational
system, or to the media's focus on pop culture
and the general decline of taste this breeds.
Nevertheless, this type of scholarly discussion
about the roots of the decline, while relevant to
(15) sociological and cultural historical analysis, does
nothing to solve the problem. Understanding the
causes does not change the sad fact that the same
country that gave the world film noir, jazz, and
abstract expressionism now mostly concerns itself
(20) with teen movies and boy bands. We must use
our understanding and analysis of the causes to
address the problem of artistic decline in America.
Before we can begin a discussion of artistic
decline, we must first define the word art, an
(25) endeavor that has proven problematic, especially
after the introduction of modern art forms during
the twentieth century. Indeed, some may argue
that the entire debate about artistic decline in this
country is flawed due to our exclusion of modern
(30) forms of art such as pop music. Many claim that
such discussion can be seen as snobby, even
culturally imperious. Without entering the debate
on the validity of the postmodern conception of
art as an idea, the question of "What is art?" must
(35) be addressed. But it should be addressed expeditiously.
Far too much time has been spent arguing
over whether a teen movie is more or less art
than Citizen Kane is, or whether the music of a
boy band is more or less art than are the works of
(40) Sondheim. To be fair, society should not adopt
an exclusionary definition or attitude. Indeed,
history has proven that today's pop music can
be tomorrow's great art in retrospect. Thus,
we should accept all artistic endeavors as art.
( 45) Individuals and critics should judge the quality of
such endeavors. But this does not change the fact
that today people are unaware of and uneducated
about the classics, or even about recent movements
in art apart from cinema, television, and
(50) pop music.
Think about a United States of America in
which artistic education, and thus appreciation,
flourishes, a place where parents read books on art
and listen to classical music and opera as well as
(55) pop music. Children observe these adult activities
and mimic them. Parents read to their children
and educate them. These parents also give their
children art books, classical recordings, and plays
as gifts. These parents underwrite, with their tax
(60) dollars, public art, public broadcasting, and community
art groups. In school, students receive an
education in art history, classical music, and opera.
This curriculum can also include pop culture such
as the music videos, teen movies, and pop music
( 65) students enjoy in their free time. In fact, a better
education in art will better equip them to judge
the artistic merit of these newer, more trendy art
forms, or at least place these art forms in historical
context and analyze them as an outgrowth of
(70) societal and sociological trends-an important
aspect of artistic knowledge that has been lost by
the general public. When these children grow up,
some may produce their own art, which would
likely be higher in quality than the pop music and
(75) movies produced today. Imagine a land of such
developed artistic production and taste! How can
we achieve such a society?
Having noted that the proliferation of low-quality
art in pop culture can be addressed effectively
(80) by education, there remains one fundamental
cause for the decline in artistic taste: the crumbling
state of our educational system. The society
dreamed of above can only be achieved by
sustained efforts to improve the American edu-
(85) cational system. Unfortunately, with tightening
budgets due to increased levels of government
debt, often the first programs cut are those that
provide art and music classes. Often these cuts
are viewed as easy ones by the public since they
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