■ Direction You have 20 minutes to plan and write your response. Your response will be judged on the basis of The quality of writing and on how well your response presents the points in the lecture and the relationship to the reading passage. Typically, an effective response will be 150 to 225 words. ■ Question Summarize the points made in the lecture you just heard, explaining how they cast doubt on the points made in the reading
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▶ Topic : Toward the end
of his life, the Chevalier de Seingalt (1725−1798) wrote a long memoir
recounting his life and adventures. The Chevalier was a somewhat controversial
figure, but since he met many famous people, including kings and writers, his
memoir has become a valuable historical source about European society in the
eighteenth century. However, some critics have raised doubts about the accuracy
of the memoir. They claim that the Chevalier distorted or invented many events
in the memoir to make his life seem more exciting and glamorous than it really
was.
For example, in his memoir the Chevalier claims that while
living in Switzerland, he was very wealthy, and it is known that he spent a
great deal of money there on parties and gambling. However, evidence has
recently surfaced that the Chevalier borrowed considerable sums of money from a
Swiss merchant. Critics thus argue that if the Chevalier had really been very
rich, he would not have needed to borrow money.
Critics are also skeptical about the accuracy of the
conversations that the Chevalier records in the memoir between himself and the
famous writer Voltaire. No one doubts that the Chevalier and Voltaire met and
conversed. However, critics complain that the memoir cannot possibly capture
these conversations accurately, because it was written many years after the
conversations occurred. Critics point out that it is impossible to remember
exact phrases from extended conversations held many years earlier.
Critics have also questioned the memoir’s account of the
Chevalier’s escape from a notorious prison in Venice, Italy. He claims to have
escaped the Venetian prison by using a piece of metal to make a hole in the
ceiling and climbing through the roof. Critics claim that while such a daring
escape makes for enjoyable reading, it is more likely that the Chevalier’s
jailers were bribed to free him. They point out that the Chevalier had a number
of politically well-connected friends in Venice who could have offered a bribe. |
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▶ Your Answer :
According
to the reading passage, the Chevalier de Seingalt wrote a long memoir and some
critics have raised doubts about the accuracy of the memoir. However, the speaker
in the listening states that the memoir is pretty accurate and can be used as a
reliable historical source.
First
of all, the Chevalier claims that while living in Switzerland, he was very wealthy,
and it is known that he spent a lot of money there on parties and gambling.
However, the evidence shows that the Chevalier borrowed a considerable amount
of money form a Swiss merchant. Critics argue that if the Chevalier had really
been very rich, he would not have needed to borrow money. This is in direct
contrast with the listening material which contends that loan does not mean that
the Chevalier was poor. While converting his asset, he did not have cash so
that he borrowed a great deal of money from the merchant until the money
arrived.
In
addition, according to the reading passage, Critics are also skeptical about
the accuracy of the conversations between the Chevalier and Voltaire. Skeptical
people complain that the memoir cannot possibly capture conversations accurately,
because it was written many years after the conversations occurred. However,
the speaker refutes that the Chevalier wrote the conversation between him and Voltaire
each night after the conversation. He remembered everything. And the person who
was with the Chevalier for a couple of years stated that he consulted notes and
journals while writing the memoir.
Finally,
the reading claims that critics have also questioned the memoir's account of
the Chevalier's escape from a prison in Venice. He claims to have escaped the prison
by using a piece of metal to make a hole in the ceiling and climbing through
the roof. Critics point out that the Chevalier had a number of politically well-connected
friends in Venice who could have offered a bribe. This is challenged by the
listening material which contends that there were other prisoners who had more
powerful friends but they were not able to escape from the prison. Thus, the
speaker claims that the bribe was not the case. According to the Venetian document,
after the Chevalier had escaped from the prison, the Prison had to be repaired
because of the ceiling. This shows that the story that the Chevalier wrote was
true.
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주어진 passage와 file 첨부되어있습니당_: