Comprehension
In a recent New York Times Sunday magazine article on school textbooks, writer Robert Reinhold described California’s new history series as “. . . filled with colorful charts, graphs, time lines, maps, photographs in a format suggestive of the newspaper USA Today.” There it is again.
Since when did USA Today become the national design ideal? Everywhere you look you find USA Today used as an analogy to describe a noteworthy design format. Making ideas “accessible” is the operative term for the information age. But too often information is drained of its significance in the name of accessibility.
Some things are designed for reading: scholarly journals, literary reviews, financial pages, and their ilk are fairly impenetrable to the casual page flipper. Other objects like USA Today, annual reports, fashion magazines, and so on are for looking. (Haven’t you heard in the course of a design project someone say, only half in jest, “No one actually reads the copy, just make it look good.”) Then there are the gray areas. These include newsmagazines and textbooks, which imply reading but are increasingly about looking. If you compare Time or Newsweek or a fifth grade schoolbook of twenty years ago to their present incarnations, the change is remarkable. The headlines are bigger, the captions are bigger, and the photographs, charts and call-outs are all bigger. Something had to go, someone must have decided, and what went was the text.
Since when did USA Today become the national design ideal? Everywhere you look you find USA Today used as an analogy to describe a noteworthy design format. Making ideas “accessible” is the operative term for the information age. But too often information is drained of its significance in the name of accessibility.
Some things are designed for reading: scholarly journals, literary reviews, financial pages, and their ilk are fairly impenetrable to the casual page flipper. Other objects like USA Today, annual reports, fashion magazines, and so on are for looking. (Haven’t you heard in the course of a design project someone say, only half in jest, “No one actually reads the copy, just make it look good.”) Then there are the gray areas. These include newsmagazines and textbooks, which imply reading but are increasingly about looking. If you compare Time or Newsweek or a fifth grade schoolbook of twenty years ago to their present incarnations, the change is remarkable. The headlines are bigger, the captions are bigger, and the photographs, charts and call-outs are all bigger. Something had to go, someone must have decided, and what went was the text.
Question: 1
Who is the most likely audience for this passage?
Who is the most likely audience for this passage?
Updated On: Aug 19, 2024
- Readers of USA Today
- Public officials who regulate communication
- Reporters for USA Today
- People who design texts for publication
- School administrators
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The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
The correct option is (D): People who design texts for publication
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Question: 2
What is the best way to describe the effect USA Today has had on other publications, according to the author?
What is the best way to describe the effect USA Today has had on other publications, according to the author?
Updated On: Aug 19, 2024
- It has made them more readable and interesting
- It has caused newspapers and magazines to lose readers
- It has lowered their standards to emphasize visual style over substance
- It has suggested ways in which they can emphasize “reading” over “looking.”
- It has forced them to become more competitive in order to stay in business
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The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The correct option is (C): It has lowered their standards to emphasize visual style over substance
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Question: 3
Which term best represents the meaning of “copy” in the passage?
Which term best represents the meaning of “copy” in the passage?
Updated On: Jul 24, 2024
- Writing
- Captions
- Design
- Imitation
- Pictures
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The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
The correct option is (A): Writing
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Question: 4
Of the following types of publications, on which one has USA Today had the most visible impact, according to this passage?
Of the following types of publications, on which one has USA Today had the most visible impact, according to this passage?
Updated On: Jul 24, 2024
- Newspapers
- Fashion Magazines
- Scholarlry journals
- Textbooks
- Annual reports
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The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
The correct option is (D): Textbooks
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Question: 5
The author is trying to draw attention to
The author is trying to draw attention to
Updated On: Jul 24, 2024
- Changes in the publishing industry due to technological innovation
- The problem of publications that sacrifice depth of ideas for readability
- The importance of communicating ideas clearly to all readers
- The irresistible push for everything to be bigger and better
- The impact of reading in our society in general
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The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
The correct option is (B): The problem of publications that sacrifice depth of ideas for readability
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Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
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