Passages
Direction for Reading Comprehension: In the past, credit for telling the tale of Aladdin has often gone to Antoine Galland . . . the first European translator of . . . Arabian Nights [which] started as a series of translations of an incomplete manuscript of a medieval Arabic story collection. . . But, though those tales were of medieval origin, Aladdin may be a more recent invention. Scholars have not found a manuscript of the story that predates the version published in 1712 by Galland, who wrote in his diary that he first heard the tale from a Syrian storyteller from Aleppo named Hanna Diyab . . .
Despite the fantastical elements of the story, scholars now think the main character may actually be based on a real person’s real experiences. . . . Though Galland never credited Diyab in his published translations of the Arabian Nights stories, Diyab wrote something of his own: a travelogue penned in the mid-18th century. In it, he recalls telling Galland the story of Aladdin [and] describes his own hard-knocks upbringing and the way he marveled at the extravagance of Versailles. The descriptions he uses were very similar to the descriptions of the lavish palace that ended up in Galland’s version of the Aladdin story. [Therefore, author Paulo Lemos] Horta believes that “Aladdin might be the young Arab Maronite from Aleppo, marveling at the jewels and riches of Versailles.” . . .
For 300 years, scholars thought that the rags-to-riches story of Aladdin might have been inspired by the plots of French fairy tales that came out around the same time, or that the story was invented in that 18th century period as a byproduct of French Orientalism, a fascination with stereotypical exotic Middle Eastern luxuries that were prevalent then. The idea that Diyab might have based it on his own life — the experiences of a Middle Eastern man encountering the French, not vice-versa — flips the script. [According to Horta,] “Diyab was ideally placed to embody the overlapping world of East and West, blending the storytelling traditions of his homeland with his youthful observations of the wonder of 18th-century France.” . . .
To the scholars who study the tale, its narrative drama isn’t the only reason storytellers keep finding a reason to return to Aladdin. It reflects not only “a history of the French and the Middle East, but also [a story about] Middle Easterners coming to Paris and that speaks to our world today,” as Horta puts it. “The day Diyab told the story of Aladdin to Galland, there were riots due to food shortages during the winter and spring of 1708 to 1709, and Diyab was sensitive to those people in a way that Galland is not. When you read this diary, you see this solidarity among the Arabs who were in Paris at the time. . . . There is little in the writings of Galland that would suggest that he was capable of developing a character like Aladdin with sympathy, but Diyab’s memoir reveals a narrator adept at capturing the distinctive psychology of a young protagonist, as well as recognizing the kinds of injustices and opportunities that can transform the path of any youthful adventurer.”
Question for CAT 2019 Reading Comprehension Questions- 1
Try yourself:Which of the following does not contribute to the passage’s claim about the authorship of Aladdin?
Explanation
We have to mark the choice that does not contribute to the passage’s claim about the authorship of Aladdin.
Option 1 does contribute because it confirms that Diyab is the author of Aladdin
Option 2 is mentioned in the passage towards the end “…Diyab’s memoir reveals a narrator adept at capturing the distinctive psychology of a young Protagonist…”
Option 4, too, supports the claim that Diyab could well be the author.
Option 3 does not support the claim because ‘the French fairy tales’ evidence has been disputed by the author, and he says that “The idea that Diyab might have based it on his own life — the experiences of a Middle Eastern man encountering the French, not vice-versa — flips the script."
Which script is getting flipped? The story that Aladdin was inspired by French Fairy tales of the 18th century (read the passage)
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Question for CAT 2019 Reading Comprehension Questions- 1
Try yourself:Which of the following is the primary reason why storytellers are still fascinated by the story of Aladdin?
Explanation
The first few sentences of the last paragraph have the clue to the right answer.
“To the scholars who study the tale, its narrative drama isn’t the only reason storytellers keep finding a reason to return to Aladdin. It reflects not only “a history of the French and the Middle
East, but also [a story about] Middle Easterners coming to Paris and that speaks to our world today,” as Horta puts it.”
The archetype rags to riches story… has not been featured in the above passage.
By reading the above paragraph, we can indisputably mark option 2 as your choice.
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Question for CAT 2019 Reading Comprehension Questions- 1
Try yourself:The author of the passage is most likely to agree with which of the following explanations for the origins of the story of Aladdin?
Explanation
This is a very simple question. The main argument of the passage is that Diyab could well be the author of the passage. We have to pick a choice that goes in this direction.
Option 1 attributes the authorship to Diyab, it is the right choice
Option 2 attributes the authorship to some incomplete medieval manuscript. It goes out
Option 3 goes out for the same reason as option 2
Option 4 says that Galland derived the story, ultimately giving the credit of authorship to Galland.
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Question for CAT 2019 Reading Comprehension Questions- 1
Try yourself:All of the following serve as evidence for the character of Aladdin being based on Hanna Diyab EXCEPT:
Explanation
We have to mark the choice that is not serving as evidence, as it is an except question.
Option 1 serves as evidence (Diyab was ideally placed to embody the overlapping world of East and West, blending the storytelling traditions of his homeland with his youthful observations of the wonder of 18th-century France.”). The youthful observations of the wealth of Versailles refer to his cross-cultural experience. We can also eliminate choice 4 by reading the above extract from the passage.
Option 2 can be ruled out because of this extract from the second paragraph: a travelogue penned in the mid-18th century. In it, he recalls telling Galland the story of Aladdin [and] describes his own hard-knocks upbringing…(the hard-knocks upbringing supports that Diyab could well be the author)
Option 3 does not serve as evidence for the character of Aladdin being based on Hanna Diyab, because Diyab could have read or heard the story from somewhere or narrated it to Galland. The fact that he is just narrating the story to Galland does not serve as evidence that Diyab is likely to be the real Aladdin.
The other choices do support that.
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Question for CAT 2019 Reading Comprehension Questions- 1
Try yourself:Which of the following, if true, would invalidate the inversion that the phrase “flips the script” refers to?
Explanation
To invalidate the inversion, we have to first understand the inversion. What exactly is ‘flips the script” referring to? Scholars initially thought that Aladdin must have been inspired by 18th century French Fairy tales, but “The idea that Diyab might have based it on his own life — the experiences of a Middle Eastern man encountering the French, not vice-versa — flips the script.“
Here flips the script means changes the opinion that Aladdin was inspired by French Fairy tales. In other words, Aladdin was not inspired by French Fairy tales but that Diyab was the actual author. By invalidating the inversion, the question wants us to not give the credit to Diyab
Option 3 goes out because by pointing out the dissimilarity between Aladdin and French Fairy Tales, it gives credit to Diyab.
Option 2 does not invalidate because still, Diyab has seen the luxury and opulence of France, not necessarily of Versailles.
Option 1 also gives the credit to Diyab, so it is not invalidating the inversion.
Option 4 is the right choice because, if they bore no resemblance, then it disputes the evidence that Diyab ever narrated the story to Galland, as Galland claims in his diary. This would contradict, at least to some extent, the author’s claim that Diyab was the author of the character of Aladdin.
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