In the context of the passage as a whole

In the context of the passage as a whole, address (lines 3 and 6) is closest in meaning to In early-twentieth-century England, it was fashionable to claim that only a completely new style of writing could address a world undergoing unprecedented transformation just as one literary critic recently claimed that only the new aesthetic of exploratory excess can address a world under-going well, you know. Yet in early-twentieth-century England, T. S. Eliot, a man fascinated by the presence of the past, wrote the most innovative poetry of his time. The lesson for todays literary community seems obvious: a reorientation toward tradition would benefit writers no less than readers. But if our writers and critics indeed respect the novels rich tradition (as they claim to), then why do they disdain the urge to tell an exciting story? Blank: reveal, belie, speak to, direct attention toward, attempt to remediate

3 Explanations

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jishu kumar dey

the last line of the passage include the words "urge to tell an exacting story" is this a clue for "to speak"?

Jun 26, 2016 • Comment

Sam Kinsman, Magoosh Tutor

That's a keen observation you've made! However, this isn't really a clue about the meaning of the word "address." It's at the end of the passage, while "address" is used close to the beginning. When you're looking for the meaning of a particular word, the best approach is to focus on the specific sentence that the word is used in.

Jun 27, 2016 • Reply

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Phoebe Pahng

I kept thinking that both 'reveal' and 'speak to' work - say, new style of writing can reveal (or capture) the changing world.

Dec 19, 2015 • Comment

Adam

Hi Phoebe,

First, remember we're looking for the word that is *closest* in meaning to "address." "Speak to" is definitely closer to this than is "reveal."

"Reveal" means "to bring into view something that was hidden" -- this is definitely a change in meaning from "address," which literally means to "speak to someone or something" or "to think about and begin to deal with [an issue or problem]."

You wrote: new style of writing can reveal (or capture) the changing world.

Now, "capture" might be a little closer to what we want here, but "reveal" is not the same as "capture." If we were "revealing" this new world, that would imply that the new world has not made itself known yet. But that's not what is happening here -- the new world has already been revealed: we need a style of writing that can address / speak to / deal with this new world.

Dec 22, 2015 • Reply

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Chris Lele, Magoosh Tutor