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Monco Posted 14 years ago
Proficiency Tests & Test-taking

CPE reading question - Karen

Hello,


Can someone help me with this reading question? Here's the extract:



Karen


It was a simple desire - not to be like her mother - that led Karen to create her own story, her own mythology, a mythology of difference and strength. In the tale that she constructed for herself, there was significant moments in her progress; such as they day she was twelve years old and her brother quick-swung a golf club behind him and hit her full in the eye. At the first moment of impact, she was convinced of immediate blindness. But the bone had protected her, as the doctor from the high-walled house later assured her. The golf club had clean missed the eye and she was left with only a few stitches that healed to a pale drawing of past suffering. When she opened her eyes in the doctor's white-walled consulting room, overlooking the tennis courts, and saw her mother clear before her, muttering predictably and paradoxically about both miracles and small mercies, she knew that she was saved for some purpose.

What was characteristic of Karen's 'mythology'?
A. the portrayel of herself as a victim
B. the models she chose for herself
C. the imprtance attached to particular events
D. the carelessness of the people around her

(Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English 3 - Student's Book with Answers)

The correct answer is C, but I don't see why. I thought it was B because she didn't want to be like her mother so chose different models - perhaps trying to present herself as a victim. But that's not it.

Can someone please explain why it's C?

Thank you in advance.
  

Top answer

Wow. This is a fantastic and difficult question. The key part is In the tale that she constructed for herself, there was significant moments in her progress; and everything that comes after that is just an example.

  • Wow.
  • This is a fantastic and difficult question.
  • The key part is In the tale that she constructed for herself, there was significant moments in her progress; and everything that comes after that is just an example.
  • That is, the golf club incident tells her that there is some purpose in her life, and that's why she was saved.
  • But the bigger picture is that certain significant events in her life tell her things about her life.
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2 Answers
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Wow. This is a fantastic and difficult question. The key part is

In the tale that she constructed for herself, there was significant moments in her progress;
and everything that comes after that is just an example. That is, the golf club incident tells her that there is some purpose in her life, and that's why she was saved. But the bigger picture is that certa

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