Question 24
ComprehensionJAMB 1986 Passage V: Museums
It may be argued that museums as an institution and an agency for transmitting cultural heritage are an artificial creation, so far as objects are removed from their natural or proper environments and put into museums which are a different environment altogether. However, it seems that museums themselves have come to be accepted and recognized as the best equipped institutions devised by man for the assemblage of cultural objects and their presentation and preservation for the present and future generations.
The artificial character of museums is however being gradually transformed into a cultural reality. Thus, just as one goes to the theatre for plays and other performing arts; the mosque, the church or the shrine for worship; the library for the printed word; today, it is to the museum one goes to see evidence of man's material outfit. For, no other institution or place so readily comes to mind as museums do when evidence of material culture is sought. Herein lies the importance of museums as cultural institutions and an agency for transmitting culture.
The artificial character of museums is however being gradually transformed into a cultural reality. Thus, just as one goes to the theatre for plays and other performing arts; the mosque, the church or the shrine for worship; the library for the printed word; today, it is to the museum one goes to see evidence of man's material outfit. For, no other institution or place so readily comes to mind as museums do when evidence of material culture is sought. Herein lies the importance of museums as cultural institutions and an agency for transmitting culture.
Which of the following phrases in the passage does NOT express the artificial character of museums?
- A.Removed from
- B.For transmitting
- C.Put into
- D.Devised by
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: B (For transmitting)
Explanation
Objects being 'removed from' their setting, 'put into' museums and museums being 'devised by' man all show they are man-made; 'for transmitting' only states their purpose.