Question

Difficulty: MediumWriter's Purpose, Tone, Mood, and Attitude

Read the passage below carefully:

"When municipal planners unveiled the ambitious 'Green Spine' project—a high-tech concrete promenade flanked by potted exotic flora—they promised an urban oasis that would revolutionize city living. Three years later, the withered non-native shrubs stand as expensive monuments to ecological ignorance, while the surrounding concrete intensifies the urban heat island effect it was meant to alleviate. Meanwhile, community-planted pockets of indigenous cassava and wild grasses in abandoned lots thrive without municipal intervention or funding, quietly filtering stormwater and cooling the neighborhood air. It seems our city fathers managed to construct a microclimate disaster while local weeds were offering free, sophisticated environmental engineering."

What is the writer's overall attitude toward the municipal planners and their project?

  1. A
    Mournful and despairing
  2. Sardonic and disapprovingAnswer
  3. C
    Objective and detached
  4. D
    Enthusiastic and laudatory

Answer

The writer's attitude is sardonic and disapproving.
The writer employs sarcastic remarks such as referring to withered shrubs as 'expensive monuments to ecological ignorance' and mocking the 'city fathers' for constructing a 'microclimate disaster'. This combination of biting irony and sharp critique demonstrates a sardonic and disapproving attitude.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the passage for key tone and attitude indicators (word choice, figures of speech, and rhetorical style).
Identified phrases such as 'expensive monuments to ecological ignorance', 'city fathers managed to construct a microclimate disaster', and the irony of 'local weeds offering free, sophisticated environmental engineering'.
The author's choice of words reveals how they feel about the subject matter.
2
Evaluate the author's primary intention regarding the municipal planners.
The author uses sharp irony and mockery to highlight the failure and incompetence of the planners.
Irony and sarcastic humor used to highlight folly define a sardonic tone.
3
Select the option that best summarizes this combination of irony and sharp criticism.
Sardonic and disapproving accurately describes the author's voice and perspective.
It captures both the sarcastic method (sardonic) and the underlying judgment (disapproving).

Key Concept

Writer's Purpose, Tone, Mood, and Attitude
Estimated Time:1m 15s
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