Question

Read the excerpt from "The City of Invention" and answer the question.

. . . one both anticipates and fears the kind of swooning, almost erotic pleasure that a good passage in a good book gives; as something nameless happens. I don't know what it is that happens: is it the pleasure of mind meeting mind, untramelled by flesh? Of the inchoation of our experience suddenly given shape and form? Why yes, we cry: yes, yes, that is how it is!

Context helps readers guess that "inchoation" in this passage describes experiences that are _____ and _____. Select all that apply.

universal
incoherent
insincere
preliminary

Answer 1

"Inchoation" in this passage describes experiences that are universal and preliminary.

The excerpt makes reference to that moment when you read something so vivid and realistic that feels as if it were your own experiences being described. When the author writes something that anyone, anywhere in the world can identify with, and connect to (universal). It is able to take you to the beginning or start (preliminary), to the commencement of an adventure that feels very real, as real as meeting in person with the author and becoming part of the story.

Answer 2

Context helps readers guess that "inchoation" in this passage describes experiences that are preliminary and universal.

In the excerpt, the narrator tries to capture the experience that a reader has when he or she encounters with a fascinating and shivering passage. The inchoation, or beginning, (Merriam Webster), represent the start of an enthralling feeling that is preliminary, as it prepares the reader for richer and more important experiences, and could encompass something that is inherent in human life, i.e. universal. A sudden thrill that pulls the strings of the soul and deeply connects with the reader. These experiences are unexpected, and they are the beginning of something much bigger and enriching that may change the reader forever.