Question

Central Park

Although the name central park suggests that it has a clear organizing feature, New York’s City’s famous green space has no official center. There is no formal walkway that cuts through the park or monuments that marks its middle. Instead of symmetry, central park contains widened parks and an ever-changing landscape that appears random and rustic. Despite appearances, the park is an achievement of planning and engineering. Years of citizens campaigning for a park on New York City’s Manhattan island convinced the state to purchase 750 acres of land in 1853. After a chance meeting with the project organizer, Frank Law Olmstead who was raised in Connecticut and had been deeply impressed by the public parts of England applied for the job of Park Superintendent in 1857. Olmstead was appointed Superintendent and workers began clearing the land for construction. The park now needed a design. Calvert Vaux, a British architect, who had helped to design the grounds of the White House and the Smithsonian Institution asked Olmstead to collaborate with him. The two developed a plan that would give city dwellers a tranquil growing space. After a vote by park commissioners, Vaux and Olmstead became the official designers of Central Park. Creation of the park required years of construction. Thanks in part to the use of 166 tons of gunpowder, the swampy land was transformed into gentle slopes, scenic vistas by the movement of 2.5 million cubic yards of earth. By the time construction finished, the park included 58 miles of walking paths and 7 land made bodies of water. Today, Olmstead and Vaux’s work of art welcomes about 40 million visitors each year. Without itself having a single orientation, central park’s natural and open designs made it a central escape from the noise and unyielding grid of the city that surrounds it.

Which of the following describes the author’s main purpose in the passage?
a. To inform
b. To analyze
c. To persuade
d. To entertain

Answer 1

The main purpose of the passage is to inform readers about the history and significance of Central Park, its design, and its impact on urban planning. The correct answer is a. To inform.

Step-by-step explanation:

The author's main purpose in the passage about Central Park is to inform. The text provides a historical overview of the park's creation, mentioning its designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, and the impact of the park's design on urban planning.

The passage details the efforts to create a tranquil green space for city dwellers, the engineering feats involved in its construction, and the nature of its use by the public.

This indicates that the author's intent is to educate the reader about Central Park rather than to entertain, analyze, or persuade.

The passage provides historical information about the creation of Central Park in New York City, discussing the planning and engineering involved, as well as the role of Frank Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux as the park's designers. It also highlights the park's purpose as a central escape from the city surroundings.