That Priestley's contributions to the knowledge of chemical fact were of the greatest importance is unquestionable; but it must be admitted that he had no comprehension of the deeper significance of his work; and, so far from contributing anything to the theory of the facts which he discovered, or assisting in their rational explanation, his influence to the end of his life was warmly exerted in favor of error. From first to last, he was a stiff adherent of the phlogiston doctrine which was prevalent when his studies commenced; and, by a curious irony of fate, the man who by the discovery of what he called "dephlogisticated air" furnished the essential datum for the true theory of combustion, of respiration, and of the composition of water, to the end of his days fought against the inevitable corollaries from his own labors.

Paragraph two

It is a trying ordeal for any man to be compared with Black and Cavendish, and Priestley cannot be said to stand on their level. Nevertheless his achievements are truly wonderful if we consider the disadvantages under which he labored. Without the careful scientific training of Black, without the leisure and appliances secured by the wealth of Cavendish, he scaled the walls of science; and trusting to mother wit to supply the place of training, and to ingenuity to create apparatus out of washing tubs, he discovered more new gases (including oxygen, which he termed “dephlogisticated air”) than all his predecessors put together had done.

1264. Which pairing best reflects the main emphasis of the two passages? The first focuses mainly on Priestley’s

1265. It can be inferred that “dephlogisticated air” is

I a misnomer, but relating to something important
II a gaseous substance discovered by Priestley
III something not fully understood by Preistley

1266. The metaphor “scaled the walls of science” conveys the idea that Priestley

1267. The attitude of both the passages to Priestley’s scientific work could be described as

TOTAL

Passage Reading Verbal Logic Non Verbal Logic Numerical Logic Data Interpretation Reasoning Analytical Ability Basic Numeracy About Us Contact Privacy Policy Major Tests FAQ