For example, critics note that in 1760, while living in Switzerland, the Chevalier claimed to have been very wealthy. Yet evidence recently surfaced that he borrowed money from a Swiss merchant at that time. Critics argue that if the Chevalier had been very rich, he would not have needed to borrow money. Critics are also skeptical about the accuracy of the conversations that the Chevalier records in the memoir between himself and the famous writer Voltaire . No one doubts that the Chevalier and Voltaire met and conversed . However, critics complain that the memoir cannot possibly capture these conversations accurately, because it was written many years after the conversations occurred. Critics point out that it is impossible to remember exact phrases from extended conversations held many years earlier. Critics have also questioned the memoir’s account of the Chevalier’s escape from a notorious prison in Venice, Italy. He claims to have escaped the Venetian prison by using a piece of metal to make a hole in the ceiling and climbing through the roof. Critics claim that while such a daring escape makes for enjoyable reading, it is more likely that the Chevalier’s jailers were bribed to free him . They point out that the Chevalier had a number of politically well-connected friends in Venice who could have offered a bribe. Sample response receiving the score of 5: The reading passage and the lecture are both talking about the memoir of the Chevalier de Seingalt and its rate of accuracy. The first point of the lecture disputes the reading passage’s argument that the Chevalier wasn’t wealthy. The lecture suggests that the fact that he borrowed money from Swiss merchants doesn’t mean his poverty. The Chevalier probably had to convert his assets into money in order to pay for his parties and gambles. However, because it takes time to do so, he may first have borrowed cash to deal with all the costs. The second point of the lecture argues against the reading passage’s opinion about the Chevalier’s conversation with Voltaire . The reading passage argues that the conversations may not be accurate, because the conversations had taken place long before it was recorded. However, according to the lecture, the Chevalier used to write down every conversation with Voltaire, immediately after they had finished conversing . As a result, the Chevalier could use his notes and journals to complete his memoirs with Voltaire. The third point of the lecture refers to when the Chevalier escaped from prison . It is said that the Chevalier had escaped from jail using a piece of metal to make a hole in the ceiling, while the reading passage believes that he may just have bribed the jailers to get out of prison. However, the lecture disagree with such thought by comparing the Chevalier to other prisoners who had even more powerful friends but never succeeded in escaping. Also, it provides a material of the old Venician government, in which it is described that soon after the Chevalier’s escape, the ceiling of the room he had stayed, had to be repaired. Unlike the reading passage, the lecture considers the memoirs of the Chevalier de Seingalt as a reliable and valuable historical source.
Sample response receiving the score of 1: Before I start, I’d like to introduce very briefly about the Chevalier de Seingalt .
According to the reading passage and the lecture, he met various famous people, and his memoir has been a valuable historical source about European society in 18th. That memoir is about all of people who he met spoken words . It is one of the habit of the Chevalier de Seingalt. Due to that, he could be more accurate on conversations and skeptical in critics . Another habit is loan for fortune. That means he didn’t have any stereo type to other people about borrow or loan the money. Last of thing is trying to questioning to himself. From these his passions, he could overcome anything that come from very hard situations, such as the case of the event of he escape from a notorious prison in Venice, Italy. Chevalier is a person who is political and famous in the world . Especially in Venice .
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