Reading Comprehension

Technology

Medium

Typewriters are the epitome of a technology that has been comprehensively rendered obsolete by the digital age. The ink comes off the ribbon, they weigh a ton, and second thoughts are a disaster. But they are also personal, portable and, above all, private. Type a document and lock it away and more or less the only way anyone else can get it is if you give it to them. That is why the Russians have decided to go back to typewriters in some government offices, and why in the US, some departments have never abandoned them. Yet it is not just their resistance to algorithms and secret surveillance that keeps typewriter production lines well one, at least in business (the last British one closed a year ago). Nor is it only the nostalgic appeal of the metal body and the stout well-defined keys that make them popular on eBay. A typewriter demands something particular: attentiveness. By the time the paper is loaded, the ribbon tightened, the carriage returned, the spacing and the margins set, there's a big premium on hitting the right key. That means sorting out ideas, pulling together a kind of order and organising details before actually striking off. There can be no thinking on screen with a typewriter. Nor are there any easy distractions. No online shopping. No urgent emails. No Twitter. No need even for electricity perfect for writing in a remote hideaway. The thinking process is accompanied by the encouraging clack of keys, and the ratchet of the carriage return. Ping!

According to the passage, some governments still use typewriters because:

they do not want to abandon old technologies that may be useful in the future.

they want to ensure that typewriter production lines remain in business.

they like the nostalgic appeal of typewriter.

they can control who reads the document.

✅ Correct Option: 4

The key to solving this question is finding the specific reason the passage gives for government typewriter use, not the general reasons people use typewriters.

Step 1: Look for the sentence that directly connects governments and typewriters -> "That is why the Russians have decided to go back to typewriters in some government offices, and why in the US, some departments have never abandoned them."

Step 2: Find what "That" refers to -> Go back one sentence -> "Type a document and lock it away and more or less the only way anyone else can get it is if you give it to them."

From passage: "Type a document and lock it away and more or less the only way anyone else can get it is if you give it to them. That is why the Russians have decided to go back to typewriters in some government offices"

The passage says typewriters are private -> you control who gets the document -> that's why governments use them.

Watch out for the trap! The passage mentions many reasons people like typewriters (nostalgia, no distractions, etc.), but only one reason for government use -> privacy/control.

🟠 Option 1 -> scope-error -> talks about "useful in future" but passage focuses on current privacy benefits, not future usefulness

🟠 Option 2 -> context-shift -> this mentions keeping production lines alive, but passage says governments use typewriters for their own security needs, not to help businesses

🟠 Option 3 -> partial-truth -> nostalgic appeal is mentioned in the passage but for general users buying on eBay, not as the government's reason

🟢 Option 4 -> correct -> perfectly matches "you control who gets the document" -> this is exactly why governments chose typewriters according to the passage

Question 19

Which one of the following best describes what the passage is trying to do?

Question 21

The writer praises typewriters for all the following reasons EXCEPT

According to the passage, some governments still use typewriters because:

Solution

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