ACT Reading 2.10 Humanities Passage

"pre" means "before."

If we didn't remember what "pre" means, then... we'd be in serious trouble, because

then we probably wouldn't remember what a "prefix" is at all, since "pre"

is in the word "prefix" itself.

Anyway, the prefix "pre" tips us off that "precipitated" describes an event that

happens before another and causes it to happen, or at least affects it in some way.

So we know we're looking for an event that happened not long before the death of Schumann.

(A) is the first to catch our eye.

Maybe because it's the first one or maybe because it has the feel of those tabloid headlines

we pretend we don't read in the grocery store checkout line.

As is often the case with tabloids, however, choice (A) isn't true. The passage says

nothing about Clara having an affair with another musician, so we can cross out answer (A).

Choice (B) isn't true either. The author

doesn't tell us about how Frederick Wieck died.

(B) is a definite no.

(C) is tempting because Clara and Schumann did tour Holland not too long before Schumann's

downward spiral into insanity.

Maybe it was all those weird wooden shoes that freaked him out.

However, Schumann threw himself into a river even after the Holland trip, making choice

(D) the right answer.

What if he wasn't crazy? Maybe he just... felt like going for a brisk swim...