Groucho Marx Arthur Sheekman Reading Answers

Dec 13, 2022

Groucho Marx Arthur Sheekman Reading Answers comprised of 13 sets of questions which the candiates are required to attempt within the time span of 20 minutes. Groucho Marx Arthur Sheekman Reading Answers is a IELTS topic which the candidates will see a variety of question types with explanations in details. The topic Groucho Marx Arthur Sheekman Reading Answers consists of three types of questions, like, yes/no/not given, short-answer questions, and matching statements. Candidates need a solid grasp of the passage and then should choose yes/no/not given. For questions demanding brief responses, candidates must swiftly read the passage for crucial terms and understand the subject. A thorough study of the IELTS Reading is mandatory for the candidates, so that they can recognize the synonyms, identify the keywords and understand the concept of the and understand the statement provided in the given passage, and then answer the section of matching statements. The candidates can take preparation of IELTS reading practice papers.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Groucho Marx Arthur Sheekman Reading Answers

In a show-business career that spanned over seventy years, Groucho Marx successfully conquered every entertainment medium, becoming a star of the vaudeville stage, Broadway, motion pictures, radio, and television. But, as the author of seven books, a play, two film screenplays, and over one hundred magazine articles and essays, Groucho quietly conquered another medium, one in which he was as proud to work as any of the others. His writing is often overlooked in studies of his career, perhaps due to the quantity and variety of his other work.
Throughout his literary career, Groucho was dogged by the incorrect and unfair assumption by many critics and even by his biographer that he used a ghostwriter. Most Hollywood celebrities who wrote books had professional writers do the actual work. The fact that Groucho publicly stated on many occasions that he abhorred ghostwriters is clouded by his relationship with Arthur Sheekman. Friends for many years, Groucho and Sheekman had an unusual literary relationship. They worked in collaboration and each offered the other editorial help. For a brief time in the early 1940s, Groucho fronted for Sheekman, who was having trouble selling his work. By thus lending his name to another writer’s work, Groucho subjected all of his literary endeavors to suspicion from critics who simply refused to believe that an entertainer could write.
That some of Sheekman’s magazine pieces got into print under Groucho’s byline becomes apparent from reading the unedited correspondence between the two of them. The letters indicate that Groucho’s essays from this period fall into three categories: first, pieces written by Groucho with no input from Sheekman at all. In a July I, 1940, letter to Sheekman, Groucho asked, ‘Did you see that little piece written for Reader’s Digest? On March 17. in 1941, he wrote, ‘My drool is coming out in next week’s issue of This Week so cancel your subscription now.’ Clearly, Sheekman could not have had anything to do with a piece that he was told to look for.
The second and probably largest category of Groucho’s essays of this period consists of those written by Groucho and sent to Sheekman for editorial assistance. On July 20, 1940, Groucho wrote: I’m enclosing a copy of the piece I wrote. Probably another page or so is needed to complete it, but our starting date [for filming Go West ] came and I just haven’t had time to finish it. Let me know what you think of it and be honest because any other kind of opinion would be of no value to me. I won’t attempt to influence you by telling you the reactions I’ve already had, so for the love of God tell me the truth.’ Shortly thereafter, on October 10, Groucho wrote: ‘I received your suggestions on my piece – I’m glad you liked it if you did – you’re probably right about the beginning. I’ll do it over again.’ By the time Groucho wrote to Sheekman on July 25. In 1942, it appears that some sort of financial arrangement had been made regarding Sheekman’s suggestions. On that date, Groucho also wrote: I’m writing an unfunny piece on insomnia and I’ll send it in a week or so, I hope, for you to read – I’d like your opinion, proofread — correcting all the glaring illiteracies and, otherwise, do a fine polishing job.’
The remainder of Groucho’s essays from this period comprises the third category, Sheekman compositions with varying degrees of input from Groucho. The level of Groucho’s contributions to the articles in the third category ranges from actually suggesting the topic and drawing up an outline to simply rewriting a few paragraphs to inject his own style into the piece. On July 10, 1940, Groucho wrote: ‘I think you ought to try another political piece – a campaign thing – for This Week or some other magazine. This will be an extremely hot topic for the next few months and I think you should take advantage of it. If you’ll write to me, I’ll try to jot down a few items that you could complain about.’ Presumably, the chain of events would continue with Sheekman sending an essay to Groucho for his approval and whatever rewrites were needed. On May 29, 1940, Groucho wrote, ‘Received your piece and looked it over.’ In these letters to Sheekman, Groucho always referred to a piece as either ‘my piece’ or ‘your piece’. The letter continued, ‘I thought the piece was good … and I’ll send it to him and see if he can sell it… I’ll just rewrite a couple of paragraphs in your piece – not that I can improve them, but perhaps they’ll sound a little more like me.’ Groucho was concerned enough about this arrangement to take the care to at least make the piece somewhat his own.
Groucho really had no need for this entire enterprise. He gave the money to Sheekman and had no trouble getting his own work published. The principal reason for him submitting Sheekman’s work to magazines as his own was that it made Sheekman’s material easily marketable based on Groucho’s celebrity. Sheekman couldn’t have been altogether happy with the arrangement, but the reality was that he was periodically unemployed and the use of Groucho’s name brought in occasional paychecks. So it is not quite fair to call Sheekman Groucho’s ghostwriter. A more apt description of their literary relationship at this time is that Groucho occasionally fronted for Sheekman and offered him the services of his literary agent, while each offered the other editorial advice. The reasons for some of their collaborative efforts not being credited as such remain unexplained, but Groucho was never shy about crediting his collaborators, and in every other case he did so.

Section 2

Solution with Explanation

Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer of Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet ante

YES, if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO, if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN, if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

Groucho’s work as a writer was sometimes better than his work in other media.
Groucho’s relationship with Sheekman cast doubt on his own abilities as a writer.
Money was occasionally a source of disagreement between Groucho and Sheekman.
Groucho occasionally regretted his involvement with Sheekman.

[Guide: Candidates need to read the passage, and mark the statements Yes or No or not given. ]

Question 1: Groucho’s work as a writer was sometimes better than his work in other media.

Answer: NOT GIVEN.
Explanation: The pasage mentions that Groucho's writing did not garner as much notice since he was better at other job, which is another indication that he was a proud writer in the same way that he was proud of his media work. Even though we are aware of these two things, we are unsure as to which of his writings is superior to his other output. Thus, nonrelevant information is available in the passage regarding the above statement.

Question 2: Groucho’s relationship with Sheekman cast doubt on his own abilities as a writer.

Answer: YES
Supporting sentence: The fact that Groucho publicly stated on many occasions that he abhorred ghostwriters is clouded by his relationship with Arthur Sheekman.
Keywords: relationship
Keyword Location: in paragraph B, line 3
Explanation: Line 3 of paragraph B mentions that the majority of Chic Men's writing was produced by a collective, and some critics were of the opinion that Brochure did not author any of the works he published under his own name because he lacked sufficient writing ability. Thus, the above sentence proves to be correct.

Question 3: Money was occasionally a source of disagreement between Groucho and Sheekman.

Answer: NO
Supporting sentence: He gave the money to Sheekman and had no trouble getting his own work published.
Keywords: Money
Keyword Location: In paragraph F, line 2
Explanation:The second sentence of paragraph F suggests that Groucho gave the money for articles to sheekman on which sheekman had worked upon and this money e that sheekman needed it was very useful to him as because he was currently unemployed does both brochure and sheekman had no disagreement about money and Groucho give the money to sheekman very happily because sheekman was in need of it. Hence, it is an incorrect statement.

Question 4: Groucho occasionally regretted his involvement with Sheekman.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: Since we don't know why Groucho left Sheekman's name off of many of the pieces that they both had published together, nor do we know whether he did it out of remorse, there isn't any pertinent information regarding the above sentence in the given passage.

Questions 5-8

Complete the notes below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 5-8 on your answer sheet.

Groucho’s essays in the early 1940s

Category 1	Category 2	Category 3
Sheekman had 5…………….	Sheekman provided 6………………	mostly 7………………….
-	-	Groucho added 8……………………

Question 5:

Answer: No input.
Keywords: no input, pieces written by Groucho
Keyword Location: In Paragraph C, line 2
Supporting sentence: The letters indicate that Groucho’s essays from this period fall into three categories: first, pieces written by Groucho with no input from Sheekman at all.
Explanation: According to the letters as mentioned in line 2 of paragraph C, there are three types of Groucho's essays from this time period: first, those that Groucho wrote entirely on his own without any help from Sheekman.

Question 6:

Answer: Editorial assistance.
Keywords: Largest category, period
Keyword Location: In paragraph D, line 1
Supporting sentence: The second and probably largest category of Groucho’s essays of this period consists of those written by Groucho and sent to Sheekman for editorial assistance.
Explanation: The beginning sentence of paragraph D enhances that the writings that Groucho wrote during this time and delivered to Sheekman for editing make up the second and arguably biggest category of his works.

Question 7:

Answer:Sheekman Compositions.
Keywords: Third category, varying degrees
Keyword Location: In paragraph E, line 1
Supporting sentence: The remainder of Groucho’s essays from this period comprises the third category, Sheekman compositions with varying degrees of input from Groucho.
Explanation: As per the beginning line of paragaph E, the final group, Sheekman works with varied degrees of Groucho influence, includes the remaining Groucho essays from this time..

Question 8:

Answer: His own style.
Keywords: Own style, inject
Keyword Location: In paragraph E, line 2
Supporting sentence: The level of Groucho’s contributions to the articles in the third category ranges from actually suggesting the topic and drawing up an outline to simply rewriting a few paragraphs to inject his own style into the piece.
Explanation: The second line of paragraph E states that the extent of Groucho's contributions to the articles in the third category ranges from actually proposing the topic and creating an outline to merely rewriting a few paragraphs to inject his own style into the piece.

Questions 9-13:
Look at the following statements (Questions 9-13) and the list of dates of letters sent by

Groucho to Sheekman below.

Match each statement with the letter it relates to.

Write the correct letter A-Q in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.

Groucho referred to his own inadequacy with regard to the use of language.
Groucho explained his reason for amending an essay.
Groucho agreed that part of an essay needed revising.
Groucho drew Sheekman’s attention to an essay soon to be published.
Groucho suggested that an essay should adopt a negative point of view.

List of Letters Sent by Groucho to Sheekman
A	July 1, 1940
B	March 17, 1941
C	July 20, 1940
D	October 10, 1940
E	July 25, 1942
F	July 10, 1940
G	May 29, 1940

[Guide: Candidates need to read the passage, then match the options A to G with the correct paragraph marked from 9 to 13.]

Question 9:

Answer: E
Supporting sentence: By the time Groucho wrote to Sheekman on July 25. In 1942, it appears that some sort of financial arrangement had been made regarding Sheekman’s suggestions.
Location: In paragraph D, line 7
Explanation: Line 7 of paragraph D explains that on July 25, Groucho wrote Sheekman a letter. It appears that a financial agreement was established in regards to Sheekman's recommendations in 1942. Thus, option E is the right choice.

Question 10:

Answer: G
Supporting sentence: On May 29, 1940, Groucho wrote, ‘Received your piece and looked it over.’ In these letters to Sheekman, Groucho always referred to a piece as either ‘my piece’ or ‘your piece’.
Location: In paragraph E, line 6
Explanation: Line 6 of paragraph E implies that Groucho wrot that he received the piece from Sheekman and had a look at it also on May 29, 1940. Groucho always addressed to a work in these letters to Sheekman as either as his piece or Sheekman’s piece. Therefore, option G is the right answer.

Question 11:

Answer: D
Supporting sentence: Shortly thereafter, on October 10, Groucho wrote: ‘I received your suggestions on my piece – I’m glad you liked it if you did – you’re probably right about the beginning.
Location: In paragraph D, line 6
Explanation: Line 6 of paragraph D suggests, Groucho agreed that Sheekman's observations at the beginning of the write-ups were accurate, and he will make the necessary changes. So, option D is correct.

Question 12:

Answer: B
Supporting sentence: On March 17. in 1941, he wrote, ‘My drool is coming out in next week’s issue of This Week so cancel your subscription now.’
Location: In paragraph C, line 3-4
Explanation: Lines 3-4 of paragraph C explains that Groucho penned, "My drool is going out in next week's issue of This Week so cancel your subscription now," on March 17, 1941. Line 5 of paragraph C states that Groucho penned, "My drool is going out in next week's issue of This Week so cancel your subscription now," on March 17, 1941. Hence, option B is the correct answer.

Question 13:

Answer: F
Supporting sentence: On July 10, 1940, letter Groucho wrote: ‘I think you ought to try another political piece – a campaign thing – for This Week or some other magazine.
Location: In paragraph E, line 3
Explanation: Line 3 of paragraph E states that In a letter dated July 10, 1940, Groucho suggested that Sheekman to try another political essay, “a campaign thing" for that Week or some another magazine. Thus, option F is the right choice here.

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