The sculpture that cannot fit
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
An insurmountable size limit prevented the team from moving its rigid sculpture through the exhibition room's only entrance without destroying the work. A refractory stain on the display cloth resisted repeated attempts at cleaning, creating a separate problem that the team could still investigate. An obstinate organizer refused to consider a smaller sculpture despite the measurements and the absence of another entrance. The volunteers asked him to distinguish preserving the exhibition's purpose from insisting on this particular object.
The insurmountable entrance constraint remained after another careful measurement, so choosing a smaller work changed the plan rather than making the original sculpture fit. The refractory stain eventually led the team to select a different cloth instead of spending the remaining afternoon on unsuccessful cleaning attempts. The obstinate organizer continued rejecting alternatives without answering the practical evidence. A colleague finally asked which mattered more to him: showing one impossible choice or opening a worthwhile exhibition with the available space.
Before you move on
Look away from the passage. Can you explain each focus word in your own words?
Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.