Distinguish a considered objection from refusal to consider
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
A narrow-minded exhibition committee refused even to examine work made with unfamiliar digital tools, insisting that only its customary methods could produce worthwhile art. Intolerance appeared in a proposal to exclude members merely because they defended a different view of what an exhibition could include. An unsympathetic reply dismissed a volunteer's difficulty carrying large frames as laziness without asking what help or arrangement might solve it. The cooperative's discussion identified three problems in the responses, then returned to the actual merits of the work, membership proposal, and practical request.
The narrow-minded refusal ended inquiry before the committee considered any submitted work, unlike a reasoned criticism of a particular piece. Intolerance of the dissenting members sought to exclude them for holding a different view, rather than answer their argument. The unsympathetic reply showed little concern for the volunteer's difficulty and supplied an unsupported judgment in its place. The group invited demonstrations of the unfamiliar tools, heard the dissenting case, and asked about the frames, using specific questions to make each unresolved issue open to examination.
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.