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Reading
Toward the end of his life, the Chevalier de Seingalt (1725−1798) wrote a long memoir recounting his life and adventures. The Chevalier was a somewhat controversial figure, but since he met many famous people, including kings and writers, his memoir has become a valuable historical source about European
society in the eighteenth century. However, some critics have raised doubts about the accuracy of the memoir. They claim that the Chevalier distorted or invented many events in the memoir to make his life seem more exciting and glamorous than it really was. For example, in his memoir the Chevalier claims that while living in Switzerland, he was very wealthy, and it is known that he spent a great deal of money there on parties and gambling. However, evidence has recently surfaced that the Chevalier borrowed considerable sums of money from a Swiss merchant. Critics
thus argue that if the Chevalier had really been very rich, he would not have needed to borrow money. Critics are also skeptical about the accuracy of the conversations that the Chevalier records in the memoir between himself and the famous writer Voltaire. No one doubts that the Chevalier and Voltaire met and conversed. However, critics complain that the memoir cannot possibly capture these conversations
accurately, because it was written many years after the conversations occurred. Critics point out that it is impossible to remember exact phrases from extended conversations held many years earlier. Critics have also questioned the memoir’s account of the Chevalier’s escape from a notorious prison in Venice, Italy. He claims to have escaped the Venetian prison by using a piece of metal to make a hole in
the ceiling and climbing through the roof. Critics claim that while such a daring escape makes for enjoyable reading, it is more likely that the Chevalier’s jailers were bribed to free him. They point out that the Chevalier had a number of politically well-connected friends in Venice who could have offered a bribe.
Transcript
Narrator Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic
you just read about.
Professor No memoir can possibly be correct in every detail, but still, the Chevalier’s memoir is pretty accurate overall and is, by and
large, a reliable historical source. Let’s look at the accuracy of the three episodes
mentioned in the reading. First, the loan from the merchant: Well, that doesn’t mean that the Chevalier was poor. Let me explain. We know that in Switzerland, the Chevalier spent huge amounts of money on parties and on gambling. And he had wealth, but it was the kind of property you have to sell first to get money. So it usually took a few days to convert his assets into actual money. So when he ran out of cash, he had to borrow some while he was waiting for his money to arrive—but that’s not being poor! Second, the conversations with Voltaire: The Chevalier states in his memoir that each night, immediately after conversing with Voltaire, he wrote down everything he could remember about that particular night’s conversation. Evidently, the Chevalier kept his notes of these conversations for many years and referred to them when writing the memoir. Witnesses who lived with the Chevalier in his later life confirm that he regularly consulted notes and journals when composing the memoir. Third, the Chevalier’s escape from the prison in Venice: Other prisoners in that prison had even more powerful friends than he did, and none of them were ever able to bribe their way to freedom, so bribery hardly seems likely in his case. The best evidence, though, comes from some old Venetian government documents.
They indicate that soon after the Chevalier escaped from the prison, the ceiling of
his old prison room had to be repaired. Why would they need to repair a ceiling
unless he had escaped exactly as he said he did?
Essay
The reading passage and the lecture dicuss about the accuracy of Chevalier de Seingalt´ memoir. The reading raises doubts about the accuracy of many events that he have writen. However, the professor said that there are many elements that support the accuracy of Chevalier´s memoir.
First, it is discussed the veracity about Chevalier´s wealthy while lived in Switzerland. The reading states that he was not so rich, since he had to borrow some money. Nevertheless, the professor explains that he had to borrow some money, because he was waiting the money arrives after he sold some things.
Second, the professor disagrees with the reading about the accuracy of the conversations between Chevalier and Voltaire. The passage holds the opinion that it is impossible to remember a conversation with so many details. According to the professor those conversations are accurate, since Chevalier have writen the conversation after each nigh and recurred to these notes to write the memoir.
Last, the reading states that Chevalier have not escaped from the jail, but have bribed the jailors. The professor disagrees and said that other influencial people were not able to bribe the jailors. In addition, the records show that the ceiling had to be repared. The professor asserts that the reparation is only justified by the escape.
TOEFL listening discussions: A conversation between a student and a university service representative
