Introduction

Question 1

slavish

Every language has its own cadences; a sentence that snaps and sparkles in one language is likely to go flat if conveyed slavishly, word by word, into another.

Answer 1

You use slavish to describe things that copy or imitate something exactly, without any attempt to be original.

Question 2

sartorial

As I approach the age at which Aschenbach expired I’ve fallen into the habit of asking, every now and then, when I’m uncertain about a sartorial gesture, whether the scarf or ruffle in question makes me look a bit Death in Venice-ish.

Answer 2

Sartorial means relating to clothes and to the way they are made or worn.

Question 3

ruffle

As I approach the age at which Aschenbach expired I’ve fallen into the habit of asking, every now and then, when I’m uncertain about a sartorial gesture, whether the scarf or ruffle in question makes me look a bit Death in Venice-ish.

Answer 3

Ruffles are folds of cloth at the neck or the ends of the arms of a piece of clothing, or are sometimes sewn on things as a decoration.

Question 4

august

He was, in all his work, Herr Professor, every bit as august and severe as Aschenbach himself, and his language reflects his nature.

Answer 4

Someone or something that is august is dignified and impressive.

Question 5

stentorian

Mann’s sense of moral responsibility, and the stentorian prose appropriate to such a sense, would be shrugged off by those who came after him.

Answer 5

A stentorian voice is very loud and strong.