Historic or Historical?
Explore fictional museum announcements and discover the difference between connections to the past and events of lasting importance.
Preview
Questions with solutions-
1. Preenche o espaço em branco.
The announcement names a genre, not the books' importance.
Museum announcement: “Our ___ fiction display features novels set in earlier centuries.”
- historic
- historical
Think about stories whose settings belong to the past.
Show solution
Museum announcement: “Our historical fiction display features novels set in earlier centuries.”
Historical fiction can combine invented characters with settings and events from the past.
-
2. Escolhe a resposta correta.
What does “historic” tell visitors about the discovery?
Museum announcement: “This historic discovery changed our understanding of how early people used fire.”
- It was an important breakthrough.
- It happened a very long time ago.
- It was made by someone studying written history.
Notice what the discovery changed.
Show solution
- It was an important breakthrough.
A scientific discovery can be historic because of its impact, even if it does not involve written history.
-
3. Preenche o espaço em branco.
The description refers only to the past shown in the pictures, not to any special importance of the pictures themselves.
Museum notice: “Our ___ photographs show ordinary street scenes from earlier times.”
- historical
- historic
The focus is on what the photographs show.
Show solution
Museum notice: “Our historical photographs show ordinary street scenes from earlier times.”
“Historical” identifies a connection to the past without claiming that the photographs are famous or significant.
-
4. Preenche o espaço em branco.
The curator is emphasizing the importance of the change.
Curator: “For the first time, local residents now run the museum. This is a ___ turning point for our community.”
- historical
- historic
A turning point changes the direction of something.
Show solution
Curator: “For the first time, local residents now run the museum. This is a historic turning point for our community.”
“Historic turning point” emphasizes a major change that people will remember.
-
5. Escolhe a resposta correta.
Which announcement reflects the curator's point?
Visitor: “Are these ordinary teacups important landmarks?”
Curator: “No. We display them because they help us understand everyday habits in the past.”- These teacups have no historical value because ordinary people used them.
- Each teacup is a historic object that changed society.
- These teacups provide historical evidence of everyday life.
An object can teach us about the past without changing it.
Show solution
- These teacups provide historical evidence of everyday life.
Everyday objects can have historical value without being connected to major events.
-
6. Preenche o espaço em branco.
The announcement refers to living conditions at the time.
Museum announcement: “To understand these workers' wages, consider their ___ context: what food, housing, and transport cost then.”
- historic
- historical
The museum is supplying background, not claiming a major achievement.
Show solution
Museum announcement: “To understand these workers' wages, consider their historical context: what food, housing, and transport cost then.”
Historical context includes the conditions that shaped people's lives at a particular time.
-
7. Preenche o espaço em branco.
Museum announcement: “We checked the reconstructed kitchen against old drawings to ensure its ___ accuracy.”
- historical
- historic
The concern is whether the details match evidence from the past.
Show solution
Museum announcement: “We checked the reconstructed kitchen against old drawings to ensure its historical accuracy.”
Historical accuracy concerns how closely a description or reconstruction matches what is known about the past.
-
8. Escolhe a resposta correta.
Why is “historic” appropriate even though the event was harmful?
Museum announcement: “This gallery explores the historic fire that destroyed the old town center and permanently changed the town's layout.”
- It suggests that the fire was a positive achievement.
- It emphasizes the fire's lasting significance.
- It only indicates that the fire happened in the past.
Importance and approval are different ideas.
Show solution
- It emphasizes the fire's lasting significance.
“Historic” does not mean good or worth celebrating; it can describe a major disaster.
-
9. Escolhe a resposta correta.
Why can the announcement use “historic” for yesterday's event?
Museum announcement: “Yesterday's historic vote guaranteed that admission would remain free for future generations.”
- Every event becomes historic once it is over.
- Historic events must already appear in history books.
- Historic describes significance, not how long ago something happened.
Look at the vote's effect on the future.
Show solution
- Historic describes significance, not how long ago something happened.
A recent event can be historic as soon as its lasting importance becomes clear.
-
10. Escolhe a resposta correta.
What does “historical” describe here?
Museum announcement: “Our historical costumes were made last month using patterns copied from drawings of life two centuries ago.”
- The period represented by the costumes' designs.
- The costumes' role in a major turning point.
- The age of these particular costumes.
Separate the designs from the objects made from them.
Show solution
- The period represented by the costumes' designs.
“Historical” can describe the past that a new object represents, rather than the object's own age.
-
11. Escolhe a resposta correta.
Which revised announcement preserves the editor's meaning?
Draft: “Join our historic lecture on cooking.”
Editor: “The lecture is a regular event, not a landmark. We mean that its subject is everyday cooking in the past.”- Join our history-making lecture on everyday cooking.
- Join our lecture on historical cooking practices.
- Join our lecture on cooking practices that changed history.
The past belongs to the lecture's subject, not to a claim about its importance.
Show solution
- Join our lecture on historical cooking practices.
Placing “historical” before “cooking practices” clearly describes the topic rather than the status of the lecture.
-
12. Escolhe a resposta correta.
What distinction does the announcement make?
Museum announcement: “Our historical model recreates the room where a historic agreement gave local workers their first legal limit on daily working hours.”
- The model changed workers' rights, while the agreement merely concerned the past.
- Both adjectives mean only that the model and agreement are old.
- The model represents the past, while the agreement marked an important change.
Consider what each adjective describes: the model or the agreement.
Show solution
- The model represents the past, while the agreement marked an important change.
One exhibit can offer a historical representation of an event that was itself historic.