How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"One of the sons is coming too, with his girl. The girl might be rather interesting; a ballet student, I gather."
"A ballet student? I didn't know there were such things." (2.35)
Jim's trying a little too hard to show his anti-culture cred, don't you think? He can't be that much of a Philistine, can he?
Quote #5
"Look, Margaret, you know as well as I do that I can't sing, I can't act, I can hardly read, and thank God I can't read music. No, I know what it is. Good sign in a way. He wants to test my reactions to culture, see whether I'm a fit person to teach in a university, see?" (2.43)
Jim suspects that the reason Professor Welch invited him to the weekend music-fest is that he doesn't want some illiterate barbarian to get a job in his university. This passage shows us how out-of-place Jim feels in general at the College.
Quote #6
"[I]t's very pleasant to come down here and to know that the torch of culture is still in a state of combustion in the provinces. Profoundly reassuring, too." (4.18)
In his typically condescending way, Bertrand says that it's nice to see that arts and culture still exist in places outside of London. He says he feels reassured by this, since he likely doesn't want to live in a world of uncultured cavemen. Note the flowery language—he's a classy guy for sure.