RC Drill Set 4, Question 8
This passage is adapted from a book published(425 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(15 more words not shown)
- APeople are more(18 more words not shown)
- BPeople who are(20 more words not shown)
- CPeople who feel(22 more words not shown)
- DTraumatic events can(15 more words not shown)
- EThe prospect of(12 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Track the direction: we are supporting the criticisms of Brakel, so we need a reason his preference for live testimony may be mistaken. Evidence that courtroom pressure distorts testimony, or that extra cues confuse jurors, would help. Merely finding a fact about anxiety isn't enough; it has to strengthen that response to him.
Working the answers
- A
Greater sincerity in another person's presence would support Brakel's preference for being there in person. That goes in the wrong direction.
- B
Caution doesn't tell us whether people speak truthfully or jurors judge them accurately. An anxious witness could choose words carefully without making testimony better or worse.
- CCorrect
The text already describes the courtroom as intimidating. If intimidated people say what they think is expected instead of what they believe, that pressure can distort their testimony. This supplies another reason the courtroom setting needn't improve reliability.
- D
This concerns trauma from an event, not stress created by the testimony setting. That prior memory problem could affect testimony in court or on video, so it doesn't support the relevant comparison.
- E
Camera-induced anxiety would weaken the critics' suggestion that videotaped witnesses feel less intimidated. It introduces a problem for their response to Brakel rather than supporting it.
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