PrepTest 105, Section 1, Question 20
The nature of English literature reflects the rich(55 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AThe origin of(8 more words not shown)
- BThe vocabulary of(11 more words not shown)
- CThe vocabulary of(8 more words not shown)
- DSimple and clear(13 more words not shown)
- EEnglish literature and(9 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The passage links the history of a language to the character of its literature. Anglo-Saxon and French helped shape English's rich, diverse vocabulary, and English literature reflects that vocabulary. I might wonder whether other languages have similarly rich traditions, but the author doesn't need English to be unique for this connection to hold.
What we’re looking for
French adds another historical link: it descends from Latin. One connection I initially look for is a path from Latin through French to English. The question asks what we can most reasonably infer from those statements.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
English's origin helped shape its vocabulary, and that vocabulary is reflected in English literature. Put those two statements together: the origin of the language played a role in shaping the literature. This is a shorter, more direct connection than the Latin-through-French inference I initially considered. “Played a role” also avoids claiming that language history is the sole influence on literature.
- B
We aren't given a comparison between the richness of Anglo-Saxon vocabulary and French vocabulary. The combined influence helped produce rich, diverse English vocabulary, but that doesn't rank the two contributors. Either could have supplied features without having a richer vocabulary than the other.
- C
“Rich and diverse” doesn't give a word count, and “simplicity and clarity” describes French literature rather than the size of French vocabulary. French could contain many words that writers simply choose not to use in a particular work. The comparison of vocabulary sizes isn't established.
- D
Having many words available doesn't force an author to use complicated language. An English writer can choose familiar words and write plainly. The passage describes characteristics of two literary traditions; it doesn't make clear writing impossible in a language with a rich vocabulary.
- E
Influence between the languages isn't the same as influence between their literatures. We learn that French helped shape English and that English vocabulary affects its literature. We aren't told how much French writers influenced English writers or the reverse. E introduces a comparison of literary influence the passage doesn't make.
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