PrepTest 123, Section 4, Question 12
The two passages discuss recent scientific research on(479 more words not shown)
Passage A(208 more words not shown)
Passage B(258 more words not shown)
The authors would be most(18 more words not shown)
- ADoes it manifest(7 more words not shown)
- BDoes it affect(5 more words not shown)
- CIs it at(10 more words not shown)
- DDid its evolution(7 more words not shown)
- EWhy does it(6 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Agreement doesn't require the two theories to be identical. A connects music with language, while B connects it with mother–infant bonding. They could still accept some of the same facts or causal connections along the way.
What we’re looking for
We need a question they would answer the same way, supported by something in each account. I wouldn't assume that a detail unique to one theory is accepted or rejected by the other.
Working the answers
- A
B describes musical elements in infants' interactions. A says nothing about when musical capacity first appears during a person's life, so we cannot supply its answer about early infancy.
- B
B expressly connects musical interactions with stronger bonds. A doesn't address those bonds, leaving its answer unknown.
- CCorrect
Both would answer yes, although brain growth does different work in the two explanations. A says music and language evolved together as brain size increased. In B, larger brains, together with a narrowing birth canal, lead to earlier births and more helpless infants. Their greater need for care makes the bonding interactions advantageous. Brain growth is therefore part of the explanation of musical capacity in both accounts; it doesn't have to be the direct cause in both.
- D
A says music and language share a neurological system, not that music's evolution created a new one. B doesn't make the proposed claim either.
- E
A compares general proficiency in music and language; it doesn't explain why musical ability differs so much from person to person. B doesn't supply that explanation either.
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