PrepTest 128, Section 1, Question 5

Working the answers

• A

  Remembering an agrarian past isn't a recommendation that people return to farming to cure modern alienation. “Advocates” changes a cultural connection into advice.

• B

  Other immigrant groups might have similar characters in their literature. But we haven't been given information about those groups, so we can't generalize from this account to immigrant literature overall.

• C

  The contrast with the Mexican establishment makes this tempting. Still, we aren't told that freedom to experiment is a predominant strength of Mexican American writers. The author praises their complex themes, not an experimental freedom caused by the absence of an establishment.

• D
  Correct

  Connect two details from paragraph three. The Mexico City establishment often grants or denies literary success, and it treats regional writing as having narrow concerns. Writers whose work it looks down on would therefore have more difficulty winning its recognition than writers whose urban interests fit its preferences. This doesn't require saying regional writers can never succeed.

• E

  We know Mexican Americans' ancestry matters to their writing. We aren't told that history matters less in Mexican culture. The comparison goes beyond the evidence.