PrepTest 149, Section 2, Question 1
The following passage is adapted from an article(467 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- ALinguists who argue(20 more words not shown)
- BBecause Chinatown Chinese(19 more words not shown)
- CThe primary claims(18 more words not shown)
- DBecause visitors from(24 more words not shown)
- EAlthough Chinese dialects(21 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We've already predicted the main point: the two claims supporting a distinct Chinatown dialect don't hold up. Speakers of the same traditional dialect can still understand each other, while knowing a few shared local terms doesn't guarantee understanding across different dialects.
What we’re looking for
We want that overall response. Some wrong answers agree that the linguists are mistaken, so agreeing with our conclusion won't be enough. Their explanation of why must fit too.
Working the answers
- A
The opening sounds promising: the linguists are mistaken. But the author doesn't reject their position simply because Cantonese speakers understand Chinatown Chinese. Familiarity with Cantonese is part of the discussion, not a substitute for the two claims the author evaluates.
- B
This tells us why the linguists proposed a new dialect. We still need the author's response: their supporting claims fail under examination. Stopping at the proposal leaves out the point of the next two paragraphs.
- CCorrect
Both supporting claims are examined and challenged. C captures that whole argument, even though it doesn't repeat our wording about communication within and across dialects. We need the same idea, not the same sentence.
- D
This is closer than a random detail: it captures part of the response to the first claim. But it leaves out the second response and drops the qualification that the visitor and local speaker share a traditional dialect. It doesn't cover the full argument as C does.
- E
The author disagrees with these linguists. That doesn't mean the linguists have changed their minds or that everyone now agrees. E turns the author's criticism into an unsupported consensus.
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