PrepTest 149, Section 2, Question 4
The following passage is adapted from an article(467 more words not shown)
According to the passage, in(13 more words not shown)
- Aremain at their(6 more words not shown)
- Beventually merge with(3 more words not shown)
- Cundergo subtle changes(5 more words not shown)
- Dare often abandoned(7 more words not shown)
- Elose much of(10 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Adding words doesn't mean replacing the language. Paragraph two says the core “has remained intact,” then explains that new vocabulary has supplemented the traditional dialects. That's our prediction: essentially the same underlying dialect, with additions for local experiences. Be careful not to turn this into “nothing has changed.” The new words are real; the question is what has happened to the core.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
“At their core essentially the same” captures exactly that distinction. People can acquire terms for American places or events while retaining the traditional dialect that lets them converse with newcomers from China.
- B
We aren't told that one traditional dialect combines with another to form a single dialect. The final paragraph says their differences persist. Some shared words do not establish a merger.
- C
The changes identified here concern vocabulary. The statement that dialects differ in sounds and grammar describes differences between dialects, not subtle changes occurring within each dialect over time.
- D
Familiarity isn't abandonment. Hearing Cantonese in movies or elsewhere can make it more understandable without showing that people give up the dialect they originally spoke.
- E
The second half is familiar: American English terms are added. But where is the evidence that much traditional vocabulary is lost? “Supplemented, but not supplanted” gives us the opposite distinction—addition without replacement. A true detail at the end doesn't rescue the unsupported claim at the beginning.
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