Medium is where most scores are actually won and lost. These questions are not tricky for the sake of it, but every one of them has a wrong answer built to catch a specific shortcut.
Every question below is a real item from the SAT Climb bank, tagged medium by the same difficulty model the app uses to build your practice. Pick an answer before you open the explanation.
Reading & Writing · Craft and Structure~3 per testMedium tier
Text 1
Historian Maria Chen argues that the decline of the Roman Empire was primarily caused by economic factors, particularly the debasement of currency and unsustainable military spending. While she acknowledges that barbarian invasions played a role, she contends these external pressures were only successful because Rome's economy had already been severely weakened.
Text 2
Historian David Kim suggests that economic troubles were indeed significant in Rome's decline, but he emphasizes that these financial problems were themselves symptoms of deeper political instability. Kim argues that without the breakdown of central authority and succession crises, Rome could have implemented the fiscal reforms necessary to address its economic challenges.
Based on the texts, how would Kim most likely describe the view of the economic factors presented in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why A is right
Kim agrees that economic factors were significant but argues they were symptoms of political problems. This represents partial agreement with Chen's emphasis on economics while adding a causal layer that Chen does not emphasize.
Why the others are wrong
BThis overstates Kim's disagreement. Kim agrees economic troubles were significant, just viewing them as symptoms rather than root causes.
CThis reverses Kim's stance. He explicitly argues against economic factors being sufficient explanations on their own.
DWhile Kim discusses succession crises, he does not claim Chen overlooked their role in invasions; his focus is on how political instability created economic problems.
Question 2Medium
Text 1
Art historian Lucia Fernandez argues that Diego Rivera's murals succeeded in making art accessible to working-class Mexicans who rarely visited museums. By painting on the walls of public buildings, Rivera ensured that citizens encountered his depictions of Mexican history during their daily routines. Fernandez credits this approach with democratizing art appreciation in 1920s Mexico.
Text 2
Cultural critic Thomas Yeung maintains that Rivera's murals reinforced rather than challenged existing power structures. Though located in public spaces, the murals appeared in government buildings where working-class citizens felt unwelcome. Yeung contends that Rivera's patrons—wealthy politicians and bureaucrats—used the murals to cultivate a populist image while actual access remained limited.
Based on the texts, the authors of both passages would most likely agree on which statement?
Show the answer and explanation
Why B is right
Fernandez emphasizes that painting on public building walls allowed citizens to encounter art during daily routines, while Yeung notes that government building locations affected whether working-class citizens felt welcome. Both arguments center on how physical placement influences audience access, even though they disagree on whether Rivera's placement was effective.
Why the others are wrong
AThis extreme statement contradicts Fernandez's position. She views government buildings as successful venues for democratizing art.
CThis contradicts Yeung's argument. He explicitly states that barriers remained because working-class citizens felt unwelcome in government buildings.
DNeither author discusses the relative popularity of museums versus murals. Fernandez mentions that working-class Mexicans rarely visited museums, but this does not address comparative popularity.
Question 3Medium
Text 1
Philosopher Karl Popper argued that scientific theories must be falsifiable to be meaningful. A genuine scientific claim makes predictions that could be proven wrong through observation; if no conceivable evidence could refute a theory, it falls outside the realm of science. This criterion distinguishes science from pseudoscience and metaphysics.
Text 2
While falsifiability remains influential, philosopher Thomas Kuhn noted that scientists rarely abandon theories simply because of contradictory evidence. During periods of 'normal science,' researchers work within established frameworks, treating anomalies as puzzles to solve rather than as refutations. Theories are replaced only when alternatives emerge that explain both old successes and new phenomena better. The history of science suggests that falsifiability alone cannot account for how scientific knowledge actually develops.
Based on the texts, how would Kuhn (Text 2) most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why A is right
Text 2 describes how scientists treat anomalies as puzzles and change theories based on alternatives that explain phenomena better, suggesting the actual process differs from falsification. Kuhn would likely question whether falsifiability captures scientific practice, given that 'scientists rarely abandon theories simply because of contradictory evidence.'
Why the others are wrong
BThis adds false specificity. While normal science and paradigm shifts are mentioned in Text 2, Kuhn's broader point is that falsifiability doesn't account for 'how scientific knowledge actually develops,' not specifically about distinguishing these two periods.
CThis is too soft. Text 2 suggests a more fundamental challenge, noting that falsifiability 'alone cannot account for how scientific knowledge actually develops,' which implies questioning the criterion itself rather than merely noting scientists fall short of an accepted ideal.
DThis is too strong. While Text 2 describes puzzle-solving during normal science, it doesn't reject falsifiability entirely as a criterion for defining science, only its adequacy for explaining theory change in practice.
Question 4Medium
Text 1
Historians examining the spread of coffee consumption in 17th-century Europe have focused on the emergence of coffeehouses as centers of intellectual exchange. However, the true historical significance of coffee lies in its role as a substitute for alcoholic beverages, leading to increased workplace productivity as laborers shifted from beer and wine to coffee during working hours, fundamentally transforming patterns of industrial labor.
Text 2
Coffee consumption did increase during the 17th century, but attributing enhanced productivity solely to reduced alcohol consumption oversimplifies a complex historical transition. Workplace productivity gains during this period also reflected changes in labor organization, technological improvements in various industries, and evolving attitudes toward time and discipline. Additionally, alcohol consumption declined unevenly across different regions and social classes, while productivity increases occurred broadly, suggesting that coffee was one element in a multifaceted transformation rather than its primary cause.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why A is right
Text 2 argues that productivity gains reflected multiple factors including labor organization, technology, and changing attitudes. The author characterizes coffee as one element in a multifaceted transformation rather than the primary cause, challenging Text 1's claim about coffee's true significance.
Why the others are wrong
BThis is too strong. Text 2 does not deny coffee's influence entirely, only that it was the primary or sole cause of productivity gains.
CThis is too soft. Text 2 does not rank factors as slightly more or less important but rather emphasizes that coffee cannot be isolated as the primary cause among multiple contributing factors.
DText 2 does not distinguish between beer and wine as specific beverages. This introduces an irrelevant detail not addressed in the passage.
Question 5Medium
Text 1
Astrophysicist Dr. Catherine Reed argues that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence should focus primarily on detecting radio signals, as electromagnetic communication represents the most efficient method for transmitting information across interstellar distances. She contends that any technologically advanced civilization would inevitably discover and utilize radio waves for long-distance communication.
Text 2
Astrophysicist Dr. Marcus Johnson agrees that radio detection efforts are valuable, but he cautions against assuming all civilizations would follow similar technological paths. Johnson points out that human radio technology emerged from specific historical and physical circumstances, and that extraterrestrial civilizations might develop entirely different communication methods based on their own environmental conditions and evolutionary histories.
Based on the texts, how would Johnson most likely describe the view of the radio signal focus presented in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why A is right
Johnson accepts the value of radio searches but challenges Reed's assumption that all advanced civilizations would necessarily develop radio technology, arguing for consideration of alternative possibilities.
Why the others are wrong
BThis overstates Johnson's disagreement. He agrees radio detection is valuable, only questioning whether it should be the exclusive focus.
CThis reverses their positions. Reed assumes convergence on radio technology, while Johnson argues against this assumption.
DWhile Johnson mentions evolutionary histories, his point is about how they might lead to diverse technologies across civilizations, not specifically about human radio development.
Question 6Medium
Text 1
Historian Maria Kovacs argues that the Industrial Revolution's impact on urban mortality rates has been overstated. While factory conditions were undeniably harsh, her analysis of London parish records from 1800-1850 shows that mortality rates remained relatively stable. Kovacs attributes this stability to concurrent improvements in food distribution systems, which offset the negative health effects of industrial labor.
Text 2
Economist James Whitmore contends that industrialization significantly worsened public health in nineteenth-century cities. His examination of wage data and housing costs in Manchester reveals that factory workers could afford only cramped, unsanitary lodgings. Whitmore concludes that industrial employment directly caused the cholera epidemics that devastated working-class neighborhoods throughout the 1830s and 1840s.
Based on the texts, the authors of both passages would most likely agree on which statement?
Show the answer and explanation
Why A is right
Both Kovacs and Whitmore base their arguments on detailed examination of historical records from specific cities—Kovacs uses London parish records while Whitmore analyzes Manchester wage and housing data. This methodological commonality exists even though they reach different conclusions about industrialization's impact on health.
Why the others are wrong
BThis contradicts both authors. Kovacs argues mortality remained stable rather than improved, while Whitmore explicitly argues conditions worsened.
CThis extreme claim is too strong. Kovacs specifically mentions that food distribution improvements offset negative effects, indicating factory labor was not the sole cause of health outcomes.
DWhile Kovacs mentions food distribution, neither author claims it underwent the most significant changes. This detail appears in only one text and is not the focus of either argument.
Question 7Medium
Text 1
Linguist Noam Chomsky proposed that humans possess an innate language faculty, a biological endowment that enables children to acquire complex grammar rapidly despite limited input. This universal grammar explains why children master linguistic rules without explicit instruction and why all human languages share deep structural similarities. Language acquisition is thus fundamentally distinct from other forms of learning.
Text 2
Cognitive scientist Michael Tomasello argues that language learning relies on general cognitive abilities rather than a specialized faculty. His research shows that children acquire language through the same social learning mechanisms they use to understand other cultural practices: intention-reading, pattern-finding, and analogy. While languages do share features, Tomasello suggests these commonalities reflect human communicative needs and cognitive constraints rather than innate grammatical knowledge.
Based on the texts, how would Tomasello (Text 2) most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why B is right
Text 2 indicates Tomasello acknowledges shared features across languages but attributes them to communicative needs and cognitive constraints rather than innate grammar. He provides alternative mechanisms (social learning, pattern-finding) for explaining acquisition, accepting the phenomena while disputing the explanation.
Why the others are wrong
AThis adds false specificity. While this might be a possible objection, Text 2 focuses on Tomasello's argument about general cognitive abilities and social learning mechanisms, not on whether explicit instruction occurs.
CThis is too soft. Text 2 presents Tomasello as offering a competing theory based on general cognitive abilities, suggesting a more substantial disagreement than merely questioning whether universal grammar is proven.
DThis is too strong. While Text 2 says language learning relies on general mechanisms, it acknowledges language's complexity and doesn't claim acquisition is 'no different' from other learning, which would dismiss the phenomena Chomsky seeks to explain.
Question 8Medium
Text 1
Virginia Woolf's experimental narrative techniques in novels like To the Lighthouse revolutionized twentieth-century fiction. Her stream-of-consciousness method allowed readers unprecedented access to characters' interior lives, making her the first novelist to fully capture the complexity of human thought.
Text 2
Woolf's innovations built upon earlier experiments by writers like Dorothy Richardson and James Joyce, who had already employed stream-of-consciousness narration. While Woolf refined these techniques with particular elegance, characterizing her as the originator overlooks the collaborative nature of literary modernism. Her contribution was to integrate psychological realism with lyrical prose in a distinctive way.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why A is right
Text 2 explicitly states that Richardson and Joyce had already employed stream-of-consciousness before Woolf and that calling her the originator overlooks literary modernism's collaborative nature. This directly challenges Text 1's claim that she was the first to fully capture thought's complexity.
Why the others are wrong
BText 2 acknowledges Woolf's distinctive contribution in integrating psychological realism with lyrical prose, so the author would not deny her meaningful contributions.
CText 2 mentions Richardson as a predecessor but does not compare the relative influence of different writers or claim Richardson was more influential.
DThis response is too mild because Text 2 specifically contests the claim that Woolf was the first, not just that her methods had limitations.
Question 9Medium
Text 1
Literary scholar Dr. James Patterson argues that the unreliable narrator in Kazuo Ishiguro's novel The Remains of the Day serves primarily to critique British class structures. Patterson contends that the butler Stevens's distorted perceptions reveal how rigid social hierarchies damage individuals by preventing them from acknowledging their own emotions and desires.
Text 2
Literary scholar Dr. Elizabeth Warren agrees that Stevens functions as an unreliable narrator whose perceptions are shaped by class structures. However, she argues that the novel's critique extends beyond class to examine how professional identity more broadly can limit self-awareness. Warren suggests that Stevens's devotion to his professional role, rather than class hierarchy itself, is what prevents him from recognizing his feelings.
Based on the texts, how would Warren most likely describe the view of the unreliable narrator presented in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why A is right
Warren accepts Patterson's analysis of Stevens as an unreliable narrator shaped by social forces but argues the critique should be understood more broadly as about professional identity rather than class specifically.
Why the others are wrong
BThis overstates Warren's disagreement. She agrees Stevens is unreliable and that his perceptions are distorted.
CThis reverses their positions. Patterson emphasizes class, while Warren argues for a broader focus on professional identity.
DWarren's argument is about professional identity as a social factor, not about personal trauma, and she does not attribute Stevens's repression to individual psychological causes.
Question 10Medium
Text 1
Urban planner Kenji Nakamura advocates for eliminating minimum parking requirements in residential zones. His analysis of Tokyo neighborhoods shows that when developers are not forced to include parking, they build more housing units on the same land, increasing density and reducing rents. Nakamura argues that parking requirements artificially inflate housing costs and should be removed to address urban affordability crises.
Text 2
Transportation researcher Sofia Mendez acknowledges that parking requirements increase development costs but warns that eliminating them without improving public transit could worsen congestion. Her study of American suburbs found that residents continued driving at previous rates after parking minimums were removed, leading to overcrowded streets and parking shortages. Mendez recommends that cities improve transit service before relaxing parking standards.
Based on the texts, the authors of both passages would most likely agree on which statement?
Show the answer and explanation
Why A is right
Nakamura states that parking requirements inflate housing costs and affect the number of units developers can build, while Mendez acknowledges that such requirements increase development costs. Both recognize the economic connection between parking rules and development, even though they disagree on policy recommendations.
Why the others are wrong
BMendez's research on American suburbs suggests context matters—results were not identical to Tokyo. Neither author claims policies would work identically across different contexts.
CThis directly contradicts Mendez's position. She explicitly recommends improving transit before eliminating parking minimums.
DNakamura mentions density as one factor affecting rents, but neither author claims it is the only factor determining affordability.
Question 11Medium
Text 1
The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s marked a flowering of African American artistic achievement in literature, music, and visual arts. This cultural movement arose primarily from the creative vision of individual artists like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, whose exceptional talents drove the renaissance forward. Their genius made the movement possible.
Text 2
Historian David Levering Lewis emphasizes the institutional support that enabled Harlem Renaissance artists. The Great Migration had brought thousands of Black Americans to northern cities, creating new audiences and communities. Black newspapers, literary magazines, and white philanthropists provided publishing opportunities and financial backing. While individual artists were certainly talented, this convergence of demographic, economic, and institutional factors created the conditions for artistic flourishing.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why C is right
Text 2 acknowledges that individual artists were talented but emphasizes that demographic, economic, and institutional factors created the conditions for artistic flourishing. This suggests Text 2 would view the movement as resulting from favorable conditions as much as from individual vision, rather than primarily from individual creative vision as Text 1 claims.
Why the others are wrong
AText 2 explicitly states that individual artists were certainly talented, so this misrepresents Text 2's stance.
BWhile Text 2 mentions Black newspapers, it does not single out any one institutional factor as most crucial, instead emphasizing the convergence of multiple factors.
DThis response is too soft. Text 2 does more than note that artists benefited from some support; it emphasizes that institutional and social conditions were as important as individual talent in enabling the movement.
Question 12Medium
Text 1
The discovery of stone tools at archaeological sites predating the earliest known Homo species has led some researchers to propose that toolmaking originated with australopithecines, an earlier hominin group. This would push back the timeline for technological innovation by nearly a million years and fundamentally alter our understanding of cognitive evolution in human ancestors.
Text 2
Recent fieldwork by paleoanthropologist Sonia Harmand has revealed that multiple hominin species likely coexisted in East Africa during the period when the earliest stone tools appeared. Without associated skeletal remains at most tool sites, definitively attributing these artifacts to any single species remains difficult. The tools could represent the work of an as-yet-undiscovered Homo species rather than australopithecines, or they might reflect convergent innovation across multiple lineages.
Based on the texts, how would Harmand (Text 2) most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why A is right
Text 2 emphasizes that without skeletal remains at tool sites, attribution to any single species is difficult. Harmand explicitly mentions multiple possible explanations including an undiscovered Homo species, indicating she would question the definitiveness of the australopithecine claim.
Why the others are wrong
BThis contradicts Text 2's position. Harmand acknowledges that australopithecines remain a possibility and mentions convergent innovation across lineages.
CThis is false. Text 2 explicitly states that most tool sites lack associated skeletal remains, making this level of specificity unsupported.
DThis is too soft. Text 2 does more than suggest partial contribution; it fundamentally questions whether we can make any definitive attribution given current evidence.
Question 13Medium
Text 1
Botanist Dr. Helen Martinez argues that invasive plant species primarily succeed in new environments because they escape the natural predators and diseases that controlled their populations in their native habitats. This enemy release hypothesis, she contends, explains why invasive plants often outcompete native species even when local conditions are not ideal for the invaders.
Text 2
Botanist Dr. Thomas Wright agrees that escape from natural enemies contributes to invasive success, but he argues this factor alone is insufficient. Wright emphasizes that many successful invasive plants also possess traits like rapid growth rates and efficient resource use that would make them competitive even in their native ranges. He suggests that enemy release amplifies advantages these plants already possess.
Based on the texts, how would Wright most likely describe the view of the enemy release hypothesis presented in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why A is right
Wright accepts enemy release as a factor but argues Martinez's explanation is incomplete because it does not account for the inherent competitive advantages many invasive plants possess.
Why the others are wrong
BThis overstates Wright's disagreement. He explicitly states that enemy release contributes to invasive success.
CThis reverses the disagreement. Martinez focuses primarily on enemy release, while Wright argues she should also emphasize inherent traits.
DWhile Wright mentions efficient resource use as a trait, his critique of Martinez is about inherent plant characteristics generally, not about resource availability as an environmental factor.
Question 14Medium
Text 1
Literary scholar Emma Blackwood argues that Jane Austen's use of free indirect discourse—a narrative technique blending the narrator's voice with a character's thoughts—allowed her to critique social conventions while maintaining plausible deniability. By presenting Elizabeth Bennet's judgments as if they were objective observations, Austen could expose the absurdity of inheritance laws without explicitly condemning them. Blackwood sees this technique as strategic self-protection for a woman writer in Regency England.
Text 2
Critic Jonathan Pierce contends that Austen's free indirect discourse served primarily aesthetic rather than protective purposes. Pierce notes that Austen employed this technique most extensively in scenes focused on misunderstanding and self-deception, suggesting she valued it for creating dramatic irony. He points to passages where the technique exposes Elizabeth's own prejudices as evidence that Austen sought psychological complexity rather than social commentary.
Based on the texts, the authors of both passages would most likely agree on which statement?
Show the answer and explanation
Why A is right
Both Blackwood and Pierce define free indirect discourse identically as a technique that blends narrator voice with character thoughts. They agree on the technical description of Austen's method even while disagreeing about whether Austen used it for protective, aesthetic, or social purposes.
Why the others are wrong
BNeither author suggests these purposes are incompatible. They simply emphasize different aspects of the technique's effects.
CNeither author claims free indirect discourse was exclusive to women writers or the Regency period. This overstates the scope of the discussion.
DThis contradicts Blackwood's argument. She specifically states Austen avoided explicit condemnation and instead used the technique for plausible deniability.
Question 15Medium
Text 1
Philosophers have long debated whether aesthetic judgments are subjective or objective. David Hume argued in the eighteenth century that [beauty exists only in the mind of the beholder, making it impossible to establish universal standards of taste]. While individuals can be trained to appreciate certain qualities in art, Hume maintained that disagreements about beauty are fundamentally irresolvable because they reflect differences in individual sensibility rather than errors in perception.
Text 2
Contemporary philosopher Carolyn Korsmeyer challenges the strict subjectivist view by distinguishing between preference and judgment. While personal preferences may be purely subjective, aesthetic judgments involve reasoning and can be supported with evidence about an artwork's formal properties, historical context, and cultural significance. When critics disagree about a painting's merit, they are not simply expressing incompatible tastes but engaging in a rational debate where better and worse arguments can be identified.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why C is right
Text 2 argues that aesthetic judgments involve reasoning and can be supported with evidence, suggesting they are not merely subjective expressions of individual sensibility. Korsmeyer challenges Hume's subjectivist view by showing that aesthetic debates involve rational argumentation, not just irresolvable differences in taste.
Why the others are wrong
AThis contradicts Text 2's position. Korsmeyer explicitly challenges the idea that aesthetic judgments are purely subjective by distinguishing them from mere preferences.
BThis understates Text 2's challenge to Hume. Korsmeyer argues that aesthetic judgments are meaningfully different from preferences because they involve reasoning, not that they are merely partially resolvable.
DThis overstates Text 2's position. Korsmeyer argues that aesthetic judgments can be supported rationally, not that all disagreements are always resolvable through careful analysis.
Question 16Medium
Text 1
Historians have long debated the causes of the Bronze Age collapse around 1200 BCE, when major civilizations across the Mediterranean simultaneously declined. Recent scholarship has emphasized that climate change, specifically a prolonged drought, was the primary driver of this widespread societal breakdown, as agricultural failures would have cascaded into political instability across interconnected trade networks.
Text 2
While environmental stress certainly played a role in the Late Bronze Age transformations, archaeological evidence from multiple sites shows significant variation in how different societies responded to drought conditions. Some regions experienced collapse while others adapted successfully through technological innovation and revised agricultural practices. This suggests that social and political factors, rather than climate alone, determined which civilizations survived the period.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why A is right
The author of Text 2 states that environmental stress played a role but emphasizes that variation in societal responses suggests social and political factors were determinative. This response acknowledges climate's contribution while complicating the claim that it was the primary driver.
Why the others are wrong
BThis is too strong. Text 2 explicitly says environmental stress played a role, so the author would not reject climate factors entirely.
CThis adds a specific detail about trade disruptions that Text 2 does not mention. Text 2 focuses on social and political factors generally, not trade specifically.
DThis is too soft. Text 2 goes further than suggesting equal importance by arguing that social and political factors were actually determinative of outcomes.
Question 17Medium
Text 1
Economist Sarah Mitchell contends that universal basic income programs would reduce workforce participation by removing the financial incentive to work. She argues that when people receive guaranteed income regardless of employment, many will choose leisure over labor, leading to decreased productivity and economic output.
Text 2
Economist Robert Chen acknowledges that some individuals might work fewer hours under universal basic income, but he argues this would not necessarily harm the economy. Chen suggests that reduced work hours could lead to better health outcomes and increased entrepreneurship, as people would have the financial security to start businesses without fear of losing income during startup phases.
Based on the texts, how would Chen most likely describe the view of the workforce participation presented in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why A is right
Chen concedes Mitchell's point about some reduction in work hours but argues the economic analysis is incomplete because it ignores potential positive effects like entrepreneurship.
Why the others are wrong
BThis overstates Chen's disagreement. He acknowledges reduced work hours might occur, rather than claiming participation would increase.
CThis reverses Chen's stance. He explicitly argues Mitchell's view is incomplete in considering only negative effects.
DWhile Chen mentions health outcomes, his focus is on economic benefits like entrepreneurship rather than on the intrinsic value of leisure for happiness.
Question 18Medium
Text 1
Linguist Amara Chen proposes that bilingual children develop enhanced executive function because managing two language systems requires constant cognitive control. Her research shows bilingual five-year-olds outperform monolinguals on tasks requiring attention switching. Chen suggests this advantage stems from the brain's need to suppress one language while using the other.
Text 2
Cognitive scientist Robert Drummond challenges the notion that bilingualism directly causes cognitive benefits. His meta-analysis of 150 studies finds that when researchers control for socioeconomic factors, the bilingual advantage largely disappears. Drummond argues that publication bias has led researchers to overreport positive findings while neglecting studies showing no difference between bilingual and monolingual children.
Based on the texts, the authors of both passages would most likely agree on which statement?
Show the answer and explanation
Why B is right
Chen bases her proposal on research findings, while Drummond conducts a meta-analysis of 150 studies. Both authors rely on examining multiple research results rather than single anecdotes, indicating they share a methodological commitment to broad empirical evidence.
Why the others are wrong
AThis contradicts Drummond's position. He explicitly argues that the bilingual advantage disappears when controlling for socioeconomic factors.
CNeither author limits cognitive measurement to five-year-olds. Chen mentions this age group as one example, but neither claims it is the only valid age for study.
DLanguage suppression is mentioned only by Chen as one proposed mechanism. Neither author claims it underlies all executive function development, making this too extreme.
Question 19Medium
Text 1
Ecologist Jane Memmott's research on plant-pollinator networks in British gardens revealed surprising resilience. Even when several pollinator species disappeared from an area, the remaining insects redistributed their efforts among available flowers, maintaining pollination rates. This redundancy in pollinator networks suggests that garden ecosystems can withstand moderate species loss without experiencing pollination collapse.
Text 2
While pollinator redundancy exists, conservation biologist David Kleijn warns against complacency. His study of agricultural landscapes found that although generalist pollinators can temporarily compensate for specialist losses, this compensation degrades over time. Certain plants evolved relationships with specific pollinators, and when those partnerships break, seed production eventually declines even if flowers continue to receive visits from other insects. The apparent stability Memmott observed may mask longer-term deterioration.
Based on the texts, how would Kleijn (Text 2) most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why B is right
Text 2 acknowledges that compensation occurs (supporting the existence of resilience) but emphasizes that this compensation degrades over time and apparent stability may mask deterioration. Kleijn would likely view the claim as accurate in the short term but misleadingly optimistic about long-term outcomes.
Why the others are wrong
AThis is too strong. Text 2 explicitly states that 'pollinator redundancy exists' and that 'generalist pollinators can temporarily compensate,' so Kleijn wouldn't reject the existence of resilience entirely.
CThis adds false specificity. While Kleijn's study examined agricultural landscapes, his concern is about the temporal aspect of resilience, not geographic or habitat-specific limitations.
DThis misrepresents Kleijn's stance. Text 2 indicates he 'warns against complacency' and notes eventual seed production declines, so he would not suggest moderate loss poses little threat.
Question 20Medium
Text 1
Economists studying the Industrial Revolution have traditionally emphasized technological innovations like the steam engine and mechanized textile production. Yet the development of double-entry bookkeeping and other accounting methods was arguably more crucial to industrial growth, as these financial tools enabled entrepreneurs to accurately track costs, manage complex supply chains, and secure investment capital on an unprecedented scale.
Text 2
Accounting innovations certainly facilitated business expansion during the Industrial Revolution, but financial record-keeping systems had existed in various forms for centuries before industrialization. What distinguished the Industrial Revolution was not the availability of accounting methods but rather the dramatic increase in productive capacity made possible by new energy sources and machinery. Without steam power and mechanization, even sophisticated bookkeeping could not have generated the economic transformation that occurred.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1?
Show the answer and explanation
Why A is right
Text 2 acknowledges that accounting facilitated expansion but emphasizes that technological innovations in energy and machinery were what truly distinguished and drove the Industrial Revolution. This directly challenges the claim that accounting was more crucial than technology.
Why the others are wrong
BThis is too strong. Text 2 explicitly states that accounting innovations facilitated business expansion, so the author would not claim they had no meaningful role.
CThis is too soft. Text 2 clearly prioritizes technological advances as the distinguishing feature of the Industrial Revolution, not as equal partners with accounting.
DText 2 does not discuss specific types of bookkeeping systems. This introduces an irrelevant technical detail not mentioned in the passage.
What to do after medium
Medium is the tier that decides most scores. If these are landing, the hard set is where the remaining points are.
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