RC Question 19 Explanation
DISCUSSION: The question asks what each author would think of a person who wants to be richer than their neighbors.
The author of passage A thinks that such a person is motivated by rivalry.
The author of passage B thinks that such a person is motivated by the desire to feel successful and to feel that they have provided value to others.
___________
- Nonsense. Insular means “isolated, withdrawn, like an island”. Cosmopolitan means “worldly”. Neither word makes sense in context.
- Arguably, these are reversed. The author of passage A would say that such a person is focussed on themselves, and thus egocentric. The author of passage B would say that such a person wants to provide value to others, and thus is altruistic.
- Neither author would say how happy such a person is. The question talks about a person who wants to make more money than their neighbors. So we don’t know if that person is richer than their neighbors or just wants to be.
- CORRECT. The word misguided is supported by an overall view of passage A. Lines 20-23 show that we are not good at predicting how extra money will affect our happiness. So someone seeking extra wealth is being silly.
The author of passage B thinks that someone who wants to be rich really just wants to help others and provide value (lines 62-66). So wanting to be rich is a good thing. - This is completely unsupported. Neither passage mentions luck. Luck is only mentioned in answer C of question 16.
And lines 48-50 show that the author of passage B disagrees with the theory that we are motivated by primeval urges of rivalry.
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