RC Question 26 Explanation
DISCUSSION: Passage A reads a bit more generic, and its material is digestible by a general audience. Passage B references scientific studies, so we can assume that it’s dedicated to a more knowledgeable audience.
___________
- CORRECT. This matches our prephrase.
- We can’t tell who the authors are.
- Passage A’s author isn’t very neutral (he is skeptic of Whorf) and Passage B ends with an indeterminable conclusion, so the author isn’t advocating for any particular view.
- Passage A doesn’t talk about historical development and Passage B isn’t looking for the truth.
- The passages discuss different ideas.
i thought that both the passages were discussing Whorf and the first author completely dismissed him but the 2nd one thought that the results could potentially be “whorfarian” so E would be correct
That would be true if you interpreted “ideas under discussion” as Whorfism itself, but “ideas” are plural and doesn’t support that reading. It relates to how each passage treats the subject matter it’s addressing, not simply their stance toward Whorf’s thesis itself.
Passage A is explicitly evaluating and critizing Whorf’s claim that language restricts thought. But B is reporting experimental findings about numerical cognition and then drawing a nuanced implication. It’s not treating Whorf’s thesis as a live position that it is sympathetically “taking seriously” in tone.