Two-Passage Questions
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Text 1
Personal carbon footprint calculators can motivate meaningful change because they translate an abstract crisis into daily decisions. When people see that frequent flying dwarfs the impact of recycling, they may shift travel habits and support cleaner options. The calculators are not perfect, but they give individuals a starting point and a sense of agency. Waiting for governments alone invites paralysis; widespread personal tracking can build a culture that demands broader reform.
Text 2
Footprint calculators often redirect attention away from the actors with the most leverage. Energy systems, freight networks, and building codes shape emissions far more than whether a person buys paper towels. When companies promote calculators, they can imply that climate failure is mainly a consumer’s moral lapse, not a policy and infrastructure problem. Individual choices matter, but the most effective “agency” is collective: voting, organizing, and pushing institutions to decarbonize at scale.
Based on Text 2, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to Text 1’s suggestion that widespread personal tracking can build a culture that demands broader reform?
They would argue that footprint calculators are accurate enough to replace national emissions inventories.
They would argue that calculators can distract from systemic solutions and shift responsibility onto consumers, making reform less likely rather than more.
They would claim that individual choices never affect emissions under any circumstances.
They would agree that personal tracking is more effective than policy change because infrastructure responds quickly to consumer guilt.
Explanation
Text 1 suggests that widespread use of personal carbon footprint calculators can build a culture that demands broader reform by giving individuals agency and a starting point for change. Text 2 would likely respond critically, arguing that footprint calculators 'often redirect attention away from the actors with the most leverage' - energy systems, freight networks, and building codes. Text 2 warns that when companies promote calculators, they can shift blame to consumers rather than addressing policy and infrastructure problems. The author argues the most effective agency is collective action through voting and organizing, not individual tracking. Choice A correctly captures this response: calculators can distract from systemic solutions and shift responsibility onto consumers, making reform less likely rather than more. Choice B is wrong because Text 2 doesn't agree personal tracking is more effective. Choices C and D misrepresent Text 2's nuanced position.
Text 1
Streaming services claim their recommendation algorithms help users discover diverse content, but the design of “personalization” often narrows exposure. Because the system optimizes for watch time, it learns to deliver familiar genres that keep a viewer from leaving. A user who watches one crime documentary can quickly receive an endless row of similar titles, while foreign films and independent releases are pushed out of sight. Recommendation engines may feel expansive, yet they can quietly reduce cultural variety.
Text 2
Watch-time optimization can narrow choices, but it does not follow that algorithms inevitably shrink cultural variety. Some platforms now incorporate “serendipity” metrics, deliberately inserting unfamiliar titles and measuring whether viewers sample them. When users do, the system can widen rather than narrow its suggestions. The real issue is the business goal the algorithm serves: maximize short-term engagement or cultivate long-term satisfaction. Algorithms are tools, and their effects depend on the incentives set by the platform.
Based on Text 2, which idea most directly addresses Text 1’s concern that recommendation engines can reduce cultural variety?
Platforms can design recommendation systems to promote exploration by incorporating measures that reward serendipity rather than only watch time.
Algorithms should be eliminated because viewers are incapable of choosing content without automated guidance.
Cultural variety is best protected by limiting the number of titles any platform is allowed to host.
Foreign films and independent releases are unpopular, so reducing their visibility has little effect on viewers’ experiences.
Explanation
Text 1's concern is that recommendation algorithms reduce cultural variety by optimizing for watch time and pushing users toward familiar content. Text 2 directly addresses this by explaining that some platforms now incorporate 'serendipity' metrics, deliberately inserting unfamiliar titles and measuring engagement. This shows algorithms can widen rather than narrow choices when designed with different incentives (long-term satisfaction vs. short-term engagement). Answer B correctly identifies this solution: designing systems that reward serendipity rather than only watch time. Answer A goes too far in suggesting elimination of algorithms. Answer C proposes limiting content, which doesn't address the recommendation issue. Answer D contradicts the premise that cultural variety matters.
Text 1
Translation apps are making foreign-language study obsolete. Travelers can point a phone at a menu, employees can auto-translate emails, and speech tools are beginning to interpret conversations in real time. Given limited school budgets, time spent conjugating verbs could be redirected to coding or statistics—skills with clearer labor-market returns. Cultural understanding can be taught through literature in translation, and communication barriers will continue to fall as software improves.
Text 2
Convenient translation is not the same as communication. Apps often flatten tone, miss idioms, and fail in noisy settings or when speakers use dialects. More importantly, language learning builds a person’s ability to negotiate meaning, notice cultural cues, and earn trust—capacities that matter in diplomacy, health care, and community work. Even in business, relying on automated translation can introduce subtle errors with legal consequences. Technology can support learning, but it cannot replace the human competence that learning creates.
Based on Text 2, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to Text 1’s claim that foreign-language study is becoming “obsolete”?
Disagree, arguing that language study cultivates interpersonal and cultural skills and reduces high-stakes misunderstandings that apps can cause.
Disagree, but only because coding and statistics are less useful than verb conjugation in the labor market.
Partly agree, arguing that literature in translation provides all the same benefits as speaking a language.
Agree, because translation apps already handle dialects and tone better than most human learners.
Explanation
The question asks how Text 2's author would respond to Text 1's claim that foreign-language study is becoming 'obsolete' due to translation apps. Text 1 argues apps make language learning unnecessary. Text 2 strongly disagrees, arguing that 'Convenient translation is not the same as communication.' Text 2 explains that apps 'often flatten tone, miss idioms, and fail in noisy settings or when speakers use dialects.' More importantly, Text 2 argues language learning builds crucial interpersonal and cultural skills: 'ability to negotiate meaning, notice cultural cues, and earn trust—capacities that matter in diplomacy, health care, and community work.' Text 2 also warns about 'subtle errors with legal consequences' in business contexts. Answer B correctly captures this disagreement: Text 2 would disagree, arguing that language study cultivates interpersonal and cultural skills and reduces high-stakes misunderstandings that apps can cause. Choice A is wrong - Text 2 argues apps have significant limitations. Choice C misrepresents Text 2's position. Choice D introduces an irrelevant comparison not in Text 2.
Text 1
Reading on paper is often described as “deeper” than reading on screens, but the difference is not mystical; it is logistical. Paper makes it harder to multitask, because a book does not buzz, flash, or offer a link one tap away. In classroom experiments where notifications were disabled on tablets, comprehension scores became similar to those of print readers. The medium matters less than the surrounding temptations. If educators want students to read well on screens, they should design digital environments that make distraction inconvenient.
Text 2
Distraction is part of the story, yet paper offers cognitive cues that screens struggle to replicate even in quiet settings. Readers often remember where an idea appeared—near the top of a left-hand page, for instance—and that spatial map can support recall and synthesis. E-readers that show a constant stream of text reduce these anchors, and students report feeling “lost” in long digital documents. Better interface design may help, but it is unrealistic to treat paper’s physical structure as merely a distraction-free container.
Which claim from Text 2 most directly addresses the idea in Text 1 that comprehension differences are mainly caused by “surrounding temptations”?
Notifications are the primary reason students fail to finish assigned reading.
Paper offers spatial and physical cues that can aid memory even when distractions are minimized on screens.
Books are cheaper than tablets for most schools to purchase and maintain.
Some students prefer screens because they can adjust font size and brightness.
Explanation
Text 1 attributes comprehension differences mainly to 'surrounding temptations' like notifications, claiming scores equalize when distractions are disabled, treating medium as secondary to environment. Text 2 addresses this by arguing paper provides 'cognitive cues' like spatial memory (e.g., 'near the top of a left-hand page') that aid recall even in 'quiet settings,' which screens reduce, making it 'unrealistic to treat paper’s physical structure as merely a distraction-free container.' This offers an alternative explanation, emphasizing inherent physical advantages beyond distractions. Choice A correctly identifies this claim as directly countering Text 1's distraction focus with spatial cues aiding memory despite minimized distractions. Choice B matches topic (books vs. screens) but not viewpoint, shifting to cost when Text 2 focuses on cognition. Choice C uses unsupported inference from Text 2, which discusses spatial issues, not preferences like font adjustment. Choice D misreads Text 1's claim, exaggerating notifications as primary when Text 1 sees them as logistical.
Text 1
In the rush to electrify transportation, some critics worry that electric vehicles merely shift pollution from tailpipes to power plants. Yet even on a coal-heavy grid, electric motors convert energy to motion more efficiently than gasoline engines, meaning fewer total emissions per mile in most regions. As grids add wind and solar, the advantage grows automatically without drivers changing behavior. The practical implication is that policies should prioritize rapid EV adoption now, because cleaner electricity will arrive over time and improve every electric mile already driven.
Text 2
Efficiency alone does not settle the environmental case for electric vehicles, because the largest impacts can occur before the first mile is driven. Battery production requires intensive mining and processing, and those activities often concentrate pollution near vulnerable communities. Moreover, rapid adoption can encourage larger vehicles with bigger batteries, increasing material demand. A wiser policy would pair electrification with smaller cars, longer vehicle lifespans, and strong recycling standards, so that the grid’s gradual cleaning is not offset by a surge in extraction and waste.
How does Text 2 relate to the argument presented in Text 1?
It extends Text 1 by arguing that EVs should be adopted immediately because battery production has negligible environmental costs.
It agrees with Text 1’s focus on grid emissions but argues that coal plants are cleaner than gasoline engines in every region.
It contradicts Text 1 by claiming that electric motors are less efficient than gasoline engines.
It challenges Text 1 by shifting attention from driving emissions to manufacturing and material impacts that could undermine the benefits of rapid adoption.
Explanation
Text 1 argues for rapid EV adoption because electric motors are more efficient than gasoline even on coal grids, with benefits growing as grids clean, focusing on driving emissions and policy prioritization. Text 2 challenges this by shifting to 'largest impacts...before the first mile,' like battery mining pollution and larger vehicles increasing demand, advocating pairing with smaller cars and recycling to avoid offsetting grid improvements. This is a contradiction and extension, undermining rapid adoption's benefits by introducing manufacturing impacts. Choice B correctly describes this by noting the challenge via focus on manufacturing that could undermine rapid adoption. Choice A flips positions, attributing to Text 2 negligible battery costs when it highlights them as significant. Choice C misreads Text 1's claim, as Text 2 does not agree on grid emissions but shifts away from them. Choice D uses unsupported inference that Text 2 claims electric motors are less efficient, when it actually critiques pre-driving impacts.
Text 1
Corporate diversity training is frequently criticized as performative, but abandoning it would be a mistake. In a company that tracked promotion outcomes over five years, managers who completed structured bias training were more likely to sponsor employees outside their immediate social circles. The effect was modest yet consistent, suggesting that training can change behavior when it includes concrete practices rather than abstract slogans. Organizations should therefore refine training—linking it to hiring rubrics and evaluation criteria—instead of treating it as an optional seminar that employees forget by lunch.
Text 2
Bias training may produce short-term shifts in how managers talk about fairness, but the evidence for lasting changes in promotion patterns is mixed. In many firms, the largest driver of inequality is not individual bias but informal networks that control which assignments lead to advancement. Training that focuses on attitudes can even backfire if employees feel accused and disengage. Rather than centering workshops, companies should redesign systems: rotate high-visibility projects, standardize performance metrics, and audit outcomes regularly so that equity does not depend on a manager’s good intentions.
Which choice best describes the relationship between the perspectives presented in the two texts?
Text 2 argues that promotion inequality is unavoidable, whereas Text 1 argues it can be eliminated entirely through training.
Text 2 challenges Text 1’s emphasis on refining training by arguing that structural changes to assignment and evaluation systems are more reliable than workshops.
Text 2 supports Text 1 by providing additional evidence that bias training consistently improves promotion outcomes across industries.
Text 2 restates Text 1’s argument in different words, focusing on the same solution and the same evidence.
Explanation
Text 1 argues for refining bias training, citing evidence of modest promotion improvements when linked to practices, viewing it as changeable behavior rather than performative. Text 2 challenges this by stating evidence for lasting changes is 'mixed,' arguing inequality stems more from 'informal networks' and systems, recommending redesign like rotating projects over workshops, which can 'backfire.' This represents a contradiction, prioritizing structural changes over training refinement. Choice B correctly describes this relationship by noting the challenge to training emphasis via structural alternatives. Choice A misreads Text 2's viewpoint, assuming support for training when it questions its reliability. Choice C uses unsupported inference that texts restate the same argument, ignoring Text 2's differing solution. Choice D flips positions, attributing to Text 2 inevitability when it proposes systemic fixes.
Text 1
City officials often treat public bus routes as a social service, but riders experience them as a product: either the bus arrives when promised or it doesn’t. In several mid-sized U.S. cities, publishing real-time arrival data coincided with higher ridership, suggesting that reliability is partly a matter of perception. When travelers can see a delay before they leave home, they choose the bus instead of abandoning it. The simplest way to grow transit use, then, is not new routes but better information.
Text 2
Real-time screens may soothe anxious riders, but they can also disguise the underlying problem: buses stuck in the same traffic as cars. In one study of a corridor that added arrival displays but no dedicated lanes, on-time performance barely changed and ridership gains faded within months. Information helps only when the service can deliver. Cities that want lasting increases in bus use must prioritize speed and frequency—through bus lanes, signal priority, and all-door boarding—rather than relying on apps to manage disappointment.
Based on Text 2, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the claim in Text 1 that “the simplest way to grow transit use…is…better information”?
They would agree, arguing that rider perception is more important than actual travel time in determining whether people take the bus.
They would shift the discussion away from ridership, arguing that the main purpose of buses is to reduce pollution rather than serve riders.
They would qualify it by arguing that real-time data should replace investments in bus lanes because both approaches solve the same problem.
They would challenge it, arguing that information without operational improvements cannot sustain ridership growth.
Explanation
The specific claim in Text 1 is that 'the simplest way to grow transit use...is...better information,' emphasizing real-time data to improve rider perception and increase ridership without needing operational changes like new routes. Text 2 responds by paraphrasing that 'information helps only when the service can deliver' and cites a study where ridership gains from arrival displays 'faded within months' without dedicated lanes, arguing cities must prioritize 'speed and frequency' through infrastructure rather than 'relying on apps to manage disappointment.' This represents a contradiction, as Text 2 directly challenges the sufficiency of information alone for sustained growth. Choice B correctly captures this relationship by stating Text 2 would challenge the claim, using evidence that information without improvements cannot sustain ridership. Choice A misreads Text 2's viewpoint by assuming agreement on perception over actual time, ignoring Text 2's emphasis on operational fixes. Choice C uses an unsupported inference that Text 2 advocates replacing bus lanes with data, when Text 2 actually promotes lanes alongside information. Choice D matches topic (buses) but not viewpoint, flipping Text 2's focus from ridership to pollution, which is not mentioned.
Text 1
Some cities respond to housing shortages by loosening zoning rules, allowing duplexes and small apartment buildings in areas once reserved for single-family homes. Critics predict that such changes will “destroy neighborhood character,” yet the character they defend is often a recent invention, produced by mid-twentieth-century policies that excluded renters and lower-income families. Where modest upzoning has occurred, the result is typically subtle: a corner lot becomes a fourplex, a garage becomes a small unit. If cities want affordability without sprawl, gentle density is the most realistic path.
Text 2
“Gentle density” sounds politically soothing, but it can also be a convenient slogan that avoids harder choices. In many high-demand cities, adding a few units per block will not meaningfully reduce rents, especially when new construction targets higher-income buyers. Meanwhile, upzoning can accelerate land speculation, raising property taxes and pressuring long-time residents to sell. Affordability requires not only allowing more homes but also investing in subsidized housing and tenant protections, so that new supply does not arrive hand in hand with displacement.
Based on Text 2, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to Text 1’s suggestion that gentle density is “the most realistic path” to affordability?
They would agree, arguing that small-scale upzoning reliably lowers rents regardless of what kinds of units are built.
They would dismiss it, arguing that neighborhood character is fixed and should never change for any reason.
They would disagree, arguing that housing shortages are best solved by expanding highways so people can live farther away.
They would complicate it, arguing that modest upzoning alone may be insufficient and could contribute to displacement without additional policies.
Explanation
Text 1 suggests 'gentle density' via modest upzoning is 'the most realistic path' to affordability without sprawl, downplaying character concerns and highlighting subtle changes. Text 2 complicates this by calling it a 'convenient slogan' that may not 'meaningfully reduce rents' in high-demand areas, especially if targeting higher-income buyers, and noting it can cause 'displacement' through speculation without 'subsidized housing and tenant protections.' This is a qualification and extension, agreeing on more homes but adding insufficiency and risks. Choice C correctly captures this by noting modest upzoning alone may be insufficient and contribute to displacement without policies. Choice A misreads Text 2 to assume agreement on rent-lowering reliability, ignoring its caveats. Choice B uses unsupported inference that Text 2 promotes highways, when it focuses on housing policies. Choice D flips positions, attributing to Text 2 dismissal of change when it advocates enhanced upzoning.
Text 1
Schools that ban smartphones during the day often justify the policy by citing attention spans, but the more compelling reason is social. When phones are always available, minor conflicts can be documented, shared, and escalated in minutes, turning ordinary misunderstandings into public performances. After one district required phones to be locked away, counselors reported fewer peer disputes reaching the office. A phone-free school day, then, is less about policing distraction and more about lowering the temperature of adolescent social life.
Text 2
Locking away phones may reduce viral drama, but it can also silence students who rely on digital tools for support. Some teenagers use translation apps to participate in class, and others coordinate after-school jobs or caregiving responsibilities through texting. Reports of fewer disputes reaching counselors could reflect underreporting rather than improved relationships, especially if students lose a private way to seek help. Instead of blanket bans, schools should set targeted rules—limiting social media during class while preserving access for learning and safety.
Which choice best summarizes how the author of Text 2 would evaluate the conclusion in Text 1 that a phone-free day “lowers the temperature” of student social life?
They would reject it, arguing that phones have no effect on conflict and that disputes are caused only by school policies.
They would reinterpret it, arguing that the main purpose of phones in school is entertainment rather than communication.
They would question it, suggesting the reported decrease in disputes may be misleading and that bans can remove beneficial uses of phones.
They would endorse it, arguing that any reduction in online posting necessarily improves student well-being.
Explanation
The conclusion in Text 1 is that a phone-free school day 'lowers the temperature of adolescent social life' by reducing documented and escalated conflicts, citing fewer disputes reported after bans. Text 2 questions this by suggesting bans 'can also silence students' who use phones for beneficial purposes like translation or coordination, and that fewer disputes 'could reflect underreporting' rather than improvement, advocating 'targeted rules' instead of 'blanket bans' to preserve access. This represents an alternative explanation and qualification, challenging the interpretation of evidence while proposing a different approach. Choice C correctly summarizes this by noting Text 2 questions the decrease as potentially misleading and highlights lost benefits. Choice A misreads Text 2's viewpoint, assuming endorsement of any reduction in posting as improving well-being, when Text 2 warns of drawbacks. Choice B uses unsupported inference that Text 2 sees no effect on conflicts, ignoring its acknowledgment of reduced drama. Choice D matches topic (phones) but not viewpoint, shifting to entertainment when Text 2 focuses on support and learning.
Text 1
For decades, nutrition advice treated dietary fat as the primary villain, pushing people toward low-fat products that often replaced fat with sugar and refined starch. The predictable result was not better health but a surge of highly processed “diet” foods that left many people hungrier. Large cohort studies now link certain unsaturated fats—found in nuts, olive oil, and fish—to lower cardiovascular risk. The sensible approach is to stop fearing fat in general and focus instead on the degree of processing and the quality of ingredients.
Text 2
Rehabilitating fat has corrected one mistake, but it risks creating another if people assume that “high fat” automatically means “healthy.” Many ultra-processed foods—from pastries to snack chips—are rich in fat and still correlate with poor health outcomes. Moreover, total calorie intake remains relevant: adding generous amounts of oil can raise energy consumption even when the oil is high quality. A useful guideline emphasizes whole foods and portion awareness, rather than implying that fat’s reputation alone explains modern diet-related disease.
Which statement best describes how Text 2 would most likely respond to the recommendation in Text 1 to “stop fearing fat in general”?
Text 2 would qualify it, warning that fat content alone does not determine healthfulness and that processing and portion size still matter.
Text 2 would shift the discussion to exercise, arguing that diet quality has little effect compared with physical activity.
Text 2 would oppose it, arguing that all forms of dietary fat increase cardiovascular risk.
Text 2 would fully endorse it, arguing that calorie intake is irrelevant when foods contain unsaturated fats.
Explanation
Text 1 recommends to 'stop fearing fat in general' based on studies linking unsaturated fats to lower risk, critiquing low-fat products and urging focus on processing and quality. Text 2 qualifies this by warning that assuming 'high fat' means 'healthy' is risky, as ultra-processed fatty foods correlate with poor outcomes and 'total calorie intake remains relevant,' emphasizing 'whole foods and portion awareness' over fat's reputation. This is a qualification, agreeing on correcting fat fear but adding caveats on processing and portions. Choice C correctly describes this by noting qualification that fat alone does not determine healthfulness, with processing and size mattering. Choice A flips positions, attributing to Text 2 irrelevance of calories with unsaturated fats when it stresses calorie awareness. Choice B misreads Text 2's claim to oppose all fats, ignoring its acknowledgment of rehabilitation. Choice D uses unsupported inference shifting to exercise, when Text 2 focuses on diet guidelines.