Digital SAT Practice Test 7 — Module 1 Reading & Writing: Full Walkthrough of All 33 Questions with Answers & Explanations

Answer: A) theory

One-line summary: The prediction is a scientific explanation later confirmed by observation.

✓ A) theory
The word names a supported explanation, which is what the calculations and models produced.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ B) evidence — Evidence would be proof, not the prediction itself; constant means unchanging; experiment is a test, not an idea.
✗ C) constant — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) experiment — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: D) Transparent

One-line summary: The description makes the water nearly invisible because it is transparent.

✓ D) Transparent
Transparent means see-through, matching the ability to view plants and fishes below.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) Simple — Simple and understandable do not describe water here; obvious conflicts with ‘almost invisible.’
✗ B) Understandable — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ C) Obvious — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: B) rectify

One-line summary: Walker’s bank corrected the shortage of financial services.

✓ B) rectify
Rectify means remedy an undesirable condition, exactly what the new bank did.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) prolong — Prolong and retain would preserve the problem; highlight would merely call attention to it.
✗ C) retain — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) highlight — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: B) corroborate

One-line summary: Trials may not confirm practitioners’ real-world conclusions when confounding variables are missed.

✓ B) corroborate
Corroborate means support or confirm, the relationship the sentence describes.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) circumvent — Results cannot bypass, spread, or put conclusions into effect; those verbs do not fit the relationship.
✗ C) disseminate — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) implement — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: A) demarcated from

One-line summary: Different migration patterns set diadromous fish apart from euryhaline fish.

✓ A) demarcated from
Demarcated from means distinguished or separated from, as the contrast in life cycles shows.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ B) reconstituted as — The fish are not remade, combined, or descended from the euryhaline fish.
✗ C) conflated with — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) derived from — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: A) It illustrates that a fire provides comfort beyond physical warmth.

One-line summary: The underlined words make fire a symbol of safety and belonging, not just warmth.

✓ A) It illustrates that a fire provides comfort beyond physical warmth.
They show the emotional comfort a fire provides: home, a protective circle, and safety overnight.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ B) It summarizes the information that came before it in the text. — They do not summarize prior details, say the house stays cold, or suggest comfort without a fire.
✗ C) It explains that the house remains cold even in summer. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) It suggests that the author feels comfortable in her home with or without a fire. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: A) It clarifies the meaning of a scientific term.

One-line summary: The parenthetical gives a plain definition of ‘surfactant.’

✓ A) It clarifies the meaning of a scientific term.
It tells readers that a surfactant is a chemical compound usable as a detergent.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ B) It describes an environmental concern. — It does not describe the environmental problem, explain the discovery’s significance, or mention confusion.
✗ C) It explains the significance of a scientific discovery. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) It identifies a result that confused the team. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: C) It presents an observation of an occurrence in the natural world that the speaker then expands on to convey a sense of a turbulent interior state.

One-line summary: The seedpods’ motion becomes an image for the speaker’s unsettled mind.

✓ C) It presents an observation of an occurrence in the natural world that the speaker then expands on to convey a sense of a turbulent interior state.
The natural observation is developed through comparisons to scattered, fevered thoughts.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) It illustrates a change in the natural environment that the speaker implies is responsible for the growing misgivings described in the text. — The wind is not said to cause the feelings; there is no stable landscape contrast or habitual self-critique.
✗ B) It establishes an example of consistency in the natural landscape that the speaker then contrasts with the unpredictability of human emotions. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) It evokes the ordinariness of an event in nature to suggest that the critical self-evaluation the speaker engages in is a common pursuit. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: A) It challenges the stance of the investors and enthusiasts who are mentioned earlier in the text.

One-line summary: The underlined observation pushes back against the prediction that new media will replace books.

✓ A) It challenges the stance of the investors and enthusiasts who are mentioned earlier in the text.
By showing that interactive texts have existed since marginal notes, it challenges the investors’ assumption.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ B) It explains the basis for the claim made by the technologists mentioned in the text. — It neither supports their claim, compares academics and investors, nor discusses reading technology problems.
✗ C) It suggests that academics are better suited than investors to see the potential uses of contemporary interactive texts. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) It provides a historical anecdote about the technological challenges involved in reading the earliest interactive texts. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: A) M. robustus leave the Octopus Garden upon reaching an intermediary stage of development.

One-line summary: Adults, eggs, and hatchlings—but no juveniles—imply that octopuses leave at an intermediate stage.

✓ A) M. robustus leave the Octopus Garden upon reaching an intermediary stage of development.
That inference explains why the reproduction-only site contains no juveniles.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ B) The M. robustus population at the Octopus Garden remains stable despite variations in water temperature. — The text gives no population stability, egg-size comparison, or feeding-ground evidence.
✗ C) M. robustus nests in the Octopus Garden contain on average fewer but larger eggs than nests at similar ocean depths. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) The Octopus Garden provides an ideal feeding ground for M. robustus hatchlings. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: D) It is a remarkable story that happened to an unremarkable person, though one could plausibly argue that because the story is valuable, some of its value accrues to the person at its center.

One-line summary: The narrator calls Hans ordinary while treating his story as extraordinary and valuable.

✓ D) It is a remarkable story that happened to an unremarkable person, though one could plausibly argue that because the story is valuable, some of its value accrues to the person at its center.
This choice preserves both ideas and the suggestion that the story’s value reflects somewhat on Hans.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) Though it is true that stories of even the most uninteresting people are themselves interesting because all people are unique, the reason this story is interesting is nonetheless difficult to understand because of the passage of time. — The others add claims about all people, age proving importance, or a required storytelling method that the text never makes.
✗ B) Even though it is a story of a person of no particular importance, its age and the manner in which it therefore must be told are both indicators that the story itself is important. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ C) Like all stories about the lives of inconsequential people, this story must necessarily be related in a particular way if the reason the story is consequential is to be made evident to the audience. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: D) 50%

One-line summary: The graph places costs at about half of the respondents.

✓ D) 50%
The costs bar is approximately 50%, so this is the graph-supported estimate.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) 10% — The 10%, 95%, and 25% figures do not match the costs bar.
✗ B) 95% — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ C) 25% — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: A) “When constructing his argument regarding the characteristics of a well-functioning government, Aristotle asserts that ‘Transgression creeps in unperceived and at last ruins the state,’ illustrating this idea with a comparison to frequent small expenditures slowly and almost imperceptibly chipping away at a fortune until it is ultimately depleted.”

One-line summary: The best quotation says unnoticed small violations can eventually ruin a state.

✓ A) “When constructing his argument regarding the characteristics of a well-functioning government, Aristotle asserts that ‘Transgression creeps in unperceived and at last ruins the state,’ illustrating this idea with a comparison to frequent small expenditures slowly and almost imperceptibly chipping away at a fortune until it is ultimately depleted.”
It directly supports strict obedience to law and attention even to minor infractions.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ B) “When Aristotle writes on the necessity of avoiding corruption in government, he proposes that ‘every state should be so administered and so regulated by law that its magistrates cannot possibly make money.’ In particular, he thinks oligarchies are particularly susceptible to corruption through bribery.” — The others focus on bribery, external threats, or oligarchic coalition-building rather than small violations of law.
✗ C) “When Aristotle considers the health of constitutions, he states that ‘Constitutions are preserved when their destroyers are at a distance, and sometimes also because they are near, for the fear of them makes the government keep in hand the constitution.’ He holds that rulers who wish to see constitutions preserved must continually remind the populace of the dangers that would result from a constitutional collapse.” — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) “When contrasting different forms of government, Aristotle holds that ‘oligarchies may last, not from any inherent stability in such forms of government, but because the rulers are on good terms both with the unenfranchised and with the governing classes.’ That is, oligarchic leaders who wish to hold on to power will introduce members of disenfranchised classes into government in a participatory role.” — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: B) Novels published after 1880 contain significantly more references to activities occurring after 10 p.m. than do novels from earlier periods.

One-line summary: More late-night activity after electric lighting spread would show the proposed behavior shift.

✓ B) Novels published after 1880 contain significantly more references to activities occurring after 10 p.m. than do novels from earlier periods.
A rise in post-10 p.m. references after 1880 connects late activity to easier nighttime illumination.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) Novels published after the year 1800 include the clock phrase 10 a.m. less often than novels published before the year 1800 do. — The other findings concern morning time, wording trends, or equal noon/midnight use and do not establish that link.
✗ C) Among novels published in the nineteenth century, implied time references become steadily more common than clock phrases as publication dates approach 1900. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) The time references of noon (12 p.m.) and midnight (12 a.m.) are used with roughly the same frequency in the novels. □ urban population growth ■ GDP per capita growth — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: A) national governments of countries in Region 1 experienced declines in efficiency in the period from 2000 to 2014, relative to the period from 1970 to 2000.

One-line summary: Region 1’s shift away from GDP-per-capita influence implies less efficient government under the stated hypothesis.

✓ A) national governments of countries in Region 1 experienced declines in efficiency in the period from 2000 to 2014, relative to the period from 1970 to 2000.
The graph shows population growth accounting for more ULE and GDP-per-capita growth for less in Region 1.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ B) countries in Region 1 experienced a slower rate of economic growth in the period from 2000 to 2014 than countries in Region 2 did, despite increasing national government efficiency in Region 1. — The graph does not compare economic growth rates, identify exceptions by country, or show both regions becoming more efficient.
✗ C) national governments of most countries in Region 2 became more efficient in the period from 2000 to 2014 than they had been in the period from 1970 to 2000, but those of several countries in this region did not. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) national governments of countries in Region 1 and in Region 2 generally became more efficient in the period from 2000 to 2014 than they had been in the period from 1970 to 2000, but at different rates. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: B) From 2000 to 2006, processing imports with inputs rose much more sharply than processing imports with assembly did.

One-line summary: A sharp rise in processing with inputs indicates that firms increasingly had capital to buy raw materials.

✓ B) From 2000 to 2006, processing imports with inputs rose much more sharply than processing imports with assembly did.
Processing with inputs rose far more than processing with assembly from 2000 to 2006.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) Processing imports with inputs were greater than both ordinary imports and processing imports with assembly in 2006. — The other descriptions do not establish the needed change from limited to greater capital.
✗ C) From 2000 to 2006, neither processing imports with inputs nor processing imports with assembly were greater than ordinary imports. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) Processing imports with assembly were greater in 2006 than processing imports with inputs in 2000. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: C) more narwhals would have a tusk.

One-line summary: If the tusk were essential for avoiding freezing water, it would be more common among narwhals.

✓ C) more narwhals would have a tusk.
A vital survival feature would be expected in more members of the species.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) some narwhals would seek a new habitat. — Changing habitat, other animals’ tusks, and shyness do not test the proposed function.
✗ B) fewer marine animals would also have tusks. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) narwhals would become less shy over time. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: D) aerospace composites containing the nitrogen-treated SiC fiber may have the ability to withstand mechanical stress for a longer period of time than can aerospace composites containing either of the two polymer-derived SiC fibers.

One-line summary: A lower creep rate means the nitrogen-treated fiber deforms more slowly under stress.

✓ D) aerospace composites containing the nitrogen-treated SiC fiber may have the ability to withstand mechanical stress for a longer period of time than can aerospace composites containing either of the two polymer-derived SiC fibers.
That supports composites with this fiber lasting longer under mechanical stress.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) unlike the two polymer-derived SiC fibers, the nitrogen-treated SiC fiber can substantially inhibit creep, provided that temperatures and loads are consistent. — It does not prove total inhibition, similarity of the two other fibers, or superior chemical properties.
✗ B) the two polymer-derived SiC fibers likely hold similar potential for reducing the creep resistance of materials exposed to stress and elevated temperatures, thus prolonging the life span of aerospace machinery. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ C) composites based on the two polymer-derived SiC fibers have chemical properties that may improve the mechanical and thermal stability of aerospace equipment to a greater extent than do composites based on the nitrogen-treated SiC fiber. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: A) describes

One-line summary: The singular subject ‘map’ requires a singular present-tense verb.

✓ A) describes
‘Describes’ agrees with the singular noun ‘map.’

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ B) describe — The other choices use plural or mismatched tense forms.
✗ C) have described — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) are describing — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: D) These

One-line summary: The sentence refers back to multiple letters.

✓ D) These
‘These’ is the plural determiner that agrees with ‘letters.’

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) One — One, that, and this are singular and do not match ‘letters.’
✗ B) That — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ C) This — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: D) affected

One-line summary: The dust storms occurred during the 1930s, so past tense is required.

✓ D) affected
‘Affected’ correctly places the storms in that completed historical period.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) are affecting — The present-progressive and future forms place the action in the wrong time.
✗ B) will have affected — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ C) will affect — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: C) century, but

One-line summary: Two independent clauses need correct coordination.

✓ C) century, but
A comma plus ‘but’ joins the contrast between the calculators’ popularity and replacement.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) century — No punctuation creates a run-on, a comma alone creates a splice, and ‘that’ does not join the clauses logically.
✗ B) century, — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) century that — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: C) characterized

One-line summary: The phrase after ‘a type of Chinese landscape painting’ needs a participial modifier.

✓ C) characterized
‘Characterized’ modifies qinglü shanshui without creating a second independent clause.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) has been characterized — The finite verb choices create an improperly joined extra clause.
✗ B) will be characterized — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) is characterized — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: A) vapor. With

One-line summary: The completed idea about vapor must end before a new sentence beginning ‘With.’

✓ A) vapor. With
A period correctly separates the two independent statements.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ B) vapor with — No punctuation makes a run-on, a comma makes a splice, and ‘and’ is not correctly punctuated here.
✗ C) vapor, with — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) vapor and with — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: D) the Alaska Centennial Commission sponsored a contest that would award $300 to an individual who came

One-line summary: The opening modifier must describe the Alaska Centennial Commission.

✓ D) the Alaska Centennial Commission sponsored a contest that would award $300 to an individual who came
The commission is placed immediately after ‘Wanting to celebrate,’ making the action logical.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) a contest sponsored by the Alaska Centennial Commission would award $300 to an individual who came — The other choices make a contest, an award, or money seem to have wanted to celebrate.
✗ B) an award of $300 would go to an individual in a contest sponsored by the Alaska Centennial Commission for coming — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ C) $300 would be awarded to an individual by the Alaska Centennial Commission in a contest for coming — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: D) supposed, a

One-line summary: The final noun phrase is an added description of the preceding finding.

✓ D) supposed, a
A comma properly introduces ‘a finding that, if true,’ as supplementary information.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) supposed; a — A semicolon is not appropriate, a period makes a fragment, and no punctuation fuses the parts.
✗ B) supposed. A — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ C) supposed a — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: A) Additionally,

One-line summary: Regulating water loss is another function of guard cells.

✓ A) Additionally,
‘Additionally’ signals that the sentence adds a second role.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ B) Previously, — Previously signals time, in conclusion signals a summary, and instead signals replacement rather than addition.
✗ C) In conclusion, — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) Instead, — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: D) Chaudhuri is a sedimentologist.

One-line summary: The notes identify Chaudhuri’s specialty by linking her subject to the name of that specialty.

✓ D) Chaudhuri is a sedimentologist.
Because she studies sedimentary rocks, she is a sedimentologist.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) Chalk is a type of sedimentary rock. — The other choices give rock examples or generic statements without naming Chaudhuri’s type of scientist.
✗ B) Some scientists study shale, chalk, and sandstone. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ C) There are scientists who study sedimentary rocks. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: A) “Raymond’s Run” takes place in Harlem.

One-line summary: The goal is to say where the story occurs.

✓ A) “Raymond’s Run” takes place in Harlem.
This choice directly states that ‘Raymond’s Run’ takes place in Harlem.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ B) “Raymond’s Run” was published in Gorilla, My Love. — The remaining choices identify the book, narrative perspective, or author instead of the setting.
✗ C) “Raymond’s Run” is told from a first person perspective. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) “Raymond’s Run” was written by Toni Cade Bambara. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: C) In the arista style, designs are stamped into the ceramic tiles, whereas in the majolica style, the designs are painted directly on them.

One-line summary: A contrast needs the different production methods for both tile styles.

✓ C) In the arista style, designs are stamped into the ceramic tiles, whereas in the majolica style, the designs are painted directly on them.
This choice sets stamped arista designs against directly painted majolica designs.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) Tiles in the majolica and arista styles can be found in the Royal Alcázar of Seville in Andalucía, Spain. — The others mention a shared location, shared presence, or only one style.
✗ B) Featuring tiles in the majolica and arista styles, the Royal Alcázar of Seville in Spain is famous for its intricate tilework. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) Among the famous tilework of the Royal Alcázar of Seville are majolica style tiles, made by painting designs directly on the ceramic tiles. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: B) While both are protest songs, “Poor Miner’s Farewell” is about coal miners in Kentucky, whereas “Bring Him Back Home” is about the anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela.

One-line summary: The required contrast is the subjects of the two protest songs.

✓ B) While both are protest songs, “Poor Miner’s Farewell” is about coal miners in Kentucky, whereas “Bring Him Back Home” is about the anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela.
It names both songs and contrasts Kentucky coal miners with Nelson Mandela.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) The songs “Poor Miner’s Farewell” and “Bring Him Back Home” both raised awareness about human rights violations. — One choice states only a similarity, while the others describe only one song.
✗ C) Hugh Masekela’s song “Bring Him Back Home,” released in 1987, called on the South African government to free Nelson Mandela. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) Released in 1932 by Aunt Molly Jackson, the song “Poor Miner’s Farewell” was a protest against the unlivable wages and dangerous working conditions faced by Kentucky coal miners. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: C) According to Stewart, a “clash of cultures” between Athens and Sparta caused the conflict, not Athens’s rise.

One-line summary: Stewart’s quotation supplies an alternate explanation for the Athens-Sparta conflict.

✓ C) According to Stewart, a “clash of cultures” between Athens and Sparta caused the conflict, not Athens’s rise.
‘Clash of cultures’ explicitly challenges the claim that Athens’s rise caused the conflict.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) According to Allison’s Thucydides trap theory, whenever “a rising power is threatening to displace a ruling power,” conflict is likely. — The other quotations do not challenge Thucydides, or they misstate Allison’s agreement with the theory.
✗ B) Thucydides wrote that conflict between the two powers was “inevitable,” although Stewart later challenged the historical basis of this claim. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ D) Thucydides explained that conflict was caused by “the rise of Athens and the fear this instilled in Sparta,” but Allison disagreed, seeing the conflict as an example of the Thucydides trap. STOP If you finish before time is called, you may check your work on this module only. Do not turn to any other module in the test. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.

Answer: D) Though some of the languages differed in number of syllables spoken per second, all 17 conveyed information at roughly the same rate. 2

One-line summary: The overview must combine varying syllable rates with broadly consistent information rates.

✓ D) Though some of the languages differed in number of syllables spoken per second, all 17 conveyed information at roughly the same rate. 2
This choice captures the study’s all-language pattern rather than one metric or one pair of languages.

✗ Why the other choices fail
✗ A) The 2021 study determined the information rate (IR) of 17 languages in bits of information conveyed per second. — The other choices are incomplete, too narrow, or misstate the information-rate result.
✗ B) Researchers found that information was conveyed more quickly in Spanish, at 7.7 syllables per second, than in Vietnamese, at 5.3 syllables per second. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.
✗ C) Vietnamese had the sixteenth-fastest syllable rate, lower than that of Spanish, which had the second-fastest; however, Spanish had the lower information rate of the two. — It does not fit the text’s stated meaning, evidence, or grammar as precisely as the correct choice.