Question 10·Easy·Cross-Text Connections
Text 1
A recent magazine article celebrated the city of Darnell for its ambitious energy program. According to the author, Darnell was the first municipality in the country to power its entire network of streetlights exclusively with renewable energy, a goal it reached in 2012. The article praises the city’s leadership and suggests other communities are only now beginning to follow its example.
Text 2
An environmental policy newsletter from 2015 highlights several early adopters of renewable street-lighting systems. It notes that the coastal town of Merriton converted all of its 5,000 streetlights to a combination of wind and solar power by late 2010, completing the project under budget. The newsletter adds that the town’s success served as a model for larger cities considering similar transitions.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the emphasized claim in Text 1?
For cross-text questions, first underline the key claim or idea in the specified part of the first text (here, “first in the country” and the year). Then scan the second text for information that directly supports, qualifies, or contradicts that claim, paying special attention to dates, quantities, and absolute words like “all,” “only,” or “first.” Finally, choose the option that best reflects how the second author’s information would respond to that specific claim, and eliminate choices that introduce new, unsupported details or ignore the core point of disagreement.
Hints
Focus on the emphasized line in Text 1
Reread the emphasized sentence in Text 1. What specific claim is the author making about Darnell in relation to other cities?
Look for time and completeness in Text 2
In Text 2, find where it describes when Merriton finished its project and whether it included all of its streetlights or only some of them.
Compare the two timelines
Once you know what year Darnell finished and what year Merriton finished, think about how that affects the idea that Darnell was “the first” to do this.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the key claim in Text 1
Focus on the emphasized part of Text 1: “Darnell was the first municipality in the country to power its entire network of streetlights exclusively with renewable energy, a goal it reached in 2012.”
The important pieces are:
- “first municipality in the country” (a first/only claim)
- “entire network of streetlights” (all streetlights)
- “exclusively with renewable energy”
- year: 2012
Find the relevant information in Text 2
Now look at what Text 2 says about Merriton:
- It is highlighted as an early adopter.
- It “converted all of its 5,000 streetlights to a combination of wind and solar power.”
- Wind and solar are types of renewable energy.
- This was completed “by late 2010.”
So, by 2010, Merriton already had all of its streetlights running on renewable energy.
Compare the dates and the scope
Compare the two cities:
- Darnell: all streetlights on renewable energy by 2012, claimed to be first in the country.
- Merriton: all streetlights on renewable energy by late 2010.
If Merriton had all of its streetlights powered by renewables in 2010, then Darnell in 2012 cannot truly be the first.
Match this comparison to the best answer choice
The author of Text 2 would most likely respond to the claim that Darnell was first by pointing out that another town, Merriton, had already reached the same goal earlier—two years before Darnell. The answer that captures this is: “Merriton achieved a fully renewable street-lighting system two years before Darnell did.”