Question 120·Hard·Cross-Text Connections
Text 1
In a 2022 report on mitigating urban heat, climatologist Sofia Navarro found that a continuous canopy of mature street trees along major traffic corridors lowered peak summer air temperatures in Madrid by an average of 2 °C. Navarro concluded that large-scale planting of London plane trees on sun-exposed boulevards should therefore be a primary strategy for European cities seeking rapid relief from heat waves.
Text 2
Urban forester Malik Özdemir notes that London plane trees typically require two decades to reach the crown width needed to shade wide boulevards effectively. During that maturation period, the high levels of vehicle emissions and road salt common on major corridors can stunt growth and increase mortality. Özdemir argues that integrating smaller, fast-growing species into side streets and installing reflective coatings on pavements would provide quicker and more reliable cooling benefits than relying on London plane trees alone.
Which choice best describes how Text 1 and Text 2 relate to each other?
For cross-text relationship questions, first summarize each text in your own words with just one short sentence per text (e.g., “Text 1: recommends X,” “Text 2: questions X and suggests Y”). Then decide whether the second text mainly supports, challenges, or qualifies the first. Next, scan the answer choices and eliminate any that add relationship claims not supported by the texts (like full agreement, a complete shift in focus, or a plan the author never endorses). Choose the option that best matches your summaries.
Hints
Clarify what Text 1 is doing
Focus on Navarro’s conclusion in Text 1. Is she mainly criticizing something, describing what has already been done in Europe, or recommending what cities should do?
Clarify what Text 2 is doing
Look at Özdemir’s comments about London plane trees: does he fully support that strategy, simply add more data to back it up, or raise concerns about how it would work in real-world conditions?
Compare, don’t isolate
After you understand each text separately, ask: Is Text 2 agreeing with Text 1, disagreeing with it, or modifying it by pointing out limits such as speed, feasibility, or location?
Test key phrases in the choices
Watch for specific claims in the choices, such as “supports,” “shifting away,” or “long-term project.” Check if those details actually appear in either text before you accept them.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify Text 1’s main point
Read the second sentence of Text 1 carefully: Navarro “concluded that large-scale planting of London plane trees on sun-exposed boulevards should therefore be a primary strategy for European cities seeking rapid relief from heat waves.”
So, Text 1:
- Reports a finding (trees lowered temperatures by about 2 °C in Madrid).
- Then recommends a specific solution for European cities: large-scale planting of London plane trees along boulevards, especially for rapid relief.
Identify Text 2’s main point
Look at what Özdemir says about London plane trees:
- They “typically require two decades” to get big enough to shade wide boulevards.
- Conditions on major corridors (emissions, road salt) can “stunt growth and increase mortality.”
- He argues that other measures (smaller, fast-growing species on side streets and reflective coatings on pavements) would provide quicker and more reliable cooling than “relying on London plane trees alone.”
So, Text 2 is questioning how fast and how well the London plane tree strategy will work and offering alternatives.
Determine the relationship between the texts
Put the two main ideas side by side:
- Text 1: proposes planting London plane trees as a primary, rapid urban-cooling strategy.
- Text 2: says those trees take a long time to become effective, face environmental stress, and that other options will cool cities faster and more reliably.
This means Text 2 is not simply adding support. Instead, it challenges the practicality (will the trees actually thrive on busy roads?) and timeliness (two decades is not “rapid”) of Text 1’s proposal.
Match that relationship to the answer choices
Eliminate choices that describe Text 2 as mainly supporting Text 1 or that overstate what Text 2 claims about where trees can be used.
The choice that correctly states that Text 1 recommends a specific solution based on study findings, while Text 2 questions how practical and fast that solution would be, is:
Text 1 recommends a particular solution to urban heat based on study findings, whereas Text 2 questions the practicality and timeliness of implementing that solution.