Question 123·Hard·Cross-Text Connections
Text 1
Environmental policy analyst Dana Brown notes that 2020 saw a global 7 percent drop in carbon emissions—the largest single-year decline on record. Brown attributes most of this decrease to the sharp reduction in daily commuting miles as millions of employees worked from home.
Therefore, encouraging remote work should remain policymakers' top priority for climate action.
Text 2
A recent study led by geochemist Ravi Idris calculates that only about 30 percent of 2020’s emissions drop resulted from reduced commuting; the remainder stemmed from temporary slowdowns in aviation, manufacturing, and power generation. Idris’s team also tracked 2021 data showing that residential electricity use surged as remote work continued, offsetting roughly half of transportation-related gains. Idris concludes that cutting industrial emissions—especially from steel and cement production—offers the greatest long-term potential for decarbonization.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1?
For cross-text connection questions, first restate in your own words the key claim or opinion from the specified part of Text 1. Then, carefully summarize Text 2’s main findings and conclusion, especially what it says should be the main focus or priority. Ask: does Text 2 fully agree, partially agree (with a different emphasis), or disagree with that claim? Finally, eliminate choices that add new ideas or overstate/understate Text 2’s conclusion, and pick the option that best captures Text 2’s attitude and reasoning toward Text 1’s claim.
Hints
Identify the exact claim being challenged
Reread the underlined sentence in Text 1. What is the author saying should be policymakers’ top priority, not just a helpful tool?
Focus on what Text 2 says about where the biggest impact comes from
In Text 2, pay close attention to the percentages given and the final conclusion. Which sources of emissions does the study say have the greatest long-term potential for reductions?
Check whether Text 2 fully agrees, fully disagrees, or partly agrees
Does Text 2 say remote work had no effect, a small but real effect, or that it should be the main strategy? Use that to decide whether the response would be total agreement, total rejection, or a more balanced view.
Watch out for options that shift the conclusion
Eliminate any choice that (a) turns Text 2’s point into full agreement that remote work should be the top priority or (b) turns it into full rejection of remote work, since Text 2 presents it as helpful but limited.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the claim in Text 1
Focus on the underlined sentence in Text 1: “Therefore, encouraging remote work should remain policymakers' top priority for climate action.”
This means the author of Text 1 is arguing that:
- Remote work is helpful for reducing emissions, and
- It should be the number-one focus of climate policy, above other options.
Summarize Text 2’s key points
Now look at what Text 2 says:
- Only about 30 percent of the 2020 emissions drop came from reduced commuting.
- The other 70 percent came from slowdowns in aviation, manufacturing, and power generation.
- In 2021, residential electricity use surged as remote work continued, canceling out about half of the commuting gains.
- The author concludes that cutting industrial emissions, especially from steel and cement, offers the greatest long-term potential.
So, Text 2:
- Recognizes commuting cuts did help.
- But believes industrial emissions are where the biggest long-term impact lies.
Decide how Text 2 would react to “top priority”
Compare that conclusion to Text 1’s “top priority” claim:
- Would Text 2 say remote work is useless? No—there were measurable gains.
- Would Text 2 say remote work should be the top focus? No—Text 2 clearly says industrial emissions offer the greatest potential.
So Text 2 would probably say something like: remote work can help, but policies focused on heavy industry should come first.
Match this idea to the answer choices
Now match that reaction to the answer options:
- Look for a choice where Text 2 partly agrees (remote work has some benefit) but shifts the main priority to industrial emissions.
The only option that does this is:
“By acknowledging that remote work can aid emission reductions but insisting that policies targeting heavy industry deserve higher priority.”
That is the correct answer.