A question about one author's response to another tests whether you can connect their claims and reasons. Read the question for who answers whom, then put each text's claims and reasons in a few words. If several claims are named, check how the responding text answers each one. Decide whether the author rejects the claims, accepts only part of them, or takes them further. The author's own reason decides, because disagreement alone doesn't make a response accurate.
Hints
- Hint 1
The question has Text 2's author answer Text 1. Separate Text 1's claim about comprehension from its reason about narration.
- Hint 2
Check the condition attached to Text 2's study results. What kind of listening did the studies examine?
- Hint 3
Compare the study results and the narrator's role in Text 2 with Text 1's claims. Does Text 2 accept those claims, limit them, or challenge them?
Step-by-step
Compare the claims and reasons
Step 1Find the claims being answered
Read how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond: Text 2's author answers Text 1. What claim and reason need an answer? Text 1 says audiobooks don’t cultivate deep comprehension because narration lets listeners avoid the mental work print demands. We need to test both the claim about understanding and the reason about narration.
- Step 2
Find what Text 2 supports
What does Text 2 say listeners have to do? They need focused attention, inference, and recall: they must follow closely, work out what the text suggests, and remember what they've heard. The studies apply when people listen attentively, so the author isn't defending every use of an audiobook. And how can narration help? It can highlight structure and tone that support analysis, so the voice can help listeners think instead of doing their thinking for them.
- Step 3
Match the stance and strength
Text 2 rejects Text 1's claims rather than accepting them with limits. How far does that rejection go? The studies call understanding and retention comparable to reading the same text on the page, and comparable means similar, not better. The response about focused listening and narration that can aid analysis gives Text 2's reasons without turning similar understanding into proof that audiobooks are better. Choice B.