Question 43·Easy·Cross-Text Connections
Text 1
In the first decades of the 1900s, several companies produced electric automobiles. City drivers appreciated their quiet operation, yet these vehicles rarely traveled beyond short urban routes. Heavy lead-acid batteries delivered only modest power, requiring frequent recharging and limiting trips to just a few dozen miles.
Text 2
Historians point out that the primary obstacle facing early electric-car makers was energy storage. The rechargeable batteries then in use were bulky and inefficient, confining a car’s range to city streets. As gasoline engines improved and refueling stations spread, consumers favored cars that could venture far beyond the city limits.
Based on the texts, the author of Text 1 and the author of Text 2 would most likely agree with which statement?
For cross-text connection questions, first ignore the choices and briefly summarize each text in one short sentence, focusing on the main problem, cause, or claim. Then look for the overlap—the idea that clearly appears in both summaries. Next, scan the answer choices and pick the one that matches this shared idea, while eliminating any option that: (1) appears in only one text, (2) contradicts either text, or (3) brings in outside information (like modern technology or government policy) that you did not read about. This top-down approach prevents you from getting trapped by tempting but one-sided or off-topic choices.
Hints
Look for common ideas in both texts
Before looking at the choices, summarize in your own words what each text says about early electric cars. Then ask: What point do they both make?
Focus on what the texts say about batteries
In each text, find the sentences that describe the batteries used in early electric cars. What problem do those batteries cause for how the cars can be used?
Eliminate answer choices that go beyond the texts
Check whether the texts ever mention noise problems, government policies, or the state of modern technology. If an answer choice talks about something that never appears in either text, it cannot be correct.
Connect cause and effect
Notice how the authors connect the characteristics of the batteries (heavy, bulky, inefficient) to what drivers could or could not do with the cars. What effect did those battery characteristics have on the cars’ use?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the question is asking
The question asks what the author of Text 1 and the author of Text 2 would both agree with. That means the correct answer must be clearly supported by both texts, not just one. Anything that appears in only one text or not at all cannot be correct.
Find the key idea about early electric cars in Text 1
Look at what Text 1 emphasizes:
- Early 1900s companies produced electric automobiles.
- City drivers liked their quiet operation.
- But: 'these vehicles rarely traveled beyond short urban routes.'
- Reason: 'Heavy lead-acid batteries delivered only modest power, requiring frequent recharging and limiting trips to just a few dozen miles.'
So, in Text 1, the batteries are described as heavy, low in power, and causing the cars to travel only short distances (a few dozen miles, mostly in the city).
Find the key idea about early electric cars in Text 2
Now look at Text 2:
- Historians say the 'primary obstacle' was energy storage.
- The rechargeable batteries were 'bulky and inefficient.'
- This 'confin[ed] a car’s range to city streets.'
- As gasoline engines improved and refueling stations spread, people preferred cars that could go 'far beyond the city limits.'
So, in Text 2, the batteries are again described as bulky and inefficient, and they kept the car’s range limited to city streets (short range).
Match the shared idea to the answer choices
Both texts clearly connect battery problems (heavy, bulky, inefficient, modest power) with limited driving range (short trips, city-only use). Now check the answer options:
- One option states that the limited capability of early batteries restricted how far electric cars could travel. This directly matches what both texts say about heavy, inefficient batteries keeping cars to short city routes.
Therefore, the correct answer is: D) The limited capability of early batteries restricted how far electric cars could travel.