Question 27·Hard·Inferences
During a recent linguistic study, researchers discovered that a rare grammatical structure present in an isolated mountain dialect of Language X also appears in several contemporary poems written in coastal towns more than 500 kilometers away. No historical records indicate significant migration from the mountains to the coast during the past two centuries, and the poets insist they have never studied the dialect. However, the researchers note that a widely read anthology of mountain folktales—originally collected from speakers of the mountain dialect—has been used in coastal literature courses for decades. Taken together, these findings most strongly suggest that _____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For inference questions asking what the information most strongly suggests, list the key facts and especially any constraints (what the passage rules out). Then find any detail that provides a concrete mechanism connecting the facts. Eliminate options that (1) contradict stated information, or (2) require adding new assumptions (like deception or unmentioned events). Choose the option most directly grounded in a stated detail rather than one relying on coincidence.
Hints
Track what the passage rules out
Note what explanations the passage makes less likely: significant migration and the poets directly studying the dialect.
Look for any provided bridge between mountain and coast
Find the detail that could connect the isolated dialect to people far away without migration or direct study.
Prefer the option that uses a stated fact (not a guess)
If one answer is supported by a specific detail in the passage, it will usually be stronger than an answer that relies on coincidence or assumes someone is lying.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the key facts and constraints
The passage tells you that:
- A rare grammatical structure exists in an isolated mountain dialect.
- The same structure appears in poems from coastal towns far away.
- There are no historical records of significant mountain-to-coast migration in the past two centuries.
- The poets say they have never studied the dialect.
- A widely read anthology of mountain folktales (collected from the mountain dialect) has been used in coastal literature courses for decades.
Determine what kind of explanation fits all facts
Since the text supplies reasons to doubt direct transmission (large migration; the poets studying the dialect), the best inference should explain how the poets could still plausibly encounter the structure.
The anthology provides a concrete pathway: coastal poets could be exposed to language influenced by the mountain dialect without ever studying the dialect itself or relying on undocumented mass migration.
Eliminate choices that contradict or add unsupported claims
- An answer claiming large recent migration conflicts with the statement about no historical records of significant migration.
- An answer claiming the poets hid their fluency requires assuming deception and motive that the passage never supports.
- An answer claiming independent emergence ignores the passage’s introduced mechanism (the widely read anthology) that offers a more directly supported explanation than coincidence.
Select the choice most strongly supported
Because the anthology is a documented, widely used source derived from the mountain dialect, the best-supported inference is that the poets encountered the grammatical structure through sources that had themselves been influenced by the mountain dialect.