Question 70·Easy·Inferences
In a 2020 food magazine column, chef and critic Maria Espinoza described a new soup served at Café Lirio as “unremarkably bland.” After revisiting the café in 2023, Espinoza wrote a follow-up column calling the same soup “rich, balanced, and worthy of any gourmet menu.”
These statements suggest that, in Espinoza’s view, ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For inference questions like this, first mark whether each part of the text is positive, negative, or neutral. Then compare how the author’s view changes across the time periods or situations mentioned. Finally, eliminate choices that (1) reverse the direction of the change, (2) bring in new information not in the passage, or (3) talk about things the text never mentions, such as general preferences or recommendations, and select the choice that simply restates the implied change in your own words.
Hints
Focus on tone in 2020
Look closely at the words Espinoza uses in 2020. Are they positive, negative, or neutral? What do they say about the soup’s quality then?
Focus on tone in 2023
Now look at the words she uses in 2023. Are these more positive or more negative than the 2020 description?
Compare the two time periods
Ask yourself: Did her opinion stay the same, become worse, or become better from 2020 to 2023?
Watch out for extra assumptions
Be careful not to assume things the passage never states, such as her usual preferences or what the café should do in the future.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the 2020 description
Look at how Espinoza describes the soup in 2020: “unremarkably bland.”
- Bland means lacking strong flavor or being dull.
- Unremarkably means not even noteworthy or special.
Together, this is clearly a negative description of the soup’s flavor.
Understand the 2023 description
Now look at her 2023 description: “rich, balanced, and worthy of any gourmet menu.”
- Rich suggests deep, strong, or complex flavor.
- Balanced suggests the flavors work well together.
- Worthy of any gourmet menu means it is high quality.
This is clearly a very positive review.
Compare the two opinions over time
Between 2020 and 2023, Espinoza’s opinion shifts from negative (dull and bland) to strongly positive (rich, balanced, gourmet-level).
That means her view of the soup changed a lot in a positive direction over those three years.
Match the comparison to the best answer choice
The only choice that matches this big change from negative to very positive is that the café’s soup improved considerably between 2020 and 2023.