11.1 Cross Text Connection-Medium

Text 1

Because literacy in Nahuatl script,the writing system of the Aztec Empire,was lost after Spain invaded central Mexico in the 1500s,it is unclear exactly how meaning was encoded in the script's symbols.Although many scholars had assumed that the symbols signified entire words, linguist Alfonso Lacadena theorized in 2008 that they signified units of language smaller than words:individual syllables.

 

Text 2

The growing consensus among scholars of Nahuatl script is that many of its symbols could signify either words or syllables,depending on syntax and content at any given site within a text.For example,the  symbol  signifying  the  word huipil(blouse)in  some  contexts  could  signify  the syllable “pil”in others,as in the place name “Chipiltepec.”Thus,for the Aztecs,reading required a determination of how such symbols functioned each time they appeared in a text.

 

Based on the texts,how would the author of Text 2 most likely characterize Lacadena's theory,as described in Text 1?

• A. By praising the theory for recognizing that the script's symbols could represent entire words 

• B. By arguing that the theory is overly influenced by the work of earlier scholars

• C. By approving of the theory's emphasis on how the script changed over time

•  D. By cautioning  that  the  theory  overlooks  certain  important  aspects  of  how  the  script functioned

Text 1

Polar bears sustain themselves primarily by hunting seals on the Arctic sea ice,but rising ocean temperatures are causing the ice to diminish,raising concerns about polar bear population declines as these large predators'seal-hunting habitats continue to shrink.A 2020 study examining polar bear populations across the Arctic concluded that populations affected by sea-ice loss are at great risk of extinction by the end of the twenty-first century.

 

Text 2

Monitoring carried out by researchers from the Norwegian Polar Institute shows that the polar bear population on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard remains stable and well nourished despite

rapidly declining sea ice in recent years.The researchers attribute this population's resilience in

part to a shift in feeding strategies:in addition to hunting seals,the Svalbard polar bears have begun relying on a diet of reindeer meat and birds'eggs.

 

Based on the texts,how would the researchers in Text 2 most likely respond to the conclusion presented in the underlined portion of Text 1?

• A. By suggesting that it is likely incorrect about the rates at which warming ocean temperatures have caused sea ice to melt in the Arctic

• B. By  arguing that it fails to account for polar bears'reliance on a single seal-hunting strategy

• C. By noting that it neglects the possibility of some polar bear populations adapting to changes in their environment

• D. By asserting that it overlooks polar bear populations that have not yet been affected by loss of seal hunting habitats

Text 1

Although food writing is one of the most widely read genres in the United States,literary scholars have long neglected it.And within this genre,cookbooks attract the least scholarly attention of all, regardless of how well written they may be.This is especially true of works dedicated to regional US cuisines,whose complexity and historical significance are often overlooked.

 

Text 2

With her 1976 cookbook The Taste of Country Cooking,Edna Lewis popularized the refined Southern cooking she had grown up with in Freetown,an all-Black community in Virginia.She also set a new standard for cookbook writing:the recipes and memoir passages interspersing them are written in prose more elegant than that of most novels. Yet despite its inarguable value as a piece of writing.Lewis's masterpiece has received almost no attention from literary scholars.

 

Based on the two texts,how would the author of Text 1 most likely regard the situation presented in the underlined sentence in Text 2?

• A. As typical,because scholars are dismissive of literary works that achieve popularity with the general public

• B. As unsurprising,because  scholars tend to overlook the literary value of food writing in general and of regional cookbooks in particular

• C. As  justifiable,because Lewis incorporated memoir into The Taste of Country Cooking,thus undermining its status as a cookbook

• D. As  inevitable,because The Taste of Country Cooking was marketed to readers of food writing and not to readers of other genres

Text 1

For  decades,bluegrass  musicians  have  debated  whether  their  genre  should  exclude  influences from mainstream genres such as rock.Many insist that bluegrass is defined by its adherence to the folk music of the US South,out of which bluegrass  emerged.Such "purists,"as they are known, regard the recordings of Bill Monroe,which established the bluegrass sound in the  1940s,as  a standard against which the genre should still be measured.

 

Text 2

Bluegrass isn't simply an extension of folk traditions into the era of recorded music.In reality,Bill Monroe  created  the  bluegrass  sound  in  the   1940s  by  combining  Southern  folk  music  with commercial genres that had arisen only a few decades before,such as jazz and the blues.Since bluegrass  has  always  been  a  mixed  genre,contemporary  bluegrass  musicians  should  not  be forbidden from incorporating into it influences from rock and other mainstream genres

 

Based on the texts,how would the author of Text 2 most likely regard the perspective of bluegrass purists,as described in Text 1?

• A. As  inconsistent,since bluegrass purists themselves enjoy other musical genres

• B. As unrealistic,since bluegrass purists have no way of enforcing their musical preferences

• C. As shortsighted,because  bluegrass  could  enlarge  its  audience  by  including  influences  from

  mainstream genres

• D. As illogical,because  the  purists  overlook  crucial  aspects  of  how  the  bluegrass  sound  first originated

Text 1                  Tes

In 2021,a team  led by Amir  Siraj  hypothesized that the  Chicxulub  impactor—the  object that struck the Yucatán Peninsula sixty-six million years ago,precipitating the mass extinction of the dinosaurs—was likely a member of the class of long-period comets. As evidence,Siraj cited the carbonaceous chondritic composition of samples from the Chicxulub impact crater as well as of samples obtained from long-period comet Wild 2 in 2006.

 

Text 2

Although long-period comets contain carbonaceous chondrites,asteroids are similarly rich in these materials.Furthermore,some  asteroids  are  rich  in  iridium,as  Natalia  Artemieva  points  out, whereas  long-period  comets  are  not.Given  the  prevalence  of  iridium  at  the  crater  and,more broadly,in geological layers deposited worldwide following the impact,Artemieva argues that an asteroid is a more plausible candidate for the Chicxulub impactor.

Based on the texts,how would Artemieva likely respond to Siraj's hypothesis,as presented in Text 

• A. By insisting that it overestimates how representative Wild 2 is of long-period comets as a class

• B. By arguing  that  it  does  not  account  for  the  amount  of  iridium  found  in  geological  layers dating to the Chicxulub impact

• C. By praising it for connecting the composition of Chicxulub crater samples to the composition of certain asteroids

• D. By  concurring that carbonaceous chondrites are prevalent in soil samples from sites distant from the Chicxulub crater

Text 1

In a study of insect behavior,Samadi Galpayage and colleagues presented bumblebees with small wooden balls and observed many of the bees clinging to,rolling,and dragging the objects.The researchers provided no external rewards(such as food)to encourage these interactions. The bees simply appeared to be playing—and for no other reason than because they were having fun.

 

Text 2

Insects  do  not  have  cortexes  or  other  brain  areas  associated  with  emotions  in  humans.Still, Galpayage and her team have shown that bumblebees may engage in play,possibly experiencing some kind of positive emotional state.Other studies have suggested that bees experience negative emotional   states(for   example,stress),but   as   Galpayage   and   her   team   have   acknowledged, emotions in insects,if they do indeed exist,are likely very rudimentary.

 

Based on the texts,how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the underlined portion of Text 1?

• A. By objecting that the bees were actually experiencing a negative feeling akin to stress rather than a positive feeling

• B. By pointing out that even humans sometimes struggle to have fun while engaging in play

• C. By  arguing  that  some  insects  other  than  bumblebees  may  be  capable  of  experiencing complex emotional states

• D. By  noting that if the bees were truly playing,any positive feelings they may have experienced were probably quite basic

Text 1

Literary scholars have struggled with the vastness of Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka's collective works  of drama  (spanning  over  20  plays  in  total).It  is  best,however,to  understand  Soyinka's body  of  work  as  a  dramatist  chronologically.Soyinka's  progression  as  a  playwright  can  be considered to fall into three periods,with each one representing a particular thematic and stylistic cohesion:the  1960s,the  two  decades  between   1970   and   1990,and  lastly,from  roughly   1990 onwards.

 

Text 2

It is tempting to impose a linear sense of order on the expanse ofWole Soyinka's body of work as a dramatist.However,critics who have considered Soyinka's plays to fit neatly into three phases overlook potential commonalities in Soyinka's work that span across these phases.Additionally, this view may discount significant differences in the styles and content of plays written around the same time.

 

Which choice best describes a difference in how the author of Text 1 and the author of Text 2 view the study of Soyinka's works of drama?

• A.Although the  author of Text  1  claims  that  Soyinka's  style  as  a  dramatist  has  evolved  over time,the author of Text 2 argues that Soyinka's style has remained consistent throughout his career.

• B.The  author  of Text  1  considers  Soyinka's  plays  to  showcase  his  strongest  writing,whereas the author of Text 2 believes that Soyinka's poetry is where he is most skilled.

• C.While the author of Text  1 believes that thinking about Soyinka's works of theater in phases is useful,the author of Text 2 views such an approach as limiting.

• D.The  author  of Text  1  argues  that  Soyinka's  early  plays  were  his  most  politically  charged,

  whereas the author of Text 2 claims that Soyinka's most recent plays are the most politicized.

Text 1

Stage lighting theorist Adolphe Appia was perhaps the first to argue that light must be considered alongside all the various elements of a stage to create a single,unified performance.Researcher Kelly Bremner,however,has noted that Appia lacked technical expertise in the use of light in the theater.As  a  result  of Appia's  inexperience,Bremner  argues,Appia's  theory  of  light  called  for lighting practices that weren't possible until after the advent of electricity around 1881.

 

Text 2

Adolphe Appia was not an amateur in the practice of lighting.Instead,it is precisely his exposure to lighting techniques at the time that contributed to his theory on the importance of light.When working as an apprentice for a lighting specialist in his youth,Appia observed the use of portable lighting devices that could be operated by hand.This experience developed his understanding of what was possible in the coordination of elements on the stage.

 

Based on the texts,how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the claim about Appia's level of technical expertise made by Bremner in Text 1?

• A.Appia was unfamiliar with the use of music and sound in theater

• B. Theater practitioners who worked with Appia greatly admired his work.

• C.Many lighting technicians dismissed Appia's ideas about light on the stage.

• D.Appia likely gained a level of technical expertise during his time as an apprentice.

Text 1

The live music festival business is growing in event size and genre variety.With so many consumer  options,organizers  are  finding  ways  to  cement  festival  attendance  as  a  special experience worth sharing.This phenomenon is linked to the growing "experiential economy," where many find it gratifying to purchase lived experiences.To ensure a profitable event,venues need to consider the overall consumer experience,not just the band lineup.

 

Text 2

Music festival appearances are becoming a more important part of musicians'careers.One factor in this shift is the rising use of streaming services that allow access to huge numbers of songs for a monthly fee,subsequently reducing sales of full-length albums.With this shift in consumer  behavior,musicians are increasingly dependent on revenue from live performances.

 

Based on the texts,both authors would most likely agree with which statement?

• A.Changing consumer behaviors are leading to changes in music-related businesses.

• B.Consumers are more interested in paying subscription fees to stream music than in attending music festivals in person.

• C.The rising consumer demand for live music festivals also generates higher demand for music streaming platforms.

• D.Consumers’growing interest in purchasing  experiences is mostly confined to the music industry.

Text 1

A common view of the history of science is that it progressed through a series of revolutions,in which old theories were replaced by new ones that better explained the natural world.For instance, the Copernican revolution overturned the geocentric model of the universe,and the Darwinian  revolution replaced the creationist account of life.These revolutions were driven by the creativity  of visionary scientists and by empirical evidence that contradicted the prevailing theories.

 

Text 2

In his 2012 book,historian Hasok Chang argues that the history of science is neither simple nor neat.Using the example of the chemical revolution,he contends that scientific revolutions are often exaggerated or mythologized,and that old theories do not always disappear or become irrelevant.Instead,he shows that there are often multiple,coexisting,and complementary ways of understanding the same phenomena,and that scientific knowledge is enriched by this pluralism  and diversity.He also emphasizes the role of social and cultural factors in shaping scientific practice and change.

 

Based on the texts,how would Chang(Text 2)most likely respond to the “common view” presented in Text 1?

• A. By accepting the notion of scientific revolutions but claiming that they are caused by social and cultural factors rather than the work of visionary scientists

• B. By rejecting the notion of scientific revolutions altogether and proposing that science evolves through gradual and continuous changes

• C. By modifying  the  concept  of  scientific  revolutions  to  account  for  the  persistence  and diversity of alternative theories

• D. By admitting that some scientific revolutions were indeed radical and transformative but claiming that they are rare and exceptional cases