Marc: The fact that the people of our country look back on the past with a great deal of nostalgia demonstrates that...

Ravi on May 14, 2019

@Shiyi-Zhang,

Happy to help.

We're looking to pick the answer that refers to something that Marc
and Robert agree about.

(A) says, "tend to underrate past problems when the country faces
troubling times"

The problem with (A) is that neither Marc nor Robert discusses people
tending to underrate past problems. (A) is out.

(B) says, "are looking to the past for solutions to the country's
current problems"

While it's true that both of the speakers agree that people in their
country are nostalgic, this does not mean that these people are
looking to find solutions to the country's current problems. Thus, we
can get rid of (B).

(C) says, "are likely to repeat former mistakes if they look to the
country's past for solutions to current problems"

The issue with (C) is that there isn't any indication in the stimulus
that the people are looking to the past for solutions to current
problems. (C) is out.

(D) says, "are concerned about the country's current situation and
this is evidenced by their nostalgia"

It's true that both Marc and Robert discuss nostalgia. Marc says that
the people "regret the recent revolution" and Robert states that "they
are troubled." Both of these phrases imply the people's
dissatisfaction with the present situation in their country, and this
dissatisfaction is evidenced by their nostalgia. Marc believes people
are nostalgic because they regret the revolution, whereas Robert
believes it's because the people are troubled. Both of these suggest
that the citizens are concerned, so (D) is the correct answer choice,
as it's what Marc and Robert agree about.

(E) says, "tend to be most nostalgic for the things that are the
farthest in their past"

The problem with (E) is that even though Marc and Robert agree that
the people in their country are nostalgic, they do not discuss
when/what time period these people are most nostalgic for. "Most
nostalgic" is a term that's relative, and we have no context from the
stimulus to know if they agree about this. (E) is out.

Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any more questions!

jingjingxiao11111@gmail.com on April 16, 2020

I picked E over D because I thought D cannot be correct since it was never that they are concerned about the country's current situation. Am I off track? Thanks