The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements?

jingjingxiao11111@gmail.com on October 31, 2020

Hi I am not an instructor but I believe that this is an inference question type since you are asked to infer what the author thinks, namely which answer choice the author agrees with.

I believe the line reference for correct answer D comes from 33-39: “Perhaps this emphasis on peer–group relations derives from a sense that traditional, community–approved norms are threatened by those prevalent in the surrounding society, or from a sense that, in dealing with older children especially, parents need to appeal to traditional wisdom to bolster their authority. This is paraphrased by correct answer D which states “Proverb use in some communities may reflect parental concern that the young will not embrace traditional norms.”

I hope you find this useful. Please feel free to correct me. Thank you

noname on July 19, 2021

So A says, Most Mexican American proverbs have their origin in the common proverb tradition of Europe

And the passage says "The great majority of Spanish–language proverbs reached Mexico from peninsular Spain, though they did not all originate
(10) there. Many belong, in fact, to the common proverb tradition of Europe and have exact equivalents in English–language proverbial speech."

So I thought A was wrong because it says Mexican- American Language and the passage clearly says Spanish- language proverbs. So I thought that is why A was wrong, not because it tried to confuse us with the wording of many and most.

Please clarify!

Mazen on April 28, 2022

The passage leaves open the possibility that some proverbs originated outside of Europe.

Lines 7 through 12:

"The great majority of Spanish–language proverbs reached Mexico from peninsular Spain, though they did not all originate there. Many belong, in fact, to the common proverb tradition of Europe and have exact equivalents in English–language proverbial speech."

The clause stating that "they did not all originate there[,]" opens up the possibility that some could have originated outside the peninsular Spain, and not necessarily Europe, because this clause means that: some proverbs did not originate in Spain.

And the following sentence stating -- "Many belong, in fact,...of Europe... English-language proverbial speech" -- is tricking students into believing that the "great majority [of proverbs come] from Spain, and the rest from the rest of Europe (or Europe minus Spain).

But from those proverbs that did not originate in Spain "Many belong, in fact, to the common proverb tradition of Europe and have exact equivalents in English–language proverbial speech," means "some." In other words, from the some that did not originate in Spain, there are many that originated from the English-language proverbial speech.

Consider the following scenario:

A universe in which there are 100 Spanish-language proverbs. "The great majority of [these 100] Spanish–language proverbs reached Mexico from peninsular Spain, though they did not all originate there." So 80 reached Mexico, but not all 80 originated in Spain; in other words, some (and possibly all) of the 80 did not originate in Spain.

The next sentence is: "Many belong, in fact, to the common proverb tradition of Europe and have exact equivalents in English–language proverbial speech." That is "many," which means at least two, from the 80 trace back to the English. But that leaves open the possibility of up to 78 that could have originated from anywhere outside of Europe and still made their way to the 100 Spanish-language!!!

Mazen on April 28, 2022

On addendum to the previous post including the scenario of the universe of 100 Spanish proverbs.

Answer-choice A states" "Most Mexican American proverbs have their origin in the common proverb tradition of Europe."

"Most" means more than half. Since 80 made their way to Mexico, according to A it must be true that at least 41 have their origin in Europe.

Per the scenario, however, and the applications of the words "many," "some," "not all" (some are not), and most in the context of the passage, we can reasonably infer that it could be true that 78, so "most" of the 80, came from outside of Europe, which invalidates answer-choice A.

I would treat "most likely to agree" as a "must be true" question not as a "could be true," or I would read all the answer-choice despite the time consumption!

Naryan-Shukle on May 6, 2022

Great explanations and discussions all, couldn't have answered better myself!