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MATSEC AM English study materials
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MATSEC AM English practice questions

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Question 1Reading and Comprehension

In a MATSEC AM English comprehension passage, a writer describes a character as 'a man whose generosity was legendary among his neighbours'. Which quality is being attributed to the character?

  1. He was famous for his wealth.
  2. He was known for giving freely to others. Correct answer.
  3. He was respected for his silence.
  4. He was admired for his physical strength.

Explanation

'Generosity' refers to a willingness to give, and 'legendary' signals that this trait was widely known and talked about. The phrase therefore attributes a reputation for giving rather than for wealth, strength or reserve.

Question 2Reading and Comprehension

A passage states: 'The council's decision, though unpopular, was not arbitrary; it rested on a detailed survey of traffic patterns.' What does 'arbitrary' most nearly mean here?

  1. Approved by a small majority
  2. Based on careful measurement
  3. Made without a reasoned basis Correct answer.
  4. Delayed by public objection

Explanation

'Arbitrary' describes a decision made at will rather than according to reason or evidence. The clause after the semicolon, which mentions a detailed survey, contrasts with arbitrariness and confirms that the word means lacking a reasoned basis.

Question 3Reading and Comprehension

In the sentence 'Having finished the report, Maria submitted it before noon', what does the opening participle phrase modify?

  1. Noon
  2. Maria Correct answer.
  3. The submission
  4. The report

Explanation

A participial phrase at the start of a sentence normally modifies the subject of the main clause. The subject here is 'Maria', and it is she who had finished the report before submitting it.

Question 4Reading and Comprehension

A writer begins a paragraph: 'Admittedly, the scheme has flaws. Nevertheless, its benefits outweigh them.' What is the function of 'Nevertheless'?

  1. It gives an example supporting the previous sentence.
  2. It signals a contrast that qualifies the previous concession. Correct answer.
  3. It restates the previous sentence in simpler terms.
  4. It introduces a concession that weakens the previous point.

Explanation

'Nevertheless' is a concessive contrast marker: it acknowledges the preceding admission while asserting that the main claim still stands. It therefore qualifies rather than repeats or exemplifies the earlier statement.

Question 5Reading and Comprehension

Which option states the main idea of a passage that describes how a town restored its harbour, attracted tourists and revived local shops?

  1. Restoring the harbour brought wider economic benefits to the town. Correct answer.
  2. The restoration project was funded by a government grant.
  3. Local shops in the town had been declining for years.
  4. Tourists often prefer coastal towns to inland cities.

Explanation

A main idea must cover the whole passage rather than one detail. The harbour restoration is the cause and the revived shops and tourism are the effects, so a statement linking the project to wider benefits captures the passage's central point.

Question 6Reading and Comprehension

A passage reports: 'According to the ministry, rainfall has fallen by a fifth since 1990.' Which inference is best supported?

  1. The figure is attributed to an official source rather than the writer. Correct answer.
  2. Rainfall has stopped entirely since 1990.
  3. The writer personally measured the rainfall.
  4. The ministry is responsible for causing the decline.

Explanation

The phrase 'according to the ministry' explicitly attributes the statistic to an official body. The writer reports the claim without necessarily endorsing or originating it.

Question 7Reading and Comprehension

Which sentence uses the semicolon correctly in an academic essay?

  1. The results were inconclusive; and the method proved sound.
  2. The results were inconclusive; because the method was new.
  3. The results were inconclusive; however, the method proved sound. Correct answer.
  4. The results were inconclusive; which surprised the team.

Explanation

A semicolon may join two independent clauses, especially when a conjunctive adverb such as 'however' marks the relation between them. Both sides of the mark here are complete clauses.

Question 8Reading and Comprehension

A passage notes that a novelist 'seldom allows her narrators to comment directly on events'. What does this suggest about her technique?

  1. Her narrators speak mainly in dialogue.
  2. Her narrators are unreliable in every respect.
  3. Her narrators tend to present events without overt judgement. Correct answer.
  4. Her narrators frequently interrupt the story with opinions.

Explanation

'Seldom allows ... to comment directly' means direct commentary is rare, so events are largely presented without explicit authorial or narratorial judgement. This is a statement about narrative restraint, not about unreliability or dialogue.

Question 9Reading and Comprehension

In a passage arguing about urban planning, the writer asks: 'Can a city truly be called sustainable if its poorest residents cannot afford to live in it?' What is the main rhetorical effect of this question?

  1. It concedes that the writer has no opinion on the matter.
  2. It requests factual information from the reader.
  3. It introduces a quotation from an official report.
  4. It invites the reader to accept an implied criticism of current policy. Correct answer.

Explanation

A rhetorical question in argumentative prose is not a genuine request for information but a device for drawing the reader towards the writer's implied position. Here the question implies that sustainability without affordability is hollow.

Question 10Reading and Comprehension

A passage states: 'The committee's report was thorough, but its recommendations were timid.' Which relationship between the two clauses is expressed?

  1. Sequence in time
  2. Concession contrasting two qualities Correct answer.
  3. Cause and effect
  4. Condition and result

Explanation

The conjunction 'but' sets two evaluations against each other, conceding thoroughness while criticising timidity. This is a contrast between qualities rather than a causal, temporal or conditional link.

Question 11Reading and Comprehension

Read the sentence: 'The scientists, who had worked on the project for a decade, published their findings.' How would the meaning change if the commas were removed?

  1. The sentence would become grammatically incorrect.
  2. The sentence would imply that the scientists had worked for only a year.
  3. The clause would define which scientists are meant rather than adding extra information. Correct answer.
  4. The tense of the main verb would change.

Explanation

Commas make the relative clause non-defining, adding extra information about an already identified group. Without commas the clause becomes defining and restricts reference to those scientists who had worked on the project for a decade.

Question 12Reading and Comprehension

A passage describes a policy as having 'a chilling effect on local journalism'. Which interpretation best fits the metaphor?

  1. The policy has discouraged journalists from reporting freely. Correct answer.
  2. The policy has increased the amount of local reporting.
  3. The policy has improved the quality of journalism.
  4. The policy has made newsrooms physically colder.

Explanation

'Chilling effect' is a metaphor for deterrence: people refrain from an activity because of fear of consequences. Applied to journalism, it means reporting is discouraged rather than physically affected or improved.

Question 13Reading and Comprehension

A writer claims: 'Every great novel has been translated into at least twenty languages.' Which criticism of this claim is most relevant to evaluating its reasoning?

  1. The claim relies on an unverifiable universal generalisation. Correct answer.
  2. The claim is too short to be persuasive.
  3. The claim uses the passive voice.
  4. The claim contains a spelling error.

Explanation

The word 'every' makes a universal claim that would require exhaustive evidence about all great novels, which is not provided. Evaluating the reasoning means questioning the scope and support of the generalisation.

Question 14Reading and Comprehension

In a passage, a narrator remarks: 'I have always been a reliable witness, though my memory has occasionally played tricks on me.' What does this reveal about the narrator?

  1. The narrator refuses to describe past events.
  2. The narrator is entirely trustworthy and consistent.
  3. The narrator is quoting another character.
  4. The narrator admits a limitation that undercuts the claim to reliability. Correct answer.

Explanation

The concessive clause 'though my memory has occasionally played tricks' qualifies the opening boast and creates an ironic gap between the claim and its support. This signals a possibly unreliable narrator rather than a wholly trustworthy one.

Question 15Reading and Comprehension

A passage argues: 'If we accept that reading improves empathy, then schools should invest more in libraries.' What is the logical structure of this argument?

  1. Two unrelated facts are listed without any link.
  2. A definition is offered and then rejected.
  3. A conclusion is stated and then contradicted.
  4. A premise is stated and a conclusion is drawn conditionally from it. Correct answer.

Explanation

The 'if ... then' construction presents a premise and draws a conditional conclusion from it. Recognising this structure is essential for evaluating whether the argument's inference is sound.

Question 16Reading and Comprehension

A writer describes a city as 'a patchwork of languages, each thread visible in the fabric of daily life'. Which device is used here?

  1. Antithesis
  2. Extended metaphor Correct answer.
  3. Hyperbole
  4. Onomatopoeia

Explanation

The comparison is sustained across two images, 'patchwork' and 'fabric', building a single extended metaphor of the city as woven cloth. Hyperbole, onomatopoeia and antithesis do not describe this sustained figurative pattern.

Question 17Reading and Comprehension

A passage states: 'The museum's collection, amassed over three centuries, now numbers some forty thousand objects.' Which word best captures the sense of 'amassed'?

  1. Accumulated Correct answer.
  2. Catalogued
  3. Restored
  4. Displayed

Explanation

'Amassed' means gathered or built up gradually over time, which fits the phrase 'over three centuries'. The other options describe activities that may happen to a collection but do not carry the sense of gradual accumulation.

Question 18Reading and Comprehension

A passage notes that a character 'spoke of his childhood with a mixture of nostalgia and relief'. What does this suggest?

  1. He has forgotten most of his childhood.
  2. He wishes to return to his childhood.
  3. He remembers the past with fondness but is also glad it is over. Correct answer.
  4. He is indifferent to his past.

Explanation

'Nostalgia' implies affectionate recollection while 'relief' implies being glad to have left that period behind. Together they suggest mixed feelings, not forgetfulness, indifference or a wish to return.

Question 19Reading and Comprehension

In a passage, the writer uses the phrase 'the elephant in the room' when discussing a company's finances. How does this idiom function?

  1. It praises the company's financial transparency.
  2. It introduces a statistical estimate.
  3. It describes an animal kept in the office.
  4. It refers to an obvious problem that everyone avoids mentioning. Correct answer.

Explanation

The idiom 'the elephant in the room' denotes a large, obvious issue that people deliberately ignore. In context it signals that the company's finances are an uncomfortable topic being avoided.

Question 20Reading and Comprehension

A passage states: 'While the report acknowledges the project's successes, it devotes most of its pages to shortcomings.' Which conclusion about the report's emphasis is best supported?

  1. The report gives greater weight to failures than to successes. Correct answer.
  2. The report recommends cancelling the project.
  3. The report is balanced equally between successes and failures.
  4. The report ignores the project's successes entirely.

Explanation

The concessive clause admits successes exist, but 'devotes most of its pages' indicates that shortcomings receive the greater share of attention. Emphasis, not outright dismissal, is the point being made.

Question 21Reading and Comprehension

A writer argues: 'Students who read widely score higher in examinations; therefore, reading widely is the cause of higher scores.' Which flaw is present in this reasoning?

  1. It confuses past and future tense.
  2. It uses too many statistics.
  3. It assumes correlation proves causation. Correct answer.
  4. It relies on a single example.

Explanation

The argument moves from an observed association between reading and scores to a causal claim. Other factors, such as ability or motivation, might explain both, so the inference from correlation to causation is unwarranted.

Question 22Reading and Comprehension

A passage describes a policy as 'well-intentioned but poorly implemented'. Which statement best captures the writer's stance?

  1. The writer opposes both the policy's aims and its execution.
  2. The writer rejects the aims but praises the execution.
  3. The writer accepts the aims but criticises the execution. Correct answer.
  4. The writer is entirely neutral about the policy.

Explanation

'Well-intentioned' grants the aims are good while 'poorly implemented' criticises the execution. The adversative 'but' places the writer's emphasis on the implementation, so the stance is qualified approval of aims with criticism of delivery.

Question 23Reading and Comprehension

A passage states: 'The novel resists easy summary, not because it is obscure, but because its meanings shift with each reading.' What does this imply about the novel?

  1. It has no meaning at all.
  2. It can be summarised in one sentence.
  3. It is deliberately confusing and badly written.
  4. Its complexity lies in interpretative richness rather than obscurity. Correct answer.

Explanation

The 'not because ... but because' construction explicitly rejects obscurity and substitutes shifting meanings as the cause of difficulty. The difficulty is therefore interpretative richness, not confusion or meaninglessness.

Question 24Reading and Comprehension

In a passage, a writer observes: 'The committee listened politely, nodded at intervals, and did precisely nothing.' What is the effect of the final clause?

  1. It introduces a formal recommendation.
  2. It confirms that the committee acted effectively.
  3. It repeats the earlier clauses without change.
  4. It creates an anticlimax that undercuts the apparent politeness. Correct answer.

Explanation

The first two clauses suggest attentive courtesy, and the final clause deflates that expectation with an ironic twist. The effect is anticlimactic irony, exposing politeness as inaction.

Question 25Reading and Comprehension

A passage argues: 'Tradition is not a cage but a conversation with the past.' Which feature makes this an effective rhetorical formulation?

  1. It replaces a negative metaphor with a positive one to reframe the idea. Correct answer.
  2. It quotes an authority to settle the debate.
  3. It lists several examples in sequence.
  4. It uses a precise statistical comparison.

Explanation

The 'not X but Y' structure rejects the image of a cage and substitutes the image of a conversation, reframing tradition as dynamic rather than restrictive. The device is metaphorical reframing, not statistics, quotation or example.

Question 26Reading and Comprehension

A passage states: 'The council approved the scheme, albeit reluctantly, after months of delay.' Which reading of the writer's attitude is best supported?

  1. The writer presents the delay as the fault of local residents.
  2. The writer presents the approval as enthusiastic and swift.
  3. The writer presents the approval as grudging and long postponed. Correct answer.
  4. The writer presents the scheme as having been rejected outright.

Explanation

'Albeit reluctantly' signals unwillingness, and 'after months of delay' signals postponement, so the approval is framed as grudging and long deferred. The writer reports the decision without endorsing it or assigning blame to residents.

Question 27Reading and Comprehension

In a passage on housing, the writer says the new estate 'sprouted overnight, a forest of scaffolding'. Which effect does the metaphor chiefly create?

  1. It implies the estate was built without official permission.
  2. It stresses how quickly and densely the development appeared. Correct answer.
  3. It suggests the buildings are made of timber and foliage.
  4. It emphasises the estate's remoteness from other housing.

Explanation

'Sprouted' and 'a forest of scaffolding' together convey sudden, abundant growth, so the metaphor dramatises speed and density. The image is figurative and does not claim the buildings are literally wooden or unauthorised.

Question 28Reading and Comprehension

A passage reports that a study 'found a correlation between library use and exam performance'. Which conclusion can the passage legitimately support on its own evidence?

  1. Library use and exam performance are associated in the data. Correct answer.
  2. Students who never use libraries will necessarily fail.
  3. Exam performance determines how often students use libraries.
  4. Library use is the principal cause of higher exam performance.

Explanation

A correlation establishes only that two variables vary together in the observed data. Causal direction and predictions about individuals require evidence the sentence does not supply.

Question 29Reading and Comprehension

Read the sentence: 'The lecturer, having marked forty scripts, returned them to the students.' Which element is the participial phrase?

  1. The lecturer
  2. returned them to the students
  3. having marked forty scripts Correct answer.
  4. to the students

Explanation

A participial phrase consists of a participle plus its objects or modifiers; 'having marked forty scripts' is a perfect participle phrase modifying 'the lecturer'. The main clause predicate and the prepositional phrase are separate constituents.

Question 30Reading and Comprehension

A passage notes that a memoirist 'rarely names her family, referring to them only by their roles'. What does this stylistic choice most plausibly achieve?

  1. It proves that the memoirist has forgotten her relatives' names.
  2. It shows that the family disapproved of the memoir being written.
  3. It indicates that the events described occurred in a foreign country.
  4. It gives the relatives a representative rather than individual quality. Correct answer.

Explanation

Replacing names with roles such as 'the eldest brother' generalises the figures, letting them stand for types rather than specific persons. This is a deliberate authorial technique, not evidence about memory, consent, or setting.

Question 31Reading and Comprehension

A passage states: 'The scheme was ambitious; the budget, however, was modest.' Which punctuation principle does the semicolon illustrate here?

  1. It introduces a list of items following a colon.
  2. It separates a subordinate clause from its main clause.
  3. It marks a direct quotation within a longer sentence.
  4. It joins two independent clauses that are closely related in meaning. Correct answer.

Explanation

A semicolon can link two grammatically complete clauses when the writer wants to signal a close logical connection between them. Here 'however' is an adverbial inside the second clause, and the semicolon performs the linking.

Question 32Reading and Comprehension

A writer asserts: 'Nobody who has read the report could doubt its conclusions.' Which feature makes this assertion rhetorically weak?

  1. It contradicts an earlier statement in the same paragraph.
  2. It uses too many technical terms for a general readership.
  3. It relies on statistical evidence that the writer has not cited.
  4. It assumes what it sets out to prove and dismisses dissent in advance. Correct answer.

Explanation

The claim presupposes that the report is convincing and treats any doubter as uninformed, which is a circular and intimidating move rather than an argument. It offers no evidence at all, statistical or otherwise.

Question 33Reading and Comprehension

In a passage, a character observes: 'My brother has a talent for arriving exactly when the work is finished.' Which description of the tone is most accurate?

  1. Fiercely patriotic
  2. Dryly ironic Correct answer.
  3. Openly grief-stricken
  4. Formally ceremonial

Explanation

The remark praises a 'talent' for conveniently missing the labour, which is ironic understatement rather than sincere admiration. The tone is amused and dry, with no trace of grief, ceremony, or national feeling.

Question 34Reading and Comprehension

A passage argues: 'Cities should pedestrianise their centres. After all, shoppers prefer car-free streets, and air quality improves when traffic falls.' Which sentence states the writer's main claim?

  1. Traffic in city centres has fallen in recent years.
  2. Air quality improves when traffic falls.
  3. Cities should pedestrianise their centres. Correct answer.
  4. Shoppers prefer car-free streets.

Explanation

The main claim is the proposition the writer wants accepted, namely that city centres should be pedestrianised. The other statements function as supporting reasons or background premises.

Question 35Reading and Comprehension

A passage says of a politician: 'His speeches were admired for their clarity, though listeners often left uncertain what he had actually promised.' Which inference about his rhetoric is best supported?

  1. His language was lucid but his commitments remained vague. Correct answer.
  2. He made detailed pledges that audiences found easy to recall.
  3. He refused to speak in public except on formal occasions.
  4. His speeches were confusing because of their technical jargon.

Explanation

The concessive 'though' contrasts clear expression with unclear substance, so the passage distinguishes lucidity of style from vagueness of content. The remaining options reverse one or both halves of that contrast.

Question 36Reading and Comprehension

A passage states: 'The village has changed beyond recognition; the bakery is now a phone shop, the green a car park.' Which function do the examples perform in the sentence?

  1. They qualify the general claim by introducing exceptions.
  2. They restate the general claim in more abstract terms.
  3. They contradict the general claim made in the first clause.
  4. They substantiate the general claim with concrete instances. Correct answer.

Explanation

The clause after the semicolon supplies specific, observable instances that illustrate and support the broader assertion about change. They extend the claim rather than limiting, contradicting, or abstracting it.

Question 37Reading and Comprehension

Which sentence correctly uses a colon in formal academic prose?

  1. The findings were unambiguous, the treatment worked: in every trial group.
  2. The findings: were unambiguous, the treatment worked in every trial group.
  3. The findings were unambiguous: and the treatment worked in every trial group.
  4. The findings were unambiguous: the treatment worked in every trial group. Correct answer.

Explanation

A colon should follow a grammatically complete clause and introduce an explanation, list, or expansion. Only the first option places the colon after a full clause and before material that explains it.

Question 38Reading and Comprehension

A passage describes a proposal as 'a solution that creates more problems than it solves'. Which statement best captures the writer's position?

  1. The proposal is likely to be counterproductive. Correct answer.
  2. The proposal has been widely misunderstood.
  3. The proposal deserves cautious support.
  4. The proposal is technically sound but expensive.

Explanation

Saying a solution creates more problems than it solves attributes net harm to it, which is the meaning of counterproductive. The phrase offers no endorsement, no cost analysis, and no claim about public misunderstanding.

Question 39Reading and Comprehension

Read the sentence: 'Although the reviewers praised the production, audiences stayed away, and the theatre closed within a month.' Which relationship between the clauses is expressed?

  1. Cause followed by its intended effect and a restatement.
  2. Condition followed by a hypothetical result.
  3. Concession followed by a contrasting outcome and its consequence. Correct answer.
  4. Sequence of events with no logical contrast.

Explanation

'Although' marks a concession, and the following clauses contrast critical praise with commercial failure and closure. The result is actual, not hypothetical, and the contrast is explicit rather than a bare sequence.

Question 40Reading and Comprehension

A passage quotes a critic: 'The author's prose is economical to the point of meanness.' Which interpretation is most faithful to the phrase?

  1. The style is confusing because the sentences are too long.
  2. The style is spare, and the critic suggests it is excessively so. Correct answer.
  3. The style is old-fashioned and the critic prefers modern prose.
  4. The style is lavish and the critic admires its richness.

Explanation

'Economical' denotes spare, restrained writing, and 'to the point of meanness' pushes that quality into a criticism of excess. The phrase therefore combines description with adverse evaluation.

Question 41Reading and Comprehension

A passage argues: 'If the museum charges for entry, visitor numbers will fall; if numbers fall, sponsorship will decline; so charging would harm the museum.' Which logical pattern does the argument use?

  1. A chain of conditional consequences leading to a conclusion. Correct answer.
  2. An appeal to authority to settle a disputed question.
  3. A comparison by analogy with other institutions.
  4. A statistical generalisation from survey data.

Explanation

The argument links two conditionals so that the first outcome triggers the second, producing a predicted harm. This is a chain of consequences rather than an authority claim, an analogy, or a statistical inference.

Question 42Reading and Comprehension

In a passage, the writer notes that a diarist 'records the weather obsessively but mentions the war only twice'. What is the likely effect of this contrast?

  1. It establishes that the diary was written in an unusually cold climate.
  2. It proves that the diarist supported the war effort.
  3. It shows that the diary is unreliable as a historical source.
  4. It draws attention to the diarist's avoidance of a larger public catastrophe. Correct answer.

Explanation

The juxtaposition of trivial daily detail with minimal reference to a momentous event invites the reader to notice evasion or displacement. The contrast is interpretive, not evidence about climate, allegiance, or factual reliability.

Question 43Reading and Comprehension

Which sentence avoids a dangling modifier?

  1. Having finished the experiment, the report was submitted by the researchers.
  2. Having finished the experiment, the researchers submitted their report. Correct answer.
  3. Having finished the experiment, the report's submission followed.
  4. Having finished the experiment, it was time to submit the report.

Explanation

A participial phrase at the start of a sentence must modify the grammatical subject that follows. Only the first option makes 'the researchers' the subject, so the phrase logically attaches to the people who finished the experiment.

Question 44Reading and Comprehension

A passage states: 'The report's tone is measured, its conclusions modest, its evidence exhaustive.' Which feature of style is most evident in this sentence?

  1. Hyperbole supported by emotive adjectives.
  2. Tricolon with parallel clauses and deliberate understatement. Correct answer.
  3. A rhetorical question followed by an immediate answer.
  4. Direct address to the reader in the second person.

Explanation

Three parallel units form a tricolon, and words such as 'measured' and 'modest' temper the praise, producing understatement. There is no exaggeration, no second-person address, and no question.

Question 45Reading and Comprehension

A passage describes a novelist who 'writes about silence in prose that never stops talking'. Which technique is being used?

  1. Paradox that yokes contradictory ideas for emphasis. Correct answer.
  2. Simile comparing the prose to a conversation.
  3. Understatement that softens a harsh judgment.
  4. Personification of silence as a speaking character.

Explanation

The statement sets 'silence' against prose that 'never stops talking', a deliberate contradiction that invites interpretation. It is a paradox rather than a comparison using 'like' or 'as', and no character is personified.

Question 46Reading and Comprehension

A passage argues: 'We should not dismiss oral history because it is unverifiable; written records are equally shaped by their authors' interests.' Which criticism of the argument is most pertinent?

  1. It relies on a definition of history that it never states.
  2. It appeals to emotion rather than to evidence.
  3. It generalises from a single example of a written record.
  4. It rebuts one objection without showing that oral history is reliable. Correct answer.

Explanation

The argument deflects a charge against oral history by pointing to a similar flaw in written records, but deflecting a criticism is not the same as establishing reliability. The passage offers no positive evidence that oral testimony is trustworthy.

Question 47Reading and Comprehension

A passage states: 'The evidence, such as it is, rests on a single interview conducted thirty years after the events.' Which attitude does 'such as it is' convey?

  1. Uncertainty about whether the interview took place.
  2. Neutral acknowledgement that evidence exists.
  3. Dismissive scepticism about the quality of the evidence. Correct answer.
  4. Admiration for the thoroughness of the research.

Explanation

The parenthetical 'such as it is' is an idiom signalling that the evidence is inadequate or of poor quality. It expresses the writer's scepticism rather than neutrality, admiration, or doubt about the interview's occurrence.

Question 48Reading and Comprehension

A passage contains the sentence: 'It is not that the committee was ignorant of the risks; it is that the risks were judged acceptable.' Which function does this antithesis serve?

  1. It redirects the reader from a charge of ignorance to a dispute about values. Correct answer.
  2. It introduces a concession before the writer's own contrary view.
  3. It signals that the writer regards both explanations as mistaken.
  4. It concedes that the committee was in fact ignorant of the risks.

Explanation

The 'not that... it is that...' construction rejects one explanation and substitutes another, shifting the issue from knowledge to judgment. The writer thus reframes the criticism rather than conceding ignorance or rejecting both accounts.

Question 49Reading and Comprehension

A writer claims: 'Either we ban all cars from the city centre or we accept that our children will breathe poisoned air.' Which analysis of this argument is most accurate?

  1. It reasons by analogy from children to adults.
  2. It presents a false dilemma and loads the alternative with emotive language. Correct answer.
  3. It commits a straw man by misrepresenting an opponent's position.
  4. It relies on a circular definition of air quality.

Explanation

The either/or framing excludes intermediate policies such as congestion charges or cleaner engines, creating a false dilemma. Describing the alternative as 'poisoned air' adds emotive pressure rather than evidence.

Question 50Reading and Comprehension

A passage observes: 'The biographer's sympathy for her subject is evident on every page, and it is precisely this sympathy that makes her judgment suspect.' Which tension does the sentence identify?

  1. Sympathy is irrelevant to the quality of biographical writing.
  2. Readers are unable to detect bias in a biography.
  3. Empathy can enrich a portrait while compromising its critical detachment. Correct answer.
  4. Biographers should avoid all contact with their subjects.

Explanation

The sentence treats sympathy as both a source of evident richness and a threat to impartial judgment, holding the two in tension. It does not advocate total detachment, deny the relevance of sympathy, or comment on readers' abilities.