Read the following passage:
Federico adjusted his loupe, the delicate gears of the 19th-century pocket watch reflecting in his magnifying lens. Around him, the walls of his shop in Toledo ticked in a disjointed, rhythmic chorus, a sound that had defined his life for fifty years. His apprentice, Valeria, stood by the counter, tapping the screen of a tablet. "Don Federico," she said gently, "the inventory software would track these parts in seconds. We could double our weekly intake if we digitalized." Federico sighed, not looking up from the escapement wheel. To Valeria, a watch was a sequence of numbers, an equation to be solved and optimized. To him, each timepiece was a living breath, a mechanical pulse that required patience to understand, not algorithms to categorize. Valeria saw his hesitation as stubbornness, a relic of a bygone era. Federico saw her efficiency as a symptom of a world in too much of a hurry to appreciate the beauty of friction. He knew that one day the digital tide would swallow his shop, but as he tightened the mainspring, he resolved to let the old clocks run their course.
Which of the following best describes the contrast between Federico's and Valeria's perspectives regarding their work?
- Federico views watches as unique, organic entities requiring patient craftsmanship, whereas Valeria views them as objects to be managed through modern efficiency.Answer
- BFederico resents Valeria's suggestion because he believes she is trying to take over ownership of the shop, while Valeria is motivated by a desire to preserve his legacy.
- CThe passage projects an optimistic and celebratory mood about the inevitable triumph of technology, reflecting the author's disdain for historical preservation.
- DFederico fears that a literal flood of water will swallow his shop, while Valeria believes that digital software will protect the building from environmental damage.