Examkin

Question

Difficulty: Very hardComparative Analogies

Passage A
To save endangered indigenous languages, preservationists must enforce strict lexical purism. This involves creating definitive dictionaries, purging foreign loanwords, and establishing language academies to codify correct grammar. Language is a fragile cultural artifact; only by shielding it from the contaminating influence of dominant global languages and artificial modern jargon can its authentic character be maintained for future generations.

Passage B
Languages are not static museum pieces; they are living ecosystems. Attempting to artificially freeze an endangered language only accelerates its demise by rendering it incapable of expressing contemporary realities. True revitalization requires fostering organic community vitality. This means encouraging speakers to use the language in new domains, such as technology and pop culture, and embracing organic structural changes and loanwords as natural adaptations necessary for survival in a dynamic world.

The relationship between the preservation strategy advocated in Passage A and the revitalization strategy advocated in Passage B is most analogous to the relationship between which of the following pairs of strategies?

  1. A
    Creating an immutable digital audio archive of the last living speakers of an endangered dialect, versus developing interactive software to teach the vocabulary of that dialect to modern youths.
  2. B
    Quarantining a vulnerable population in a completely sterile environment to prevent any exposure to foreign viruses, versus intentionally exposing the population to every known pathogen to guarantee that their immune systems become universally resistant.
  3. C
    Protecting a historic building by strictly prohibiting any modern architectural modifications, versus demolishing the historic building to construct a highly adaptable, modern structure that serves current community needs.
  4. Attempting to save an endangered plant species by cultivating it exclusively in a sealed, climate-controlled greenhouse, versus attempting to save the species by restoring its natural ecosystem and allowing it to develop genetic variations in response to environmental stressors.Answer
  5. E
    Shielding a fragile cultural artifact from contamination by locking it in a secure vault, versus utilizing a definitive academic body to ensure that the artifact's authentic character is rigidly maintained for future generations.

Answer

Attempting to save an endangered plant species by cultivating it exclusively in a sealed, climate-controlled greenhouse, versus attempting to save the species by restoring its natural ecosystem and allowing it to develop genetic variations in response to environmental stressors.
The correct answer accurately distills the fundamental conflict between the two passages into a structurally parallel scenario from biology. Passage A's approach of 'shielding' language in an artificial state of 'purism' maps perfectly to cultivating a plant in a 'sealed, climate-controlled greenhouse.' Passage B's approach of treating language as a 'living ecosystem' that must embrace 'natural adaptations' maps perfectly to restoring a plant's ecosystem and allowing it to develop 'genetic variations in response to environmental stressors.'

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the core argument and underlying mechanism of Passage A.
Passage A views language as a fragile artifact that must be isolated, shielded from outside influence, and kept in a state of artificial stasis (lexical purism, academies) to be preserved.
Understanding the abstract structure of the first half of the analogy is required.
2
Analyze the core argument and underlying mechanism of Passage B.
Passage B views language as a living ecosystem that must interact with its environment, integrate new elements (loanwords), and organically adapt to survive.
Understanding the abstract structure of the second half of the analogy is required.
3
Synthesize the abstract relational dynamic between the two passages.
The relationship is: Preservation via extreme isolation and stasis VERSUS Preservation via environmental integration and organic adaptation.
This establishes the blueprint needed to evaluate the answer choices.
4
Evaluate the options against the relational blueprint.
The option comparing a sealed greenhouse (isolation/stasis) to a restored ecosystem with genetic variation (integration/adaptation) perfectly matches the logical blueprint.
Analogies must match on a structural level, independent of the subject matter.

Key Concept

Identifying abstract structural parallels between differing argumentative viewpoints.
Rate this question

Topics

Comparative Analogies

More questions from this topic