Q25

[pinkdatura]

The question seems to direct us to paragraph 3, I wrongly chose A instead C, can anybody help me explain it?
Thx

[noah]

The question asks us to undermine the theory about why certain music is relaxing: continuous noise indicates safety, as opposed to sudden, unexpected noises, which indicate danger.

(C) undermines this theory because it shows a continuous and rhythmic sound which is NOT relaxing.

(A) is incorrect because it's out of scope - we're not talking about complexity but about being continuous and rhythmic.

(B) is out of scope as it's discussing language.

(D) is tempting because it seems tostrengthen the theory! Remember our job here!

(E) is irrelevant because it's about admiration of composers.

[mmcnary]

I had an issue with C because of the complexity. The passage states that "a certain complexity of sounds can be expected to have a positive effect on the listener" - I thought complexity was a big enough part of the passage that a sound that lacked complexity (like a rocking chair) could be unnerving. When looking at questions like this in the future should I only be looking at how the passage addresses the "steady and rhythmic" part?

[ohthatpatrick]

I think the more important takeaways are, "Was there a better answer?" and "Did I pre-phrase based on where in the passage the question stem is directing me?"

Also, you should be thinking, "simple vs. complex was discussed in P1 and P2, but this question stem is asking about P3."

What was the explanation for the relaxing effect of music?
It's relaxing because it's continuous and rhythmical (line 19-20)

So just look for something that sounds like "continuous and rhythmical" wouldn't be relaxing.

[AnnaT620]

I eliminated C because the sound of the rocker seemed analogous to the sound of the dripping tap - and therefore could not be a relaxing effect to listeners?

Apologies, what could I be missing here?

PS - What question type would this be?

Thanks so much!
Anna