16Hit1600
Craft and StructureVery hardFunction of a passage's final clause

Craft and Structure practice question

The census counts people where they sleep on one night in spring. It therefore misses the seasonal workers who arrive in June, records students in the towns where they study rather than the homes they return to, and, for a coastal district whose population doubles in summer, produces a figure that is accurate for exactly one night of the year.

Which choice best describes the function of the final clause, beginning "produces a figure"?

  1. A. It drives home the limitation of the census by stating how briefly its figure is true for a place like the district.Correct
  2. B. It praises the census for its accuracy.
  3. C. It explains how the census is conducted.
  4. D. It introduces a different method of counting.

Answer: A. It drives home the limitation of the census by stating how briefly its figure is true for a place like the district.

Accurate for one night: the limitation made vivid.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. It praises the census for its accuracy.
The tone is critical.
C. It explains how the census is conducted.
The first sentence does that.
D. It introduces a different method of counting.
No other method appears.

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