Based on the texts, how would Achebe most likely respond to Lindqvist's argument?

Question

Text 1
Historian Petra Lindqvist argues that the spread of coffee houses in seventeenth-century London created a new public culture of debate, since anyone with a penny could sit and argue politics with strangers.

Text 2
Historian Samuel Achebe notes that the 'anyone' of the coffee houses was in practice male, and that the women who ran many of the houses were expected to serve, not to speak. The debate culture was real, he argues, but narrower than its reputation.

Accepted Answer

A. By accepting that the coffee houses fostered debate while arguing that the circle of participants was smaller than she implies.. Achebe says 'the debate culture was real' but 'narrower' — he keeps the finding and limits its scope.

Answer

B. By denying that political debate took place in the coffee houses. — Achebe explicitly says the debate culture was real.

Answer

C. By arguing that coffee houses were more important than Lindqvist claims. — He shrinks the claim rather than enlarging it.

Answer

D. By claiming that women were the main participants in the debates. — He says women were expected to serve, not to speak.

Craft and Structure practice question

Answer: A. By accepting that the coffee houses fostered debate while arguing that the circle of participants was smaller than she implies.

Why the other answers are wrong

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