16Hit1600
Craft and StructureVery hardFunction of a final qualification

Craft and Structure practice question

The census of 1801 is the first reliable count of the country's people, and every later estimate of earlier populations is anchored to it. Historians have pushed the figures back to 1700 and beyond, using parish registers and tax rolls. But the further back they go, the more the numbers rest on assumptions about the registers, and the honest ones say so in their footnotes.

Which choice best describes the function of the last sentence in the text as a whole?

  1. A. It qualifies the confidence of the earlier sentences by noting that the older estimates depend on assumptions.Correct
  2. B. It argues that the 1801 census was inaccurate.
  3. C. It describes how parish registers were kept.
  4. D. It praises historians for reaching back to 1700.

Answer: A. It qualifies the confidence of the earlier sentences by noting that the older estimates depend on assumptions.

Further back, more assumption.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. It argues that the 1801 census was inaccurate.
The census is called reliable.
C. It describes how parish registers were kept.
No description of the registers.
D. It praises historians for reaching back to 1700.
It cautions rather than praises.

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