Craft and StructureEasyCross-text connections (relationship between paired texts)
Craft and Structure practice question
Text 1
In 2019, the city of Riverton converted one car lane on Main Street into a protected bike lane. City engineer Dana Ruiz warned that removing a lane would inevitably slow car traffic: with less room for the same number of vehicles, she predicted, drivers would face noticeably longer trips across downtown.
Text 2
Three years after the Main Street bike lane opened, transportation researcher Ellis Park measured driving times along the street. On average, cars now cross the downtown stretch in about the same time they did before the change. Park credits the smoother flow of traffic that results when cyclists and drivers are no longer weaving around each other in a shared lane.
Which choice best states the relationship between the two texts?
- A. Text 2 presents measurements that call into question the prediction described in Text 1.Correct
- B. Text 2 provides data confirming the outcome that Ruiz anticipated in Text 1.
- C. Text 2 explains the reasons Riverton decided to build the bike lane discussed in Text 1.
- D. Text 2 recommends a new solution to the traffic problem that Ruiz identifies in Text 1.
Answer: A. Text 2 presents measurements that call into question the prediction described in Text 1.
Ruiz predicted "noticeably longer trips"; Park's measurements show driving times are "about the same" as before, so Text 2's data undercut the prediction in Text 1. (B) reverses the finding—it treats "about the same time" as if it meant "longer," the error of assuming the second text must support the first. (C) mistakes Park's explanation of *why* times held steady for an account of the city's motives for building the lane, which neither text gives. (D) misreads Text 2 as proposing a fix; Park only reports and interprets results, offering no new recommendation.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Text 2 provides data confirming the outcome that Ruiz anticipated in Text 1.
- Ruiz predicted "noticeably longer trips," but Park found times were "about the same," so the data contradict her rather than confirm her. Don't assume the second text must back up the first — check what the numbers actually say.
- C. Text 2 explains the reasons Riverton decided to build the bike lane discussed in Text 1.
- Park does explain something — why times held steady — but that's not the same as explaining why Riverton chose to build the lane. Neither text gives the city's motives.
- D. Text 2 recommends a new solution to the traffic problem that Ruiz identifies in Text 1.
- Park only measures and interprets driving times; he proposes no new fix. Reporting a result isn't the same as recommending a solution.
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