16Hit1600
Craft and StructureHardAgreement on a first cause

Craft and Structure practice question

Text 1 A historian argues that the canal was the single most important cause of the town's growth in the nineteenth century. Text 2 A second historian gives more weight to the railway that arrived thirty years later, but agrees that it was the canal that first made the town a centre of trade.

Based on the texts, the two historians would most likely agree with which statement?

  1. A. The canal made the town a centre of trade.Correct
  2. B. The railway was the most important cause of the town's growth.
  3. C. The canal was the single most important cause of the town's growth.
  4. D. Neither the canal nor the railway had much effect on the town.

Answer: A. The canal made the town a centre of trade.

Text 1's whole case rests on the canal; Text 2 'agrees that it was the canal that first made the town a centre of trade'.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. The railway was the most important cause of the town's growth.
Only Text 2 leans toward the railway.
C. The canal was the single most important cause of the town's growth.
Only Text 1 makes the canal the single most important cause.
D. Neither the canal nor the railway had much effect on the town.
Both texts credit at least one of them.

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