16Hit1600
Expression of IdeasEasy–MediumUsing notes to accomplish a rhetorical goal

Expression of Ideas practice question

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: - The Amazon river discharges about 209,000 cubic metres of water per second into the Atlantic. - That is roughly one fifth of all the river water that flows into the world's oceans. - The river is about 6,400 kilometres long. - Its drainage basin is the largest of any river.

The student wants to emphasise how much water the Amazon carries. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  1. A. The Amazon discharges about 209,000 cubic metres of water per second — roughly a fifth of all the river water that enters the world's oceans.Correct
  2. B. The Amazon is about 6,400 kilometres long.
  3. C. The Amazon has the largest drainage basin of any river.
  4. D. Like every river, the Amazon flows into the ocean.

Answer: A. The Amazon discharges about 209,000 cubic metres of water per second — roughly a fifth of all the river water that enters the world's oceans.

Volume of water is the point. Choice A gives the discharge figure and puts it in proportion to all the world's rivers.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. The Amazon is about 6,400 kilometres long.
Length isn't volume; a long river can carry little water.
C. The Amazon has the largest drainage basin of any river.
Basin size relates to area drained, not to how much water the river carries.
D. Like every river, the Amazon flows into the ocean.
This is true of rivers in general and says nothing about the Amazon's volume.

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