Information and IdeasHardInference about uptalk judgments
Information and Ideas practice question
Rising intonation at the end of statements — 'uptalk' — is widely heard as a mark of hesitancy or insecurity. Yet recordings of meetings show something else: speakers in commanding positions frequently use the rise on statements precisely where interruption is likely, and the rise signals 'I am not finished,' measurably reducing interruptions. Such findings imply that ____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
- A. listeners who hear uptalk as insecurity may be misreading what the rising tone is doing.Correct
- B. speakers should avoid rising intonation in professional settings.
- C. uptalk is disappearing among younger speakers.
- D. rising intonation always signals that a speaker is asking a question.
Answer: A. listeners who hear uptalk as insecurity may be misreading what the rising tone is doing.
The recordings show confident speakers using the rise to hold the floor — a function opposite to the insecurity listeners assume, so those listeners are misreading it.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. speakers should avoid rising intonation in professional settings.
- The text reports research on what uptalk does; it gives no advice to speakers.
- C. uptalk is disappearing among younger speakers.
- No trend over time or across generations appears in the text.
- D. rising intonation always signals that a speaker is asking a question.
- The text's point is that the rise often marks continuation, not questioning — this reverses it.
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