Digital PSAT Reading and Writing Practice Question 9: Answer and Explanation

Question: 9

Many accounts from people immersed in a language that is not their own have, throughout several centuries, pointed to profanity as by far the most difficult aspect of a novel language to master. There is, in our profanity, a high cultural learning curve that demands intimate knowledge and sensitivity to the subtleties of social interactions.

The selection could most effectively be used by which of the following persons to accomplish their stated goal?

• A. A film censor who wishes to eliminate controversial vocabulary from an upcoming movie
• B. A world language teacher who wanted to pacify students eager to immediately learn translated swear words
• C. A businessperson who wants to communicate the benefits of their products to potential clients in other countries
• D. A translator of cookbooks who wants to convert customary measurements to metric ones

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

(B) The text states that profanity is the most difficult aspect of a new language to learn, so if a world language teacher wanted to discourage students from learning translated swear words, the teacher could explain the inherent difficulty in doing so. It is not (A), because this has nothing to do with different languages. It is not (C) or (D), because the passage focuses on profanity, not on descriptive business prose or the language of measurement.