Directions : Read the given passage and answer the questions based on that…
2022
Directions : Read the given passage and answer the questions based on that
What it means to "explain" something in science often comes down to the application of mathematics. Some thinkers hold that mathematics is a kind of language--a systematic contrivance of signs, the criteria for the authority of which are internal coherence, elegance, and depth. The application of such a highly artificial system to the physical world, they claim, results in the creation of a kind of statement about the world. Accordingly, what matters in the sciences is finding a mathematical concept that attempts, as other language does, to describe the functioning of some aspect of the world. At the center of the issue of scientific knowledge can thus be found questions about the relationship between language and what it refers to. A discussion about the role played by language in the pursuit of knowledge has been going on among linguists for several decades. The debate is on whether language corresponds in some essential way to objects and behaviors, making knowledge a solid and reliable commodity; or, on the other hand, whether the relationship between language and things is purely a matter of agreed-upon conventions, making knowledge tenuous, relative, and inexact.
Lately the latter theory has been gaining wider acceptance. According to linguists who support this theory, the way language is used varies depending upon changes in accepted practices and theories among those who work in particular discipline. These linguists argue that, in the pursuit of knowledge, a statement is true only when there are no promising alternatives that might lead one to question it. Certainly, this characterization would seem to be applicable to the sciences. In science, a mathematical statement may be taken to account for every aspect of a phenomenon it is applied to, but some would argue, there is nothing inherent in mathematical language. Under this view, acceptance of a mathematical statement by the scientific community--by virtue of the statement's predictive power or methodological efficiency--transforms what is basically an analogy or metaphor into an explanation of the physical process in question, to be held as true until another, more compelling analogy takes its place.
Which of the following clearly justifies the tone of the passage?
- A.
inquisitive
- B.
ecstatic
- C.
encouraging
- D.
contemplative
- E.
cooperative
Attempted by 1 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
"Tone" is the author's attitude toward the subject, revealed by word choice and the way ideas are presented. To pin it down, ignore the topic itself and ask: is the writer arguing, celebrating, urging, questioning, or simply thinking through ideas? A passage that lays out competing positions and weighs them, without taking sides or showing emotion, carries a thoughtful, even-handed attitude.
Application
This passage examines a debate about whether mathematics (and language generally) genuinely describes the world or is only an agreed-upon convention. The writer presents what "some thinkers hold," what other linguists "argue," and how a view has "been gaining wider acceptance" — reporting and turning over ideas rather than asserting a personal claim. There is no emotional charge, no call to action, no string of direct questions; the prose stays measured and exploratory throughout, holding ideas up to examine them. That thoughtful, idea-weighing stance is exactly what "contemplative" names.
Contrast
inquisitive — implies the writer is mainly probing or asking questions to find out; here the writer explains and weighs established positions rather than interrogating them.
ecstatic — signals intense joy or excitement, an emotional pitch the calm, analytical prose never reaches.
encouraging — would mean urging or motivating the reader toward something; the passage exhorts nobody and recommends no action.
cooperative — suggests a collaborative, working-together attitude, but this is a single author's essay and nothing frames the writing as a joint or team effort.
Even-handed weighing of competing theories → the tone is contemplative.