Question:
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
A distinguishing feature of language is our ability to refer to absent things, known as displaced reference. A speaker can bring distant referents to mind in the absence of any obvious stimuli. Thoughts, not limited to the here and now, can pop into our heads for unfathomable reasons. This ability to think about distant things necessarily precedes the ability to talk about them. Thought precedes meaningful referential communication. A prerequisite for the emergence of human-like meaningful symbols is that the mental categories they relate to can be invoked even in the absence of immediate stimuli.
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
A distinguishing feature of language is our ability to refer to absent things, known as displaced reference. A speaker can bring distant referents to mind in the absence of any obvious stimuli. Thoughts, not limited to the here and now, can pop into our heads for unfathomable reasons. This ability to think about distant things necessarily precedes the ability to talk about them. Thought precedes meaningful referential communication. A prerequisite for the emergence of human-like meaningful symbols is that the mental categories they relate to can be invoked even in the absence of immediate stimuli.
A distinguishing feature of language is our ability to refer to absent things, known as displaced reference. A speaker can bring distant referents to mind in the absence of any obvious stimuli. Thoughts, not limited to the here and now, can pop into our heads for unfathomable reasons. This ability to think about distant things necessarily precedes the ability to talk about them. Thought precedes meaningful referential communication. A prerequisite for the emergence of human-like meaningful symbols is that the mental categories they relate to can be invoked even in the absence of immediate stimuli.
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Instead of picking the option that sounds closest in wording to the passage, check each option for scope: does it claim something the passage never said (like exclusivity to one group), or does it narrow the claim down to only part of what the passage covers? The right option matches the passage claim at the same scope, not broader or narrower.
Updated On: Aug 18, 2026
- Thoughts are essential to communication and only humans have the ability to think about objects not present in their surroundings.
- The ability to think about objects not present in our environment precedes the development of human communication.
- Displaced reference is particular to humans and thoughts pop into our heads for no real reason.
Thoughts precede all speech acts and these thoughts pop up in our heads even in the absence of any stimulus.
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The Correct Option is B
Approach Solution - 1
The passage discusses the concept of displaced reference as a distinctive trait of language, emphasizing that the ability to refer to things not present is a key feature. It highlights that the capability to think about and refer to distant entities with no immediate stimuli is essential for meaningful communication. This power of thought enables the invocation of mental categories without direct stimuli. The passage concludes that such capability is fundamental for the development of human-like symbolic communication.
Among the provided options, the one that best captures the essence of the passage is: The ability to think about objects not present in our environment precedes the development of human communication. This option precisely reflects the passage's core argument that the capacity to conceptualize absent objects is a precursor to human communication.
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Approach Solution -2
Concept:
Step 1: Identify the passage core claim precisely.
The passage says the ability to refer to and think about absent things (displaced reference) exists before the ability to talk about those things, and this thinking ability is a requirement for meaningful symbolic communication to develop.
Step 2: Test the option that adds an exclusivity claim.
The option claiming "only humans have the ability to think about objects not present" adds an exclusivity claim about humans that the passage never makes, so it goes beyond what is actually stated and is eliminated.
Step 3: Test the option that focuses on an unrelated detail from the passage.
The option calling displaced reference "particular to humans" with thoughts popping up "for no real reason" repeats a side remark from the passage instead of the main claim about thought preceding communication, so it is too narrow and is eliminated.
Step 4: Test the option that narrows the claim to speech acts only.
The option saying thoughts "precede all speech acts" narrows the passage general claim about communication down to only spoken acts, which is a narrower claim than the passage actually makes, so it is eliminated.
Step 5: Confirm the remaining option matches the core claim exactly.
The option stating that the ability to think about objects not present in the environment precedes the development of human communication matches the passage claim at the right scope, neither broader nor narrower.
Final Answer: The ability to think about objects not present in our environment precedes the development of human communication.
- A summary question can be solved by testing each option against the passage scope instead of paraphrasing the whole passage first: a correct summary must cover the FULL claim, not a narrower or broader version of it.
- Checking each option for scope errors, exclusivity claims not actually made in the passage, or reversed cause-and-effect, eliminates wrong options one at a time.
Step 1: Identify the passage core claim precisely.
The passage says the ability to refer to and think about absent things (displaced reference) exists before the ability to talk about those things, and this thinking ability is a requirement for meaningful symbolic communication to develop.
Step 2: Test the option that adds an exclusivity claim.
The option claiming "only humans have the ability to think about objects not present" adds an exclusivity claim about humans that the passage never makes, so it goes beyond what is actually stated and is eliminated.
Step 3: Test the option that focuses on an unrelated detail from the passage.
The option calling displaced reference "particular to humans" with thoughts popping up "for no real reason" repeats a side remark from the passage instead of the main claim about thought preceding communication, so it is too narrow and is eliminated.
Step 4: Test the option that narrows the claim to speech acts only.
The option saying thoughts "precede all speech acts" narrows the passage general claim about communication down to only spoken acts, which is a narrower claim than the passage actually makes, so it is eliminated.
Step 5: Confirm the remaining option matches the core claim exactly.
The option stating that the ability to think about objects not present in the environment precedes the development of human communication matches the passage claim at the right scope, neither broader nor narrower.
Final Answer: The ability to think about objects not present in our environment precedes the development of human communication.
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The word ‘anarchy’ comes from the Greek anarkhia, meaning contrary to authority or without a ruler, and was used in a derogatory sense until 1840, when it was adopted by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon to describe his political and social ideology. Proudhon argued that organization without government was both possible and desirable. In the evolution of political ideas, anarchism can be seen as an ultimate projection of both liberalism and socialism, and the differing strands of anarchist thought can be related to their emphasis on one or the other of these.
Historically, anarchism arose not only as an explanation of the gulf between the rich and the poor in any community, and of the reason why the poor have been obliged to fight for their share of a common inheritance, but as a radical answer to the question ‘What went wrong?’ that followed the ultimate outcome of the French Revolution. It had ended not only with a reign of terror and the emergence of a newly rich ruling caste, but with a new adored emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, strutting through his conquered territories.
The anarchists and their precursors were unique on the political Left in affirming that workers and peasants, grasping the chance that arose to bring an end to centuries of exploitation and tyranny, were inevitably betrayed by the new class of politicians, whose first priority was to re-establish a centralized state power. After every revolutionary uprising, usually won at a heavy cost for ordinary populations, the new rulers had no hesitation in applying violence and terror, a secret police, and a professional army to maintain their control.
For anarchists the state itself is the enemy, and they have applied the same interpretation to the outcome of every revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries. This is not merely because every state keeps a watchful and sometimes punitive eye on its dissidents, but because every state protects the privileges of the powerful.
The mainstream of anarchist propaganda for more than a century has been anarchistcommunism, which argues that property in land, natural resources, and the means of production should be held in mutual control by local communities, federating for innumerable joint purposes with other communes. It differs from state socialism in opposing the concept of any central authority. Some anarchists prefer to distinguish between anarchist-communism and collectivist anarchism in order to stress the obviously desirable freedom of an individual or family to possess the resources needed for living, while not implying the right to own the resources needed by others. . . .
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European translator of . . . Arabian Nights [which] started as a series of translations of an
incomplete manuscript of a medieval Arabic story collection. . . But, though those tales were of
medieval origin, Aladdin may be a more recent invention. Scholars have not found a manuscript of the story that predates the version published in 1712 by Galland, who wrote in his diary that he first heard the tale from a Syrian storyteller from Aleppo named Hanna Diyab . . .
Despite the fantastical elements of the story, scholars now think the main character may
actually be based on a real person’s real experiences. . . . Though Galland never credited Diyab in his published translations of the Arabian Nights stories, Diyab wrote something of his own: a travelogue penned in the mid-18th century. In it, he recalls telling Galland the story of Aladdin [and] describes his own hard-knocks upbringing and the way he marveled at the extravagance of Versailles. The descriptions he uses were very similar to the descriptions of the lavish palace that ended up in Galland’s version of the Aladdin story. [Therefore, author Paulo Lemos] Horta believes that “Aladdin might be the young Arab Maronite from Aleppo, marveling at the jewels and riches of Versailles.” . . .
For 300 years, scholars thought that the rags-to-riches story of Aladdin might have been
inspired by the plots of French fairy tales that came out around the same time, or that the story was invented in that 18th century period as a byproduct of French Orientalism, a fascination with stereotypical exotic Middle Eastern luxuries that was prevalent then. The idea that Diyab might have based it on his own life — the experiences of a Middle Eastern man encountering te French, not vice-versa — flips the script. [According to Horta,] “Diyab was ideally placed to embody the overlapping world of East and West, blending the storytelling traditions of his homeland with his youthful observations of the wonder of 18th-century France.” . . .
To the scholars who study the tale, its narrative drama isn’t the only reason storytellers keep
finding reason to return to Aladdin. It reflects not only “a history of the French and the Middle
East, but also [a story about] Middle Easterners coming to Paris and that speaks to our world
today,” as Horta puts it. “The day Diyab told the story of Aladdin to Galland, there were riots
due to food shortages during the winter and spring of 1708 to 1709, and Diyab was sensitive to those people in a way that Galland is not. When you read this diary, you see this solidarity
among the Arabs who were in Paris at the time. . . . There is little in the writings of Galland thatwould suggest that he was capable of developing a character like Aladdin with sympathy, but Diyab’s memoir reveals a narrator adept at capturing the distinctive psychology of a young protagonist, as well as recognizing the kinds of injustices and opportunities that can transform the path of any youthful adventurer.” - Contemporary internet shopping conjures a perfect storm of choice anxiety. Research has
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Most of this heat, the researchers note, probably doesn’t make it all the way through the plumage and back to the penguins’ bodies, but it could make a slight difference. At the very least, the method by which a penguin’s plumage wicks heat from the bitterly cold air that surrounds it helps to cancel out some of the heat that’s radiating from its interior. And given the Emperors’ unusually demanding breeding cycle, every bit of warmth counts. . . . Since [penguins trek as far as 75 miles to the coast to breed and male penguins] don’t eat anything during [the incubation period of 64 days], conserving calories by giving up as little heat as possible is absolutely crucial.
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