Cross-Text Connections

SAT Reading and Writing· difficulty 2/5

Text 1: Marine biologist Kim argues that octopuses are highly intelligent. They solve mazes, open jars, and recognize individual humans. Their problem-solving abilities, Kim contends, rival those of birds and small mammals despite a vastly different evolutionary path.

Text 2: Marine biologist Park accepts octopus problem-solving but cautions against equating it with vertebrate intelligence. Octopus cognition, she argues, is distributed: most neurons lie in the arms, which act semi-autonomously. The category "intelligence," developed for centralized vertebrate brains, may not transfer cleanly to such different architectures.

Both authors would most likely agree that

  • A

    octopuses display sophisticated cognitive abilities.

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  • B

    octopuses are not interesting subjects of study.

  • C

    octopus behavior is identical to mammal behavior.

  • D

    octopuses have no neurons.

Explanation

Both accept octopus problem-solving and cognitive sophistication; they differ on classification. A is shared. B, C, and D contradict at least one author.

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