SAT Reading & Writing · Cross-Text Connections
**Text 1** A philosopher argues that translated poetry inevitably loses something essential from the original, since the specific sounds,…
**Text 1**
A philosopher argues that translated poetry inevitably loses something essential from the original, since the specific sounds, rhythms, and connotations of the source language cannot be perfectly reproduced in another language.
**Text 2**
A translator responds that while exact reproduction is impossible, a skilled translation can create new but comparably rich sonic and emotional effects in the target language, effects that may differ from the original without being lesser.
Which choice best describes how the author of Text 2 would most likely respond to the argument in Text 1?
A philosopher argues that translated poetry inevitably loses something essential from the original, since the specific sounds, rhythms, and connotations of the source language cannot be perfectly reproduced in another language.
**Text 2**
A translator responds that while exact reproduction is impossible, a skilled translation can create new but comparably rich sonic and emotional effects in the target language, effects that may differ from the original without being lesser.
Which choice best describes how the author of Text 2 would most likely respond to the argument in Text 1?
Answer and explanation
Answer: D: By accepting that exact reproduction is impossible, while arguing that translation can still achieve comparable, if different, artistic value.
Text 2 concedes the philosopher's specific point about impossibility of exact reproduction while offering a distinct counterclaim about comparable value achieved differently. D captures both the concession and the pushback accurately. A overstates Text 2 into full agreement with a much bleaker conclusion than it actually reaches. C contradicts Text 2's emphasis on skill and craft in translation. B reverses the relationship into an extreme claim Text 2 never makes.
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