SAT Reading & Writing · Inferences
This discrepancy most strongly suggests that ______
A musicologist studying handwritten manuscripts of a composer's symphonies notices that the tempo markings in the composer's own hand differ from the tempo markings used in modern performances, with the original markings suggesting noticeably slower playing throughout.
Which choice most logically completes the text?
This discrepancy most strongly suggests that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
This discrepancy most strongly suggests that ______
Answer and explanation
Answer: D: the composer's original tempo intentions may differ from performance conventions that developed after the composer's death.
The passage identifies a specific, documented discrepancy between original markings and modern practice, which supports the narrower inference that performance conventions shifted after the composer's time, without requiring any sweeping claim about all music or all orchestras. D captures that precise, limited inference. B and A both overstate the finding into absolute claims about every orchestra or every performance, which this single comparison cannot support. C contradicts the passage, which states the markings were clear enough to compare directly.
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