- [Instructor] Which one of
the following most undermines the explanation provided in passage A for the relaxing effect that some music has on listeners. So we're looking for something
that is going to undermine an explanation provided in passage A. So the best thing we can do,
don't look at the choices, don't waste anytime with that. You head up, and you
look for the explanation in passage A for the relaxing effect that some music has on listeners. What we're really looking
for is the word relaxing in passage A, and the explanation for it. Let's go up. Here's relaxing in the third paragraph, we don't need to go up to the top. Certain music can also
have a relaxing effect. Oh yeah, why? We're looking for that explanation. The fact that such music
tends to be continuous and rhythmical, so now
you remember, oh right, it's continuous and rhythmical because it's not dangerous,
it's that, let's see, a background of constant noise
suggests peaceful conditions, so peaceful conditions,
constant noise, is relaxing. Relaxing is continuous,
that's the explanation. Let's go back and see what
we can undermine that with for the right answer. It's relaxing because it's continuous. Okay, so how do we undermine that? We find out that some continuous noises are actually not relaxing. That would undermine the explanation A. The musical traditions
of different cultures vary greatly in terms of the complexity of they rhythms they employ. Okay, that's not connected
to this relaxation thing, so that cannot be right. B, the rhythmic structure of a language is determined in part by the patterns of stressed syllables in the words and sentences of the language. About the rhythmic structure? No, it's about the explanation
for the relaxing effect. That connection is not undermining, and it doesn't effect this explanation for what is relaxing and what is not. C, many people find the
steady and rhythmic sound of a rocking chair to be very unnerving. So this is steady and
rhythmic, and it's not relaxing at all, it's very unnerving. This undermines the
explanation in passage A. C looks super good. I would probably just
circle C and move on, but let's look at D and E, and see if they represent common types of errors you'll see
in questions like this. D, the sudden interruption
of the expected development of a melody tends to interfere
with listeners' perception of the melody as coherent. That's not about this relaxation question, and connecting relaxation
to steady continuous sound. Not related. E, some of the most admired
contemporary composers write music that is notably
simpler than is most of the music written
in previous centuries. Okay, so the admiration
of contemporary composers versus for writing music that is simpler, again not connected to
the relaxation explanation that the question is asking about. So, E is not the answer. The answer must be C. Now we find these answers,
in part because we predict what we're looking for before
we look at the choices. Because again if you get stuck
in reading the choices first, and all the choices start sounding good, and you don't know what
you're looking for, you're gonna wind up
looking at each choice and taking that choice back to the passage and trying to figure
whether it makes sense. And that is not the best use of your time. You're gonna save a lot
more time going back, and getting the answer
in your own words correct as a prediction than
going through the choices one-by-one, and trying
to figure out whether they might work, and giving
them the benefit of the doubt. They don't deserve the
benefit of the doubt, and you're much better served
by knowing what you want before you start looking.