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I’m confused about why B is considered better supported than D. The passage says Edison and Westinghouse were the “two pioneer innovators,” but B interprets this as “Edison’s equal,” which is not explicitly stated.

D says Westinghouse was more important during his lifetime than later historians considered him, which seems reasonably supported by the passage’s contrast between the prevailing view and later historians’ “comparative neglect.”

What makes B a reasonable inference while D incorrect? Here both options add wording not explicitly stated in the passage.
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Hi prragya,

You've spotted something real: both B and D use words that aren't lifted verbatim from the passage. The difference is what kind of wording each adds. B restates what the sentence says; D contradicts a piece of it. That's the whole game here.

Start with the key line:

"...it marks an intriguing departure from the prevailing view during the inventors' lifetimes (and for decades afterward) of Edison and Westinghouse as the two 'pioneer innovators' of the electrical industry."

Why B is a fair paraphrase. The sentence puts Edison and Westinghouse together as "the two pioneer innovators" of the same field. Two people named as the field's pair of pioneers are, by definition, being placed on the same level. So "Edison's equal as an innovator in electric light and power" isn't a new claim - it's the same claim in different words. No extra assumption is needed; you're just renaming "one of the two pioneer innovators" as "Edison's equal."

Why D is not just unsupported but reversed. D says Westinghouse was seen as more important than historians in the decades following his death considered him to be. But the parenthetical "(and for decades afterward)" tells you the high "pioneer innovator" regard continued for decades after his death. So those post-death historians did not rate him lower - the drop only comes with recent historians. D asks you to conclude the opposite of what that small phrase states.

That's the real test: B rewords the sentence; D fights it.

A quick stand-in to feel it:

"She was admired as a top athlete during her career (and for years afterward)."

- "She was regarded as one of the best of her era" - safe reword (like B).
- "People a few years later admired her less" - contradicts the line, since it says the admiration continued (like D).

Whenever a choice makes a claim about a specific stretch of time, check the passage's own time phrases first - here that tucked-in parenthetical decides it.

Answer: B

prragya
GMATNinja
I’m confused about why B is considered better supported than D. The passage says Edison and Westinghouse were the “two pioneer innovators,” but B interprets this as “Edison’s equal,” which is not explicitly stated.

D says Westinghouse was more important during his lifetime than later historians considered him, which seems reasonably supported by the passage’s contrast between the prevailing view and later historians’ “comparative neglect.”

What makes B a reasonable inference while D incorrect? Here both options add wording not explicitly stated in the passage.
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GMATNinja
I’m confused about why B is considered better supported than D. The passage says Edison and Westinghouse were the “two pioneer innovators,” but B interprets this as “Edison’s equal,” which is not explicitly stated.

D says Westinghouse was more important during his lifetime than later historians considered him, which seems reasonably supported by the passage’s contrast between the prevailing view and later historians’ “comparative neglect.”

What makes B a reasonable inference while D incorrect? Here both options add wording not explicitly stated in the passage.
I’d say the key difference is that D directly contradicts the timeline in the passage.

The passage says Edison and Westinghouse were regarded as the two “pioneer innovators” during their lifetimes and for decades afterward. So historians in the decades immediately following Westinghouse’s death did not consider him less important. The neglect came from more recent historians.

(B) is a reasonable paraphrase: calling both men the two “pioneer innovators” places Westinghouse on essentially the same level as Edison as an innovator. “Equal” here means comparable in status, not identical in every respect.
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