Hi,
According to me
P1: why speech is comprehensible to us and two factors that influence our understanding of it
P2: acoustic clues and their extent
MP: Discuss about factors that influence our understanding of the speech
1. The first paragraph of the passage implies which of the following concerning sound and communication?
For this question refer to paragraph 1 and focus on the redundancy and our ability to make predictions
A. A lack of redundancy in certain signals does not preclude communication. -
nowhere is mentioned a lack of redundancyB. The excess of sound encoded in speech serves as an encumbrance to the exchange of information. -
there is no excess of sound but probably an excess of information(redundancy)C. Many features of a sound can be lost without necessarily compromising communication between two speakers. -
refer to this part "the wide range of frequencies found in every signal presents us with far more information than we need in order to recognize what is being said." this clearly states that there is a great part of the sound which is unnecessary. this is the correct choice in line with prethinkingD. The human processing of acoustic sound does not depend on contextual factors. -
opposite. in P1 it's mentioned that context helps actuallyE. Some languages depend on social cues in order for speakers to be mutually intelligible. -
some languages are not discussed and this relation is not mentioned as well since contextual clues help us but are not mandatory for understanding2. The primary purpose of the passage is to
refer to MP formulation
A. recommend a particular means of learning about a complex phenomenon -
there is no recommendation with regards to specific means of learning. In the end it is recommended a different approach but we don't know which one B. point out the shortcomings in a line of research -
some shortcomings are pointed out in the very last part of the passage but for sure it is not broad enough to be the main point. Plus nowhere research is mentionedC. explain a process and discuss why one approach will not yield desirable results -
"explain a process" refers to P1 and "discuss why one approach will not yield desirable results" refers clearly to P2. correctD. prescribe an approach to understand with greater specificity a physiological process -
no approach is prescribed but it is suggested. plus this choice even if correct it would encompass just the purpose of P2 E. warn researchers against relying on a specific methodology -
no warning mentioned and no researchers mentioned3. The main reason that the author of the passage discounts using a purely acoustic analysis to understand the way in which humans are able to recognize sounds is that
refer to P2 and especially to :"It is not possible to obtain this information simply by carrying out an acoustic analysis of natural speech: this would tell us what acoustic information is present but not what features of the signal are actually used by listeners in order to identify speech sounds."
Here the reasoning is that this approach would give us factual information but no way to interpret and hence to understand what we are hearing
A. the physical properties of speech and the perception of those physical properties are qualitatively different -
this answer choice highlights a difference that is in line with our prethinkingB. redundancy, or the excess of information, typically ensures that a signal is faithfully transmitted between two speakers -
out of context hereC. no two people process the same cue in exactly the same way -
this is not what is meant by the passage and it is nowhere mentionedD. the relevant distinguishing features of a sound tend to merge different cues into a generalized sound so as to render any analysis ineffectual -
this is too extreme since we do not know whether all the analysis would be ineffectualE. humans ignore certain features of the acoustic sound that may figure prominently into the perception of sound -
human understanding of the reasons behind perception of sound is not discussed and it's irrelevant hereHope this helps,
Any feedback on the reasoning and on paragraph summaries and main point formulation will be much appreciated!