Self-study
Support Sometimes when their trainer gives the hand signal for "Do something creative together," two dolphins circle a pool in tandem and then leap through the air simultaneously. ██ █████ █████████ ███ ████ ██████ ███████ ████████████ ████████ █████ ██ ████████████ █████ █████████ ███ ███ ██████ ███████ █████████ ██ █ █████ █████████ ███████ ████████ ███ ███████ ██ ██████ █████████ █████████ ████ ███ ███████ ███ ███ ██ ████████ ███ ████████████
Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author concludes dolphins have advanced cognitive abilities, possibly including language and foresight. Why? Because two particular dolphins sometimes show different, synchronized reactions to the same hand signal by their trainer.
Notable Assumptions
The author assumes there’s no explanation for the dolphins’ behavior besides their having complex brain functions. In particular, he assumes the dolphins’ movements are original and not planned by a human in any way. To conclude dolphins can use language, the author must assume they communicate before performing their synchronized actions.
11.
Which one of the following, ██ █████ ████ ███████████ ███ █████████
a
Mammals have some ███████████ ██ ███ ███████ ████ ███████ ██ ██████ ████████ ███ █████ ██████████
This is irrelevant, whether it refers to individuals or whole species. Similarity between animals does not itself account for their ability to perform synchronized actions, nor does it suggest they have complex thought processes.
b
The dolphins often ███████ ███████ ███ █████████ ██ ███ ████ ███████
This strengthens the argument because the originality of the dolphins’ movements supports the author’s subconclusion: they aren’t just rehearsing responses to a stimulus.
c
The dolphins are █████ ████ ██████████ ██ ████ ██ █████ █████████
This is irrelevant. It doesn’t say the dolphins are coaxed with food to perform the particular actions described, nor that a potential food reward makes their cognitive responses necessarily complex.
d
Dolphins do not ████████ ████ ██████ ███ ███ ████ ████████ ████ ███ ████████
This doesn’t mean dolphins communicate using language or display complex thought processes. They may interact differently simply because they’re reacting to different stimuli.
e
Some of the █████████ █████████ ███ █████████ ██ ████████ ██ █████ ███████ ████████
This isn’t relevant without knowing which behaviors are exhibited naturally. It doesn’t say the dolphins naturally perform synchronized reactions or respond to the same stimulus in various ways.