Question

The phrase "It was no accident"(line $1$) implies that the author of Passage $1$ believes that Darwin.

• A. Knew that the resemblance between dogs and humans could not be accounted for by his theory
• B. Exploited the sympathies of his audience to gain support for his theory
• C. Considered intelligence to be largely a matter of luck
• D. Believed that the way previous authors had written about dogs was inaccurate
• E. Wished to convince the public to celebrate the virtues of dogs

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

Exploited the sympathies of his audience to gain support for his theory

The author of the first passage states that when Darwin set out to make the idea of evolutionary continuity acceptable to the population at large, he made a conscious decision to exploit the emotions that people have towards dogs. This claim is supported by the following extract:

"It was no accident that nineteenth-century naturalist Charles Darwin strove to connect the mentality and emotionality of people with that of dogs, rather than, say, doves or horses. Neither his theory of evolution nor any general understanding of biology demanded that he preferentially underline our similarity to dogs over other species. But politically and emotionally, the choice was

inevitable for an English gentleman who had set himself the task of making the idea of evolutionary continuity palatable."

Thus B is the best answer.