Explanation
This question might sound like it's going to be obvious at
first, but then the answer choices match up with the passage in a tricky
manner. We can pretty quickly rule out (A) and (B) based on our understanding
of the passage. But answer choices (D) and (E) both echo some of the language
in lines 27-30: "...internet adoption has nothing to do with race per se and
everything to do with some or all of the factors age, educational attainment,
and household income." We must go searching for objective defects. Choice (E)
is actually quite bold, because there are countless possible factors that we
could stipulate, some ludicrous, to explain different rates of broadband
adoption. We have no reason to think that the author believes those ludicrous
explanations would be better. In fact, the author implies that race is a
relevant explanation, just a misleading one, by stating that "lead us back to the fact that African Americans have a lower
average household income than white Americans" (lines 33-36). Race is clearly
involved; it's just not the best explanation. So (E) is out. Choice (D), also,
is less reasonable than it might sound at first. It would be a very specific
suggestion, one the author does not make, to say that the rates of broadband
internet adoption should be explained by a composite variable of age,
education, and income--a single, composite variable X, say. That is a specific proposal that was not included. Finally,
after line 36, she goes on to refer solely to household income as the primary
explanation for the adoption rates.
Therefore, the correct answer is (C).
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