Teacher Discussion Forums

Hi! I have a question about the following question in
the reading section.

The question says;

According to the passage, how many books did
Twain write in the two-year period starting
in 1892?

In the passage, it says

He wrote "A connecticut Yankee in King
Arthur's Court" (1892), "An American Claimant" (1892),
"Tom Sawyer Abroad" (1893), and "Pudd'nhead Wilson" (1894).

According to the TOEFL textbook, the right answer is "four books",
but if it is two-year period, wouldn't the answer be "three books"?
My student thought the same thing.

Would anyone let me know why the answer to this question is
four books and not three, and what "two-year period" means exactly?

Thank you so much!!

I think that the textbook gave you the answer it did, simply because the writers did't devote too much thought into the issue and expected students to regurgitate the information provided without pausing to think.

The crux of the matter is that we don't know which point the "starting in 1892" refers to - it could be any day from the first of January to the 31st of December, and we don't get an accurate completion date for Pudd'nhead Wilson, either - so it can't really be decided on using the information that we've been given exclusively.

I think the writers of the passage just wanted you to identify the section where this particular bit of information is provided, and count the titles given.

Textbooks are sometimes shockingly sloppily made, and I wouldn't worry too much about it, if I were you.

With kind regards, Eva