Explanation
1. Choices A and B are correct.
Choice A is correct: the tlamatinime are mentioned in the first sentence of the second paragraph, where it says they were able to use Nahuatl’s stock of abstract terms “to
express the nuances of their thought.” This suggests that there is some evidence of what those thoughts were, and therefore Choice A can be inferred.
Choice B is correct: according to the next sentence, Nahuatl speakers used “forms of expression with metaphorical meaning,” some of which were probably “original” and others “derived from Toltec coinages.” That researchers know certain Nahuatl expressions are derived from Toltec suggests that they are able to trace the derivation of some Nahuatl expressions from another language besides Nahuatl, and therefore Choice B may be inferred.
Choice C is incorrect: the passage says that in Nahuatl there are single compound words that can express conceptual relations of an “abstract universal character” and mentions “other forms of expression with metaphorical meaning,” but it does not indicate whether metaphorical words or phrases are the only way that abstract universal concepts are expressed in Nahuatl, or whether researchers believe this about Nahuatl.
Therefore Choice C cannot be inferred.
2. The passage introduces two specific Nahuatl modes of expression. One is the formation of single compound words that are capable of expressing complex conceptual relations
(first paragraph); the other is the juxtaposition of two related words to evoke a single idea (second paragraph). In the formation of compounds Nahuatl is described as being
“like Greek and German,” but the second mode is not identified as being shared with other languages. Therefore the sixth sentence (“Of these forms . . . one single idea”) is
the best choice.
3.“Coinage” has two senses that are represented among the answer choices: in one sense it denotes coins and currency, while in the other it denotes things — especially words —
that are invented. The fifth sentence draws a contrast between linguistic expressions original to Nahuatl and those derived from Toltec. In this context of original versus
derived language, “coinages” means “inventions,” not “currencies.” Of the answer choices given, “creations” is the nearest equivalent of “coinages” in the sense of “inventions,”
and therefore Choice B is the best answer.