Question

The Article states:

Houses no longer needed those expensive high ceilings, airy windows, and front porches. Builders could mass produce cheap, centrally cooled houses that were widely affordable.


Why did the author include this passage?


To explain that air conditioning is necessary in houses with front porches
To explain that homes built before air conditioning weren't good
To demonstrate the need for more widely affordable houses
To show the impact of air conditioning on houses in American suburbs

Answer 1

To show the impact of air conditioning on houses in American suburbs.

Reason: the passage explains how air conditioning changed house design and construction—eliminating features like high ceilings and porches and enabling mass-produced, centrally cooled, affordable homes—so it illustrates AC's effect on suburban housing. The other options misstate the point (it’s not arguing AC is necessary for porches, nor claiming older homes were bad, nor simply arguing affordability without linking it to AC's impact).