Question

passage 1
dragons do not exist. however, a brief look at any western nation’s myths might suggest otherwise. virtually all civilizations have stories of some type of dragon. and in western nations, the stories typically tell of a hero arising to challenge and defeat the dragon, and, in doing so, making the place safe for civilization. in england, there is the story of st. george and the dragon. in scandinavian countries, a dragon called the lindworm terrorized people. provence, france has the story of the tarasque, a dragon that was tamed by christianity. greeks told the story of cadmus fighting the ismenian dragon. the list goes on.
some have pointed to the abundance of dragon tales and said, “aha, then it must be true that dragons existed at one point.” please! that’s preposterous. there is no fossil evidence to support belief in actual dragons. rather, it seems more likely that the belief in a monster that resembles a dragon is founded in a couple shared sources. for one, man has long been afraid of creatures that are dragon - like. snakes, lizards, and other serpents seem hostile and foreign to us mammals. second, the basic story of civilization is that man arrived from a dangerous natural world, conquered it, and helped create a civilized world. slaying a dragon is a strong metaphor for killing the dangers of the world. if it wasn’t a dragon, it would be something else scary. thus, the need for something to represent fear and the fact that man finds serpents scary combined to create dragon myths.
the main function of paragraph 2 of passage 1 is to
highlight text
a explain the author’s main point about beowulf
b prove that dragon stories are common around the world
c introduce the author’s main argument
d refute a common argument about dragon stories

Explanation:

First, analyze each option:

• Option A: The paragraph doesn't discuss Beowulf, so A is incorrect.
• Option B: The paragraph's main focus isn't to prove dragon stories are common globally (it's more about refuting the idea dragons existed). So B is wrong.
• Option C: The paragraph starts by mentioning a common argument ("if there are so many stories, dragons must have existed") and then refutes it, not introducing the author's main argument yet. So C is incorrect.
• Option D: The paragraph addresses the argument that dragon tales imply dragons existed ("Some have pointed to the abundance of dragon tales...") and then refutes it by stating there's no fossil evidence and suggesting the belief comes from fear of serpent - like creatures. So it refutes a common argument about dragon stories.

Answer:

D. refute a common argument about dragon stories