Explanation
Correct answer: C.
Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately describes the overall structure of the text. The text begins by describing batik fabric and the method for producing it—designs are applied in wax on the fabric, after which the fabric is dyed. The text then indicates that a “canting” (a pen-shaped tool) is traditionally used to apply the wax finely in lines or dots, and that “the cap” (a copper stamp of an entire pattern) is another, faster way to apply the wax design. Finally, the text states that the cap has the advantage of making batik production quicker, whereas a canting tends to produce a more unique design, which often makes a batik created using a canting more desirable than a mass-produced one. Thus, the text presents a method of textile production, identifies two approaches to that method, and addresses the relative advantage of each approach.
Why the other choices are wrong
Choice A
Choice A is incorrect. Although the text describes making the textile batik with a canting and with the cap, both approaches are for making the same type of textile (batik). No other type of textile is mentioned in the text.
Choice B
Choice B is incorrect. Although the text indicates when batik originated (perhaps the 6th century CE), it doesn’t describe how it originated. And although the text indicates that a batik created using a canting “is often preferred” over mass-produced batiks, nothing in the text suggests that this preference is a recent trend.
Choice D
Choice D is incorrect. Although the text indicates that the batik artists “skillfully” apply the wax designs that create the batik patterns, the overall discussion in the text describes factual aspects of the process of batik production without seeming to advocate for greater recognition of the art form.