Explanation
Correct answer: D.
Choice D is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Polynesian languages. In this context, “modest” means relatively limited or small. The text begins with a statement about the array, or number, of consonant sounds in these languages. It then gives examples of one Polynesian language that has nine consonants and one that has eight consonants before noting that the global median number of consonants per language is more than twenty-two; in other words, the numbers of consonants in the Polynesian examples are well below the global median number. This context conveys that the text is making the point that the Polynesian languages have a modest array of consonant sounds.
Why the other choices are wrong
Choice A
Choice A is incorrect. In this context, “unvarying” would mean unchanging. The text focuses on comparing the typical numbers of consonant sounds in Polynesian languages to the global median number of consonants per language, not on conveying that the number of consonant sounds in Polynesian languages typically doesn’t vary; the text makes no mention of the number of consonants changing within a language or language group.
Choice B
Choice B is incorrect because the text is focused on the quantity of consonant sounds in Polynesian languages, not the idea that those consonants are “musical,” or pleasantly harmonious and like music; the text discusses only the numbers of consonants in Polynesian languages and the global median number of consonants per language, not the way consonants sound.
Choice C
Choice C is incorrect. In this context, “exclusive” would mean limited to a single group. The text discusses the typical numbers of consonant sounds in Polynesian languages and gives two examples of languages with consonant numbers below the global median number of consonants per language, but it doesn’t suggest that the array, or number, of consonant sounds in Polynesian languages is exclusive to those languages—that is, that Polynesian languages are the only ones with eight to nine consonants.