单选题 6. There are many structural and thematic similarities between Piers Plowman by Langland (1330-1400) and House of Fame by Chaucer (1342-1400), two Middle English poems relating dream visions. Some critics have argued that because a number of the shared elements are uncommon in Middle English poetry, and because Langland's poem probably predates Chaucer's by a few years, Chaucer was most likely influenced by Piers Plowman when writing House of Fame.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the critics' argument? ______

A、 Piers Plowman is one of Langland's major works, whereas House of Fame is a minor work of Chaucer's
B、 House of Fame survives in only three manuscript copies, substantially fewer than the number of manuscript copies that exist of Piers Plowman.
C、 Because Piers Plowman became a well-known work in its day, it is likely that the similarities between it and House of Fame were detected by many of the people who read House of Fame soon after Chaucer wrote it.
D、 Many of the themes and structures of Piers Plowman are also found in Latin, Italian, French works with which Chaucer could well have been familiar.
E、 There is no evidence that Chaucer and Langland ever met or that they corresponded with each other about literary topics.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】 D：该选项说明两部作品之间的共同点可能并不是乔叟被郎兰影响所得到的，而是乔叟很熟悉其他语言的作品，而这些语言的作品又碰巧和郎兰的作品很像。该选项属于“直接削弱结论”，正确。
A：本文要论证的是两个作家谁影响谁。与各自作品分别是主要作品还是次要作品没有关系，故不选。
B：现存的手稿数量和谁影响谁没有关系，故不选。
C：该选项讨论的是什么样的读者发现了两部作品的相似性，与文章想要论证的内容无关，故不选。
E：根据文章，我们看不出是否见面以及通信和郎兰对乔叟产生影响有什么关系，故不选。