Question: \section{Passage $\mathrm{V}$}
In linguistics, metathesis refers to the reversal of phonemes in a word. This can come about by accident, as in the common mispronunciation "aks" for ask or the common (and correct) pronunciation of iron as "i-orn." It may come about on purpose, as in various language games.
Accidental metathesis may be a process that takes place in the evolution of languages. Over time, for example, the Latin words miraculum, periculum, and parabola evolved into the Spanish words milagro, peligro, and palabra. Linguists posit that such changes usually occur when two consonants are of the same type, with similar mouth formations needed to create each one.
The Reverend Archibald Spooner, an Oxford dean, was known for his unintentional transpositions and gave his name to the particular metathesis he represented: Spoonerisms. Most famous Spoonerisms once attributed to Spooner are now believed to be apocryphal, but they are nevertheless amusing; for example, his supposed advice to a substandard student: "You have deliberately tasted two worms and will leave Oxford by the next town drain." Spoonerisms are funny when the metathesis involved changes one word into another, and they seem to lend themselves particularly well to off-color jokes.
Everyone is familiar with Pig Latin, in which initial consonant sounds are moved to the end of a word and followed with the syllable "ay." This is not pure metathesis, but it begins with the kind of metathesis known as backslang, in which syllables or letters in a word are reversed to produce a private code. Pig Latin may have begun as a language spoken in prisoner-of-war camps; it was certainly used in such camps during World War II and in Vietnam.
In Pig Latin, the phrase "Over the river and through the woods" becomes "Overay uhthay iverray anday oughthray uhthay oodsway." In other variations of Pig Latin, it might instead be "Overway uhthay iverray andway oughthray uhthay oodsway." There are computer programs that translate from English to Pig Latin and back again, and there is even a version of the Bible written entirely in Pig Latin. For the most part, however, outside of prisoner-of-war camps, Pig Latin is a funny code used by children.
French children and teenagers use a similar code. Called verlan (a reversal of l'envers, or "reversal"), it is trickier than Pig Latin because it relies much more on phonetics than on spelling. In verlan, the word café becomes féca, but the word tomber ("to fall") becomes béton. Verlan becomes even more complex in words that end in silent $e$ or which have only one syllable. While just a few words from Pig Latin have entered the vernacular (for example, amscray and ixnay), many verlan words are common lingo in France.
Historically, for reasons that are not quite clear, butchers have been frequent users of metathesis, creating their own backslang to converse without being understood by patrons. In France, this is called louchébem (boucher, or "butcher," with the first consonant moved to the end and the letter $l$ placed in front). In Australia, it is known as rechtub klat. That name, of course, represents the ultimate in metathesis-the reversal of letters instead of merely syllables.
The author's claim that most Spoonerisms are apocryphal could BEST be supported by the inclusion of:

Options:
A. a list of transpositions attributed to the Reverend Spooner
B. examples of modern-day transpositions based on famous Spoonerisms
C. interviews with Spooner's contemporaries denying their authenticity
D. Spooner's own letters to relatives, colleagues, and friends
Answer: If most Spoonerisms are apocryphal, or fictional, that would not be proved by a list of attributed transpositions (choice A), which would simply seem to support their authenticity. Examples of modern-day transpositions (choice B) would do nothing to support or deny the authenticity of Spoonerisms, and Spooner's letters (choice D) would not help because his transpositions, if they existed, were oral, not written. Interviews with people who knew Spooner (choice C) would be the best way to settle the issue one way or the other. The correct answer is C.