Aren't you surprised how young she looks?

[kenny4528]

Hi,

Aren't you surprised how yound she looks?

1. Yes, I was surprised to learn she was so young.

2. Yes, it's hard to believe she's in her forties.

This is take from TOEIC TEST.

I chose 1. to be a correct answer, but 2. was in fact correct one. I guess why 1. is wrong is due to the tense misused. If I change it to the present tense, then it'd be fine:

1. Yes, I am surprised to learn she is so young.

Is my assumption right?

Thanks.

 

[bibliolept]

Maybe it's a question of logic?

If you're surprised at how young she looks (as opposed to how old she looks), then you would be surprised to learn how old she really is (rather than how young she really is).

In other words, (1) implies that you thought she was older than she is, while (2) implies that you thought she was younger than she is.

 

[kenny4528]

Maybe it's a question of logic?

If you're surprise at how young she looks (as opposed to how old she looks), then you would be surprised to learn how old she really is (rather than how young she really is).

In other words, (1) implies that you thought she was older than she is, while (2) implies that you thought she was younger than she is.

Thank you. It's kind of tricky to me.