I believe it’s “both passages explain how despite threats and intimidation.....”
A. Best the reason why it is not better (even though it sounds right) is because it says "out of the five cousins" there for we are comparing ben to five other people and he is the best.
The sound of similar sounding word usage can make the state of mind or tone of a ballad or bit of composition.For example Gentler sounds like "h" or "l" may make a more reflective or sentimental state of mind or tone. The monotonous sounds in similar sounding word usage work with different components like meter and word decision to make the coveted state of mind or tone.
