According to the Simple View of Reading model, both word recognition and language comprehension are considered equally important for reading comprehension. Therefore, the correct option is: d. Both are equally important.
According to the Simple View of Reading, neither component alone is sufficient for reading comprehension. A person might be able to recognize words well but struggle with understanding the meaning (poor language comprehension), or vice versa. Both word recognition and language comprehension are considered equally essential, and their interaction determines the overall reading comprehension ability.
Therefore, the correct answer is that both word recognition and language comprehension are equally important according to the Simple View of Reading model.