Second version is clearer standalone, but the original quote is the last paragraph of an article that built up the very concepts that look "unclear" when that quote is posted standalone.

FWIW, I don't see any special nuance here. The phrasing is just being precise, and addresses specifically the concepts it introduced earlier.

(Also the "clearer" version is slightly inaccurate rendition of the quote - the original one doesn't imply that the models don't know most tests aren't alignment evals. The article gives more context here - the models may or may not know that, they just don't act as if they cared about it in the first place - i.e. they don't display "Eval Awareness" in their behavior.)