PrepTest 108, Section 3, Question 15
A survey of historians shows that most believe(39 more words not shown)
The reasoning in the argument(9 more words not shown)
- Athere are no(12 more words not shown)
- Bpainting, architecture, music,(12 more words not shown)
- Cthere are no(15 more words not shown)
- Dsomething other than(9 more words not shown)
- Ethe other sources(15 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Not the best doesn't mean neglected.
If I called To Kill a Mockingbird the best novel, that wouldn't mean I refused to read or value every other novel. I could admire many books while putting one first. The same distinction applies to historical sources: a historian could prefer written texts while still using paintings, music, or architecture carefully.
The survey tells us most historians rank written texts first and none rank the listed arts first. It doesn't tell us how much attention they give those arts. It also doesn't say every historian picked written texts; some could favor a source outside the list.
What we’re looking for
The conclusion turns that ranking into neglect. For the flaw question, I want an answer identifying the missing middle: a source can be useful and receive attention without being anyone's top choice. The argument assumes that failing to rank something best means failing to give it proper attention.
Working the answers
- A
The argument doesn't need written texts and the arts to exhaust every possible source. Another source could exist and still leave the same flawed inference about the listed arts. The issue is how those historians treat sources they don't rank first, not whether every possible source appears in the passage.
- B
Painting or music could matter for aesthetic enjoyment as well as historical understanding. The author doesn't have to deny that to criticize the historians' use of them. B adds an “only” claim about the arts' value that the reasoning doesn't require.
- CCorrect
Unpack the wording: a source that is neither considered best nor neglected would be a source historians don't rank first but still pay attention to. That is exactly the middle category the argument overlooks.
C says there are no sources in that category. If that were assumed, then not being considered best would force a source into the neglected category. But the survey never establishes that restriction. Historians could place written texts first and still learn extensively from the arts. The conclusion treats those compatible attitudes as if they couldn't coexist.
- D
Written texts might really be the best source. That wouldn't prevent historians from neglecting other useful sources, and it wouldn't prove that they do neglect them. The argument criticizes the attention given to other sources, not the accuracy of the top ranking itself.
- E
This says the other sources are not important repositories of knowledge. The conclusion describes the neglected repositories as important, so E goes in the wrong direction. The author needs the arts to have historical value for neglecting them to be the stated criticism; the flaw is inferring neglect from their failure to rank first.
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