PrepTest 124, Section 4, Question 7
In England the burden of history weighs heavily(428 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AThe residual influences(20 more words not shown)
- BIn the academic(19 more words not shown)
- CCommon law, while(29 more words not shown)
- DAlthough obviously steeped(23 more words not shown)
- EAlthough usually studied(27 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We've already predicted the main point: scholars have neglected English common law's historical development, and Goodrich proposes studying it as an evolving tradition. We want that contrast, including how common law is studied. Saying only that old law influences the present would leave out the central criticism.
Working the answers
- A
The opening does show history shaping legal subjects and terminology. Those examples establish why history matters; they don't capture the criticism of academic study or Goodrich's alternative.
- B
The theoretical and political considerations both help explain the same neglect of history. They aren't competing interpretations that the writer sets against each other.
- C
The changing-law language is tempting, but common law isn't described as an oral history. An unwritten code doesn't establish that its history is transmitted only through speech; the opening itself mentions cases students study. Universal adaptability also goes beyond the stated claim.
- DCorrect
This captures the mismatch between common law's historical character and the way it has generally been studied. The theorist proposing attention to its development is Goodrich. Its wording differs from our prediction, but the relationship is right.
- E
The discussion questions a picture of law as uniformly logical. It doesn't conclude that common law is altogether unfair. That broader attack replaces the actual point about how to study it.
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