PrepTest 128, Section 2, Question 1
Mysterious ancient tracks cut into limestone have recently(55 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(11 more words not shown)
- AAreas near the(15 more words not shown)
- BSome of the(12 more words not shown)
- CSome terrain on(18 more words not shown)
- DHistorically, inhabitants of(12 more words not shown)
- EAround 1000 B.C.,(8 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What made these tracks, and when? They might have been roads between homes, markets, or water sources. Some now disappear under buildings, which could fit an old network that people later built over. But those possibilities don't settle their origin.
The archaeologist makes a more specific claim: animal-drawn carts cut the tracks around 1000 B.C. I can imagine carts traveling those routes, but how do we know that was the mechanism? And where does that date come from? The reference to their appearance and surroundings doesn't give us enough detail to answer those questions ourselves.
What we’re looking for
We need evidence supporting that particular hypothesis. Evidence about the tracks' age would help, as would evidence connecting animal transport with those routes at the relevant time. I don't have a precise prediction for what the evidence will be. I do want to keep both parts of the hypothesis in view: how the tracks were made and approximately when.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
A large amount of animal excrement near the tracks places animals in the right area around 1000 B.C. That fits both the proposed use of animals and the proposed period. It doesn't prove that those animals pulled carts or cut the tracks, but it gives the archaeologist's account additional support. A strengthening answer can make a hypothesis more plausible without establishing it conclusively.
- B
This supports the possibility that the tracks connected water sources. But the archaeologist's hypothesis concerns animal-drawn carts around 1000 B.C. Today's water connections don't establish how or when the tracks were made. Keep the specific claim separate from the other possibilities mentioned in the passage.
- C
Some terrain being easier to cross on foot tells us little about these tracks. A flat field could be easier to cross than a steep hill whether carts made the tracks or something else did. We need evidence about their origin, not a general comparison of terrain.
- D
Animal-drawn carts need not have been an innovation by the people of Malta. They could have used technology already available elsewhere. Their historical level of inventiveness doesn't connect these tracks to that method or that date.
- E
Abandoning settlements around the proposed date doesn't tell us what made the tracks. Those tracks could predate the abandonment, follow it, or have nothing to do with the abandoned settlements. Sharing an approximate date isn't enough to support the proposed explanation.
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