PrepTest 135, Section 3, Question 17
The following passages are adapted from articles recently(479 more words not shown)
Passage A(256 more words not shown)
Passage B(216 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(36 more words not shown)
- AIt combines two(6 more words not shown)
- BIt is a(5 more words not shown)
- CThe laws pertaining(10 more words not shown)
- DThe blackmail victim(11 more words not shown)
- ECanadian and U.S.(9 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We need a statement that passes two checks: it is true in A's legal context and false in B's. Something A discusses more explicitly isn't enough; B might simply leave it unstated.
What we’re looking for
The clearest contrast is the status of the separate disclosure. A starts with two individually legal acts. B can prohibit the harmful disclosure itself, before anyone adds a demand for money.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
A explicitly says the two acts are each “legally permissible separately.” B doesn't provide that same starting point. Revealing shameful private information can itself be unlawful unless justified. The difference is in the legality of the underlying act, not whether a threat can involve several people.
- B
A emphasizes the triangle, but B doesn't say Roman blackmail lacked one. Someone could still threaten disclosure, a victim could still pay, and a third party's response could still supply the feared harm. A difference in emphasis isn't a difference in the transaction.
- C
This fails the first check. A says prosecutors must sometimes avoid enforcing the broadly written statutes literally. It doesn't say those laws are meant to be applied precisely as written.
- D
A states this explicitly, but B doesn't establish the opposite. Damage to someone's standing or reputation can still result from how other people react to disclosed information. B's different legal explanation doesn't remove those people.
- E
This reverses the accounts. B says Roman law had no special category. A describes blackmail as a crime with its own statutes, however imperfectly defined.
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