PrepTest 139, Section 2, Question 13

Working the answers

• A

  Historians already trace influences on Valdez. The criticism is that they make the workers' contribution depend entirely on his vision, not that they treat him as largely uninfluenced by earlier forms. A also leaves out the author's qualification that his artistic contribution remained crucial.

• B

  Chávez supplies the political background, and Valdez approached him about organizing workers through theater. The author never says historians have neglected Chávez's contribution. The overlooked contributions discussed here are those of the farm workers and the carpas tradition.

• C
  Correct

  This matches both halves of our prediction. The creation was collective, yet Valdez's expertise helped determine the form it took. The last sentence explicitly calls his artistic contribution “a crucial one.”

• D

  The performers' talents matter, but this centers the explanation entirely on them. It omits the importance the author continues to assign to Valdez's guidance and training.

• E

  The collective endeavor is right; the claimed explanation of its recognition is not. We learn about Valdez's artistic training, not political or academic contacts bringing the group publicity. Expertise and useful connections are different things.