PrepTest 141, Section 4, Question 7
Critic: The perennial image of the "city on(71 more words not shown)
The critic's reasoning most closely(8 more words not shown)
- AA civic building(16 more words not shown)
- BA city needs(11 more words not shown)
- CA civic building(11 more words not shown)
- DThe downtown area(15 more words not shown)
- EThe purpose of(15 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A hilltop gives the concert hall a spectacular view. Does it help people use the building together?
The critic's contrast pushes me toward accessibility. The concert hall sits far from the city's center, while the successful museum sits in a densely populated downtown area. The museum helps bring people together and makes the city feel more alive. Physical height isn't what makes that happen.
So my first thought is that the important distinction concerns where people are, not how high the building is. But we should keep the critic's actual claim in view: both buildings are civic buildings. The question is whether they successfully serve their purpose, not whether the concert hall qualifies for that label.
What we’re looking for
We're asked for a principle that fits the reasoning. Look for what makes the museum a success and explains the critic's concern about the concert hall's location. A rule about a building's civic purpose would make that comparison hang together.
Working the answers
- A
The critic never recommends elevated sites. The hilltop is spectacular, but the concert hall's distance from the center is precisely why the critic thinks it fails. Nothing says a downtown building would do its job better if it also sat on higher ground.
- B
Civic buildings can encourage social cohesion without being the only way to achieve it. The passage praises a museum's contribution; it doesn't establish that a city cannot have social cohesion unless it has civic buildings. B turns a helpful contribution into a requirement.
- C
This treats a spectacular site as something a civic building with an important purpose should have. The critic's example points the other way: a spectacular location doesn't establish that the purpose is fulfilled. The passage offers no rule requiring impressive sites.
- D
This changes the subject from what civic buildings should accomplish to how the surrounding downtown should be designed. The critic uses the museum's downtown location as part of a successful example, but gives no recommendation that the area be redesigned around its buildings.
- ECorrect
Bringing people together and making the city more alive are the relevant goals. The museum illustrates a building achieving them; the distant concert hall illustrates the critic's concern that a building can miss them. E clarifies why the location matters: accessibility serves the civic purpose. Being on a hill is neither that purpose nor a substitute for fulfilling it.
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