PrepTest 143, Section 4, Question 5
Many scholars are puzzled about who created the(61 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AThe abridgment was(3 more words not shown)
- BThe abridgment was(9 more words not shown)
- CThe abridgment was(12 more words not shown)
- DThe abridgement was(10 more words not shown)
- EThe abridgment was(11 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Who would remember one character's speeches accurately but handle everyone else's parts badly?
An actor who played that character comes to mind. The actor would have a reason to learn those particular lines especially well, while being less familiar with the other roles. That uneven knowledge fits the uneven accuracy of the shortened version of Hamlet.
The missing copy matters too. If the writer had a script in front of them, we would expect a different explanation for getting just one role right. Here, someone appears to be reconstructing the play without a copy, and one part stands out as much better remembered than the rest.
What we’re looking for
We're asked for the statement most supported by those clues. We don't need certainty about who wrote the abridgment. We need a conclusion that explains the particular pattern of knowledge, without adding an unsupported purpose for creating it.
Working the answers
- A
Why would Shakespeare know one character's speeches much better than all the others? He wrote the whole play. The evidence doesn't point to him, and the selective accuracy is more naturally explained by someone with special familiarity with one role.
- B
This offers a reason for shortening the play: making it easier to stage. We have no information about that purpose. The passage concerns the identity of the person who prepared the abridgment, and B doesn't explain the striking difference in accuracy among the parts.
- CCorrect
Someone who had acted in Hamlet would have had a reason to learn one role especially well. That helps explain the accurate speeches for one character alongside the poor handling of the others. Combined with the absence of a copy to consult, the evidence points toward an actor reconstructing what they knew of the play.
- D
A spectator could have heard the play, but why would that person reproduce one role so much more accurately than the rest? D doesn't give us the special connection to one character that playing the role would provide. Being possible isn't the same as being the best-supported account of these particular clues.
- E
The actor part fits, but the motive doesn't follow. We don't know whether the person wanted to improve the play, make money, or accomplish something else. C identifies the likely connection to Hamlet without adding a goal the passage never establishes.
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