PrepTest 146, Section 4, Question 20
Hundreds of clay tablets marked in cuneiform have(447 more words not shown)
It can be inferred from(10 more words not shown)
- Athere were many(9 more words not shown)
- Bnonagricultural goods and(10 more words not shown)
- Csome later tokens(7 more words not shown)
- Dthe storage and(15 more words not shown)
- Ethe token system(9 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Compare the early and later token forms. The early ones are cones, spheres, and pyramids. Some later forms are figurative bowls and jars: recognizable depictions of objects rather than just geometric shapes.
What we’re looking for
That supports a limited comparison between some tokens. We don't have to claim that every later token was less abstract, or that the entire development of writing moved in only one direction.
Working the answers
- A
A growing range of token forms doesn't tell us that many individual tokens each designated several kinds of item. More symbols and multiple meanings for one symbol are different things.
- B
The account doesn't say nonagricultural goods became preferred contributions to the pools. More varied crafts and tokens don't establish a change in what contributors or recipients preferred.
- CCorrect
Figurative bowls and jars resemble familiar objects more closely than the earlier simple geometric forms. In that sense, some later tokens were less abstract. This comparison concerns token shapes; it doesn't conflict with the eventual development of a flexible written system using separate signs.
- D
Jars and bowls don't establish that storing and transporting liquids were among the users' most important tasks. The claim adds a ranking that the objects alone cannot supply.
- E
The final paragraph explains the development of a new level of abstraction and flexibility, including separate signs for number, measure, and substance. It doesn't give the earlier token system the same expressive flexibility as the later writing.
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