PrepTest 151, Section 4, Question 20
According to a theory embraced by some contemporary(46 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(10 more words not shown)
- AThe human ability(20 more words not shown)
- BIt will be(21 more words not shown)
- CThe fact that(26 more words not shown)
- DMusic that opposes(21 more words not shown)
- EMusicians whose music(13 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Is every series of sounds music? A conversation or an explosion might make me question that description. But the passage isn't asking us to settle the definition; it reports a theory these musicians accept. The key claim is that music has no meaning.
Then the musicians explain their intentions before performing. The author treats that explanation as a problem for their theory: even their own music supposedly isn't meaningless.
Does explaining an intention give the music meaning?
What we’re looking for
That's the missing connection. Perhaps the explanation merely tells the audience what to expect, without making the sounds mean anything. Or perhaps the intentions do give the performance meaning. To make the conclusion follow, we need a rule connecting those explanations with music that isn't meaningless.
Working the answers
- A
Very difficult isn't impossible. Even if people readily attach meaning to things, these musicians might succeed at producing meaningless music. A doesn't establish that their explanations of intentions prevent their own music from fitting the theory. We need that specific connection, not a general obstacle to creating meaningless work.
- B
This makes audience acceptance a requirement for creating meaningless music. But we aren't told that listeners cannot accept the theory. The musicians try to encourage acceptance; that doesn't establish the required condition is absent. B leaves open whether their music can be meaningless and doesn't connect explaining intentions with meaning.
- C
The comparison concerns what audiences find more appealing. Even if music with meaning is more appealing, that doesn't show these musicians' work has meaning. Their effort to encourage acceptance could fail, or audiences might accept something less appealing. The argument needs a fact about the meaning of this music, not a preference between two kinds.
- D
Being less likely to enjoy unconventional music is different from that music having meaning. Audience enjoyment could vary while the music remained meaningless under the theory. D doesn't turn the explanation of intentions into the meaning needed to establish the conclusion.
- ECorrect
If musicians' music has no meaning, E says they do not introduce their performances by explaining their intentions. But these musicians do give those explanations. Their music therefore cannot belong to the no-meaning group described by E.
That supplies the missing connection. Their theory treats music as meaningless, while E and their actual behavior establish that their own music isn't. The conclusion now follows without needing to decide whether the audience enjoys the performance or accepts the theory.
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