PrepTest 151, Section 4, Question 4

What we’re looking for

Working the answers

• A

  The number of works seen isn't the time spent with each one. A visitor could spend less time per work and leave the museum sooner, rather than looking at more pieces. The critic's argument doesn't require an increase in the number of works viewed during a visit.

• B

  Taking quick pictures might help explain why people move on quickly, but the cause of their speed isn't needed for the critic's inference. Visitors could move quickly for another reason, or not take pictures at all. The argument uses the brief viewing as evidence of reduced engagement, whatever causes it.

• C

  Enjoyment and engagement aren't interchangeable. Someone could look closely at a disturbing work without enjoying the experience, or enjoy a quick visit. The critic claims people are less willing to engage, not that a longer visit would make them happier. C adds a judgment the reasoning doesn't depend on.

• D

  This is tempting. If visitors study their photos later, perhaps they haven't stopped engaging with art; they've changed when they do it. That would be a concern worth investigating.

  But the passage only says visitors perhaps take a snapshot. We don't know how many do. Imagine that only one percent take pictures. Even if those people regularly look at them later, that wouldn't establish that visitors generally maintain their engagement. The critic doesn't have to claim that these photographers rarely revisit their pictures in order to argue for an overall decline. D focuses on a possibly small subset.

• E
  Correct

  This identifies a different missing connection from the historical comparison I first noticed: does viewing time tell us how much someone engages with the work?

  Suppose a visitor could engage closely in fifteen seconds. A brief stop wouldn't automatically indicate little engagement. The critic uses time as evidence of engagement, so that measure needs to be reliable. E protects that link. It doesn't supply the missing history or answer every question about photographs; a required assumption can defend one part of the reasoning without completing the entire argument.