PrepTest 153, Section 4, Question 22
Social historians have noted that European social and(452 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- ASocial historians argue(17 more words not shown)
- BGrand theories were(16 more words not shown)
- CThough seductive in(21 more words not shown)
- DThe decline of(21 more words not shown)
- EThough grand theories(12 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We've already predicted the main point: grand theories overreached by treating history as fully determined, and we should replace that rigid approach with explanations that allow for contingency and particular events. An answer that only criticizes the old theories will stop before the recommendation.
What we’re looking for
Keep the ending in view. We can still have a coherent historical explanation without insisting that every event had to happen exactly as it did.
Working the answers
- A
This covers the theories' later inadequacy but leaves out the alternative the author recommends. It also attributes the problem specifically to the complexity of twentieth-century events, whereas the discussion emphasizes events that don't fit supposedly universal explanations.
- B
The author allows that these works could be plausible explanations of earlier phenomena. Their failure to supply universal truths doesn't mean they couldn't explain even their own era. B also leaves out the proposed alternative.
- C
Associations with political injustice are one reason for diminished standing. They are not the whole argument, and being linked to injustice isn't the same as establishing that the theories caused it. The author doesn't identify universal truths they failed to incorporate; the recommendation is to recognize particular and contingent details.
- DCorrect
This includes both the criticism and the direction for improvement. The theories' decline exposes the problem with treating history as fully determined, while the ending urges attention to contingency. That captures why the author reviews their failure and what we should learn from it.
- E
The theories did provide satisfaction, but that attraction helps explain why people miss them. It isn't the conclusion. The author wants an approach that can still give narrative satisfaction while abandoning rigid historical inevitability.
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