PrepTest 153, Section 4, Question 24
Social historians have noted that European social and(452 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- Adescription of a(13 more words not shown)
- Bexplanation of the(18 more words not shown)
- Cidentification of the(16 more words not shown)
- Dsummary of the(15 more words not shown)
- Eidentification of the(20 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Map the progression before choosing a structural description. The opening introduces grand theories and their tendency toward determinism. The second paragraph explains their loss of authority. The final paragraph considers why we miss them, then recommends a perspective that can explain history without making it inevitable.
What we’re looking for
In broad terms: identify the old approach and its problem, then discuss a more flexible alternative.
Working the answers
- A
The discussion concerns events that failed to fit the theories, not examples establishing their predictive accuracy. We also aren't given a series of specific historical examples. This turns the criticism into support.
- B
The author explains their declining influence but doesn't then defend their rigor. Recognizing that people found them satisfying is not a defense of their truth or explanatory adequacy.
- CCorrect
The common mistake is treating history as governed by universal, necessary laws. The alternative makes room for particular, unrepeatable events and for laws that constrain without dictating every outcome. Those are the two major parts of the argument.
- D
The final paragraph considers what kind of historical explanation we should adopt. It isn't chiefly predicting what will happen to the influence of Freud, Marx, or the old group of grand theories. A recommended replacement differs from speculation about the group's future.
- E
The opening does distinguish psychological from economic explanations. But those differences are brief examples within a shared category, not the focus of what follows. The rest examines their common limitation and the alternative to it.
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