PrepTest 154, Section 2, Question 18
Anthropologists have long debated whether the customs of(74 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(33 more words not shown)
- AIt is the(6 more words not shown)
- BIt is a(9 more words not shown)
- CIt is a(13 more words not shown)
- DIt is a(19 more words not shown)
- EIt is a(15 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Do customs always preserve a culture? Imagine a custom of burning old artifacts. At first, that sounds like a possible counterexample: a practice could destroy something we associate with a culture's past.
But the author introduces a particular definition. Suppose a culture means the entire collection of customs practiced by its members. Think of holiday rituals and other shared practices as pieces of that collection. Under this definition, keeping the customs going is what keeps that particular collection intact.
Now the final claim makes more sense. If members abandon one of the customs, the original collection no longer exists in its entirety. The author calls that the culture's destruction under this conception.
That is a very thin sense of preservation, and we might question whether the definition is useful. It isn't the same as claiming every custom protects artifacts, improves people's lives, or prevents cultural change.
What we’re looking for
For the role question, start with the conclusion: if this definition is correct, then the customs necessarily preserve the culture, even in a trivial sense. The statement about abandoning a custom explains why that conditional conclusion would follow. It supplies the support; it isn't an endorsement of the definition.
Working the answers
- A
The main conclusion is the conditional claim that customs preserve culture if the proposed definition is correct. The statement we're asked about explains why: abandoning a custom would destroy the culture as defined. A reason for that conclusion isn't the conclusion itself.
- B
The definition occurs earlier, where culture is described as the totality of the relevant customs. The target statement draws out a consequence of using that definition. Both concern what 'culture' means, but they do different jobs in the argument.
- CCorrect
The claim supplies support for an if-then conclusion. If a culture is this entire set of customs, then maintaining those customs preserves it, because abandoning any one would mean that exact set no longer existed. We can identify that supporting role without agreeing that this is the best definition of culture.
- D
The author doesn't argue that we should adopt the proposed definition. The argument asks what follows if the definition is correct. Showing a consequence of a definition is different from offering a reason to choose that definition. D changes the conclusion being supported.
- E
The word 'trivial' doesn't mean the author dismisses the target claim. The author relies on it to explain the conditional result. Even a result that is trivial because of how the terms are defined can be supported by a reason. E mistakes the author's qualification of the result for rejection of the supporting claim.
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