PrepTest 154, Section 4, Question 4
A rare Roman bronze helmet was recently discovered(61 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(7 more words not shown)
- AMost English people(9 more words not shown)
- BThe Roman helmet(10 more words not shown)
- CThe Roman helmet(12 more words not shown)
- DThe private collector(14 more words not shown)
- ENo English museum(13 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
It's a Roman helmet. Does that make it part of English heritage? It was found in England, so perhaps it does belong in the story of that country's past. But finding it there and calling it Roman don't, by themselves, settle that connection. The argument needs us to accept it.
Here's why. The law is supposed to give English museums an opportunity to acquire certain valuable antiquities at reasonable prices. This helmet falls outside its coverage because it is neither prehistoric nor made of precious metal. The author treats its sale to a private collector as a failure to give English people access to their archaeological heritage.
What we’re looking for
That criticism depends on this helmet being part of that heritage. If it weren't, leaving it outside the law wouldn't supply this example of a gap in access to English heritage. For the required assumption, that's the connection I want. We're asking what counts as heritage, not deciding who legally owns every object found in England.
Working the answers
- A
People's preferences aren't required for this criticism of the law. English people could be largely uninterested in museums, and a law could still fail to give them access to their archaeological heritage. We don't have to establish that most people want the access before judging whether the law provides it.
- BCorrect
The Roman helmet must count as part of the English people's archaeological heritage for its exclusion to illustrate the claimed problem. Take that connection away: we would have an object outside the law, but no reason from this example to say the law fails to protect access to English heritage. B supplies the link the argument relies on.
- C
The helmet needn't be more valuable than most museum objects to matter to the argument. It could be relatively inexpensive and still be part of the English people's archaeological heritage. Comparing its value with a museum's collection doesn't establish the required connection.
- D
The argument doesn't depend on the collector paying the same amount as, or less than, a museum would have paid. The concern is that this helmet wasn't covered by the requirement to offer certain finds to museums at reasonable prices. The collector could have paid more and the author could still make that criticism. We don't need to settle the competing offers.
- E
We also don't need a limit on what every English museum could have paid. A museum might have been able to pay more, or it might not. Either way, the law's exclusion of the helmet can be criticized on the stated grounds only if the helmet is part of the heritage at issue. B addresses that necessary link; E adds a financial fact the argument doesn't require.
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