my initial answer is B, then started thinking more about D

would have picked B on the test, given time constraint

Yes, the first bold-face is also the argument and its intention is to assert that the Greek adopted alphabetic writing 2 earlier from 8 century B.C, so:
(C): 1st BF present evidence -->wrong

The second boldface has "would have" sounds like an assumption. Also:
- Because Greek learn alphabetic writing from Phoenician, hence adopting their using of direction writing, and because Phoenician use either directions --> Greek would have use either directions
- Because by 8 century B.C, Phoenician consistently wrote from right to left for about 2 centuries, then started to write either direction and because the evidence of earliest Greek inscription shows that they wrote in either direction --> earliest inscription of Greek couldn't appear at 8 century B.C but appear at 2 centuries earlier (in BC, the chronological is reverse) --> supporting the 1st BF

So:
(A): 2nd BF support a position that the argument oppose --> wrong
(D): 2nd BF is argument seeks to establish --> it is not an argument
(E): 2nd BF is evidence --> no

So B is the best choice

I chose B

my pick is B.

how can it be D?

1) a strong case can be made that the Greeks actually adopted alphabetic writing at least two centuries earlier.

2) they would surely have adopted whatever convention the Phoenicians were then using with respect to the direction of writing.

D says....The first is an objection raised against a position that the argument opposes; the second is the position that the argument seeks to establish.

the first sentence is not making any objection....I think we need some expert opinion here.

B is the best choice

Can some one explain how B is the answer?
I always thought , an assumption is never given the question?

E is the right answer

B..

Although the earliest surviving Greek inscriptions written in an alphabet date from the eighth century B.C., a strong case can be made that the Greeks actually adopted alphabetic writing at least two centuries earlier. Significantly, the text of these earliest surviving Greek inscriptions sometimes runs from right to left and sometimes from left to right. Now, the Greeks learned alphabetic writing from the Phoenicians, and in the process they would surely have adopted whatever convention the Phoenicians were then using with respect to the direction of writing. Originally, Phoenicians writing ran in either direction, but by the eighth century B.C. it had been consistently written from right to left for about two centuries.

In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

(A)The first provides evidence in support of the position that the argument seeks to establish; the second is that position.(B)The first provides evidence in support of the position that the argument seeks to establish; the second presents an assumption on which that argument relies.(C)The first is an assumption that the argument concludes is unjustified; the second presents part of the grounds for that conclusion.(D)The first is evidence that forms the basis for an objection to the position that the argument seeks to establish; the second is that position.(E)The first is evidence that forms the basis for an objection to the position that the argument seeks to establish; the second is a judgment that is introduced in order to call into question the relevance of that evidence.


I chose E why the hell is B?? Pls explain in details thank yoiu