Historian: (1)It is often claimed that in many ancient societies, spices were used to disguise the taste of spoiled meat. This claim should, however, be evaluated in its full economic context. (2)
In the early days of the Roman Empire, a pound of ginger could cost as much as 5,000 times the average daily wage. (3)Surely, anyone who could afford such a luxury would simply buy fresh meat rather than attempting to hide unpleasant flavors in rotten meat.
So, the three statements are said by the historian.
The 1st statement mentions a generally accepted claim.
The 2nd statement presents a piece if evidence or some data.
The 3rd Statement makes another claim refuting the claim in the 1st Statement.
Role of 2nd Statement : It supports the 3rd statement. The 2nd statement supports the claim that the historian is making in order to refute the generally accepted claim in the 1st Statement.
Notice that the historian is attempting to refute the 'generally-accepted' claim in the 1st statement. He is doing that using the 3rd statement. AND, the 2nd statement is helping him do that. So, the 2nd statement is merely supporting the 3rd statement and it is this 3rd statement that is attempting to refuting the claim in the first statement.
In the above argument, the statement in boldface plays which of the following roles?
(A) It is data in support of a claim that the historian is attempting to refute.
This option says that the 2nd Statement SUPPORTS the claim in the FIRST STATEMENT(as it is the first statement that the historian is attempting to refute). This is Incorrect.
(B) It is evidence that supports the historian’s conclusion.
The 3rd Statement could certainly be seen as the historian's conclusion and the 2nd Statement does support it, so, this Choice is Correct.
(C) It is the conclusion of the historian’s argument.
The 2nd statement presents date/evidence and hence, it CANNOT be the conclusion. This Choice is Incorrect.
(D) It is a claim that the historian is attempting to refute.
The 2nd Statement isn't a claim at all. It's data/evidence. The historian is attempting to refute the claim in the first statement. Besides, Facts/Data/Evidence cannot be refuted, only their interpretation can. This Choice is also Incorrect.
(E) It is data whose accuracy the historian questions.
Firstly, the historian questioning the accuracy of a statement cannot be seen as a historian refuting the statement. Secondly, the historian is only attempting to refute the claim in the first statement, so, this choice is also Incorrect.
Hope it Helps!