Key points: The question asks what would
support the
hypothesis, so we need to identify what makes that hypothesis tick.
Breakdown: The last line of the paragraph tells us that the archaeologists have
hypothesized that the heap of rubble that used to be Kourion is a testament to "a major earthquake" in A.D. 365. Thus, the correct answer
must build from this idea of a thriving city that was cut down suddenly (in Vesuvian fashion, only without the volcano).
Answers: Rather than focus on what makes an entire answer strong or weak, I like to focus on particularly weak points to disprove the incorrect ones. Why? Because this is what I do when I break down the responses myself, and sometimes the long-winded ones will have just a word or two that steer the entire answer into dangerous territory. Also, when I refer to traffic lights, they mean the same thing you would think they mean.
(A)
dating from years preceding and following A.D. 365Analysis: If something came both before and after the catastrophic event, then what impact did the earthquake have at all? This information would appear to weaken the hypothesis if anything, and
a reversal is not what we are after. Red light.
(B) Coins that had been produced in great quantities prior to A.D. 365 suddenly ceased to be produced
Analysis: On the surface of it, what do coins have to do with an earthquake? Nothing. Still, with an eye on the hypothesis and the sudden nature of the drop-off in minted coins, we can conclude that something drastic must have happened in A.D. 365. The archaeologists supply one such educated proposal. Am I ready to get behind this one 100 percent? Not on GMAT™ Critical Reasoning questions. (I got burned on a couple when I started out, and I have been cautious about them ever since.) Yellow light.
(C)
Most modern histories... mention that an earthquake occurred... in A.D. 365
Analysis: This one gets shaky from the start: "modern histories" can say whatever, but their contents are not to be taken as gospel, as "most" would attest. (What do other modern histories say? Which ones are correct?) All we know about truth from the frame of the question is that it is true that "Most modern histories... mention..." NOT that those events actually transpired the way the histories describe. Moreover, perhaps former histories made points that were just as accurate, but with a different bent. Of course, such
speculative thoughts are beside the point. To finish this one off, we already know from the paragraph that "a major earthquake [was] known to have occurred near the island in A.D. 365." Since when does reiterating a fact strengthen any reasoning? Red light.
(D)
in the century between A.D. 300 and A.D. 400Analysis: This answer is missing the catastrophic event. As we saw in (A), evidence of any objects, whether vessels or, here, statues, that both precede and follow the earthquake in A.D. 365 would work
against the hypothesis in question. Red light.
(E)
the Greek alphabet was used in stone inscriptions found in Kourion
Analysis: A writing system that had spread from Greece was used by a culture off the shores of Greece. So what? That sounds fairly logical, but it has
nothing to do with the hypothesis or a sudden catastrophic event that would need to be explained. Red light.
Guessing: I suspect that most test-takers would be able to eliminate (A) and (D), since they are so similar in construct. That is, what would make one of those answers any more correct than the other? (E) is another one that just misses the boat. Just because the Kourionites used the Greek alphabet, the same one that was used in Cyprus
after A.D. 365, does not mean they must have faced a devastating event. That leaves a 50/50 between (B) or (C). At first glance, (C) would appear to address the earthquake quite handily, but from the opening word of the response, "most," it veers off course and never returns.
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