The legislature of a country recently considered a bill designed to re

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 221, Date : 22-Jul-2019
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 (The following passage was written in 1986.)

The legislature of a country recently considered a bill designed to reduce the uncertainty inherent in the ownership of art by specifying certain conditions that must be met before an allegedly stolen work of art can be reclaimed by a plaintiff. The bill places the burden of proof in reclamation litigation entirely on the plaintiff, who must demonstrate that the holder of an item knew at the time of purchase that it had been stolen. Additionally, the bill creates a uniform national statute of limitations for reclamation of stolen cultural property.

Testifying in support of the bill, James D. Burke, a citizen of the country and one of its leading art museum directors, specifically praised the inclusion of a statute of limitations; otherwise, he said, other countries could seek to reclaim valuable art objects, no matter how long they have been held by the current owner or how legitimately they were acquired. Any country could enact a patrimony law stating that anything ever made within the boundaries of that country is its cultural property. Burke expressed the fear that widespread reclamation litigation would lead to ruinous legal defense costs for museums.

However, because such reclamation suits have not yet been a problem, there is little basis for Burke’s concern. In fact, the proposed legislation would establish too many unjustifiable barriers to the location and recovery of stolen objects. The main barrier is that the bill considers the announcement of an art transaction in a museum publication to be adequate evidence of an attempt to notify a possible owner. There are far too many such publications for the victim of a theft to survey, and with only this form of disclosure, a stolen object could easily remain unlocated even If assiduously searched for. Another stipulation requires that a purchaser show the object to a scholar for verification that it is not stolen, but it is a rare academic who is aware of any but the most publicized art thefts. Moreover, the time limit specified by the statute of limitations is very short, and the requirement that the plaintiff demonstrate that the holder had knowledge of the theft is unrealistic. Typically, stolen art changes hands several times before rising to the level in the marketplace where a curator or collector would see it. At that point, the object bears no trace of the initial transaction between the thief and the first purchaser, perhaps the only one in the chain who knowingly acquired a stolen work of art.

Thus, the need for new legislation to protect holders of art is not obvious. Rather, what is necessary is legislation remedying the difficulties that legitimate owners of works of art, and countries from which such works have been stolen, have in locating and reclaiming these stolen works.   1  
 C 
 1. Which one of the following most accurately summarizes the main point of the passage?

(A) Various legal disputes have recently arisen that demonstrate the need for legislation clarifying the legal position of museums in suits involving the repossession of cultural property.
(B) A bill intended to prevent other governments from recovering cultural property was recently introduced into the legislature of a country at the behest of its museum directors.
(C) A bill intended to protect good-faith purchasers of works of art from reclamation litigation is unnecessary and fails to address the needs of legitimate owners attempting to recover stolen art works.
(D) Clashes between museum professionals and members of the academic community regarding governmental legislation of the arts can best be resolved by negotiation and arbitration, not by litigation.
(E) The desire of some governments to use legislation and litigation to recover cultural property stolen from their counties has led to abuses in international patrimony legislation.

2  
 B 
 2. The uncertainty mentioned in line 2 of the passage refers to the

(A) doubt that owners of works of art often harbor over whether individuals have a moral right to possess great art
(B) concern that owners of works of art often have that their possession of such objects may be legally challenged at any time
(C) questions that owners of works of art often have concerning the correct identification of the age and origin of their objects
(D) disputes that often arise between cultural institutions vying for the opportunity to purchase a work of art
(E) apprehension that owners of works of art often feel concerning the possibility that their objects may be damaged or stolen from them

3  
 C 
 3. Which one of the following is an example of the kind of action that Burke feared would pose a serious threat to museums in his country?

(A) the passage of a law by another country forbidding the future export of any archaeological objects uncovered at sites within its territory
(B) an international accord establishing strict criteria for determining whether a work of art can be considered stolen and specifying the circumstances under which it must be returned to its country of origin
(C) the passage of a law by another country declaring that all objects created by its aboriginal people are the sole property of that country
(D) an increase in the acquisition of culturally significant works of art by private collectors, who are more capable than museums of bearing the cost of litigation but who rarely display their collections to the public
(E) the recommendation of a United Nations committee studying the problem of art theft that all international sales of cultural property be coordinated by a central regulatory body

4  
 C 
 4. According to the passage, Burke envisaged the most formidable potential adversaries of his country’s museums in reclamation litigation to be

(A) commercial dealers in art
(B) law enforcement officials in his own country
(C) governments of other countries
(D) private collectors of art
(E) museums in other countries

5  
 A 
 5. The author suggests that in the country mentioned in line 1, litigation involving the reclamation of stolen works of art has been

(A) less common than Burke fears it will become without passage of a national statute of limitations for reclamation of stolen cultural property
(B) increasing as a result of the passage of legislation that aids legitimate owners of art in their attempts to recover stolen works
(C) a serious threat to museums and cultural institutions that have unwittingly added stolen artifacts to their collections
(D) a signal of the legitimate frustrations of victims of art theft
(E) increasing as a result of an increase in the amount of art theft

6  
 D 
 6. Which one of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward the proposed bill?

(A) impassioned support
(B) measured advocacy
(C) fearful apprehension
(D) reasoned opposition
(E) reluctant approval

7  
 E 
 7. Which one of the following best exemplifies the sort of legislation considered necessary by the author of the passage?

(A) a law requiring museums to notify foreign governments and cultural institutions of all the catalogs and scholarly journals that they publish
(B) a law providing for the creation of a national warehouse for storage of works of art that are the subject of litigation
(C) a law instituting a national fund for assisting museums to bear the expenses of defending themselves against reclamation suits
(D) a law declaring invalid all sales of cultural property during the last ten years by museums of one country to museums of another
(E) a law requiring that a central archive be established for collecting and distributing information concerning all reported thefts of cultural property.

Source:   LSAT Official PrepTest 14   ( February 1995 ) 
 Difficulty Level:   600

nannancy · Answer

Please explain question number 4

Annet1524 · Answer

Hi) 
1)  (C)  A bill intended to protect good-faith purchasers of works of art from reclamation litigation is  unnecessary and fails to address  the needs of legitimate owners attempting to recover stolen art works.

1st paragraph: The auther explain the bill
2nd paragraph: James D. Burke support the bill, and without it 1) other countries will reclaim and it will lead to high legal defense costs for museums 
3d paragraph: more explained Burke's concerns - difficulties, which this bill brings 
4s paragraph:conclusion- the bill is not necessary and auther suggests other solutions
So, the main idea of the passage to discuss about this bill and to explain why it is not necessary even though it has some benefits.

2)  (B)  concern that owners of works of art often have that their possession of such objects may be legally challenged at any time
 1 paragraph 2nd line: the uncertainty inherent in the ownership of art, the word inherent says that concerns refer to the feeling of owners

3)  (C)  the passage of a law by another country declaring that all objects created by its aboriginal people are the sole property of that country
 2nd paragraph last line: what would lead to ruinous legal defense costs for museums.

4)  (C)  governments of other countries -   Burke says that if governments of other countries reclaim the ownership of art, the museums will need to defense themselves and so, spend a lot of money

5)  (A)  less common than Burke fears it will become without passage of a national statute of limitations for reclamation of stolen cultural property
 otherwise, he said, other countries could seek to reclaim valuable art objects

6)  (D)  reasoned opposition -  the author analyses the benefits of the bill and disadvantages, after that he or she makes conslusion about opposite point of view

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

4. According to the passage, Burke envisaged the most formidable potential adversaries of his country’s museums in reclamation litigation to be

Explanation

In  para 2 , Burke refers to foreign governments as potential adversaries of his nation’s museums.  (A),(D),(E)  Burke never even mentions commercial art dealers  (A) , private art collectors  (D) , or other countries’ museums  (E) .  (B)  If anything, Burke views law enforcement officials in his own country as potential allies. He does, after all, praise his country’s new legislation.

• The answer to one question is often closely related to the answer to another question in the set. In this case, the answers to questions 3 and 4 play on exactly the same idea in the passage. When possible, use the answer to the easier question to help you with the more difficult one.

Answer: C

Hope It helps

PrafulKashyap · Answer

Please explain the 3rd question

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

3. Which one of the following is an example of the kind of action that Burke feared would pose a serious threat to museums in his country?

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

In the absence of a statute of limitations on the recovery of art, Burke is afraid that any country might pass a law at any time to the effect that all art works produced within its territory are  “cultural property”  that rightfully belong to it. Such a legal decision, he goes on to argue, could involve museums that possess art works from such a country in “ruinous” court battles.  Choice (C)  reflects precisely the sort of scenario that Burke fears.

(A)  Burke is worried about art works currently held by museums, not those that they might be prevented from buying in the future.

(B),(E)  Burke is concerned about possible national, not international, legal developments.

(D)  There’s nothing in the passage to indicate that Burke thinks that private collectors pose a threat to museums.

• Summing up the gist of paragraphs really helps with questions like this one. Burke provides one defense of the intended legislation. If you understood that defense, choice (C) should have jumped right off the page.

Answer: C

Hope it helps

Skywalker18 · Answer

All correct in 11 mins, including 4 mins 30 seconds to read
Para 1- bill - reclamation litigation, statute of limitations
Para 2- James D. Burke- praised the inclusion of a statute of limitations
Para 3- proposed legislation would establish too many unjustifiable barriers 
Para 4- need for new legislation to protect holders of art is not obvious but what is necessary is legislation remedying the difficulties that legitimate owners of works of art,

1. Which one of the following most accurately summarizes the main point of the passage?

(C) A bill intended to protect good-faith purchasers of works of art from reclamation litigation is unnecessary and fails to address the needs of legitimate owners attempting to recover stolen art works.- Correct

2. The uncertainty mentioned in line 2 of the passage refers to the

(B) concern that owners of works of art often have that their possession of such objects may be legally challenged at any time- Correct
The legislature of a country recently considered a bill designed to reduce the uncertainty inherent in the ownership of art by specifying certain conditions that  must be met before an allegedly stolen work of art can be reclaimed by a plaintiff.

3. Which one of the following is an example of the kind of action that Burke feared would pose a serious threat to museums in his country? 
(C) the passage of a law by another country declaring that all objects created by its aboriginal people are the sole property of that country
Any country could enact a patrimony law stating that anything ever made within the boundaries of that country is its cultural property.

4. According to the passage, Burke envisaged the most formidable potential adversaries of his country’s museums in reclamation litigation to be 
(C) governments of other countries
; otherwise, he said, other countries could seek to reclaim valuable art objects, no matter how long they have been held by the current owner or how legitimately they were acquired. Any country could enact a patrimony law stating that anything ever made within the boundaries of that country is its cultural property.

5. The author suggests that in the country mentioned in line 1, litigation involving the reclamation of stolen works of art has been

(A) less common than Burke fears it will become without passage of a national statute of limitations for reclamation of stolen cultural property
However, because such reclamation suits have not yet been a problem, there is little basis for Burke’s concern.

6. Which one of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward the proposed bill? 
(D) reasoned opposition- Correct, the author provides the reasons for his opposition in para 3 and states what is necessary in para 4

7. Which one of the following best exemplifies the sort of legislation considered necessary by the author of the passage? 
(E) a law requiring that a central archive be established for collecting and distributing information concerning all reported thefts of cultural property.

Rather, what is necessary is legislation remedying the difficulties that legitimate owners of works of art, and countries from which such works have been stolen, have in locating and reclaiming these stolen works.

VerbalBot · Answer

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