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Abhi077
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03 Feb 2020, 09:27
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A
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
45%
(medium)
Question Stats:
68% (01:45) correct
32%
(01:44)
wrong
based on 401
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The script on a recently discovered scroll was used solely by two scribal communities, the Bethel community and the Shemula community. Analysis of the jar in which the scroll was found, whose markings indicate that it is the scroll's original container, showed that it was made of clay found in the vicinity of the Bethel community but not of the Shemula community, fifty miles away. This shows that the scroll most likely originated in the Bethel community.
Which of the following is an assumption that the argument makes?
A. The jar was made from clay local to the area where the scroll was written.
B. The two communities were unlikely to have ever interacted.
C. The scripts of the two communities are so similar that the origins of some scrolls using those scripts cannot confidently be determined.
D. The scribe who wrote the scroll chose the jug in which it would be stored.
E. The markings on the jug are not particularly characteristic of any specific area.
Which of the following is an assumption that the argument makes?
A. The jar was made from clay local to the area where the scroll was written.
B. The two communities were unlikely to have ever interacted.
C. The scripts of the two communities are so similar that the origins of some scrolls using those scripts cannot confidently be determined.
D. The scribe who wrote the scroll chose the jug in which it would be stored.
E. The markings on the jug are not particularly characteristic of any specific area.
Source - Ready4Gmat
Assumption Series
Assumption Series
05 Feb 2020, 11:00
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Abhi077
Here is my detailed solution:
ANALYSIS OF THE STIMULUS
Given:
1. A scroll was discovered recently in a jar and the scroll was written in a particular script.
2. The script was used only by communities Bethel and Shemula
3. The jar was the original container of the scroll as shown by the markings on the jar (so the scroll was not transferred from some other container).
4. The clay of which the jar was made was found near Bethel community but the same clay was not found near Shemula community- the two communities were 50 miles apart.
Conclusion: Because the clay of the jar was found near Bethel community and not Shemula community, the scroll probably came from Bethel community.
PRE-THINKING
1. The author concludes that the scroll must have originated in the Bethel community because the clay of the scroll’s original container was found in the area of Bethel community but not in the area of Shemula community and the two communities were far away. Thus, the origins of the scroll and the origins of the jar are believed to be the same.
2. What if the scroll was written in one area and sent for storage to another region? In that case, the scroll could have been written in Shemula and sent to Bethel to be stored in the jar made in Bethel.
Assumption#1: Thus the author assumes that the scroll was scripted and stored in the jar in the same place.
3. What if the clay was imported by Shemula from the Bethel community and the jar was made in Shemula? In that case, the scroll could have been written in Shemula.
Assumption#2: The clay from which the jar was made, had not been imported from outside the region where the scroll was made and stored.
ANSWER CHOICE ANALYSIS
A. The jar was made from clay local to the area where the scroll was written.
(This is in line with the pre-thought assumption#2. “Made from clay local to the area” implies that the clay was not brought from outside.
Correct Choice.)
B. The two communities were unlikely to have ever interacted.
(Does this option need to be definitely true for our conclusion to hold true? No. Does there have to be interaction between the two communities for it to be true that the scroll was made in Bethel? Thus, this choice is out of scope.
Incorrect Choice.)
C. The scripts of the two communities are so similar that the origins of some scrolls using those scripts cannot confidently be determined.
(We already know that the script was used only by communities Bethel and Shemula. This choice is just a distortion of that information and nothing more. This choice just confirms the confusion related to the origin of the scroll.
Incorrect choice.)
D. The scribe who wrote the scroll chose the jug in which it would be stored.
(Once again, would the conclusion break down if this option were not true? What if someone close to the scribe who wrote the scroll chose the frame for him? Does that prove where the scroll was written? No. This choice is also out of scope.
Incorrect Choice.)
E. The markings on the jug are not particularly characteristic of any specific area.
(Per the passage the marking are not indicative of the area of manufacture of the jar. The markings are indicative of the fact that the jar was the original container of the scroll. It is the material of the jar that is being analyzed in order to ascertain the origin of the scroll. The markings on jar are not the basis for the conclusion and therefore cannot be used to disprove or prove it. This choice is irrelevant.
Incorrect Choice.)
05 Feb 2020, 17:06
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Between A and B,
My point for B is that is the interaction of communities is necessary to prove the origin of scroll. Not necessary.
There can be many cases here.
1. S went to B and took clay and came back to S without interaction with B.
2. S asked someone else to take some clay found in B and scripted the Jar.
3. S interacted with someone in B to get some clay but that is not recorded in history.
As here we have multiple possibilities which may or may not substantiate the conclusion or argument, B can't be answer.
Negation of A is clearly tear apart the conclusion.
A is answer choice.
My point for B is that is the interaction of communities is necessary to prove the origin of scroll. Not necessary.
There can be many cases here.
1. S went to B and took clay and came back to S without interaction with B.
2. S asked someone else to take some clay found in B and scripted the Jar.
3. S interacted with someone in B to get some clay but that is not recorded in history.
As here we have multiple possibilities which may or may not substantiate the conclusion or argument, B can't be answer.
Negation of A is clearly tear apart the conclusion.
A is answer choice.
