It is believed that the diamond was originally discovered and extracte

Question

It is believed that the  diamond  was originally discovered and extracted in India as much as 6,000 years ago. The word  diamond , however, derives from the Greek  αδαμας , or  adámas , which means “unbreakable” or even “untamed,” and has made its way into Western literature through the Greek tradition. Having heard rumors of exceptionally strong stones, the Greeks developed a mythology about an unbreakable stone that was known as  adamant . By the Middle Ages, this came to be recognized as the diamond. Over time, the legendary adamant came to take on a mystical quality that passed into certain forms of medieval literature and even today has an allegorical place in some genres.

The statements made in the passage above support which of the following claims?

(A) Given the legendary status of the adamant, it might have been better if the diamond and its actual qualities had remained a mystery.

(B) Because the adamant was originally associated with mythical qualities, it retains figurative attributes that are still valuable for some writers.

(C) The diamond and the adamant are essentially the same gem, and the two terms can be interchanged.

(D) The Greek word  adámas  is based on an ancient word of India that meant the same thing but has now been lost to history.

(E) Although the Greeks were mistaken about the mystical qualities of diamonds, they were right to identify them as unbreakable.

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Overview:

Question provides the student with information about the history of the word  diamond . According to the passage, the stone itself originally came from India but passed through the Greek tradition as the word  adámas , meaning “unbreakable” or “untamed.” Before encountering physical diamonds, the Greeks had heard rumors of a very strong stone, and they developed a mythology around it, calling it  adamant  and giving the stone the quality of being unbreakable. The author notes that by the medieval era, the diamond was recognized as a real gem, but the adamant remained in the literary tradition for its mythical qualities. Contemporary writers continue to reference it as an allegory. The question asks the student to identify the answer choice that is best supported by the claims in the passage. This is primarily an inference question with the added quality of being a  claim , so the student needs to approach it in a similar fashion to previous inference questions. The student should begin by considering whether the inference is correct and from there decide if the inference may be accurately converted into a claim.  Note : A  claim  is a statement that is not necessarily a direct inference from the passage but is rather a statement that infers something from the passage and derives an argument from it.

Another way to word this type of question is to ask whether or not the author of the passage would agree with the claim. If yes, the answer choice is probably correct. If no, the claim is assuming more than the author of the passage implies.

The Correct Answer:

B Answer choice (B) accurately provides an inference that has clear antecedent in the passage. The author of the passage claims, “By the Middle Ages, this came to be recognized as the diamond. Over time, the legendary adamant came to take on a mystical quality that passed into certain forms of medieval literature and, even today, has an allegorical place in some genres.” This means that the inference and claim made in answer choice (B) are correct: the adamant was originally associated with mythical qualities, and as a result writers still utilize it in literature for its figurative (or allegorical) attributes. Answer choice (B) is correct.

The Incorrect Answers:

A At no point does the author indicate that it would have been better for the diamond to have remained a mystery in Western literature. In fact, the author makes virtually no judgment statements about the discovery of diamonds, focusing only on the facts about them. Answer choice (A) assumes far more than the passage suggests, so it is incorrect.

C Answer choice (C) is tricky, because the author does suggest that what was once known as the adamant was ultimately recognized to be the diamond. But the author also goes on to indicate that there are clear connotations in the use of each term, so the student cannot infer that the  terms themselves  may be interchanged without question. Answer choice (C) is incorrect.

D The author discusses the use of the Greek word  adámas  and its meaning, but the author does  not  clearly connect this word to a word of ancient India. The author says only that the gem itself was mined in India. Answer choice (D) assumes too much, so it cannot be correct.

E The author of the passage does not indicate whether or not the Greeks were correct in identifying the stone as unbreakable. In fact, the author suggests that the qualities now associated with the mythology of the adamant were just that—mythology. As a result, answer choice (E) assumes too much, so it cannot be correct.

gullyboy09 · Answer

Hi, I rejected C on the basis that passage mentions "Over time, the legendary adamant came to take on a mystical quality", which is post adamant was recognized as diamond. Is it a correct understanding?

guddo · Answer

I think your understanding is correct. The passage says the Greeks developed a mythology about an unbreakable stone called adamant, and later (by the Middle Ages) this came to be recognized as the diamond. Then, over time, the legendary adamant took on a mystical quality. So the mystical association developed after adamant was identified with the real diamond, and the two terms carry different historical and literary connotations. They are not presented as essentially the same gem with interchangeable terms, which makes C unsupported.

AbhishekP220108 · Answer

Hi  gullyboy09

You asked if we could reject (C) because the mystical quality happened after the diamond was recognized. That's a clever way to think about it, but it's actually safer to reject it based on usage rather than time. Even if the timeline was different, the core problem remains; Identity is not the same as Interchangeability.

The problem with Option (C) is the word 'interchanged.' If two terms are interchangeable, it means you can swap one for the other in any sentence and the meaning remains exactly the same.

The passage actually shows us the opposite: it shows that these two words have different roles.

​Diamond: The text defines this as the physical stone discovered in India. It is a geological reality.

​Adamant: The text defines this as a concept from 'Greek tradition' and 'mythology.' It represents an idea of unbreakability and mysticism.

​The last sentence is key. It says the 'legendary adamant' is what has an allegorical place in literature. It does not say the 'diamond' has an allegorical place in literature.

​So, while the adamant is a diamond physically, the terms are not interchangeable. 'Diamond' describes the rock; 'Adamant' describes the legend. You cannot use the word 'diamond' to describe the specific mythical concept that the author is talking about.

Hope this helps

It is believed that the diamond was originally discovered and extracte

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