An ancient scripture, about 3500 years old, was deciphered by experts

Question

Which of the following best completes the passage below?

An ancient scripture, about 3500 years old, was deciphered by experts revealing it to be the account of a barter between two tribes. Verified by concurring evidence, the account describes how the Ngebono tribe promised military assistance in exchange for 200 musical instruments, believed to be vital accessories for tribal ceremonies, which were supplied by the Vergiba tribe. However, it has been proven that the latter tribe did not have the technological knowledge to manufacture any items other than ceramic vessels until 2000 years ago so __________.

A. no remnants of the original instruments have been found because of the primitive clay mixture and firing process that was used for their production

B. the instruments were probably not functional, resulting in a lengthy and violent war between the two tribes

C. the account was probably fictitious and was created to cease later hostilities by showing how cooperation could benefit both tribes

D. it is extremely likely that the barter did not actually take place, and that the idea was eventually discarded

E. the musical instruments were probably based on such vessels, with whatever adaptations required to allow them to be used as musical instruments

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mialanknox · Answer

Premise 1:  Account is verified with concurring evidence -  this means the experts found the instruments 
 Premise 2:  It has been proven that Vergiba tribe has no idea how to make the promised instruments until 2000 years ago -  this tells us that instruments delivered (Premise 1) were not musical instruments i.e. they didn't work and this was the case from 3500 to 2000 years ago = 1500 years long issue.

Question:   Find the conclusion

A. instruments not found -  not true because it goes against Premise 1

B. instruments not functional -  they were not musical instruments,   there was lengthy war  -  the Ngebono tribe must have been angry for 1500 years until Vergiba learnt to make musical instruments. These 2 statements are clearly supported by Premise 1 and 2.   Therefore, we can say it is a reasonable conclusion.

C. account was fictitious -  not true because it goes against Premise 1

D. barter did not actually take place -  not true because it goes against Premise 1

E. instruments were delivered which could be used as musical instruments -  not true because it goes against Premise 2.
 
 Therefore, option B is the correct answer.

AlaaEldemerdash · Answer

Is this what u thought of while answering the question? or is the answer attached to the question itself wrong? Bc I see u chose B (like I did) and the question's answer is E

inbreadsourdough · Answer

You just made that premise up. It didn't say they can't make musical instruments, it said they cannot make things that aren't made from clay. Therefore, the possibility of of musical instruments from clay remains. It's E.

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Which of the following best completes the passage below?

An ancient scripture, about 3500 years old, was deciphered by experts revealing it to be the account of a barter between two tribes. Verified by concurring evidence, the account describes how the Ngebono tribe promised military assistance in exchange for 200 musical instruments, believed to be vital accessories for tribal ceremonies, which were supplied by the Vergiba tribe. However, it has been proven that the latter tribe did not have the technological knowledge to manufacture any items other than ceramic vessels until 2000 years ago so __________.

A. no remnants of the original instruments have been found because of the primitive clay mixture and firing process that was used for their production

Incorrect.

This is a "Complete the Argument" format question. The missing argument part follows the reason conjunction so which indicates it is based on the premises. Therefore, the missing part is the conclusion, and this is an Inference question:

Premise A: an old scripture was found that tells the story of an exchange between two tribes
 +
Premise B: a promise of military assistance was traded for 200 musical instruments
 +
Premise C: the Vergiba tribe could only manufacture ceramic vessels at the time
 =
Conclusion: ?

When reading the argument, there's also an apparent contradiction: "how can they agree to provide music instruments when they can only do ceramic vessels?". Your own "continuation" should be: since the Vergiba could only manufacture ceramic vessels at the time, the musical instruments they agreed to provide must have been ceramic.

This answer choice is more like an additional premise than a conclusion. It does not rest on the premises given, but presents new information on the topic.

B. the instruments were probably not functional, resulting in a lengthy and violent war between the two tribes

Incorrect.

This answer choice goes too far beyond the premises. The argument contains no evidence to support this remark about the breakout of a war. Such a statement requires too many assumptions to link it to the information we've been given.

C. the account was probably fictitious and was created to cease later hostilities by showing how cooperation could benefit both tribes

Incorrect.

This answer choice contradicts the second premise. The argument explicitly says that the account was Verified by concurring evidence, i.e., it was recorded in other evidence. There is no doubt about whether the barter took place.

D. it is extremely likely that the barter did not actually take place, and that the idea was eventually discarded

Incorrect.

This answer choice contradicts the second premise. The argument explicitly says that the account was Verified by concurring evidence, i.e., it was recorded in other evidence. There is no doubt about whether the barter took place.

E. the musical instruments were probably based on such vessels, with whatever adaptations required to allow them to be used as musical instruments

This answer choice provides a logical conclusion. If ceramic vessels were the only thing the Vergiba could make, it makes sense that the musical instruments they provided were based on ceramic vessels. Thus, this answer choice manages to explain the apparent conflict.

VerbalBot · Answer

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An ancient scripture, about 3500 years old, was deciphered by experts

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GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

An ancient scripture, about 3500 years old, was deciphered by experts

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