It is widely assumed that a museum is helped financially

Question

19. It is widely assumed that a museum is helped financially when a generous patron donates a potential exhibit. In truth, however, donated objects require storage space, which is not free, and routine conservation, which is rather expensive. Therefore, such gifts exacerbate rather than lighten the demands made on a museumâ€™s financial resources.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?

(A) To keep patrons well disposed, a museum will find it advisable to put at least some donated objects on exhibit rather than merely in storage.
(B) The people who are most likely to donate valuable objects to a museum are also the people who are most likely to make cash gifts to it.
(C) A museum cannot save money by resorting to cheap storage under less than adequate conditions, because so doing would drive up the cost of conservation.
(D) Patrons expect a museum to keep donated objects in its possession rather than to raise cash by selling them.
(E) Objects donated by a patron to a museum are often of such importance that the museum would be obliged to add them to its collection through purchase if necessary.

mbamantra · Answer

A

storage space is not actually required.

kapslock · Answer

MBAMantra, on the contrary, exhibit space may be more expensive than storage space. Besides, there is no suggestion that routine conservation is required only for stored artifacts rather than all artifacts.

Therefore IMHO, A would not qualify for an answer.

Now look at E.

(E) Objects donated by a patron to a museum are often of such importance that the museum would be obliged to add them to its collection through purchase if necessary.

This means that museum can usually get things from patrons that otherwise it would have purchased from outside. Of course this is a significant help to the museum's financial resources.

This most significantly weakens the argument that gifts are a drain on a museum's financial resources.

anirban16 · Answer

The question is financial resources "money" so why not B. The only statement based on money.

While E is close , but importance doesn't mean profitable or bringing in money. If the museum didn't purchase it from market then it'd have saved money!!!

WinWinMBA · Answer

The OA is E, though I though B makes more sense than E because E did says "through purchase IF NECESSARY", which means museum still has to dole out some $$$ if it wants to add it to its collection, while B says these same donors give extra cash !

Wierd, huh ?

It is widely assumed that a museum is helped financially

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