A town designates as landmarks some buildings within its borders. All buildings considered for designation have been at least 50 years old at the time and built in the style of the period in which they were constructed. No buildings outside the downtown area have been considered unless they have particularly special significance to the community. Over the last 20 years, more buildings were designated landmarks than were during the previous 40 years. If any building within the town's borders _____1_____, then that building _____2_____ . Select for 1 and for 2 two different options that best complete the sentence such that it can be logically inferred from the information provided. Make only two selections, one in each column.

MartyMurray Please post the solution.

A town designates as landmarks some buildings within its borders. All buildings considered for designation have been at least 50 years old at the time and built in the style of the period in which they were constructed. No buildings outside the downtown area have been considered unless they have particularly special significance to the community. Over the last 20 years, more buildings were designated landmarks than were during the previous 40 years. If any building within the town's borders _____1_____, then that building _____2_____ . Select for 1 and for 2 two different options that best complete the sentence such that it can be logically inferred from the information provided. Make only two selections, one in each column. The passage provides the following information: - The town designates as landmarks at least some buildings within its borders. - There are also some constraints on which buildings have been so designated: at least 50 years old at the time of consideration for designation built in the style of period during which constructed if outside downtown area, have had special significance For what it's worth, these constraints are all characteristics that "have been" required. In other words, the passage is mostly about the past, not the future. - Finally, the passage presents a comparison of the numbers of buildings designated landmarks during two different periods of time, the past 20 years and the preceding 40 years. Having completely understood the passage, we are set up to consider the answer choices. Often, a quick scan of the choices in a TPA question like this one reveals what's correct. However, in this case, the answer is challenging to discern. So, we may have to try pairing choices until we see what's correct. We can do so by trying each answer choice in the first slot and seeing whether any of the others then works in the second slot. was not designated a landmark before the last 20 years Putting this choice in the first slot, we see that the fact that a building "was not designated a landmark before the last 20 years" does not mean that any of the other choices. So, this choice cannot go in the first slot. was designated a landmark during the period from 60 years to 20 years ago Similarly, the fact that a building "was designated a landmark during the period from 60 years to 20 years ago" does not indicate that it is "located outside the downtown area" or any of the other answer choices. So, this choice cannot go in the first slot. is located outside the downtown area We might be tempted to believe that this choice works in the first slot paired with "has particularly special significance to the community" in the second slot. That pairing is a trap though. Here's why. The fact that a building is located outside the downtown area doesn't necessarily mean that it has special significance. Only if a building has been "considered" for designation and is outside the downtown areas can we say for sure that it has special significance, and "is located outside the downtown area" does not mean that a building has been considered for designation. Simply put, if the completed statement were "is located outside the downtown area then that building has particularly special significance to the community," would mean that every building outside the downtown area has special significance, a meaning that the passage does not convey. was first constructed 60 years ago This choice works in the first slot when we pair it with "was not designated a landmark before the last 20 years" in the second slot. Here's what we get with that pairing: If any building within the town's borders was first constructed 60 years ago, then that building was not designated a landmark before the last 20 years . That statement is supported by what the passage says, "All buildings considered for designation have been at least 50 years old at the time." After all, if a building must have been 50 years old when it was considered for designation, then a building first constructed 60 years ago must not have been designated a landmark before the last 20 years. After all only within the last 20 years, or more specifically within the last 10 years, would a building constructed 60 years ago have been at least 50 years old. Correct answer: was first constructed 60 years ago , was not designated a landmark before the last 20 years

A town designates as landmarks some buildings within its borders. : Two-part Analysis (TPA)

A town designates as landmarks some buildings within its borders.

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1	2
		was not designated a landmark before the last 20 years
		was designated a landmark during the period from 60 years to 20 years ago
		is located outside the downtown area
		was first constructed 60 years ago
		has particularly special significance to the community

GMAT Two-part Analysis (TPA) Questions