#7 - Global Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Please post below with any questions!

[fersian]

Hello,
Is 'A' wrong because it says 'compose'? In lines 11-13 it states that he did not release a single collection, so I will assume that they threw in a shell answer with using the word 'compose'?

[Adam Tyson]

Exactly right, fersian! We know that in those two years Marsalis didn't release any new music, but we have no idea whether he composed any. Shell game indeed! Nice catch!

[jona_zx]

I understand why E is right, but why is D wrong? The passage gives reasons why he would no longer have a contract with Columbia i.e shifting to reissue old recordings. The passage later discusses the trend towards reissuing old records, which hints at why he would not have a contract with any other companies. Is the key that the question talks about the time the passage was written, which was in 2003, but we don't have any explicit info about 2003 in the passage? To me, the passage being silent about 2003 just strongly implies that the states of affair has not changed (from 1999) and that he still does not have a contract.

[Luke Haqq]

Hi jona_zx!

This is a must be true question. From that perspective, you mention that the passage "hints at" why Marsalis had no contract, which is unlikely to be sufficient for this type of question. Rather, we're looking for a question that has a definitive answer in the passage.

Answer choice (D) asks about why Marsalis had no contract, which would direct one to look especially at the second paragraph. Though it's suggested why some record labels might not have been picking up new talent, it doesn't directly say why Marsalis specifically had no contract. It might have been because of the reasons given or because of some other reason (for example, perhaps he deliberately chose not to sign with a label). The point is that the passage doesn't definitively say one way or another, which is why (D) doesn't reflect a question that is answered by the passage.