#25 - Global Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (C).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[avengingangel]

I had NO idea where to find the correct answer, and literally guessed what I thought I remembered/what felt right, and chose C (the correct answer). The Course book says the source can be found on line 3, "the merit of the object itself is a separate issue." Is that the ONLY place where you can find support for this answer??

Also, so, should I have underlined that sentence/phrase during my first read thru of the passage? I wouldn't normally do that. How could I have found the location, otherwise (in a timely manner)?

Thanks!

[Adam Tyson]

Hey there Angel! Don't despair about this one, or worry about whether you should have underlined or otherwise noted a particular sentence, phrase, etc. in the passage. There is no exact science to taking notes in RC, it's just whatever works for you to help you find information quickly and easily.

I think I would have taken some note about that sentence because it set the scope of what was to follow. It tells us that motive is what determines a fake, not quality. Any time I see something that limits the scope of a passage, I prepare myself for a question about that scope. For example, I might see something like "while this approach raises some moral questions, it is the practical issues that are of particular interest to legal historians." That tells me that we are going to talk about practical stuff and set aside morality. We aren't saying morals are unimportant, just that they are not what we are about to focus on.

Even without having noticed that limitation on scope in this passage, you should still be able to do better than guessing here. Use process of elimination to get rid of obvious loser answer, like answer B (It's only good if it fools someone? Definitely not in this passage) and answer D (no mention made of the faker being an accomplished artist). As you narrow down the answers based on their being wholly unsupported or bringing in new information, you should end up with C being the only one left standing. Sure, you can find support for it at line 3, but more important is that you cannot find any support for any of the other answers, as they all bring up ideas that are totally foreign to the passage. Once you have gotten rid of the obvious junk, whatever is left must be the best answer. C wins because the others are all so awful.

Try that approach when you are completely unsure on questions like this. Then, if you have just one contender, pick it and move on. If two contenders, go look for support for one of them. When all else fails, there's nothing wrong with guessing on this test! If you can eliminate a few wrong answers, a guess is better than wasting a lot of time agonizing, right?

[avengingangel]

Thanks, Adam! I have never once done that before: when I "see something that limits the scope of a passage, I prepare myself for a question about that scope." But it makes so much sense, now. That's a really helpful thing to keep in mind as I'm reading these passages, specifically that "initial information" at the beginning that, you're right, they do often ask about!

[mariahenain]

I was able to narrow down to two contenders, A and C and weed out the losers. My question is, why is A wrong? I really didn't see the mention of artistic merits of fakes anywhere in this passage except the one sentence in the first paragraph.

[Adam Tyson]

That one sentence is enough for me, Maria! Here it is again, along with the first sentence of the passage:

A fake can be defined as an artwork intended to deceive. The motives of its creator are decisive, and the merit of the object itself is a separate issue.

This should be enough to eliminate answer A, because the author has clearly stated that merit is a separate issue from any deceitful intent. In other words, the fact that something may be a fake (intended to deceive) has no bearing on artistic merit.

Want more proof? Consider that the author told us one type of fakery is deliberate archaism, making something look older than it is. Michelangelo was encouraged to do that with one of his sculptures. Was there any indication that doing so would have diminished the merits of that sculpture? Not that I can see.

This all adds up to better support for answer C, and none at all for answer A.

I hope that helps!