Logical reasoning PrepTest 106 · Section 2 · Question 10

Question prompt

Curator: The decision to Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Argument or Facts

Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed/Flawed

Question Type

Must Be True Questions

Stimulus Summary

C: Red paint on a Veronese painting was applied after the painting was completed and not by Veronese’s workshop, so restoring it to the original green is justified. AC: The red paint was on there shortly after Veronese’s death, and it’s unlikely someone would tamper with it so soon after he died, (so that red paint was probably applied during Veronese’s lifetime and thus may have been done by Veronese.)

Answer Anticipation

For this question, we’re tasked with finding an answer that could serve as the main point to the Critic’s response. Since she’s rebutting the claim by the Curator (“But”), we do need to pay attention to his argument. Digging into what the Critic said, we can see that she doesn’t reach a conclusion - she just presents a couple of facts. But they are definitely meant to undercut the Curator’s argument since she starts her argument with, “But.” So what claim is she undercutting? That an artist other than Veronese tampered with Veronese’s painting. She does so by showing that there’s evidence that the cloak was red shortly after Veronese’s death, and it’s unlikely that someone would have tampered with the painting that quickly after he died. So does she prove that it wasn’t another artist who made the change? No - her premises are weaker than that. But she does show that it’s likely the change was made during Veronese’s lifetime, and that therefore it’s possible that Veronese himself made the changes. Let’s find an answer reflecting one of these points.

Answer choices

  1. A
    The copy of Veronese's Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    First, the copy of the painting is evidence for a broader claim meant to rebut the Curator’s argument on the restoration, so a conclusion about the copy would be out of place. Second, there’s no indication that the Critic believes the copy is indistinguishable from the original - just that, at least, the colors would be the same as it.
  2. B
    No painting should be Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    The Critic is rebutting an argument that suggests the painting should be restored, but it’s been established that technologically sophisticated equipment has already tested it, so this answer is incorrect.
  3. C
    The proposed restoration will Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    The Critic brings up a copy of the painting made shortly after Veronese’s death that had a red cloak, not a green one. And she argues that it’s unlikely such a change would have been made so quickly after his death. This strongly suggests that the red was on the painting at the time of Veronese’s death. While this answer is a little stronger than we’d like to see, it works for a “strongest support” question, especially after eliminating all the other answers.
  4. D
    The value of an Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    The value of the work is out of scope of both speakers.
  5. E
    Veronese did not originally Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    The Critic discusses what was likely true at Veronese’s death, not at the time he created the painting. It’s possible that he painted it green and then decided to go with red sometime later.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 19%
  2. B 1%
  3. C Credited 45%
  4. D 4%
  5. E 30%

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