Reading comp PrepTest 131 · Section 4 · Question 20

Passage

Questions 16-22  .        The Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi  . (1904–1988) was an artist who intuitively asked—and  . responded Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Humanities


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Background on Noguchi (deeply original, creative, followed a unique path) and preview of sculpture example
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • Noguchi asked and responded to deeply original questions in his art; he charted a unique path in his career (first and second sentences)
    • Comparison, according to the author:
      • Noguchi was like a scientist and could have become one (second sentence)
    • Example of Noguchi's creativity, according to the author:
      • The story behind a sculpture (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "intuitively asked—and responded to—deeply original questions" (first sentence); "repeatedly veered off at wide angles" (second sentence); "creativeness" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Noguchi's background (early promise; Brancusi's stonecutter) and observation (sculptors have only used negative light/shadow)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Comparison, according to Noguchi:
      • Sculptors have used negative light (i.e., shadow) because only gold is reliably shiny (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "exquisite comprehension" (first sentence); "deft conceptual realization" (first sentence); "scientist's mind" (last sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Noguchi's goal (purely reflective sculpture) and suggested approach (chrome-nickel steel, a permanently reflective surface now available due to Ford)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Noguchi's view:
      • Wanted to create a purely reflective, positive-light sculpture (first sentence)
    • Comparisons, according to the author/Fuller:
      • Like nonoxidizing gold, chrome-nickel steel is permanently reflective; unlike nonoxidizing gold, chrome-nickel steel is cheap and available in mass quantities (third and last sentences)

Paragraph 4

  • Paragraph note
    • Description of sculpture ("invisible" surface that is noticed only when other objects change in reflection) and analogy (still waters)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Noguchi's view:
      • A positive-light sculpture would be "invisible," seen only when objects surrounding it change (fourth through last sentences)
    • Comparison, according to the author/Noguchi:
      • The surface of Noguchi's sculpture is like the surface of still water — it is only seen in reflection (second sentence)

Paragraph 5

  • Paragraph note
    • After the sculpture (praised but Noguchi moved on)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view
      • Even after Noguchi received praise for his discovery, he kept on innovating/evolving (first and last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "stunning discovery" (first sentence); "inquisitive nature" (first sentence); "the genius of his original and fundamental conception" (second sentence); "next phase of his evolution" (second sentence)

Main Point: Noguchi confronted original questions and continually innovated in his sculptures, as is illustrated by a particular reflective sculpture of Fuller.

Meta-Structure?

Generalization/Example: Check out the last sentence of the first paragraph. There, we're essentially told that the author is going to use the Generalization/Example Meta-Structure as a central feature of the passage.* The author opens the passage by claiming that Noguchi was innovative throughout his career and then closes out that paragraph by saying that one work exemplifies this general characterization of the sculptor. That example is discussed throughout the rest of the passage (except the last paragraph, but even that's used to reinforce the general point about Noguchi's boundless and restless innovation).

When a passage relies on a Generalization/Example Meta-Structure, the main piont is the author's generalization or a variation of, "[The specific example] illustrates [the generalization]. ") So, we used that template for our anticipated main point.

*That said, other Meta-Structures could apply to this passage. Most obviously, this passage conforms to the Innovative [Subject] Meta-Structure, with the place holder "[Subject]" standing in for "Artist" (Noguchi) or "Sculpture" (Fuller sculpture). We could also think of this as a Problem/Solution passage, where Noguchi looks for a way to rely on positive light in a sculpture (the problem) and eventually lands on chrome-nickel steel (the solution).

Last Thoughts?

That fourth paragraph is dense and hard to understand. However, it describes the innovative sculpture, so it's important to have some handle on what it's talking about. The analogy is there to help you wrap your head around it (pun completely intended). From that paragraph, we know that the sculpture is "invisible" in that it can only be seen through the reflections in the metal. And in that way, it's like the surface of a lake - you can't really see that surface, but you can see the trees, sun, and clouds reflected in it to know where it is. Let's keep that image in mind since it's likely more familiar than a portrait of Fuller sculpted out of chrome-nickel steel!

Question prompt

The passage most strongly Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: E

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

Question Type

Humanities

Strategy Overview

Remind ourselves of the main point of the passage, then head to the answers, focusing on those that line up with the main point and then using our notes/the passage to find the correct answer

Answer Anticipation

This question asks us to infer, based on the entire passage, a statement that must be true. Such questions can be very challenging. These questions provide little indication as to the topic of the correct answer or where it’ll show up in the passage. Moreover, the correct answer probably won't restate something from the passage. Instead, the question will likely require us to draw a connection between a few different pieces of information.We’ll need to rely on our big-picture understanding of the passage to answer these questions. We should start by reminding ourselves of the main point (either by reviewing what we said after reading the passage or by rereading our answer to the main point question). From there, we can head to the answer choices. If something in an answer choice doesn't seem familiar and isn’t reflected in our notes on each paragraph, we shouldn’t check the passage to see if it was mentioned. Instead, we’ll table it and move on to the next answer choice. If something seems inconsistent with the main point, we can eliminate it. If something seems familiar, consistent with the main point, or reflected in our notes, we’ll use our notes/highlights/underlines to find the part of the passage that proves the answer choice must be true. If we can find that confirmation, we’ll select that answer choice and move on.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Prior to suggesting the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Is this consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    No. In fact, our note for the third paragraph says that Fuller suggested chrome-nickel steel, which was "a permanently reflective surface now available due to Ford." That suggests that chrome-nickel steel wasn't even available before Fuller recommended it. Even ignoring that issue, neither the main point nor our notes describe any of Fuller's designs. Therefore, we can safely eliminate — or at least table — (A) without checking the passage.

    Besides, we wouldn't find any support for this answer choice even if we re-read the entire passage. The passage says that Fuller was an architect (P3, S2), but it never describes any of his works or whether they made use of chrome-nickel steel.

  2. B
    Noguchi believed that the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Is this consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Nope. Neither the main point nor our notes describe Noguchi's commercial viability. Therefore, we can safely eliminate — or at least table — (B) without checking the passage.

    Besides, we wouldn't find any support for this answer choice even if we re-read the entire passage. The passage never discusses whether Noguchi cared about his work's popularity or whether he thought industrial materials would aid that popularity.

  3. C
    Noguchi's "invisible" sculpture appears Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Is this consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Well ... this is probably one of the trap answers that most infuriates people, as it seems to directly restate the author's characterization of the sculpture in the fourth paragraph. As our note for the fourth paragraph summarizes this, Noguchi's sculpture has an "'invisible' surface that is noticed only when other objects change in reflection."

    However, read this answer closely and think about what it would mean — the sculpture would appear to have the shape and dimensions of surrounding objects. So put it next to a tree, it would take on the shape and size of a tree; put it next to a bug, it would take on the shape and size of a bug. Put it next to both, and it would ... break the universe. That's clearly not what the author says would happen. Just like a lake's surface doesn't appear to take on the shape and size of the things reflected in it, this sculpture wouldn't, either. So, this answer is incorrect.

  4. D
    If a positive-light sculpture Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Is this consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Not quite. Neither the main point nor our notes describe oxidation's effects on a positive-light sculpture. Therefore, we can safely eliminate — or at least table — (D) without checking the passage.

    But if we had to check the passage, this answer would get a little more difficult since oxidation is mentioned in the second paragraph. Moreover, "oxidization" isn't a common word. However, in the passage, oxidation is tied to losing the ability to give off positive-light reflections (P2, S6). So, a metal that was subject to oxidation would eventually not give off positive-light reflections. If a sculpture of, say, a head went from being reflective to not being reflective, it would still look like a head. So, this answer about it no longer being recognizable as a likeness of what it was modeled on is unsupported.

  5. E
    The perception of the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E matches the stem

    (E) Is this consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Careful here! This answer is about negative-light sculptures, not positive-light ones. And our note for the second paragraph says that Noguchi observed that "sculptors have only used negative light/shadow." So, the second paragraph discusses negative-light sculpture. We can review that paragraph to see if this is supported.

    Upon review, we'll see that the passage says that all sculptures before Noguchi relied on negative light — shadows, in other words (P2, S6). So, think about any old sculpture — David, The Thinker, the statue of Shaq dunking, etc. Do they rely on reflection of surrounding objects to create the perception of their shape and dimensions? Nope — they're the shape and size that they appear to be when you look at them, no matter what their surroundings. This answer is, therefore, correct.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 4%
  2. B 4%
  3. C 46%
  4. D 8%
  5. E Credited 38%

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