Reading comp PrepTest 143 · Section 2 · Question 5

Passage

Questions 1-7  .        Having spent several decades trying to eliminate  . the unself-conscious "colonial gaze" characteristic of  . so Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Social Science

Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • A phenomenon is introduced that has divided anthropologists
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Old problem - Eliminate colonial gaze in ethnographic film
    • New phenomenon - Indigenous cultures are getting cameras and recording their own cultures
    • Anthropologists are "sharply divided" on how to view this
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • One view is described
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Weiner et. al. - Cameras are an assault on indigenous cultures
    • Devalues differences, pushing Western approach (realism, immediacy, self-expression)
    • Paradox - Costs indigenous peoples the culture they want to preserve
    • Weiner - Others who think this is good are naïve
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • Other view is described
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Ginsburg et. al. - Weiner appeals to "noble savage" (super negative)
    • Concession - Western objects aren't neutral
    • Non-Western peoples can adopt this tech without Western values
    • Opportunity to preserve language and traditions
Paragraph 4
  • Paragraph note
    • A real-world example backs up Ginsburg's view
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Ex. Turner/Kayapo (oral tradition) - Back up Ginsburg
    • Kayapo record ceremonies and interactions with government (legally binding)
    • Kayapo videos/editing reflect their culture/ceremonies (complex patterns; repetition; sequential organization)
Main Point:
While there is a sharp debate between anthropologists on whether it's good for indigenous cultures to adopt Western technology/cameras, a real-world example suggests that this technology does more harm than good, at least as far as preserving their culture is concerned.

Key Lines:
Lines 8-10 - The phenomenon is introduced
Lines 11-12 - The debate is previewed
Lines 13-15 - The first side of the debate is introduced and outlined
Lines 32-34 - The second side of the debate makes a concession to the first
Lines 34-36 - The second side of the debate rebuts the first
Lines 40-43 - The second side of the debate is outlined
Lines 44-47 - A specific example is introduced that supports the second view
Lines 54-59 - The best line describing the example's relevance

Meta-Structure:
Phenomenon/Implication - This is a variation on the Phenomenon/Explanation pattern. However, there's no explanation for the phenomenon here—the adoption of cameras by indigenous peoples. The debate is over whether it's a good or a bad thing.

Debate - Two sides of a debate are outlined. Here, the Author ends up leaning towards one side.

General Point/Specific Example - The Author brings up a single example to back up the viewpoint that she most closely aligns with. Remember, when a single example serves as the backing for a view, that view isn't on the strongest ground!

Last Thoughts:
That discussion of "ontology" is probably going to show up as at least an answer, since it's not a word you hear every day!

Question prompt

The passage provides information Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: A

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

Question Type

Social Science

Answer choices

  1. A
    Why do the Kayapo Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Must Be True

    Strategy Overview:
    Use our overall understanding of the passage to determine which answers to focus on, and then use our notes and the passage itself to find the correct one

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    There's no way to anticipate what the correct answer choice will ask about here, so we need to head straight to the answer choices. Normally we'd remind ourselves of the main point, but here, there were so many different pieces of information presented in the passage that that's going to be less useful than just using our overall understanding of the passage to tackle these questions.

    Answer Explanation:
    (Lines 50-51) We know that, if this question is answered, it'd be in Paragraph 4. Heading there, we can see that it discusses the recording of transactions with the Brazilian government as providing legally binding records of these transactions. So why do the Kayapo record them? So they have legally binding records of the transactions. This question has an answer in the passage, so it's correct.

    Key Takeaway:
    A lot of your process for questions similar to this one will be to identify what paragraph the relevant information would be in, if it exists in the passage. If you can't immediately narrow it down, defer on that answer and come back to it after you've analyzed the answers that you can find quickly.
  2. B
    What is the origin Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 29-31) Ginsburg and her cohort argue that Weiner is nostalgic for the idea of the "noble savage," but the passage itself never states where that idea originated. It's not connected to the "colonial gaze," and even that isn't really enough to say that we could determine its origin.
  3. C
    Which indigenous cultures have Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. (Line 46) The only indigenous culture mentioned in the passage is that of the Kayapo, and they have adopted Western video technologies.
  4. D
    Which Western technologies entered Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 32-34) Western technologies since the 15th century are mentioned as part of Ginsburg's concession to the opposing point, but there's no list of them provided in the passage.
  5. E
    What factors have made Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 6-8) The inexpensive nature of the video technology is mentioned in Paragraph 1, but there's no indication as to what factors have made it cheap.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A Credited 82%
  2. B 6%
  3. C 3%
  4. D 9%
  5. E 1%

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Discussion

  • Why is D incorrect? 1 reply

    Started by @MichaelaJ

  • A vs E 0 replies

    Started by Jasmin1

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