Reading comp PrepTest 146 · Section 4 · Question 11

Incorrect. (Lines 49-52) The Author does argue that Taruskin must believe that art the elites had misgivings about actually reflected their ideals, but it doesn't say that he must believe these works were done by the "most talented" artists.

Incorrect. (Line 1) The passage is about sociohistorical interpretations of art, and there isn't a discussion of Taruskin's beliefs on modern artists, let alone the "most successful" ones.

Correct. Question Type:
Must Be True

Strategy Overview:
Review Taruskin's viewpoint and find an answer reflecting that view

Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
This question stem is actually a little more subtle than you might have thought after reading it. To see why, compare it to this other question that could have potentially been asked: According to information in the passage, Taruskin would be most likely to agree with which of the following? In that question, we're using information in the passage to infer something about Taruskin's beliefs, and so the correct answer might not be stated in the passage but rather supported by something in the passage. This question, however, asks us what the passage itself suggests Taruskin is committed to. So, in other words, we're looking for a part of the passage where the Author says that Taruskin has a set of views, and these views commit him to another view.

With that understanding of the question in mind, we can actually anticipate answers with much more specificity.

The first place where we might find the correct answer is in the Author highlighting the two assumptions, which are things that a person who holds a certain view must believe for that view to be valid. So either assumption might show up as the correct answer—elites had a consensus view (Lines 25-28), or artists didn't subvert the ideals of their patrons (Lines 28-30).

The second place is when the Author undermines Taruskin's second assumption. She states that Taruskin "must engage" in a Freudian-like analysis, trying to show that the ideals of elites were actually displayed by works that they disagreed with.

We thus have three potential answers, so let's head to the answers to find one of them.

Answer Explanation:
(Lines 47-52) The Author talks about enduring art that appeared to undermine the ideals of elites in Paragraph 4. There, she notes that Taruskin must engage in a convoluted analysis that suggests there are hidden ways this art actually supported the ideals of the elites, despite their misgivings. This answer reflects something that the Author points out Taruskin is committed to believing, thus addressing the question stem.

Key Takeaway:
One important distinction in any Must Be True style-question in RC is whether it's asking you to find something that's directly stated in the passage, or something that's supported by the ideas directly stated in the passage. It's always important to know which of the two you're dealing with, so be sure to think it through. (The other key piece of information to glean from the stem is which viewpoint the question is asking about.)

Incorrect. (Lines 8-10) The passage does discuss art that is produced "by" political and social elites at the end of Paragraph 1. However, it never ties the art produced by these individuals as the typical situation for art that reflected elite ideology—it may have been only a small percentage of it.

Incorrect. (Lines 41-44) When pointing out the error in Taruskin's first assumption, the artist talks about the "more talented" artists finding work with the elites with eccentric tastes at the margins of the establishment. However, there's no indication that this art subverted ideology in subtle ways—maybe the work for these eccentric rich people was actually quite obvious in its attacks on that ideology.