Reading comp PrepTest 147 · Section 3 · Question 13

Incorrect. (Lines 10-12) The Author suggests that moving these artifacts away from the sites doesn't preserve something important about them, so this answer is incorrect.

Correct. Question Type:
Author's Attitude

Strategy Overview:
Find any statements reflecting the Author's attitude towards this group, and identify whether it's positive, negative, or neutral; then, find an answer that lines up with the tone and the details

Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
First, let's think about the Author's overall attitude. She believes that, while not the best solution, creating a regulatory environment where people can excavate, register, and export (while paying taxes) these items is a practical solution that would work (Lines 41-56). She identifies as a problem the looting of these items (Lines 9-12), so she has a negative opinion of those that engaged in that practice.

As to the specifics, there is one statement that clearly shows opinion towards the foreign collectors—they "rightly admired" these cultural artifacts. So she does have a positive opinion of their taste in cultural artifacts.

So, overall, she has an opinion that stretches from the positive to the negative. We can't rule out answers that express an opinion in any particular direction, which means we'll be fully considering each answer. That means it's past time to head to the choices!

Answer Explanation:
(Line 8) The Author says that the collectors are right to admire the terra-cotta sculptures, so she approves of their aesthetic judgment.

Key Takeaway:
First, always note adverbs! If it ends in -ly, it's almost certainly conveying some type of authorial opinion. And, as such, it's almost certain to factor into the answer choices, even if it just adds to the Author's overall opinion.

Second, this is the second question where we needed to hedge the nature of the Author's opinion (positive, negative, neutral) when considering a Must Be True question asking what the Author would agree with. That reflects the overall tone of the passage, where the Author was willing to compromise from what would be best in order to come up with a practical solution to a problem. We could have anticipated such questions after reading this passage, and in the future when you come across such a passage, you should do that so that you're more open to answers that might be correct.

Incorrect. It's unclear what the collector's could have done to "take action" against the exportation of these artifacts. Not buying them is not taking action, so the passage doesn't delve into what they could have done.

Incorrect. (Lines 18-22) The Author says that the UNESCO doctrine considers the cultural artifacts part of the patrimony of the individuals in a country, but she never connects this detail to frustration directed at the collectors.

Incorrect. (Line 8) This answer can be tempting—after all, if she believes they "rightly" admired the artifacts, why can't we say that she sympathized with the motive of collecting them? Because we don't know that this admiration was the motive behind their purchase—they could have been doing so for investment purposes! Without a specific statement of motive, we can't infer it.