Reading comp PrepTest 147 · Section 3 · Question 8
Passage
Questions 7-13 . The government of Mali passed a law against . excavating and exporting the wonderful terra-cotta . sculptures
Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Legal Studies
Paragraph 1
Simply passing laws or doctrines to protect cultural artifacts can ironically result in people illegally excavating/exporting them while hiding important information about them, so there need to be other possible solutions that allow for "better" outcomes, even if they're not the "best" outcomes.
Key Lines:
Lines 6-12 - The problem is outlined
Lines 18-20 - A doctrine to address the problem is described
Lines 22-25 - Laws building from the doctrine are discussed
Lines 30-34 - A paradox ("painful irony") about implementing the doctrine or laws is highlighted
Lines 51-56 - The Author implies a non-ideal but practical solution addressing the paradox
Meta-Structure:
Problem/Solution - Here, the Author notes a problem—cultural knowledge is lost when cultural artifacts are illicitly looted and exported from their country of origin. One solution—doctrines/laws making this illegal—can ironically result in the information being hidden and thus still lost. And while she does note an ideal solution—professional archaeologists doing the excavations—she recognizes that this isn't practical/realistic.
Rather, she imagines a solution whereby the government steps in to record, register, and tax these cultural items as they're excavated and exported by individuals. While not as good as the archaeologists, she notes it's better than them being looted and that knowledge lost forever.
Last Thoughts:
This is a tricky passage! The last paragraph, in particular, highlights a middle-of-the-road approach phrased in a convoluted manner. Making sure that you understood the comparison between the potential solutions will probably be key to answering questions.
Also, note that ironies and paradoxes can, more or less, be treated as the same thing on the LSAT. So when an RC passage notes an irony, think of it as a paradox—and we know paradoxes are important!
Paragraph 1
- Paragraph note
- A situation is described which implies a problem
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Mali/Djenne-jeno sculptures - Mali couldn't enforce law against excavation/export of sculptures, so people did so illegally
- Author - These collectors "rightly" admired them
- Problem - A lot of important info is now lost
- Paragraph note
- A relevant doctrine is described
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- UNESCO Doctrine - Cultural artifacts belong to the culture
- Some countries have gone further - These artifacts are state property
- Paragraph note
- The doctrine is applied to the situation, and a paradox is noted
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Mali's government should have been in control
- Irony/paradox - These regulations can result in people keeping things secret to get around them, making problem worse
- Paragraph note
- A thought experiment is done to "rank" different outcomes and suggest one
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Suppose - UNESCO helped Mali to educate, register artifacts, and tax their export
- Worst - What did happen (illicit excavation export)
- Better - Supposed situation, where people are excavating and exporting things under some regulations
- Best* - Professional archaeologists did the excavation
Simply passing laws or doctrines to protect cultural artifacts can ironically result in people illegally excavating/exporting them while hiding important information about them, so there need to be other possible solutions that allow for "better" outcomes, even if they're not the "best" outcomes.
Key Lines:
Lines 6-12 - The problem is outlined
Lines 18-20 - A doctrine to address the problem is described
Lines 22-25 - Laws building from the doctrine are discussed
Lines 30-34 - A paradox ("painful irony") about implementing the doctrine or laws is highlighted
Lines 51-56 - The Author implies a non-ideal but practical solution addressing the paradox
Meta-Structure:
Problem/Solution - Here, the Author notes a problem—cultural knowledge is lost when cultural artifacts are illicitly looted and exported from their country of origin. One solution—doctrines/laws making this illegal—can ironically result in the information being hidden and thus still lost. And while she does note an ideal solution—professional archaeologists doing the excavations—she recognizes that this isn't practical/realistic.
Rather, she imagines a solution whereby the government steps in to record, register, and tax these cultural items as they're excavated and exported by individuals. While not as good as the archaeologists, she notes it's better than them being looted and that knowledge lost forever.
Last Thoughts:
This is a tricky passage! The last paragraph, in particular, highlights a middle-of-the-road approach phrased in a convoluted manner. Making sure that you understood the comparison between the potential solutions will probably be key to answering questions.
Also, note that ironies and paradoxes can, more or less, be treated as the same thing on the LSAT. So when an RC passage notes an irony, think of it as a paradox—and we know paradoxes are important!
Question prompt
The passage indicates that
Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right
Credited answer: B
The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.
Question Type
Legal
Answer choices
-
Arequiring the origins of Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice A is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 47-49) The Author notes that such documentation could have been implemented by Mali to lead to a better outcome, but she doesn't note that any countries have done this. She also says that this would be separate from the UNESCO doctrine, not built from it. -
Brestricting the export of Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice B matches the stem
Correct. Question Type:
Must Be True
Strategy Overview:
Check the relevant section of the passage and find an answer reflecting the details there
Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
Paragraph 2 discussed the UNESCO doctrine, detailing what it is. We also noted that some countries built off of it. Heading to that section (Lines 22-25) since the question asks us about what some countries have done with the doctrine, we see that they declared all antiquities belong to the state and they can't be freely exported.
Paragraph 3 talks about the doctrine, but it's to point out a painfully ironic outcome of it, so that doesn't discuss how countries have made use of it.
Thus, we're looking for an answer stating that the countries have used it as the basis for their own laws that declare state ownership and ban exportation.
Answer Explanation:
(Lines 22-25) This answer paraphrases the last sentence of Paragraph 2, where the UNESCO doctrine is discussed, so this is the correct answer.
Key Takeaway:
For questions that are asking for an answer that the passage states or indicates, don't stray too far from the actual language in the passage! -
Cadopting plans to teach Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice C is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 41-47) This is one part of the proposal in Paragraph 4 that's meant to highlight an alternative to address the shortcomings of the UNESCO doctrine, not something countries have actually done by making use of it. -
Dencouraging trade in a Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice D is not credited
Incorrect. This answer seems completely made up and isn't based on the text of the passage. -
Ecommitting substantial resources to Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice E is not credited
Incorrect. Similar to (D), the passage doesn't discuss any country spending money to get antiquities back.
What this tests
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explain b 1 reply
Started by Elizabeth25