PrepTest 131

[lcid:3623] Prep Test 131 LSAT — Reading Comp — S4 Reading comp

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

In saying that "no Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

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

Question Type

Humanities

Strategy Overview

Review the purpose of the paragraph in which the expression is found, including the expression in question, then use the purpose and the immediate context to define the expression's meaning

Answer Anticipation

The question stem here is a bit tricky to pin down — it's hard to see what type of question it is. But, at the end of the day, we're trying to figure out what the author is trying to say by comparing gold to other metals. That makes this a Meaning in Context question.So, we're asked what the author was distinguishing when they say "no metals, other than the expensive, nonoxidizing gold, could be relied upon to give off positive-light reflections." This phrase appears in the second paragraph, so we should start by defining the role of that paragraph, as that can sometimes provide contextual clues about the author's meaning. Our note for the second paragraph is, "Noguchi's background (early promise; Brancusi's stonecutter) and observation (sculptors have only used negative light/shadow)." So, the relevant quote probably relates to Noguchi's observation.With that in mind, let's head to the relevant section of the passage. We noted that the end of the second paragraph brought up Noguchi's observation that sculptors have relied on negative light instead of positive light (P2, S6). The author then explains why this is the case ("because," P2, S6). The author says that it's because "no metals, other than expensive, nonoxidizing gold," reliably give off positive-light reflections (P2, S60. So, this line distinguishes between gold and all other metals.What do we know about gold? It's expensive, nonoxidizing, and can be relied on to give off positive-light reflections. And then what do we know about other metals? They can't be relied on to give off positive-light reflections. This directly ties into the observation made by Noguchi, and the innovation that the next paragraph says he goes on to make. So, let's find an answer reflecting this distinction — gold is reliably reflective, while other metals aren't.

Answer choices

  1. A
    a metal that can Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Does this say the author distinguishes between a reliably reflective metal like gold and other metals that aren't reliably reflective?

    Nope. The passage talks about metals that can and can't be "relied upon" to be reflective, not metals that have different levels of reflectivity ("moderately...highly").

  2. B
    a naturally highly reflective Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Does this say the author distinguishes between a reliably reflective metal like gold and other metals that aren't reliably reflective?

    No. The distinction between gold and other metals is whether they can be relied on to give off positive-light reflections. This answer is about their "technical" suitability for sculpture, but there's no discussion of that in the relevant paragraph. In fact, the reason we're given for gold's unsuitability isn't due to its technical features but rather because it's expensive (P2, S6).

  3. C
    metals that can be Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem

    (C) Does this say the author distinguishes between a reliably reflective metal like gold and other metals that aren't reliably reflective?

    Yes! The distinction between gold and other metals is that gold "could be relied upon" to give off positive-light reflections. In other words, gold is reliably reflective, while other metals aren't. So other metals might be able to be made reflective temporarily (the passage doesn't say this — it's something you're expected to know about metals — but, like, look at a car if you're unsure about this), but only gold is reliable in its reflectivity and thus doesn't lose it over time. This answer is, therefore, correct. We'd be justified in selecting it and immediately advancing to the next question.

  4. D
    a highly reflective sculptural Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Does this say the author distinguishes between a reliably reflective metal like gold and other metals that aren't reliably reflective?

    Nope. To quote the passage, "no metals, other than" (P2, S6). That means the line in question only talks about metals, so this answer about nonmetallic materials is unsupported.

  5. E
    a highly reflective metal Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Does this say the author distinguishes between a reliably reflective metal like gold and other metals that aren't reliably reflective?

    No. The contrast is between gold, which can be relied upon to give off reflections, and other metals, which can't (P2, S6). In characterizing the contrast as between two different types of highly reflective metals, this answer misses the point of the distinction.

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