Cave Paintings

Answer choices

1. A

   Correct79% picked this

   implicit

   Why this is right

   Since the author rejects the anthropologists in the 1st paragraph, but presents / supports / never undermines the anthropologists in the 3rd paragraph, it seems fair to say that the author implicitly accepts their idea. The word "implicit / tacit" means unseen, invisible, implied, not explicit ... so we don't need explicit words of support to justify this answer. When I first saw "implicit acceptance", I thought it was unfair of LSAT to ask us to speculate about something not explicitly said. But they like to test the logic of, "Whom did the author give the last word to?" If a passage involves some sort of debate or attempt to solve a causal mystery, and the author presents reasons to undermine earlier positions but then presents a final position without any pushback, then we're allowed to think that the author is inherently sympathetic to this final position. In this passage, we also have the fact that the author seems to be on board with this sort of explanation, saying, "The images were probably intended to make animals vulnerable to weapons, an explanation supported by X. Other paintings clearly show pregnant animals, perhaps in an effort to assure plentiful hunting grounds." These sentences make it feel like the author is implicitly accepting this notion that the paintings related in some way to promoting food supply for the Aurignacians.

   Skill tested: Author's Attitude · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

   79%
2. B

   Unsupported: hesitant5% picked this

   hesitant

   To support hesitant, we need to be able to point to a moment in the passage where the author is pushing back against the explanation or airing a certain qualm she has about going along with it. But there is no such moment in the 3rd paragraph. The author presents some ideas to flesh out and support the anthropologists' view and never says anything counter it or undermine it.

   5%
3. C

   Too Weak12% picked this

   noncommittal

   This is very tempting since the author seems to be trying on this theory like a new pair of shoes. But the author does go farther than just saying, "Some people say X. They support that by saying Y." The most committal the author gets is that 3rd sentence of the 3rd paragraph: the images were probably intended to make these animals vulnerable to the weapons of the hunters That sentiment is not attributed to the anthropologists, as the previous two sentences were. It seems to come directly from the author's brain, and she even continues "an explanation supported by the fact that ...." Naturally, "probably" doesn't mean that you are fully committed to the truth of something, but because you're leaning towards believing it, saying that you're noncommittal seems to misleadingly suggest you have no position on it.

   12%
4. D

   Too Negative2% picked this

   detached

   If we couldn't find support for "hesitant" in (B), we definitely can't find support for "skeptical" here. As discussed, the author never pushes back against these anthropologists, and to the contrary she seems to just take their theory and run with it for a couple sentences of her own.

   2%
5. E

   Opposite2% picked this

   broad

   As discussed, the author never pushes back against these anthropologists, and to the contrary she seems to just take their theory and run with it for a couple sentences of her own. She seems to have a positive, sympathetic view towards the anthropologists' hypothesis. There's no evidence of disagreement.

   2%