#9 - Global Reference, Must Be True, Principle

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (B).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[gabyd33]

I chose (A) because it seemed like the best out of a set of bad options. I don't understand how the correct answer can be (B) is the last sentence of Passage B clearly states that there can be no justification for art subsidies. The author of Passage B explicitly states that arts are not like public goods that need to be available to all, and that it is not appropriate for the government to subsidize art because that would mean that the government was dictating our artistic preferences, which is why we shouldn't use public funding to support the arts. Given this, I don't understand how answer choice (B) is supported by the text. I would appreciate some assistance in this matter.

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Gaby,

You are right that Passage B does not support public subsidies for the arts. But look closer at answer choice (B). Does it say that there should be public subsidies for the arts? It gives a principle that both authors use to come to their conclusions about art subsidies. They can use the same principle to reach very different conclusions, as they do here. The first paragraph of Passage B supports the principle that public subsidies need to serve the public good. Similarly, the first paragraph of Passage A supports the idea that the author justifies art subsidy spending on the public benefits from art spending. The difference is that Passage A determines that art subsidies have a public benefit while Passage B determines they do not.

Hope that helps!

[katnyc]

I chose answer choice C. I think I assumed that culture in this case meant the art being enjoyed. I still dont understand the credited answer choice. Is there a way that it can be explained a different way? thank you. Its the public funding that threw me off. I saw public good in the passage for B.

[hap21b]

Hi, katnyc! Not a PowerScore employee, so this may not be fully right, but what helped me here was to think about the principle that is used in some function by both passages (principle being different from topic, theme, etc.).

For answer C, while passage 2 does use this principle to justify why a government should not choose art and cultural works, passage 1 does not mention anything about aesthetic choices being dictated.

On the other hand, the principle in answer B is used for an argument contained in both passages. For passage 1, this argument is in the first paragraph ("unless public interest is somehow served, proponents of art subsidies will be hard pressed to justify the transfer of money..."). In passage 2, the author writes "a justification for such subsidies must show the direct benefit of spending taxpayers' money..."

In both passages, each author uses the principle from answer B as a general principle that underlies their arguments. Not the exact same outcomes, of course, but it's helpful for me to remember that principles can be vague, imprecise, and "scale-adjustable."

Hope this helps!

[Jeff Wren]

Hi Hap,

I think that you nailed it, well done!

The only thing that I will add is that it's helpful to realize that certain terms in the passages and answers have several synonyms. For example, the term "public interest" in Passage A is equivalent to the term "public good" in Passage B and this answer choice.

Also, the term "public funding" used in the answer choice is used in Passage A, but Passage A also uses the terms "earmarked tax for the arts" "arts subsidies, and "public support." These are used interchangeably in the passage.

The test makers often use synonyms in correct answer choices, especially in Reading Comprehension, in order to convey an idea mentioned in the passage without using the exact word used (i.e. to try to hide the correct answer from you).