boldface 問題

treewing929

Historian:In the Drindian Empire, censuses were conducted annually to determine the population of each village.Village census records for the last half of the 1600’s are remarkably complete.This very completeness makes one point stand out; in five different years, villages overwhelmingly reported significant population declines.Tellingly, each of those five years immediately followed an increase in a certain Drindian tax.This tax, which was assessed on villages, was computed by the central government using the annual census figures.Obviously, whenever the tax went up, villages had an especially powerful economic incentive to minimize the number of people they recorded; and concealing the size of a village’s population from government census takers would have been easy.Therefore, it is reasonable to think that the reported declines did not happen.

In the historian’s argument, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

A.The first supplies a context for the historian’s argument; the second acknowledges a consideration that has been used to argue against the position the historian seeks to establish.

B.The first presents evidence to support the position that the historian seeks to establish; the second acknowledges a consideration that has been used to argue against that position.

C.The first provides a context for certain evidence that supports the position that the historian seeks to establish; the second is that position.

D.The first is a position for which the historian argues; the second is an assumption that serves as the basis of that argument.

E.The first is an assumption that the historian explicitly makes in arguing for a certain position; the second acknowledges a consideration that calls that assumption into question.

這題答案是 C 嗎?感謝大家!

treewing929

Scientists typically do their most creative work before the age of forty.  It is commonly thought that this happens because aging by itself brings about a loss of creative capacity.  However, studies show that a disproportionately large number of the scientists who produce highly creative work beyond the age of forty entered their field at an older age than is usual.  Since by the age of forty the large majority of scientists have been working in their field for at least fifteen years, the studies’ finding strongly suggests that the real reason why scientists over forty rarely produce highly creative work is not that they have simply aged but rather that they generally have spent too long in a given field.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

A.    The first is the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second is an objection that has been raised against a position defended in the argument.
B.    The first is a claim that has been advanced in support of a position that the argument opposes; the second is a finding that has been used in support of that position.
C.    The first is an explanation that the argument challenges; the second is a finding that has been used in support of that explanation.
D.    The first is an explanation that the argument challenges; the second is a finding on which that challenge is based.
E.    The first is an explanation that the argument defends; the second is a finding that has been used to challenge that explanation.


我有點不明白選項 D 和 E. 那個''the argument challenges/defends'', argument 是指什麼? 我原選答案 D, 認為 argument 是指後面中心那部份, 所以是challenge 前面那個解釋. 但是答案好像是 E

treewing929

請大家幫忙, 謝謝!

Eemily

第一题觉得选C
第二题觉得选D 不过如果答案是E,那就跟你有一样的疑问了

treewing929

感謝意見!!