OE

D The correct answer to this Inference question must be supported by the passage. The passage discusses the correlation between advanced cultures and realistic art. According to the author, realistic art "often" shows an "advanced" civilization. The author does not claim that this is a perfect correlation, but she cites examples of advanced civilizations that produced realistic art (ancient Greeks and Romans). Analyze each answer to find the choice that is supported by the passage, but be careful to avoid anything that is too extreme to be supported or that goes beyond the scope of the paragraph. (A) goes wrong in two ways: "invariably" is too extreme to follow from the author's tentative claims, and "reject unrealistic art forms" goes beyond the scope of the passage. Perhaps advanced civilizations embrace both realistic and unrealistic art forms. (B) is incorrect because the author does not make a clear causal claim in the passage. Additionally, since the passage makes a qualified assertion ("often"), it's impossible to extend that claim to other civilizations. (C) compares the likelihood that an advanced culture would produce realistic art instead of "any other type of art." The paragraph does not include information about the relative frequency of realistic art and "any other type," so this choice is incorrect. (D) makes a tentative claim, "in some...can take...," that is easy to support from the passage. The author claims that Europeans took "nearly a millennium" to develop realistic painting and sculpture after the ancient Romans lost the ability to create them. Tentative or "soft" claims are easier to support than absolute claims. This choice is correct. (E) is incorrect because the author does not discuss modern abstract art.