Q5

[RafaelK581]

Hi.

I cannot see any information that would support C) as the correct answer in the passage especially in the last paragraph. If earthquake is the keyword for the demise of Indus Valley civilization, i thought D) was the better answer.

[ohthatpatrick]

In the final paragraph, the author is discussing possible theories for how the Indus Valley civilization ended:


1. They were massacred by invaders
(counterevidence: to written record of it and no archaeological evidence of battles within the cities)

2. They relocated due to catastrophic environmental reasons
(and in doing so the large empire fragmented into disconnected regional cultures)

2a) they relocated due to severe drought?
(evidence: there is some, apparently ... and a drought would have led people to abandon the cities)

2b) they relocated due to a massive earthquake?
(evidence: it is a seismically volatile region, and a quake could have disrupted the normal flow of rivers)

ANSWERS

(A) "Most likely" is way too strong. The author never picks a 'winner' from his list of possibilities.

(B) "Only something as catastrophic as an earthquake" is way too strong. If this were true, then the author could be pretty certain that it was indeed an earthquake that caused the demise of the civilization, but nobody's sure about what caused the demise. A severe drought might not be "as catastrophic as an earthquake", but the author still considers it a possible cause.

(C) Sure, this is softly worded. Since people are trying to understand why this civilization declined, and earthquake is one of the top 3 or 4 possibilities, then finding or not finding earthquake damage would help to refine our guess. If we found evidence of quake damage, we'd be more likely to think that the quake was involved in the decline. If we didn't find evidence, we'd be more likely to rule out the possibility that a quake did it. Either way, our understanding would benefit.

(D) This has a scolding, normative tone, which is too strong. The author isn't saying, "An earthquake ruined them. Idiots. They should have been better prepared."
He's saying, "one possibility for their decline is an earthquake."
We can't get from what he said to what (D) is saying without major leaps.

(E) "most likely", again, is an automatic dealbreaker. The author never picked which speculation he thinks is most likely.

Hope this helps.