Question 84·Hard·Text Structure and Purpose
During a recent excavation off the coast of Ikaria, marine archaeologists retrieved a corroded bronze mechanism encrusted with barnacles. Preliminary cleaning revealed a series of interlocking gears and inscriptions in archaic Greek. To determine the artifact’s age and function, researchers conducted high-resolution CT scans, virtual reconstructions, and comparative metallurgical analyses. They concluded that the mechanism predates the Antikythera device by at least a century and may have been designed to predict lunar eclipses. Scholars in the history of science suggest the find could push back the origin of complex gearwork in the Mediterranean and reshape narratives about technological diffusion.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
For structure questions, make a 3-part outline of the text: what the beginning does, what the middle does, and what the ending does. Then select the option whose verbs and sequence match that outline, and eliminate choices that introduce elements not actually present (like debates, policy arguments, or an extended focus on details that the passage treats briefly).
Hints
Chunk the passage
Briefly label what the passage is doing in the first 1–2 sentences versus the middle sentences versus the final sentence.
Spot the “methods” section
Look for the sentence that lists procedures (for example, CT scans and analyses). That helps you describe the passage’s middle.
Spot the “so what?” ending
Identify the part that talks about how the finding could affect historians’ broader understanding, not just what the object is.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the beginning
The opening sentences introduce the situation and the find: a recent excavation near Ikaria and a corroded bronze mechanism with gears and Greek inscriptions.
Identify the middle
The middle of the passage explains how researchers studied the artifact (CT scans, virtual reconstructions, metallurgical analyses) and what they concluded about its age and possible function.
Identify the ending
The final sentence shifts to why the discovery matters beyond this one object: it could change scholars’ narratives about the origin and diffusion of complex gearwork.
Match the outline to a choice
The choice that matches discovery → investigative techniques → implications is:
It describes an archaeological discovery, explains the investigative techniques applied to it, and then discusses the potential implications of the findings.