Question 118·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Craft and Structure
Because the surviving correspondence from a polar expedition was written mostly by officers, historian Mara Velasquez describes the hired porters' _____ in the archive. The porters appear frequently, but almost always through officers' comments about wages, delays, and discipline; the porters' own interpretations of events are largely unavailable.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For a words-in-context question, identify every condition the blank must satisfy. Here, the answer must account for both the porters' frequent appearance and the absence of their own perspectives. Reject choices that capture only one part of that contrast or introduce unsupported ideas about intention or power.
Hints
Consider both kinds of presence
Distinguish between being mentioned in a historical record and speaking from one's own perspective.
Focus on point of view
Ask whose concerns determine what the correspondence says about the porters.
Check the whole contrast
Test each phrase against both facts in the passage rather than choosing one that fits only the missing first-person perspective.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the contrast
The porters are not completely missing from the correspondence: they appear frequently. However, their own interpretations are largely unavailable.
Determine the required meaning
The blank must describe a form of representation in which people are present in the record but portrayed mainly through someone else's perspective.
Select the precise phrase
“Mediated visibility” captures both parts of the context: the porters are visible, but officers mediate, or filter, how they are represented.