For an inference question, identify the principle that accounts for every stage or example in the passage. Pay special attention to qualifications such as “however,” which often introduce evidence that rules out an overly simple conclusion. Reject choices that contradict a detail, invent a cause, or explain only one part of the text.
Hints
- Hint 1
Compare the priorities
Ask what early restorers, twentieth-century conservators, and some recent museums each consider worth preserving.
- Hint 2
Focus on the recent practice
The recent museums do not necessarily accept the additions as ancient. Consider why they might preserve material they know was added later.
- Hint 3
Find the broad principle
Choose the option that explains all three approaches rather than describing only one period.
Step-by-step
- Step 1
Identify the changing approaches
Early restorers valued a visually complete sculpture, whereas many twentieth-century conservators prioritized keeping the surviving ancient material distinguishable from later additions.
- Step 2
Interpret the recent exception
Some museums now retain later additions because those additions reveal how subsequent generations understood antiquity. This practice treats the sculpture’s reception history as potentially worth preserving.
- Step 3
Draw the inference
The shifts are best explained by differing definitions of what belongs to the sculpture’s identity. The answer is decisions about what to preserve reflect whether a sculpture’s identity is located primarily in its ancient material or also in its history of interpretation.