Arguing that there was no trade between Europe and East Asia in the early Middle Ages because there are no written re...
Jay75February 6, 2018
Clarification between C and D
I have read the message threads and seen that C is the "correct" answer, and I understand that we are supposed to look for the "correct" answer, but I'm experiencing difficulty in understanding How D is not considered a valid answer, it appears to be directly supported by information in the passage, but written in a certain way that only displays subtle differences to answer choice C.
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Answer choices (C) and (D) are quite different, actually. The stimulus basically argues that the absence of evidence is not, itself, evidence of absence - in other words, just because there are no written records of the trade does not establish definitively that there was, in fact, no trade.
Answer choice (C) expresses this main point: that the absence of a certain sort of evidence (written records) does not establish the absence of trade between Europe & East Asia.
(D), on the other hand, is not supported by the information in the stimulus and it does not pass the Must Be True prong of Main Point questions.
(D) states, "the view that there was trade between Europe and East Asia in the Middle Ages can only be disproved by showing that no references to this trade exist in surviving records."
The author does not agree with (D).
As set forth in the final sentence of the stimulus by analogy, a reference to this trade in surviving records (verifiable sighting of the yeti) would prove that the trade did exist (would prove that the creature does exist) but the absence of such references (yeti sightings) cannot prove that it did not.
Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
