Self-paced
The ends of modern centuries have been greeted with both apocalyptic anxieties and utopian fantasies. ██ ██ ███ ██████████ ████ ████ █████████ ████ ████████████ ██████ ██ ██ ██████████ █████ ████ ███ ███████ ████ ████ █ ███████ ███████ ██ ███ ██████ ████ ███ ███████ █████████████ █████ ███ █████████ █████████ ██████ ██████ █████ ██ ████ ███ █████ ████ ████ ██████ ████ ████████
Argument Summary
The author claims that, while the ends of centuries have been met with "both apocalyptic anxieties and utopian fantasies," it is not surprising that both types of reactions have been consistently inaccurate. The author supports this claim by pointing out that the time a century ends "cannot have any special significance," since the calendar we use is "only one among many" calendars that have existed.
Strategy: Substitute Reason
This is an unusual question type, because it asks us to substitute a new reason to support the author's conclusion while maintaining "the force of the argument." In other words, we want to keep supporting the conclusion that it's not surprising that both the "apocalyptic anxieties and utopian fantasies" have been inaccurate. The current reason provided is that the Gregorian calendar is "just one among many" calendars, so the exact time a century ends according to the Gregorian calendar doesn't have a special meaning.
Instead of trying to pre-phrase a specific alternative reason when we have no idea what the answer choices will look like, it will help to just be clear on what we aren't looking for. We don't want any answer choices that will undermine the author's conclusion or be irrelevant to it. We're looking for an answer choice that will stand in the same relationship to the conclusion as the current reason does — i.e., an answer choice that supports the conclusion and keeps it intact.
5.
Which one of the following, ██ █████ █████ ██ ███████████ ███ ███ ██████ █████ █████ █████ █████ ██████████ ███ █████ ██ ███ █████████
a
It is logically ██████████ ███ ████ █████████ ██ ██ ███████ ██ ███ ████ █████
Incorrect. This doesn't support the author's conclusion, because the author's conclusion isn't that both reactions have never been correct at the same time. The author's conclusion is that "both reactions" — in this case, meaning each reaction — have been consistently incorrect. In other words, the "apocalyptic anxieties" have been consistently incorrect, and the utopian fantasies have been consistently incorrect. To support this conclusion, we need a reason why each of these reactions has been consistently incorrect, not a reason why these reactions have not been correct at the same time.
b
What is a ███████ ███████ ██ ███ █████ ██ ██████ ███ ████ ███ ███ ███████ █████ ██ ███████ █ ███████████ ██ █████ █████ ██████
Incorrect. This answer choice suggests that in some cases, a "utopian fantasy" for one group of people might be the same thing as an "apocalyptic" scenario for another group of people. But if this is true, this just suggests that a single event could fulfill both "apocalyptic anxieties and utopian fantasies." This doesn't support the author's conclusion about both types of reactions being consistently misplaced.
c
The number system █████ ██ ███ ██████ ████ ██ ███ ███████ ██ █████ ███ ███████ █████ █████ ███ ████ ███ ██████████ ██ █████ █ ███████████ ██████ ██ █████ ██ ██ ██ █████ ███ ████ ███ ████ ██████ ████ ████████
Correct. Like the current reason provided about the Gregorian calendar, this answer choice explains why "it is not surprising" that both the apocalyptic anxieties and utopian fantasies haven't occurred. There's nothing necessarily special about the number 100, just as there isn't necessarily anything special about the Gregorian calendar.
d
The firm expectation ████ █████████ █████████████ ██ █████ ██ ██████ ███ ████ ██████ ██████ ██ █ ██████ ████ █████ ██ ████ ██████ ████ █████████ █████████████ ████ ███████
Incorrect. We don't know if the "apocalyptic anxieties and utopian fantasies" mentioned in the first sentence count as "the firm expectation" of something extraordinary. And even if people behave in a way that makes it "less likely" for something extraordinary to happen, this explanation doesn't have the same force in explaining why these reactions have "consistently" been wrong as saying that the ends of centuries are never actually significant.
e
Since a century ███ ███████ ███ ██████ █████ ████ █████ ██████ ██ ███ ████ ████ ██████ ██ █████ ████ ████████ ████ ████ ██████████ ████ ███ ███████ █████ ███████
Incorrect. We don't know how people learning from their mistakes or not connects to whether apocalyptic anxieties and utopian fantasies at the end of a century are misplaced.