Self-study
Conclusion It would not be surprising to discover that the trade routes between China and the West were opened many centuries, even millennia, earlier than 200 B.C., contrary to what is currently believed. █████ ████ ████ ████ ███ █████ ████ ████ ██ ██████████ ██ █ █████ █████ ███████ █████ ███ ███ ████████████ ████████ ██████ ███████████ ████████ ███████ ███ ██████ █████████████ ████ ████ ████ ██ ██ ██████████ █████ ███ ███ ████████ █████████ ██ █████ ████ ██████ ███ ███ ██████ █████ ███ ████ █████ █████████ █████ ██ █████ ███ ███████ █████ ████
Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
The author concludes that trade routes between China and the West may have opened earlier than 200 B.C. To support this claim, the author highlights the benefits of the Silk Road as a trade route: level terrain, easily traversable mountain passes, and desert oases. The author claims that in addition to facilitating trade, these benefits would have also facilitated immigration from Africa and the Middle East to China. Since this migration began at least one million years ago, it is possible that the Silk road had opened earlier than 200 B.C.
Identify Argument Part
The claim in the question stem provides support for the possibility that the trade routes had opened before 200 B.C.
14.
That a migration from Africa ███ ███ ██████ ████ ██ █████ ████████ ██ █████ ███ ███████ █████ ███ ███████ ██ ███ █████ █████████ ██ █████ ███ ██ ███ █████████ █████
a
It is cited ██ ██████████ ████████ ███ ███ █████ ████ █████ █████ ███████ █████ ███ ███ ██████ ████ ████ ███████████ ████ ██████ ███ ████
The author does not make a conclusive claim that the trade links were opened long before 200 B.C.; the author only claims that this was possible.
b
It is an ████████████ ██████████ ████ █████████ ██ ███ ███████████ ██ ███ ███████ █████ █████ ███ █████████ ██████████ ████ ██████
The claim in the question stem is not an intermediate conclusion; it is a premise that we accept at face value. The claim in the question stem does not gain support from any other part of the argument.
c
It is offered ██ ████████ ██ ███████ ██ ███ █████ ████ █████ ██████ ███████ █████ ███ ███ ████ █████ ██████ ████ ████ ███████████ ████ ███████ ████ ██ █████████ █████████
The claim in the question stem provides a reason to believe that trade routes could have opened earlier than 200 B.C.; it is a premise that supports the conclusion.
d
It is offered ██ ████████ ███████ ███ █████ ████ █████ ██████ ███████ █████ ███ ██████ ████████ █████ ██████████ ███████████ ███████ █████ ███ ███ ██████ █████
There is no claim in the argument that trade routes between China and Africa preceded trade routes between China and the Middle East.
e
It is the ████ ██████████ ████ ███ ████████ ████████ ██ █████████ █████ ███████████ ███████ █████ ███ ███ █████
The main conclusion is the first sentence of the argument; the claim in the question stem is not the main conclusion.