The author also assumes that the ants’ presence does not harm the orchid in other ways.
A
Microscopic organisms that are present in the orchids’ roots break down the organic matter stored there by the ants.
B
The nutrients present in the organic matter stored by the ants are the same as those present in the soil in which the orchids are found.
C
The ants that live in hollow places in the roots of orchids prey on an insect species whose members eat the orchids’ roots.
D
The ants that live in hollow places in the roots of orchids do not play a role in pollinating the flowers of the plant.
E
Most plant species whose roots, stems, or leaves harbor insects are more prone to disease and rot than are other plants.
A
Many Winchester residents never use the branch libraries because of the irregular hours each branch keeps.
B
Most Winchester residents have complained about the selection of books at the branch libraries.
C
The only possible site for a new library is not readily accessible to most Winchester residents.
D
It would cost Winchester a significant amount of money to build a larger library.
E
Each of Winchester’s branch libraries attempts to cater to the tastes of the residents of the entire township.
The sculptor Barajas died before she could even begin sculpting the statue called Sonora. However, because Sonora was sculpted by Barajas’s assistants, working from three sketches Barajas drew in preparing to create the statue herself, the statue probably looks very much like it would have looked if she had lived to complete it.
Summarize Argument
The author argues that the statue “Sonora” looks very much like what it would have had its original sculptor, Barajas, lived to complete it. This is because Sonora was scrupled by Barajas assistants, who worked from three of Barajas’ sketches.
Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that Barajas would not have majorly deviated from her sketches if she made Sonora.
A
Ordinarily, Barajas’s ideas for her statues were revised substantially throughout a series of dozens of preliminary sketches.
This directly calls out a major assumption in the argument: that Barajas did not regularly deviate from her sketches. This majorly weakens the main conclusion of the argument.
B
One of the assistants who worked closely with Barajas in planning Sonora did not participate in sculpting it.
This does not impact the argument’s reasoning. The three assistants who made the statue could have also worked closely with Barajas
C
Sonora is composed partly of materials that Barajas did not frequently use in the statues that she completed during her lifetime.
It is unclear whether these materials would impact the statue's appearance. Thus, it is too weak to cast doubt on the conclusion
D
Barajas always worked from sketches when she sculpted a statue.
This does not say whether the sketches were indicative of the final version of the statue. This is too nonspecific to support
E
Barajas never took as long to complete a statue as the assistants did to sculpt Sonora.
The time it takes to create the statue does not impact how it looks, which is what the reasoning and main conclusion are focused on.