Photography historians note that daguerreotypes from the 1840s have become increasingly unable to _____ the fine details they once displayed...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Photography historians note that daguerreotypes from the 1840s have become increasingly unable to _____ the fine details they once displayed with remarkable clarity. As these early photographs age, the silver surface deteriorates, making intricate features progressively more difficult to discern.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
enhance
process
reveal
restore
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Photography historians note that daguerreotypes from the 1840s have become increasingly unable to' |
|
| [MISSING WORD] |
|
| 'the fine details they once displayed with remarkable clarity.' |
|
| 'As these early photographs age, the silver surface deteriorates, making intricate features progressively more difficult to discern.' |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Historic daguerreotype photographs are progressively losing their ability to display fine details due to deterioration over time.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes that daguerreotypes are increasingly unable to perform some function with fine details that they once did beautifully. It then explains this decline through the physical process of aging and silver surface deterioration.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Based on our analysis, we need a word that describes what daguerreotypes used to do with fine details but can no longer do effectively
- The passage tells us they 'once displayed' these details 'with remarkable clarity,' but now the details are 'progressively more difficult to discern' due to deterioration
- The missing word needs to mean something like 'show' or 'display' - describing the photographs' ability to make fine details visible to viewers
- So the right answer should mean 'show,' 'display,' or 'make visible'
enhance
- 'Enhance' means to improve or make better
- This doesn't fit the context - daguerreotypes don't improve details, they display them
- The passage isn't about making details better, but about showing details that already exist
process
- 'Process' means to handle, work with, or transform something
- This suggests the photographs are manipulating the details rather than displaying them
- Doesn't connect logically with 'once displayed with remarkable clarity'
reveal
- 'Reveal' means to show or make visible
- Fits perfectly with the context - photographs reveal/show details to viewers
- Creates logical flow: can't reveal details → once displayed clearly → now hard to discern
- Matches our prethinking about needing a word meaning 'show' or 'display'
restore
- 'Restore' means to bring back to original condition
- This would mean daguerreotypes are fixing or repairing details, which doesn't make sense
- What trap this represents: Students might choose this because the passage mentions deterioration, but photographs don't restore details - they display them