Some people have speculated that two helmets with attached horns discovered in Denmark in 1942 belonged to Vikings, but scholars...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Some people have speculated that two helmets with attached horns discovered in Denmark in 1942 belonged to Vikings, but scholars have long been skeptical. Archaeologist Helle Vandkilde and colleagues recently provided radiocarbon dates for the helmets, and their findings _______ scholars' skepticism: the helmets date to the Nordic Bronze Age, centuries before the Vikings existed.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
anticipate
inspect
reveal
justify
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Some people have speculated that two helmets with attached horns discovered in Denmark in 1942 belonged to Vikings," |
|
| "but scholars have long been skeptical." |
|
| "Archaeologist Helle Vandkilde and colleagues recently provided radiocarbon dates for the helmets," |
|
| "and their findings ______" |
|
| "scholars' skepticism:" |
|
| "the helmets date to the Nordic Bronze Age, centuries before the Vikings existed." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: New radiocarbon dating proves that the helmets are much older than Vikings, supporting scholars' long-held skepticism about the Viking attribution.
Argument Flow: The passage presents a disagreement between popular speculation (helmets are Viking) and scholarly skepticism. New scientific evidence through radiocarbon dating resolves this disagreement by definitively showing the helmets are from the Bronze Age, centuries before Vikings existed, which supports the scholars' skeptical position.
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
- The scientific findings show the helmets are from the Bronze Age, not the Viking era
- Scholars were already skeptical about the Viking attribution
- The new evidence proves the scholars were right to be skeptical
- So the word needs to show that the findings support or validate the scholars' existing skepticism
- The right answer should show that the scientific evidence confirms or supports what the scholars already believed - that these weren't Viking helmets
anticipate
✗ Incorrect
- "Anticipate" means to expect or predict something before it happens
- This doesn't make sense because scholars can't anticipate their own existing skepticism
- The findings came after the skepticism already existed
inspect
✗ Incorrect
- "Inspect" means to examine closely or investigate
- The findings don't examine the skepticism itself - they provide evidence about the helmets
- This misrepresents the relationship between the evidence and the scholarly position
reveal
✗ Incorrect
- "Reveal" means to show or make known for the first time
- The scholars' skepticism wasn't hidden - it was already established
- The findings don't uncover the skepticism; they support it
justify
✓ Correct
- "Justify" means to show something is right or reasonable
- This perfectly captures how the Bronze Age dating proves the scholars were right to be skeptical
- The scientific evidence validates their long-held doubts about the Viking attribution