When the Metropolitan Museum of Art began collecting in 1870, curators maintained detailed provenance records and scholarly annotations for each...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
When the Metropolitan Museum of Art began collecting in 1870, curators maintained detailed provenance records and scholarly annotations for each acquisition. The museum's current annual intake exceeds 50,000 new items. Consequently, today's standard practice involves only basic catalog entries, as the institution finds that comprehensive documentation has become nearly ______.
- redundant
- unattainable
- worthwhile
- efficient
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
redundant
unattainable
worthwhile
efficient
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "When the Metropolitan Museum of Art began collecting in 1870, curators maintained detailed provenance records and scholarly annotations for each acquisition." |
|
| "The museum's current annual intake exceeds 50,000 new items." |
|
| "Consequently, today's standard practice involves only basic catalog entries," |
|
| "as the institution finds that comprehensive documentation has become nearly ______." |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The Metropolitan Museum has shifted from detailed documentation to basic catalog entries due to the overwhelming volume of new acquisitions.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes a historical baseline of thorough documentation, contrasts it with today's massive intake volume, and explains that this volume has forced a change in practice because comprehensive documentation has become nearly impossible to maintain.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? We need to find the word that best describes what comprehensive documentation has become due to the increased volume.
What type of answer do we need? An adjective that logically explains why the museum switched from detailed to basic documentation.
Any limiting keywords? None specified.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The museum used to do detailed documentation for every item, but now they get 50,000+ items per year
- As a result, they've switched to basic entries only
- The blank needs to explain why they made this change - what has comprehensive documentation become due to this massive volume?
- The right answer should indicate that comprehensive documentation has become impossible or extremely difficult to achieve given the sheer number of items they now receive
redundant
✗ Incorrect
- "Redundant" means unnecessary or repetitive
- This doesn't explain why they switched practices - if comprehensive documentation were redundant, they would have stopped it because it wasn't needed, not because of volume constraints
unattainable
✓ Correct
- "Unattainable" means impossible to achieve or reach
- This perfectly explains the volume problem - they want to do comprehensive documentation but literally cannot achieve it with 50,000+ items per year
worthwhile
✗ Incorrect
- "Worthwhile" means valuable or worth the effort
- This creates a logical contradiction - if comprehensive documentation became "nearly worthwhile," why would they abandon it?
efficient
✗ Incorrect
- "Efficient" means working in a well-organized, productive way
- This doesn't fit the context - if comprehensive documentation became "nearly efficient," there would be no reason to switch to basic entries