Which two sections were bold-faced?

Oopsy!!! Here you go...

Although the earliest surviving Greek inscriptions written in an alphabet date from the
eighth century B.C., a strong case can be made that the Greeks actually adopted
alphabetic writing at least two centuries earlier. Significantly, the text of these earliest
surviving Greek inscriptions sometimes runs from right to left and sometimes from left to right.
Now, the Greeks learned alphabetic writing from the Phoenicians, and in the process they
would surely have adopted whatever convention the Phoenicians were then using
with respect to the direction of writing. Originally, Phoenician writing ran in either
direction, but by the eighth century B.C. it had been consistently written from right to left for
about two centuries.

The question as you have posted has not correct answer! It is another slightly modified question that no longer has the right answer.

I discussed this exact question 3 years ago and did the research to find the correct question. I will post the correct question here.

"Explanation follows, but first we need to clarify a couple of things.

There is a very similar question that is number 77 in the OG 12th edition. In that question the correct answer does not mention an assumption.

I also found the question that you have posted here in several forums. But with different answer choices.

Here is that Question:

"Although the earliest surviving Greek inscriptions written in an alphabet date from the eighth century B.C., a strong case can be made that the Greeks actually adopted alphabetic writing at least two centuries earlier. Significantly, the text of these earliest surviving Greek inscriptions sometimes runs from right to left and sometimes from left to right. Now, the Greeks learned alphabetic writing from the Phoenicians, and in the process they would surely have adopted whatever convention the Phoenicians were then using with respect to the direction of writing. Originally, Phoenician writing ran in either direction, but by the eighth century B.C. it had been consistently written from right to left for about two centuries.

In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

A. The first is the position that the argument seeks to establish; the second reports a discovery that has been used to support a position that the argument opposes.

B. The first is the position that the argument seeks to establish; the second presents an assumption on which the argument relies.

C. The first presents evidence that is used in support of the position that the argument seeks to establish; the second presents an assumption on which the argument relies.

D. The first is an objection raised against a position that the argument opposes; the second is the position that the argument seeks to establish.

E. The first is an objection raised against a position that the argument opposes; the second is evidence that has been used to support that position."



You can see that the portions in bold are the same, but the answer choices are different. The question, as you posted it does not have a correct answer, since the main conclusion of the argument is the first portion in bold.

The correct answer to this question is B.

As to your main question of how the answer can be an assumption, Now here is a different situation. In this case, the second bold portion is stated not as a fact, but as an inference or additional deduction made in light of the fact stated earlier in the sentence that "the Greeks learned alphabetic writing from the Phoenicians." This second bold portion is not even a proper inference because there is not enough information to state that this must be true.

Because the second portion is not stated as a fact, but as an inference or conclusion that has been drawn - based on insufficient evidence, then it is an assumption. In this case the word "assumption" means that the statement is made with insufficient evidence and so the truth of the statement is not supported but is taken for granted, or "assumed." A fact cannot be assumed if it is stated, but other statements can.

Does that help?