Critical Reasoning

Recently, a team of urban archaeologists uncovered a journal kept by an elderly woman who lived in Charleston in the late eighteenth century. In the volume, the woman expressed her fear that she was being haunted by a ghost. She described in exhaustive detail the nature of the hauntings, systematically recording the time and duration of over 100 encounters with the apparition. The archaeologists, impressed by the scientific rigor present in this unprecedented find, concluded that the ghosts must exist.
Which one of the following represents the conclusion that can be most reasonably drawn from the information in the passage above?

A The woman who keep the journal most likely suffered from a chronic mental disorder.
B The woman who keep the journal sincerely believed that she was being haunted by a ghost.
C A detailed record of times and duration of supposed encounters with an apparition does not provide sufficient evidence to prove the existence of a ghost.
D The archaeologists had never found a record of hauntings as detailed and careful as the one written by the elderly lady.
E Since the late 18th century, more sophisticated instruments for tracking the comings and goings of ghosts have been developed

OA after some discussion . Please discuss each answer choice.

i think (D) should be the answer. the passage tells us that archaeologists were impressed by the scientific rigor present in this unprecedented find.

A- no mention of woman suffering from mental disorder

B- this was a tempting choice, but we don't know whether the woman sincerely believed she was being haunted by ghosts or whether she was merely hallucinating.

C- Again, we don't have enough information to conclude this answer.

E- No mention of ghost tracking instruments.



hope this helps!

ankit0411 wrote:Recently, a team of urban archaeologists uncovered a journal kept by an elderly woman who lived in Charleston in the late eighteenth century. In the volume, the woman expressed her fear that she was being haunted by a ghost. She described in exhaustive detail the nature of the hauntings, systematically recording the time and duration of over 100 encounters with the apparition. The archaeologists, impressed by the scientific rigor present in this unprecedented find, concluded that the ghosts must exist.
Which one of the following represents the conclusion that can be most reasonably drawn from the information in the passage above?

A The woman who keep the journal most likely suffered from a chronic mental disorder.
Nothing has been said regarding that. Cannot comment on her mental state.
B The woman who keep the journal sincerely believed that she was being haunted by a ghost.
(That is not a conclusion. That's a fact reiterated again and again.)
C A detailed record of times and duration of supposed encounters with an apparition does not provide sufficient evidence to prove the existence of a ghost.
(Nothing to support this statement has been mentioned in the paragraph)
D The archaeologists had never found a record of hauntings as detailed and careful as the one written by the elderly lady.
(That's something supported in the paragraph with a set of premises. So, I will go with option D) )
E Since the late 18th century, more sophisticated instruments for tracking the comings and goings of ghosts have been developed
(Nothing has been mentioned in this regard)

Answer is D)

kanwar86 wrote:

ankit0411 wrote:Recently, a team of urban archaeologists uncovered a journal kept by an elderly woman who lived in Charleston in the late eighteenth century. In the volume, the woman expressed her fear that she was being haunted by a ghost. She described in exhaustive detail the nature of the hauntings, systematically recording the time and duration of over 100 encounters with the apparition. The archaeologists, impressed by the scientific rigor present in this unprecedented find, concluded that the ghosts must exist.
Which one of the following represents the conclusion that can be most reasonably drawn from the information in the passage above?

A The woman who keep the journal most likely suffered from a chronic mental disorder.
Nothing has been said regarding that. Cannot comment on her mental state.
B The woman who keep the journal sincerely believed that she was being haunted by a ghost.
(That is not a conclusion. That's a fact reiterated again and again.)
C A detailed record of times and duration of supposed encounters with an apparition does not provide sufficient evidence to prove the existence of a ghost.
(Nothing to support this statement has been mentioned in the paragraph)
D The archaeologists had never found a record of hauntings as detailed and careful as the one written by the elderly lady.
(That's something supported in the paragraph with a set of premises. So, I will go with option D) )
E Since the late 18th century, more sophisticated instruments for tracking the comings and goings of ghosts have been developed
(Nothing has been mentioned in this regard)

Answer is D)

OA is D