16Hit 1600
Information and IdeasVery hardMain idea of an urban archaeology passage

Information and Ideas practice question

In many European cities, a building permit now comes with a condition: before foundations are poured, licensed archaeologists must excavate the site at the developer's expense. The rule has produced an odd alliance. Firms that would never fund a dig voluntarily have paid for thousands, and some of the richest recent finds — Roman wharves, medieval workshops — surfaced not through planned research but through commerce needing a basement.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

  1. A. Construction requirements have made developers unexpected participants in urban archaeology.Correct
  2. B. Most archaeological discoveries in cities are destroyed before they can be studied.
  3. C. Archaeologists oppose construction projects in historic city centers.
  4. D. Cities should fund museums to display artifacts found at building sites.

Answer: A. Construction requirements have made developers unexpected participants in urban archaeology.

The passage explains that laws requiring pre-construction excavation have turned builders into financiers of digs — reluctant participants in archaeology. Choice A states that central point.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. Most archaeological discoveries in cities are destroyed before they can be studied.
The text describes finds being excavated under law, not destroyed unstudied.
C. Archaeologists oppose construction projects in historic city centers.
No archaeologist in the text opposes construction; the law makes construction fund excavation.
D. Cities should fund museums to display artifacts found at building sites.
Museums and displays are never mentioned in the text.

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