16Hit1600
Information and IdeasVery hardMain idea of a passage distinguishing two kinds of evidence

Information and Ideas practice question

The account books tell us what the estate spent; they do not tell us what it was like. For that we have one source, the steward's letters to his absent employer, which are careful, deferential, and, read against the accounts, occasionally untrue. Where the two disagree, the historian must decide which to believe, and the honest answer is that the books are right about the money and the letters are right about everything else.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

  1. A. The two surviving sources are reliable about different things, and each must be trusted within its own domain.Correct
  2. B. The steward was a liar and his letters are worthless.
  3. C. Account books are the only trustworthy historical source.
  4. D. The estate spent too much money.

Answer: A. The two surviving sources are reliable about different things, and each must be trusted within its own domain.

Books for money; letters for the rest.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. The steward was a liar and his letters are worthless.
'Occasionally untrue', yet right about everything else.
C. Account books are the only trustworthy historical source.
The letters are right about most things.
D. The estate spent too much money.
Not claimed.

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