hard · GRE Verbal

Archaeologists long assumed that the abandoned cliff settlement was deserted because of a prolonged drought. **Tree-ring data from the surrounding valley do indeed show a severe dry spell coinciding with the settlement's decline.** **Yet the same data reveal that two nearby settlements, subject to identical drought conditions, remained inhabited for another century.** If drought alone drove people from the cliffs, it is puzzling that it spared communities only a few miles away. In the argument, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles? (A) The first is evidence consistent with the prevailing explanation; the second is evidence that casts doubt on that explanation's sufficiency. (B) The first is the prevailing explanation itself; the second is the argument's endorsement of it. (C) The first is the argument's conclusion; the second is a premise leading to it. (D) Both boldface portions undermine the prevailing explanation. (E) The first is an objection to the prevailing explanation; the second answers that objection.

1. The first is evidence consistent with the prevailing explanation; the second is evidence that casts doubt on that explanation's sufficiency.
2. The first is the prevailing drought explanation itself; the second is the argument's wholehearted endorsement and defense of that same explanation.
3. The first is the main conclusion the argument reaches; the second is a premise offered in direct support of reaching that conclusion.
4. Both boldface portions supply evidence that independently undermines and weakens the prevailing drought explanation for the abandonment.
5. The first is an objection raised against the prevailing explanation; the second is the reply that fully answers and dissolves that objection.

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