SAT Reading and Writing: Palenque and Mirador Words in Context
A hard Digital SAT Words in Context question. Mirador Basin developments were a precondition for Palenque’s sophistication — which word for Palenque’s relationship to those achievements fits the passage best?
Question
Palenque, the famed Maya city located in the highlands of southeastern Mexico, was likely _______ of achievements attained in the lesser-known polities of the Mirador Basin. As Morales–Aguilar et al. have shown, developments at those earlier Mirador sites (e.g., the eight astronomically aligned complexes at El Mirador) were a historical precondition for the sophistication exhibited by the architects of later cities.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Step-by-Step Solution
Use the second sentence to fix the direction of the relationship, then match a word.
1Pin down the relationship between the two cities.
The second sentence is the key: “developments at those earlier Mirador sites … were a historical precondition for the sophistication exhibited by the architects of later cities.” Palenque is one of those “later cities.”
So the direction is fixed: Mirador came first and made Palenque’s sophistication possible. Whatever fills the blank must describe Palenque as the recipient of that benefit, not the source of it and not the opposite of it.
2Match a word to “recipient of the benefit.”
Palenque “was likely ______ of achievements attained in … the Mirador Basin.”
“a beneficiary of achievements” means Palenque received an advantage from those achievements — exactly the relationship the second sentence describes. The answer is C.
3Eliminate the distractors deliberately.
A. “an archetype” means an original model or prototype. The passage makes Mirador the model and Palenque the later imitator — A reverses the direction.
B. “a replica” means an exact copy. The passage only claims Mirador was a precondition for Palenque’s sophistication, not that Palenque copied Mirador feature for feature. Too strong.
D. “an antithesis” means the direct opposite. Palenque is enabled by Mirador, not opposed to it. Wrong meaning entirely.
Only C, “a beneficiary,” correctly captures Palenque as the recipient of the earlier civilization’s achievements.