MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 23: Answer and Explanation

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Test Information

Question: 23

2. Suppose a Russian peasant in the early 20th century returning home from a day's work first told his wife of rumors from St. Petersburg that the tsar had been deposed and only later mentioned to her, as an afterthought, that the local Orthodox Church had new priest. Based on the information in the passage:

  • A. the peasant's conversation with his wife supports the claim that Old Believers did not value the Orthodox Clergy.
  • B. the tsar's hope of including subjects in the civic order through registration had been fulfilled.
  • C. the peasant is likely part of a minority religious group not recognized by the Orthodox Church.
  • D. the peasant's behavior may strengthen Koropachinskii's assertions in paragraph 1.

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

D This is a New Information question.

A: No. The peasant and his wife were not identified as Old Believers. Furthermore, there is no suggestion in the new information that the actions of the peasant indicate anything about ideas of Old Believers regarding the value of the Orthodox Church.

B: No. This situation doesn't specifically relate to the issue of religious registration.

C: No. The peasant and his wife were not identified with any fringe or minority religious group.

D: Yes. Koropachinskii notes that a Russian villager, "dimly perceives that he is a subject of a vast state and that events taking place far from his place of birth can have a much greater influence on his life than some event in his village." The fact that the peasant reports rumors regarding the distant tsar before he reports more concrete news about his own village could support Koropachinskii's assertion.

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