Question

Use the passage to answer the question:
"The core idea of Takano-Chavez’s book is that the
styles of art and architecture in these four
civilizations offer broader keys to their character or
personality. This seems, at once, obvious and
impossible to establish. It’s obvious in the sense
that any art and architecture reflect the
personalities of their makers, who in turn are—
again, obviously—part of one civilization or
another. The hard-to-prove part, though Takano-
Chavez makes a spirited if uneven effort to prove
it, is that specific details of those styles can be
matched to specific ideological or temperamental
traits of the Aztec, Olmec, and so forth. For
instance, she suggests that the rounded,
enormous heads of Olmec sculptures reflect a
more peaceful, contemplative cast of mind than
that of later Aztec figures, with their angular
features and more developed bodies. I find this
speculation unconvincing: surely, the difference in
styles has as much to do with available materials
and techniques as with any “head-versus-body”
dichotomy."

Which quotation from the passage is the
book reviewer’s thesis statement?

a. “This seems, at once, obvious and
impossible to establish.”

b. “The core idea of Takano-Chavez’s
book is that the styles of art and
architecture in these four civilizations
offer broader keys to their character or
personality.”

c. “I find this speculation unconvincing:
surely, the difference in styles has as
much to do with available materials and
techniques as with any ‘head-versus-
body’ dichotomy.”

d. “For instance, she suggests that the
rounded, enormous heads of Olmec
sculptures reflect a more peaceful,
contemplative cast of mind than that of
later Aztec figures, with their angular
features and more developed bodies.”

Answer 1

The book reviewer’s thesis statement is:

**b. “The core idea of Takano-Chavez’s book is that the styles of art and architecture in these four civilizations offer broader keys to their character or personality.”**

This statement presents the main idea of the review, which is centered around the core argument of Takano-Chavez’s book.