by maryadkins Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:09 pm
The referenced text, with surrounding text (for context) is:
An ancient law code would have been analogous to the Latin Bible, a venerated document but a closed book. The resistance of the medieval Church to vernacular translations of the Bible, in the West at least, is therefore a pointer to the realities of ancient literacy. When fundamental documents are accessible for study only to an elite, the rest of the society is subject to the elite’s interpretation of the rules.
(A) is unsupported. The author isn't saying that documents were considered authoritative in proportion to how accessible they were. Rather, when important documents were inaccessible, the majority had to rely on the interpretation of the elite. (A) mischaracterizes this point.
(B) is correct.
(C) is incorrect. There is nothing in the text about being misunderstood.
(D) offers no mention of accessibility, which is important in this context.
(E) is incorrect because the author isn't drawing the comparison to highlight inaccessibility due to language.