124.Museums that house Renaissance oil paintings typically store them in environments that are carefully kept within
narrow margins of temperature and humidity to inhibit any deterioration. Laboratory tests have shown that the
kind of oil paint used in these paintings actually adjusts to climatic changes quite well. If, as some museum
directors believe, paint is the most sensitive substance in these works, then by relaxing the standards for
temperature and humidity control,museums can reduce energy costs without risking damage to these
paintings. Museums would be rash to relax those standards, however, since results of preliminary tests indicate
that gesso, a compound routinely used by Renaissance artists to help paint adhere to the canvas, is unable to
withstand signifi cant variations in humidity.
In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
(A) The fi rst is an objection that has been raised against the position taken by the argument; the second is the
position taken by the argument.
(B) The fi rst is the position taken by the argument; the second is the position that the argument calls into
question.
(C) The fi rst is a judgment that has been offered in support of the position that the argument calls into
question; the second is a circumstance on which that judgment is, in part, based.
(D) The fi rst is a judgment that has been offered in support of the position that the argument calls into
question; the second is that position.
(E) The fi rst is a claim that the argument calls into question; the second is the position taken by the argument.
