PSAT Writing and Language Practice Test 40: Sentence and Paragraph Ordering

Questions 1-4 refer to the following information.

Art Theft by Government—The Issues with the British Museum

{1}

[1] The spoils of war have always gone to the winning side. [2] That has long been the general consensus among warring nations. [3] It seems quite obvious that those who win should take what they want. [4] However in recent years, this practice has become more and more common and not just within wars. [5] They took control of vast swaths of land and the people and items on them. [6] During this colonial time, the British government removed much artwork they deemed valuable and shipped it back to the British Museum. 1

{2}

[1] Indeed, it isn't difficult to understand why the British people don't want to give up parts of one of the most amazing historical art collections in the world. [2] The British Museum has carefully cultivated the collection to reflect worldwide cultures. [3] However, many of these pieces were not purchased but were taken as spoils of war and colonization. [4] Egyptian, Iraqi, and Greek peoples, along with people from many other cultures, must travel around the world and pay an entry fee to see pieces of their own history. 2

{3}

[1] For this reason, if you visit the British Museum today, you can see artifacts from everywhere from ancient Egypt to ancient Greece, from India to China. [2] For a long time the British government has justified the exhibits simply by pointing out that the artifacts have been safer in Great Britain than in their native countries. [3] However, this argument can no longer be generally accepted. [4] Governments like the one in Greece are very well equipped to keep their cultural artifacts safe. [5] However, now that the time has come to return some of these artifacts to their rightful owners, the British government is dragging its feet. 3

{4}

Although it is true that the British Museum has kept these pieces safe for decades, that doesn't mean the pieces belong to it. Even in cases where the pieces would be undiscovered if not for British archaeology, they should still belong to the people who created them, not to those who discovered them. The British Museum and museums around the world should accumulate foreign collections only through purchase, not by claiming "finders keepers." The time has come for people around the world to say a polite "thank you" to Britain for keeping their treasures safe and for Britain to send those treasures home. 4