单选题 Samples from a ceramic vase found at a tomb in Sicily prove that the vase was manufactured in Greece. Since the occupant of the tomb died during the reign of a Sicilian ruler who lived 2,700 years ago, the location of the vase indicates that there was trade between Sicily and Greece 2,700 years ago.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A、 Sicilian potters who lived during the reign of the ruler did not produce work of the same level of quality as did Greek potters.
B、 Sicilian clay that was used in the manufacture of pottery during the ruler's reign bore little resemblance to Greek clay used to manufacture pottery at that time.
C、 At the time that the occupant of the tomb was alive, there were ships capable of transporting large quantities of manufactured goods between Sicily and Greece.
D、 The vase that was found at the Sicilian tomb was not placed there many generations later by descendants of the occupant of the tomb.
E、 (E) The occupant of the tomb was not a member of the royal family to which the Sicilian ruler belonged.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 本题为GRE机考重考的题目，属于典型的“B，A”类型，假设思路大多为“除了A以外没有别的原因”，可用否定概念来定位选项，发现(A)、(D)、(E)中间有否定词。(D)排除了他因，即花瓶是坟墓的主人的后代在很多年以后放进去的，可用取非方法去验证，是一个很好的假设。(A)、(B)、(E)都是无关选项；(C)是最易误选的答案，但(C)是支持而非假设，若把(C)改为“在2700年前，西西里岛与希腊之间能够进行贸易往来”，那么就可以作为一个假设。