OG详解-OG7 文法 Q14

Choice C is the best answer. Using a quotation from Stewart, the sentence challenges Thucydides’s explanation that the rise of Athens caused the conflict, suggesting that it was instead caused by a “clash of cultures.” 
Choice A is incorrect. While the sentence uses a quotation, the quotation doesn’t challenge Thucydides’s explanation of the conflict. Choice B is incorrect. While the sentence mentions that Stewart challenged Thucydides’s explanation of the conflict, it doesn’t use a quotation to challenge Thucydides’s explanation: the quoted word “inevitable” is from Thucydides. Choice D is incorrect. While the sentence appears to refute Thucydides’s explanation, it does so in a way that misrepresents the information in the notes; Allison’s Thucydides trap theory is based on Thucydides’s explanation of the conflict. Thus, Allison’s theory affirms, rather than challenges, Thucydides’s explanation.