Logical reasoning PrepTest 113 · Section 4 · Question 8

Question prompt

Commentator: In the new Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: B

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Argument or Facts

Facts

Valid or Flawed

NA

Question Type

Argument Completion Questions

Stimulus Summary

New century - Great economic prosperity → Latest technology
These people will see how others live, question their own traditions, and see those traditions dissolve
Therefore - The stability of cultural identity will likely ___________

Answer Anticipation

This Argument Completion question asks us to fill in the end of a statement that starts with “Hence,” so we’ve been provided with the premises and need to fill in the conclusion. That makes this an Argument Completion (Must be True) question. These tend to have answers that bring all the premises together into one final judgment, so that’s what we should be anticipating.
The lead-in to the blank we need to fill in asks about the stability of a nation’s cultural identity. We know from the premises that a nation with all the latest technology won’t have such stability - they’ll see how others live, question their own cultures, and then make changes. So the second premise directly connects to this conclusion, suggesting that cultural identity is destabilized by technology.
While that’s a potential answer, we should also try to bring that opening statement into our anticipation, as this question type tends to rely on all information in reaching the correct answer. Since the opening line connects economic prosperity to technology, we can rewrite our previous anticipation to include that idea - if a nation has economic prosperity, then it’s guaranteed to have the latest technology, and thus have a destabilized culture.

Answer choices

  1. A
    depend on a just Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    A “just” distribution of technology “among all nations” is out of scope. There’s no discussion of what such a “just” distribution would look like, and a nation’s own cultural identity is based on technology being present within its own borders, not in other locations.
  2. B
    decrease if that nation Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem
    This answer matches our anticipation. If the nation gets wealthy, then the opening premise guarantees it must have the latest technology. That means they’ll be bombarded by images from other cultures, questioning their own and dissolving their traditions. So a country that gets wealthy will likely see its traditions/customs dissolve, which is a hallmark of an unstable cultural identity.
  3. C
    be ensured by laws Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    There’s no discussion of any laws meant to protect cultural identity, so this answer is out of scope.
  4. D
    be threatened only if Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    The question is whether the country has the latest technology, not whether its population has the latest technical skills. The average American can’t code a website, but they can definitely stream video from other cultures throughout the world on their cell phone!
  5. E
    be best maintained by Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Technical knowledge and skill is out of scope - they’re not necessary to use the latest technology. Even ignoring that, more technology - even gradually adapted - should decrease cultural stability, not maintain it. This answer also establishes what it says is the “best” method to accomplish a goal, but the stimulus never ranks different approaches.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 16%
  2. B Credited 62%
  3. C 2%
  4. D 7%
  5. E 13%

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