Reading comp PrepTest 115 · Section 1 · Question 4

Passage

Questions 1-5  .        By the year 2030, the Earth's population is  . expected to increase to 10 billion; ideally, Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Science


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Problem introduced (resource shortage and excess waste with population growth)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • List of problems, according to the author:
      • Copper, nickel, petroleum will last a decade at current consumption (second sentence)
      • Enough waste each year to bury large cities 100 m deep (gross) (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "ideally" (first sentence); "would last a decade or less" (second sentence); "suggest" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Author's solution (Industrial ecosystem, which minimizes and recycles waste)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • The problem should motivate us to switch to an alternative model for industry, called the "industrial ecosystem" (second and third sentences)
    • Definition of "industrial ecosystem": A system where consumption is optimized and waste is minimized and used as the raw material for other processes (last sentence)
    • Comparison, according to the author:
      • Distinction drawn between the "traditional model of industrial activity" and the "industrial ecosystem," which is more "integrated" (third sentence)
    • Examples of waste that is utilized for other processes in the "industrial ecosystem," according to the author:
      • Spent catalysts from petroleum refining and discarded plastic from consumer products (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "not meant to predict a grim future" (first sentence); "emphasize the incentives" (second sentence); "suggest" (third sentence); "should be transformed into a more integrated model" (third sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Support for solution (How an industrial ecosystem generates less waste)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Comparisons, according to the author:
      • Materials in an industrial ecosystem will be depleted at the same rate as materials in a biological ecosystem (first sentence)
      • An industrial ecosystem will inevitably consume energy and create waste/harmful by-products, but at a much lower rate than what is typical today (last sentence)
    • Examples of ways industrial ecosystems will reuse materials
      • Lifecycle of a "chunk of steel" (second sentence)
      • "Designed offal" in metal and plastic manufacturers (third sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "ideal" (first sentence); "still requires" (last sentence); "unavoidable generation of some wastes and some wastes and harmful by-products, but at much lower levels than are typical today" (last sentence)

Paragraph 4

  • Paragraph note
    • Author's conclusion (industrial ecosystem is possible if countries embrace changes)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's conclusion:
      • The ideal industrial ecosystem may not be attainable in the near future, but countries embracing major changes in the face of dwindling resources and increasing waste should make it possible to develop a more sustainable industrial ecosystem. (first and last sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "ideal" (first sentence); "economically viable role for every product of a manufacturing process" (first sentence); "will not be attained soon" (first sentence); "often inadequate" (first sentence); "should be possible to develop" (last sentence); "decreasing supplies of raw materials" (last sentence); "increasing problems of waste and pollution" (last sentence)

Main Point: The urgent problem of resource depletion and excessive waste should lead industrialized and developing nations to embrace the principles of the "industrial ecosystem," in which consumption is optimized, waste is minimized, and refuge serves as the raw material for other processes.

Meta-Structure?

Problem/Solution - This passage is a quintessential version of Problem/Solution Meta-Structure*, a common structuring device for science passages. The problem — that the resource consumption and waste production of industrialized nations will bury us alive alarming soon — is defined in the first paragraph. The solution is outlined in the remaining paragraphs.

In this Meta-Structure, the main point is the author's proposed solution (or the author's opinions one the proposed solution proffered by others). The author proposes the solution in the second paragraph: Let's switch things up from the traditional industrial activity (by the way, problems with a "traditional" practice often show up in these Meta-Structures), to a leaner, greener, new model of the "industrial ecosystem." When that model is initially defined in the second paragraph, it sort of just sounds like recycling, and doesn't exactly sound like groundbreaking or world-saving stuff. But when the author supports how an "industrial ecosystem" will conserve resources and reduce waste in the third paragraph, we get a better idea of how it works: in an industrial ecosystem, materials are conserved and reused as efficiently and completely as in a biological ecosystem. The author then makes the final push for this system in the passage's concluding sentence.

In this Problem/Solution Meta-Structure, we should also note if the author acknowledges any limitations to the proposed solutions. This author does, twice: (1) there will also be some energy expenditure and waste in the use of "designed offal", and (2) we don't currently have the technology to realize the "ideal" industrial ecosystem.

*Still, you could also credibly claim this is an Old Approach/New Approach passage, with the "industrial ecosystem" standing in for the new approach. Remember, there's often more than one Meta-Structure that will fit a passage's argument.

Last Thoughts?

This is one in which you could easily get bogged down in the details. They could conceivably ask us about any number of the odd details brought up here, from the types of natural resources we're depleting to the ways "effluents" could be reused to the intricacies of "designed offal." But, unlike large cities and suburbs ten years from now, don't let these details bury you 100 meters deep. Just remember where in the passage the problem is located (the first paragraph), where the solution is outlined (the second paragraph and third paragraphs), and where the author qualifies the solution (the end of the third paragraph and beginning of the fourth paragraph).

Question prompt

The author mentions all Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

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

Question Type

Science

Strategy Overview

Remind ourselves of the main point of the passage, then head to the answers, focusing on those that line up with the main point and then using our notes/the passage to eliminate the incorrect answer choices

Answer Anticipation

For these Bizarro Must Be True questions, the correct answer will either present a topic not discussed by the passage or assert a claim contradicted by information in the passage. For the former, we’ll generally use a process of elimination to get rid of each answer that does show up in the passage. For the latter — we’re in luck — as we can find a line citation to prove that the passage contradicts the correct answer. In that case, we can feel a lot more comfortable about picking it — while also likely getting it correct faster. But we won’t know if this is the case for the correct answer until after we analyze it, so we should expect to use a process of elimination.As such, we’ll need to rely on our big-picture understanding of the passage to answer this question. We should start by reminding ourselves of the main point (either by reviewing what we said after reading the passage or by rereading our answer to the main point question). From there, we can head to the answer choices. If something seems familiar, consistent with the main point, or reflected in our notes, it’s probably supported by the passage. We can eliminate it without checking the passage. If something seems inconsistent with the main point, it’s probably the correct answer. We can use our notes/highlights/underlines to find the part of the passage that proves the answer choice must be false. If we can find that confirmation, we’ll select that answer choice and move on. If something in an answer choice doesn't seem familiar and isn’t reflected in our notes on each paragraph, we should mark that answer choice as the possible correct answer. Once we've eliminated the remaining answer choices, we can select it.

Answer choices

  1. A
    The amount of waste Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Is this consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Yes. Our note for the second paragraph is, "Author's solution (Industrial ecosystem, which minimizes and recycles waste)." Further, recalling the main point of the passage — that embracing the principles of the industrial ecosystem will allow consumption to be optimized, waste to be minimized, and refuge to serve as the raw material for other processes — should make it evident that this answer choice expresses a benefit of the industrial ecosystem. These more or less confirm that (A) states a benefit of the industrial ecosystem, so we can eliminate (A) without checking the passage.

    If we needed to check the passage, we could see that, in paragraph two, the author states that, in the industrial ecosystem model, "wastes ... are minimized" (P2, S4), so this answer choice states a benefit of switching to the industrial ecosystem.

  2. B
    The amount of harmful Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Is this consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Yes. Our note for the second paragraph is, "Author's solution (Industrial ecosystem, which minimizes and recycles waste)." Further, recalling the main point of the passage — that embracing the principles of the industrial ecosystem will allow consumption to be optimized, waste to be minimized, and refuge to serve as the raw material for other processes — should make it evident that this answer choice expresses a benefit of the industrial ecosystem. These more or less confirm that industrial processes' harmful by-products would be reduced in an ecosystem, so we can eliminate (B) without checking the passage.

    If we needed to check the passage to eliminate (B), we'd see that, in paragraph two, the author states that, in the industrial ecosystem model, pollution will be minimized (P2, S4), so this answer choice states a benefit of switching to the industrial ecosystem. Additionally, the author illustrates how harmful by-products can be reduced in the "designed offal" example (P3, S3).

  3. C
    The use of alternative Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem

    (C) Is this consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Nope. Neither our main point nor our notes make any reference to "alternative sources of energy." At the same time, nothing in our main point or notes contradicts this claim. So, we can be satisfied that (C) probably isn't supported, but we can't select it yet. Savvy test-takers would hold on to (C) and use their notes or main point to eliminate (D) and (E). Once they eliminate those, they can select (C) without ever checking the passage.

    Ultimately, (C) is correct because it does not state a benefit of the industrial ecosystem. The author discusses alternative energy sources in the second paragraph. However, the author only claims that the dire projections of resource overconsumption and waste production provide a strong incentive to "switch to alternative materials" (P1, S2). However, this is a solution separate and apart from the industrial ecosystem solution. Notice how the author says that the dire projections "also suggest … suggest that the traditional model of industrial activity … should be transformed into a more integrated model: an industrial ecosystem" (P2, S3, emphasis ours). The "also" is meant to draw a distinction between the alternative materials solution and the industrial ecosystem solution. Because (C) does not express a benefit of switching to the industrial ecosystem model, it is the correct answer to this Bizarro Must Be True question.

  4. D
    The consumption of raw Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Is this consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Yes. The main point of the passage — that embracing the principles of the industrial ecosystem will allow consumption to be optimized, waste to be minimized, and refuge to serve as the raw material for other processes — should make it evident that this answer choice expresses a benefit of the industrial ecosystem. This more or less confirms that (D) states a benefit of the industrial ecosystem, so we can eliminate it without checking the passage.

    If we needed to check the passage to eliminate (D), we'd see that, in paragraph two, the author states that, in the industrial ecosystem model, the "consumption of ... materials is optimized" (P2, S4), so this answer choice states a benefit of switching to the industrial ecosystem.

  5. E
    Better use would be Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Is this consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Yes. Our note for the second paragraph is, "Author's solution (Industrial ecosystem, which minimizes and recycles waste)." Further, recalling the main point of the passage — that embracing the principles of the industrial ecosystem will allow consumption to be optimized, waste to be minimized, and refuge to serve as the raw material for other processes — should make it evident that the industrial ecosystem makes better use of waste. These more or less confirm that (E) states a benefit of the "industrial ecosystem," so we can eliminate it without checking the passage.

    If we needed to check the passage to eliminate (E), we'd see that, in paragraph two, the author states that, in the industrial ecosystem model, "the effluents of one process … serve as the raw material for another process" (P2, S4), so this answer choice states a benefit of switching to the industrial ecosystem.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 3%
  2. B 8%
  3. C Credited 79%
  4. D 5%
  5. E 5%

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