Reading comp PrepTest 153 · Section 4 · Question 2

Passage

Questions 1-7  .       Forests are among the world's most valuable  . resources, both in a narrowly economic sense and in Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Science

Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • Background on forests, and an outline of the rest of the argument
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Forests - ecologically and economically "most" valuable
    • To make policy decisions on forest preservation, need to know pros/cons, especially on claims of :
      • Oxygen-renewing effects
      • Biodiversity preservation
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • Analysis of first claim - oxygen-renewing effects
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Claim - The Amazon keeps CO2 down and oxygen up
    • Reality - Forests are oxygen-neutral
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • Analysis of second claim - biodiversity preservation
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Claim - Preserving biodiversity requires preserving forests
    • Scientists - Preserving it might lead to new basic materials/medicines
    • Alternatively, there's a moral imperative to do so
Paragraph 4
  • Paragraph note
    • Analysis of commercial plantations effects on biodiversity
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Deforestation isn't happening as much as thought
    • Plantations have critics, and they do have less biodiversity (concession), but they allow for more biodiversity elsewhere
    • They also make up only 3% of forests
Main Point:
Two claims about forest preservation need to be scrutinized before good forest-preservation policy decisions can be made.

Key Lines:
7-15 - Main point and outline of the rest of the passage/argument
24-26 - View on first topic raised in lines 7-15
30-33 - View on second topic raised in lines 7-15
35-39 - More on second topic raised in lines 7-15
41-44 - Point of last paragraph, continuing discussion of second topic from the third paragraph

Meta-Structure:
More research is needed. The Author here calls out what information needs to be scrutinized in order to allow for good policy decisions. However, she never speaks to what those policy decisions should be, or how the information should inform the policy decisions, so there's no resolution or suggestion as to the specifics there!

Last Thoughts:
It's important to note in this passage that the Author is much more middle-of-the-road overall than she is on individual elements. The main point here is that certain claims need to be scrutinized in order to make smart decisions about forest preservation policy. However, she never gives any hint as to what those policies should be. But she does offer opinions on the two claims that need to be scrutinized.

For the first claim about the oxygen-renewing capabilities of forests, she clearly doesn't agree that that's a benefit (lines 25-26). For the second claim about biodiversity, it's less clear, as she brings up two reasons to believe that biodiversity should be preserved, but it's never framed as her opinion—it's what "scientists believe" or what "one could agree with."

So the Author here does have some opinions, but overall, she's much more interested in exploring what needs to be explored rather than coming to a definitive conclusion on those topics.

Question prompt

It can be inferred 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

Answer choices

  1. A
    Only a tiny proportion Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 31) While the passage does state that the scientists claim "some" plants "may" contain important medical agents, this answer is too strong in stating that they believe this constitutes "[o]nly a tiny proportion." That "some" could represent, say, 16%, or 1 in 6 plants!
  2. B
    Rain-forest plants are likely Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 30-35) At no point do the scientists tie the disease-fighting properties of these plants only to tropical diseases, so this answer is unsupported.
  3. C
    The value of rain-forest Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Must Be True

    Strategy Overview:
    Find a tag for Scientists and re-read that section

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    When reading through an RC passage, you should always note when the Author is attributing a view to another group, for two reasons. First, by attributing that view to another group, the Author is putting forward a view she doesn't necessarily agree with (though she could include language stating or suggesting that she does). Second, there are often questions about specific viewpoints, and knowing where to find that information is key to these questions.

    Here, the viewpoint being asked about is the scientists. Looking at our tags, we can see that they show up in paragraph 3, which deals with biodiversity. Heading to lines 30-35, we can see that the scientists ground their argument in favor of forest preservation by saying that undiscovered plants can yield important materials for research on new medicines. Let's find an answer reflecting that view.

    Answer Explanation:
    (Lines 30-35) This answer reflects the view put forward by scientists—that some undiscovered species of plant might have disease-fighting agents that could be helpful in medical research. This answer also doesn't overshoot the passage in saying that they argue the value of these plants is "in part" because of these medicinal properties. This answer is therefore correct.

    Key Takeaway:
    Always be sure to tag viewpoints when reading a passage. There will almost certainly be at least one question that asks about any given viewpoint presented!
  4. D
    Rain-forest plants derive their Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. (Paragraphs 2 and 3) This answer conflates the discussion of the two separate claims. The first claim is about oxygen-generation, and it's discussed in paragraph 2. The second claim is about biodiversity, which is discussed in part in paragraph 3 and, and the scientists represent only one view on that topic.
  5. E
    Rain-forest plants that have Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 30-35) The scientists put forward the view that forests should be preserved to ensure that plants with disease-fighting properties don't go extinct, but the passage never says that these scientists view that extinction as imminent, so this answer is incorrect.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 7%
  2. B 2%
  3. C Credited 88%
  4. D 2%
  5. E 1%

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