Reading comp PrepTest 153 · Section 4 · Question 7

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

Which one of the 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.

Question Type

Science

Answer choices

  1. A
    Some diseases that affect Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 30-35) We should head back to the section where medicine was discussed, as that's the only section that might discuss diseases. And while the passage discusses finding medicinal agents in plants, it never suggests that they have these agents because they share diseases with humans.
  2. B
    Deforestation can have negative Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Must Be True

    Strategy Overview:
    Use our overall understanding of the passage to help us narrow it down, and then use our notations to find the support for the right answer

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    There's absolutely no guidance as to what the right answer might say here, so there's not much to be done ahead of heading to the answer choices. We should remind ourselves of the main point since the correct answer will likely align with it (though it could align with a concession the Author makes), but otherwise this is going to be an answers-driven question.

    Answer Explanation:
    (Lines 6-7) Paragraphs 2-4 discussed the effects of deforestation on oxygen generation and biodiversity, so this answer wouldn't be supported there. The passage opened, however, with some background on forests and the benefits they provide. Checking that section, we can see that forests prevent soil erosion that "clogs rivers with silt." So deforestation would lead to rivers being clogged with silt—thus negatively affecting any water-based transportation on that river. This answer is therefore supported, making it the correct answer.

    Key Takeaway:
    Not only was there no hint as to where the correct answer would be found in this question, but the correct answer took a bit of an inference to support from the stimulus! This is why it's important to have strong notations and be willing to use them to recheck sections of the passage.
  3. C
    There are more commercial Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 55-56) The end of the passage states that commercial plantation make up just 3% of the world's forest area. While this doesn't let us compare the number of plantations compared to other types of forest, it does suggest that they're a small minority of forests, which cuts against this answer.
  4. D
    There are more species Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 14-15; Paragraphs 3-4) If this answer were stated in the stimulus, it'd be in an area discussing biodiversity. However, the focus of that discussion was always on plants, and there was no comparison to nontropical forests, so this answer is unsupported.
  5. E
    Commercial plantations produce goods Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Paragraph 4) Paragraph 4 discussed plantations, but it never spoke to the markets where their products were sold, so this answer is unsupported.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 18%
  2. B Credited 40%
  3. C 5%
  4. D 25%
  5. E 13%

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