PrepTest 101, Section 2, Question 12
For years scientists have been scanning the skies(91 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AThere is no(9 more words not shown)
- BThe equipment that(10 more words not shown)
- CScientists searching for(6 more words not shown)
- DOnly if scientists(14 more words not shown)
- EWe should not(13 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
We haven't found it yet. Why does that mean we never will?
The author points to years of searching with increasingly sophisticated, expensive equipment. That's a reason to recognize that the search has been unsuccessful so far. But perhaps the universe is so large that the life we're looking for is simply very far away. Perhaps there is no life elsewhere. The lack of a discovery doesn't settle those possibilities, and it doesn't rule out a discovery tomorrow.
The author nevertheless predicts that the search will never succeed. “Destined to remain a dream” means finding extraterrestrial life will stay something scientists hope for, rather than something they accomplish. That is the claim the account of past failure is supposed to support.
What we’re looking for
The question asks for the main point, so our objection helps us locate it: we were challenging the leap from no discovery so far to no discovery in the future. We need the prediction about what scientists will find, not a new conclusion about what exists or how they should spend their money.
Working the answers
- A
Existence and discovery are different. Life could exist on a planet scientists never reach or detect. The author's stated conclusion is that scientists won't find extraterrestrial life, not that there is no reason to believe any exists. A changes the claim we were asked to identify.
- B
The author emphasizes that equipment has become increasingly sophisticated and still hasn't produced a discovery. The point isn't that scientists should obtain better equipment. In fact, the author predicts continued failure no matter how much money goes into the search. B turns the description of increasingly capable equipment into a criticism the author doesn't make.
- CCorrect
Scientists searching for life on other planets will not find it. That restates the prediction that the dream will remain a dream. The past failures are offered as the reason to accept this prediction; they are not the final point themselves. We can identify that conclusion while doubting whether the past record proves it.
- D
This gives a rule about when continuing the search would be justified. The author doesn't give that rule. Predicting that a search won't succeed is different from saying when scientists should be allowed or willing to continue it. Someone might regard a search as worthwhile even with little hope of the desired discovery.
- E
The discussion of expensive equipment may make this tempting, but the conclusion is about success, not spending. The author says that investing more money won't lead to a discovery. The author doesn't then conclude that we shouldn't invest it. E adds a recommendation beyond the prediction actually made.
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