PrepTest 105, Section 3, Question 12
Many of us can conceive of penalties that(441 more words not shown)
It can be inferred from(25 more words not shown)
- AIt is more(6 more words not shown)
- BIt does not(9 more words not shown)
- CIt justifies more(7 more words not shown)
- DIt is used(11 more words not shown)
- EIt inherently allows(7 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The second rationale requires punishment to fit the crime, and the ending suggests that even this concern may come from weighing benefits against harms. I would initially look for that connection. But this isn't a main-point question, so a narrower supported feature could also be the answer.
Working the answers
- A
We don't know which rationale is more widely accepted. Calling the second controversial doesn't tell us how many people favor either view.
- BCorrect
The first rationale could allow a severe penalty for a minor offense just because it benefits society. The second builds in proportionality between crime and punishment, so it doesn't leave that same opening. This is a more specific point than our initial prediction: paragraph 3 contrasts the first rationale's missing limit with the second's requirement that penalties fit crimes.
- C
The text doesn't count how many kinds of punishment each rationale permits. A different reason for punishing someone doesn't by itself establish a broader range of methods.
- D
We aren't told that people use the second rationale only when the first gives an intuitively wrong result. The shoplifting example illustrates a contrast; it doesn't establish a rule about when each rationale is used.
- E
Fitting the crime isn't the same as always favoring leniency. The opening includes a punishment that seems too light: probation for a brutal murder. Proportionality can require a tougher response as well as a milder one.
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