PrepTest 106, Section 3, Question 1
Flavonoids are a common component of almost all(29 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(7 more words not shown)
- AA diet composed(11 more words not shown)
- BFlavonoids are essential(4 more words not shown)
- CEating at least(8 more words not shown)
- DAt least one(8 more words not shown)
- EA diet deficient(9 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
We know about one kind of flavonoid, not every kind. The variety found in apples is an antioxidant, and antioxidants help prevent heart disease. That gives us a connection: at least that variety of flavonoid helps with prevention.
We don't need to manufacture an objection to these statements. The task is to follow them without stretching them. “Almost all plants contain flavonoids” doesn't make every flavonoid an antioxidant, and “a factor in prevention” doesn't promise that one ingredient guarantees protection.
What we’re looking for
For the inference question, my prediction is the limited connection we can defend: at least one type of flavonoid helps prevent heart disease. Keep the particular variety and the modest claim about its contribution in view.
Working the answers
- A
This moves from a fact about one variety of flavonoid to a recommendation about the composition of an entire diet. We aren't told that a diet made largely of fruits and vegetables supplies the relevant variety in useful amounts, or what the overall effects of that diet would be. Knowing that flavonoids are common in plants doesn't fill those gaps.
- B
“Essential” means required. The passage says the identified flavonoid can help, not that preventing heart disease is impossible without flavonoids. There might be other sources of antioxidants or other ways to help prevent the disease. We aren't given a reason to exclude them.
- C
Where did the one-apple-per-day amount come from? The passage gives no quantity or schedule. It also says antioxidants are a factor in prevention, not that eating apples guarantees prevention. C adds both a specific practice and a definite outcome that we cannot establish.
- DCorrect
The apple variety gives us at least one flavonoid that is an antioxidant. The next statement tells us antioxidants are a factor in preventing heart disease. D links those facts while keeping the scope appropriately limited: at least one type helps.
It doesn't claim that all flavonoids help, that they are required, or that any particular number of apples is enough. That's why this small conclusion is the one the passage supports.
- E
A factor that helps prevent a disease is not automatically something whose absence commonly causes it. The passage gives no account of the causes of heart disease or how often a lack of antioxidants is involved. E adds that causal claim.
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