PrepTest 107, Section 1, Question 4
Cats spend much of their time sleeping; they(25 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(11 more words not shown)
- ACats have a(8 more words not shown)
- BMany other animals(13 more words not shown)
- CCats are able(6 more words not shown)
- DCats derive ample(4 more words not shown)
- ECats require strength(8 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
How do cats stay so strong when they seem to spend the day sleeping? The passage isn't saying they never eat or walk around. It describes animals that sleep a great deal and seem to get up mainly to stretch and yawn. Yet their muscles are strong and agile enough that most animals would need strenuous exercise to achieve something similar.
Maybe a small amount of activity does more for a cat than we'd expect. Perhaps the stretching itself provides enough exercise. Or perhaps cats have some ability to build or preserve muscle with little activity. Those are possibilities to look for, not facts we can assume.
What we’re looking for
The question asks us to resolve the apparent paradox. Keep both sides together: why do cats have this musculature even though they spend so much time sleeping? Explaining only the sleep, or only why strength is useful, leaves the puzzle unresolved.
Working the answers
- A
This would explain why cats sleep so much. It doesn't explain how they maintain their strong muscles while doing so. The fact that an animal needs lots of sleep doesn't by itself tell us where its exercise or muscle development comes from.
- B
Other animals have the same surprising combination. That tells us cats aren't unique, but it doesn't tell us how the combination occurs. If we were puzzled about one strong, inactive animal, pointing to another strong, inactive animal would simply give us the same question again.
- C
An uncomfortable-looking sleeping position doesn't establish anything about muscle development. We'd need a connection between sleeping that way and maintaining strength. The answer never supplies it.
- DCorrect
The stretching supplies ample exercise. Now an activity already mentioned in the passage does the work we thought was missing. Cats can sleep much of the time, get up to stretch, and still receive enough exercise to develop or maintain their muscles. We no longer need to imagine long workouts that the passage never describes.
- E
Strength and agility would be useful for hunting. But needing a trait doesn't explain how an animal acquires or maintains it while appearing inactive. An athlete might need strong muscles to compete, yet we'd still ask how the athlete stayed strong without training. This answer supplies a purpose for the muscles without resolving the apparent lack of exercise.
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