PrepTest 109, Section 1, Question 11
Researchers have discovered that caffeine can be as(47 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AThere is no(14 more words not shown)
- BA physical addiction(13 more words not shown)
- CNot all substances(9 more words not shown)
- DIf one is(19 more words not shown)
- EIf alcohol is(16 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Drinking coffee doesn't automatically make someone addicted to caffeine. Keep that distinction in mind when the passage moves from caffeine's addictive potential to the number of people who consume it.
We know that some people experience symptoms when they miss their usual caffeine. We also know that caffeine has at least as many consumers as any other individual substance in the addictive, psychoactive group. But how many of those consumers are addicted? The passage doesn't tell us. Someone who occasionally drinks coffee could count as a consumer without belonging in the group of people physically addicted to it.
What we’re looking for
We're asked what follows from the information. I'd expect an answer to preserve the comparison we actually have: numbers of consumers of these substances. I would be suspicious of an answer that quietly changes that to numbers of addicts. We also need to keep the comparison within the specified group; this isn't a claim about everything people consume.
Working the answers
- A
This makes the exact switch we were watching for. The passage compares how many people consume the substances. A compares how many people are physically addicted to them. Even if caffeine has more consumers, another substance could have a larger share of its consumers become addicted and end up with more addicts. We haven't been given the information needed to rank those groups.
- B
We hear about some caffeine users and several possible symptoms. That doesn't establish what a physical addiction to a particular psychoactive substance typically produces. In particular, “depressed, drowsy, or even irritable” does not guarantee a diverse collection of symptoms in the typical case. B turns a limited description into a much broader rule.
- C
This would tell us that at least one physically addictive substance is not psychoactive. The passage never identifies such a substance. Its discussion stays within addictive psychoactive substances. We cannot use outside knowledge to add another category, even if C sounds plausible.
- D
Depression is one possible response mentioned for some people who miss their usual caffeine. D says that anyone physically addicted to a psychoactive substance will become unusually depressed without it. That is much stronger. The passage leaves room for other symptoms, and it doesn't give us this rule for every substance and every addicted person.
- ECorrect
If alcohol belongs to the group being compared, the final sentence applies to it. Caffeine has at least as many consumers as any one of the other addictive psychoactive substances. So alcohol cannot have more consumers than caffeine.
Notice that E stays with consumption. It doesn't tell us how many consumers are addicted. It also allows a tie: “not more” does not mean “fewer.” We don't need to establish anything about alcohol from outside the passage because the answer makes its claim conditional on alcohol belonging to the relevant group.
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