PrepTest 110, Section 2, Question 18
Editorialist: The positions advanced by radical environmentalists often(62 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AThe little progress(18 more words not shown)
- BRadical environmentalists, by(8 more words not shown)
- CSocial and political(17 more words not shown)
- DRadical environmentalists often(18 more words not shown)
- ERadical environmentalists advocate(9 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Could someone be wrong about the danger and still help get something useful done? The author thinks so. We start with a criticism of radical environmentalists: their claims are often false and their proposals impractical. But the author isn't stopping at that criticism. The turn comes with the claim that even extremists can play a positive role.
Why? People are so resistant to change that, according to the passage, they won't make even a little progress unless they fear an environmental disaster. An exaggerated warning might create urgency that a calmer warning would not. The warning could be poorly supported and still help move people to act.
What we’re looking for
We don't have to approve of frightening people, or agree that the benefits justify the means, to understand this argument. The question asks for the main conclusion. The claim the author is trying to support is that radical environmentalists can make a positive contribution. The discussion of fear and resistance to change explains how that contribution happens.
Working the answers
- A
This makes a much stronger claim about the cause of actual progress. The author says radicals can play a positive role; that doesn't mean fear generated by radicals is mainly responsible for the progress that has occurred. Other people might generate fear too, and other factors might also contribute. This isn't the conclusion we identified.
- BCorrect
This captures the positive role: promoting their views can help stimulate environmental progress. The opening concession says those views may be wrong or impractical. The rest of the argument explains why promoting them can nevertheless do some good. That is the point the author wants us to accept.
- C
The passage says fear is needed to overcome resistance enough to make progress. It doesn't compare methods and establish that an extremely fearful population is the most effective way to overcome that resistance. Something can be required without being the best or sufficient way to achieve a goal. This also focuses on the supporting explanation rather than the conclusion about radicals' contribution.
- D
This adds an intention the author never gives us. Radical environmentalists might sincerely believe their alarming claims. The fact that their claims can frighten people and encourage reform doesn't mean they chose untenable positions in order to produce that effect. The argument is about a benefit their activity can have, not a deliberate strategy we know they follow.
- E
Being mistaken is different from having no regard for the facts. A radical could carefully consider the evidence and still reach a false conclusion. More basically, the opening criticism is something the author grants before defending a positive role for radicals. Repeating or intensifying that criticism misses the point of the argument.
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