PrepTest 111, Section 1, Question 12
Gene splicing can give rise to new varieties(44 more words not shown)
The statements above, if true,(8 more words not shown)
- AAll toxin production(3 more words not shown)
- BGene splicing to(10 more words not shown)
- CGene splicing is(12 more words not shown)
- DMost new varieties(10 more words not shown)
- EGene splicing will(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Getting the trait we want isn't the only thing that might happen.
Suppose the goal is a farm animal that grows faster. The passage says gene splicing can also introduce genes for producing toxins or carcinogens, which are substances that can cause cancer. Worse, those unwanted traits might be hard to discover. So producing a desired new variety doesn't mean we fully understand what else we have produced.
What we’re looking for
The question asks what these facts most strongly support. My first thought is a modest warning: the process can have harmful consequences that aren't easy to detect. That doesn't tell us how often the problem occurs, how severe every case would be or how the technology will develop. Let's look for an answer that stays close to the stated risk.
Working the answers
- A
We know genes can govern the production of toxins introduced through this technique. That doesn't establish that all toxin production is genetically controlled. The passage covers a particular possible source, not every way every toxin is produced.
- BCorrect
A process that can introduce harmful, hard-to-detect traits gives us a reason to use it cautiously. This is the practical warning supported by the stated risks.
I initially expected an answer simply describing the possible harm. B goes one step further by recommending care, but that is a reasonable response to the possibility of hidden, undesirable traits. This is a question about what is most strongly supported; we needn't reject that modest recommendation merely because it isn't a word-for-word repetition. B also doesn't demand a ban or claim the technique always causes harm.
- C
The opening says gene splicing can produce new varieties of farm animals. The concern is what else those varieties may contain, not an inability to produce them. A process can achieve the desired trait while also producing unwanted consequences. C confuses a problem with the outcome's safety with failure to obtain a new variety.
- D
There are two jumps here. Possible production of carcinogens doesn't establish that the animals themselves will develop cancer. And nothing tells us that the effect will occur in most varieties. A possibility of harmful traits cannot support this prediction about more than half of the new varieties.
- E
We have no forecast of the technology's future. It might improve, but the passage doesn't say unforeseen consequences will eventually stop being a problem. E promises a solution the information never gives us.
More Must Be True questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Must Be True questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.