PrepTest 113, Section 1, Question 12
Spurred by the discovery that a substance containing(462 more words not shown)
The primary function of the(7 more words not shown)
- Anarrate the progress(5 more words not shown)
- Bpresent a context(7 more words not shown)
- Cprovide the factual(7 more words not shown)
- Doutline the structure(5 more words not shown)
- Eidentify the error(7 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The opening tells us what Curie actually did: the materials she tested, the elements she discovered, her conclusion about emission rates, and what she still couldn't explain. My prediction is background for the discussion of her work.
What we’re looking for
Then ask what that background prepares us to do. The later paragraphs evaluate her achievements and answer criticism of her limitations.
Working the answers
- A
Plausible at first: the paragraph does recount research around the turn of the century. But it is specifically setting up an evaluation of Curie's work. C captures that role in the argument, while A gives a broader description of the subject matter.
- B
Physicists and chemists come up later to help explain her assumptions. Their disagreement isn't the central issue the first paragraph prepares us to evaluate.
- CCorrect
Before judging her achievements and omissions, we need to know what they were. The opening supplies those facts; the later paragraphs explain why her work deserves a favorable assessment despite its limitations.
- D
The paragraph doesn't yet set out the author's defense. The critics and the historical reasons for answering them come later. Background for an argument isn't an outline of that argument's structure.
- E
The author argues that her errors don't erase the work's usefulness. This describes the opposite evaluation.
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