PrepTest 113, Section 4, Question 11
Lydia: Red squirrels are known to make holes(113 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(13 more words not shown)
- ASquirrels are known(10 more words not shown)
- BOnce a hole(22 more words not shown)
- CTrees other than(22 more words not shown)
- DRed squirrels leave(25 more words not shown)
- EDuring the season(24 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What if the squirrels just like the taste?
Lydia's sugar explanation makes sense to me: water is easily available elsewhere, so chewing through bark just to obtain water seems unnecessary. I might still ask whether some minor ingredient in the sap matters to the squirrels. 'Essentially water and sugar' doesn't rule that possibility out. But Galina raises a different objection, and that's the one this question targets.
Galina says the sugar concentration is too low for the squirrels to obtain much sugar without drinking an enormous amount. Why must they want a large amount? A little sweetness might be appealing even if it doesn't provide much sugar. That's my initial prediction for weakening her reply: perhaps she has misunderstood what the squirrels want from it.
What we’re looking for
We want the answer that most undermines Galina's reason for rejecting sugar. A general reason to like Lydia's conclusion could help, but let's see how closely each choice addresses what Galina actually says.
Working the answers
- A
This tells us squirrels like a high sugar concentration. Galina's concern is precisely that the sap has a low concentration. Liking a very sweet food doesn't establish that the squirrels would seek out this much less sweet one. A doesn't supply my prediction about enjoying even a little sweetness.
- B
More squirrels make more holes, but we still don't know why they want the sap. The behavior could occur whether they sought sugar, water or something else. Nor does following another squirrel's visit establish that they are imitating it. B gives more behavior without resolving the disputed motive.
- C
This does offer some support for a role for sugar: trees with less sugary sap are tapped less often. I can see why it's tempting. But those are also different kinds of tree. Perhaps another difference helps explain the preference. C doesn't directly answer Galina's concern about how much sap a squirrel must consume to obtain sugar. Keep it in consideration, but compare it with D.
- DCorrect
This changes the concentration at the moment that matters: when the squirrels consume the sap. They wait while much of the water evaporates. The sugar is then less diluted, so getting it needn't require drinking the enormous amount of watery sap Galina imagines.
This is a different response from my taste prediction. D doesn't say the squirrels are satisfied with very little sugar. It shows why the concentration inside the tree doesn't accurately describe what they consume after waiting. That directly attacks the basis of Galina's rebuttal, making it stronger than C's indirect comparison between tree species. We don't need a precise final concentration to see why removing much of the water matters.
- E
Cold weather could interrupt the flow of sap. That concerns when it is available, not whether the squirrels seek its sugar when they consume it. E doesn't challenge Galina's inference from low sugar concentration to a motive other than sugar.
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