PrepTest 114, Section 2, Question 7
Passenger volume in the airline industry has declined(71 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(16 more words not shown)
- AIt is generally(16 more words not shown)
- BLow volume in(13 more words not shown)
- CA rise in(22 more words not shown)
- DWhen passenger volume(23 more words not shown)
- EA sustained decline(22 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why expand while the airports are quieter?
At first, I'd ask whether the decline is the same everywhere. A national drop could coexist with growth in a particular city. I'd also want to know what the terminal work is meant to accomplish: more gates, more space for passengers, or better facilities? Those questions might help explain a project, but we should still accept that the passage calls it an expansion. We can't simply rename it maintenance and make the puzzle disappear.
The question sharpens the task: give a reason for the timing. Now another possibility comes to mind. If construction takes years, perhaps the airports need to begin before passenger numbers recover. Waiting until the extra capacity is urgently needed might be too late. That is a possible explanation, not a construction schedule we've been given.
What we’re looking for
So I'd look for a reason starting now makes sense even though traffic probably won't exceed its former level for at least five years. The answer needs to connect the quieter period with the decision to go ahead.
Working the answers
- A
The passage doesn't tell us that the overall economy is declining; lower air travel alone wouldn't establish that. Even if we added an economic decline, harder financing would give us a difficulty with building now. It wouldn't explain why this is an advantageous time to begin.
- BCorrect
Fewer passengers means the work can inconvenience fewer people. Imagine construction closing a security line and requiring passengers to take a detour through the terminal. Doing that while the airport is crowded could create a much bigger disruption than doing it during a quiet period.
This isn't quite my prediction about needing years to finish. It gives a separate advantage to starting now: the reduced traffic makes construction less disruptive. We can accept the eventual need for more capacity and understand why the airport wouldn't wait until many more passengers were trying to use the facilities.
- C
Higher transportation costs don't give us a reason to undertake the terminal expansion now. They might affect future travel decisions, but the answer doesn't connect that effect to an advantage of the current construction schedule. We shouldn't invent a particular change in passenger demand from a cost increase affecting every form of transportation.
- D
This concerns how airlines can accommodate an initial recovery using their existing planes and routes. It doesn't explain why airports should begin expanding their terminals during the decline. Airlines' ability to carry additional passengers and the timing of terminal construction are different questions.
- E
Airlines might fail, and surviving airlines might take over their routes. That describes a possible consequence of continued low demand. It doesn't tell us why airport facilities should be expanded now. We still need the connection between the quiet period and a benefit of starting construction.
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