PrepTest 115, Section 2, Question 24
Good students learn more than what their parents(44 more words not shown)
If the statements above are(10 more words not shown)
- ASome people who(29 more words not shown)
- BMost good students(10 more words not shown)
- CMany people who(13 more words not shown)
- DSome people who(13 more words not shown)
- EMost people who(21 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A good student doesn't stop at what the teacher or parent demands. The passage says the student learns more, and it gives us requirements for doing that: enjoying the satisfaction of curiosity and being capable of getting deeply absorbed in a topic.
Keep the direction straight. A good student has those qualities. That doesn't make everyone who has one of them a good student. Someone might love satisfying their curiosity but neglect assignments or have other difficulties as a student. The passage hasn't ruled that person out.
What we’re looking for
The question asks which choice cannot be true while the passage is true. Look for a good student missing something the passage requires. A good student who couldn't enjoy satisfying their curiosity would be a direct conflict. So would a good student incapable of that deep concentration. We need only one broken requirement, not an answer mentioning the entire chain.
Working the answers
- A
This is possible. Becoming deeply absorbed is required for the pleasure described, but it isn't said to guarantee that pleasure. Someone could be capable of intense concentration and still get no enjoyment from satisfying curiosity. The passage tells us what pleasure requires, not what concentration always produces.
- BCorrect
The passage requires good students to derive pleasure from satisfying their curiosity. B says most good students do not have that quality. Those statements conflict directly. We don't even need the final statement about concentration to see the problem: B denies a requirement already given in the first two sentences.
- C
Enjoying the satisfaction of curiosity doesn't guarantee being a good student. Many people could have that pleasure without meeting other requirements of being a good student. C follows the relationship in the direction the passage leaves open, so it could be true.
- D
Nothing says people who aren't good students cannot enjoy losing themselves in a topic. Also, this choice describes pleasure from losing track of one's identity, whereas the passage describes pleasure from satisfying curiosity and identifies deep concentration as a requirement for it. Either way, the passage gives no basis for excluding the people D describes.
- E
Every good student could be capable of this concentration while most people with the capacity weren't good students. Imagine a much larger group of deeply absorbed hobbyists surrounding a smaller group of good students. The requirement for good students would still hold. The passage never tells us what share of all people with the capacity are good students.
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