PrepTest 116, Section 1, Question 5
The accumulation of scientific knowledge regarding the environmental(459 more words not shown)
Based on the information in(38 more words not shown)
- AGroundwater contamination is(16 more words not shown)
- BDanger to human(19 more words not shown)
- CGroundwater contamination is(8 more words not shown)
- DGroundwater contamination is(16 more words not shown)
- EThe risk of(15 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
I don't have an immediate answer from the scenario alone. Go back to what we know about saline water: it generally lies deeper than groundwater, and drilling can connect the formations. Without safeguards, that connection can cause contamination. So even without finding oil, we'd want to prevent the salty water from reaching the fresh water.
Working the answers
- A
Drilling itself creates the connection. The text doesn't make operating a successful oil well a requirement for contamination, and saline water is itself a potential contaminant.
- B
No alternative city water supplies are described. We can't assume they would remove the danger.
- C
We aren't told that plugging and abandoning the well is the necessary response. The discussion gives a way to reduce risk with a protective barrier.
- D
The relative sizes don't establish safe dilution. We aren't given a concentration or volume rule that lets us make that judgment.
- ECorrect
The casing supplies the protective barrier described in paragraph three. Paragraph four adds the reason to monitor it: corrosion or dissolving cement could make it fail. Put those points together, and proper installation plus attention to breakdown can reduce the risk. Reduced risk is enough; E doesn't promise perfect protection.
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