PrepTest 122, Section 2, Question 21
Since the sweetness of sugared beverages makes athletes(56 more words not shown)
If the statements above are(11 more words not shown)
- AGlucose is not(15 more words not shown)
- BProblems caused by(12 more words not shown)
- CDehydrated athletes find(10 more words not shown)
- DSome situations that(14 more words not shown)
- EThe rate at(17 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
How much sugar are we talking about?
The passage gives sugar two helpful roles. Sweetness makes athletes more willing to drink the beverage, and small amounts of sugar help water absorption and delay muscle fatigue. But liking the taste isn't the only consideration. The last sentence warns that large amounts draw water from the blood to the stomach and worsen dehydration. A helpful effect at one amount doesn't mean more will always be better.
What we’re looking for
That distinction is what I'd keep in mind for the question. We're looking for the one choice that cannot be true, so “we weren't told that” won't be enough to select an answer. We need an actual conflict with the given facts. In particular, don't let a choice turn the warning about large amounts into a claim about every amount.
Working the answers
- A
The passage discusses maintaining glucose levels, but it never says glucose is the only sugar relevant to muscle fatigue. Some other sugar could also matter in the way A describes. We don't know that A is true, but we have no stated fact that makes it impossible.
- BCorrect
“Invariably exacerbated” means always made worse. B says any substance that delays muscle fatigue must worsen dehydration problems when consumed. But the passage supplies an exception: small amounts of sugar both delay muscle fatigue and help the body absorb water.
The warning about large amounts doesn't erase that benefit at small amounts. B fails because it treats the harmful effect as unavoidable whenever a fatigue-delaying substance is consumed, even though the passage gives us a case where those benefits can go together.
- C
A drink can be pleasantly sweet at one level and too sweet at another. The general claim that sweetness encourages drinking doesn't establish that dehydrated athletes enjoy every possible concentration of sugar. C could be true without conflicting with the passage.
- D
Muscle fatigue and dehydration need not worsen together in every situation. The passage describes particular effects of sugar; it doesn't establish that every situation making fatigue worse must also make dehydration worse. D leaves open a separation the facts never exclude.
- E
The passage says sugar affects water absorption, but it doesn't identify the primary factor controlling the rate. The amount of water already in the blood could be the primary factor while sugar still had an effect. “Affects” and “depends primarily on” aren't the same claim. E isn't established, but it remains possible.
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