PrepTest 122, Section 4, Question 25
A study conducted over a 6-month period analyzed(50 more words not shown)
Each of the following, if(15 more words not shown)
- AVisitors to the(21 more words not shown)
- BA plan to(16 more words not shown)
- CMany people who(13 more words not shown)
- DAdmission tickets to(17 more words not shown)
- EMany people who(16 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
More visitors doesn't have to mean longer visits. Someone drawn in by one special exhibition might look at that exhibition and leave. A regular museumgoer might spend the afternoon exploring the whole collection.
That would explain the finding: special exhibitions attract more people, but those people stay for less time on average. Another possibility is that the regular visitors are art enthusiasts who like to linger, while the exhibition draws people with less interest in browsing. Those are guesses, but they show how the two observations could fit together.
What we’re looking for
The question has an EXCEPT: four choices could help explain the difference in average visit length. We want the one that doesn't. Our initial guess is one possible explanation, so don't demand that all four helpful choices use it. Other reasons special-exhibition visitors leave sooner can work too.
Working the answers
- A
This directly fits our prediction. Visitors with narrower interests may come for the particular exhibition and skip much of the rest of the museum. Seeing fewer exhibits gives us a reason their visits would be shorter on average even as the special event draws more people. A helps, so eliminate it.
- BCorrect
The plan wasn't enacted. Considering longer hours doesn't give visitors any extra time or change what they do during a visit. Even if actual opening hours could affect visit length, B reports no change in those hours during the study. We still have no explanation for why visitors stayed less time during special exhibitions.
- C
Someone attending for the prestige could make an appearance, take a photo, and leave without spending much time with the art. That gives us another reason a popular special exhibition might attract people whose visits are brief. It needn't describe every attendee to help explain an average.
- D
A ticket tied to a particular one-hour period can constrain the time visitors spend at the special exhibition. For people who came mainly for that event, finishing their allotted visit gives them a reason to leave sooner. The answer doesn't explicitly forbid visiting the rest of the museum afterward, so it doesn't guarantee a short total visit. But it supplies a plausible limit that could help explain the shorter average, which is all this task asks.
- E
An organized tour keeps visitors moving with the group rather than letting them linger wherever they like. The stated lack of an opportunity to browse can shorten visits compared with those of people exploring on their own. E therefore offers a possible explanation of the difference, unlike B's unenacted plan.
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