PrepTest 123, Section 3, Question 7
Antonio: One can live a life of moderation(67 more words not shown)
Antonio and Marla disagree(1 more words not shown)
- Awhether it is(10 more words not shown)
- Bwhat a life(6 more words not shown)
- Cwhether it is(11 more words not shown)
- Dhow often a(10 more words not shown)
- Ewhether it is(7 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Never take a big risk, never go too far, always stay in the middle. Antonio says that's one way to live moderately, even though it means missing some spontaneity and opportunities.
But couldn't moderation include an occasional risk? Imagine someone who lives cautiously most of the time but takes a major chance once every ten years. They aren't constantly chasing the next extreme. They just aren't avoiding every extreme either.
That's the opening Marla takes. She says a person who never risks going too far isn't living moderately at all. You have to be moderate even about moderation. For her, refusing every departure from the middle becomes too rigid to qualify.
What we’re looking for
The question asks where they disagree. Test the same person against both views: someone who never leaves the middle course. Antonio says that person can live a life of moderation. Marla says that person fails to. We're looking for a disagreement about what counts as living moderately, not a disagreement we invent about which lifestyle is best.
Working the answers
- A
Antonio points to things people miss by never taking great chances. Marla objects to treating that behavior as moderation. Neither statement gives us a clear disagreement about whether occasional great chances are desirable. They could both like some risk-taking while disagreeing about whether it belongs in the definition of moderation.
- BCorrect
They disagree about what someone must do to qualify as living moderately. Antonio allows a life that never deviates from the middle course. Marla says that doesn't qualify: a person must be moderate even in the pursuit of moderation. Their descriptions put the same behavior on opposite sides of the boundary.
- C
Neither says moderation excludes all other virtues. A person could, for example, be both moderate and honest. Antonio's point about lost spontaneity doesn't establish a position on whether any other virtue can accompany moderation, much less a disagreement with Marla about that broad issue.
- D
How often should we depart from the middle course? We don't get two competing answers. Marla rejects never risking a departure as a description of moderation, but she doesn't give a schedule, and Antonio doesn't prescribe how often people ought to take risks. Don't turn their disagreement about a definition into a disagreement about frequency of recommended behavior.
- E
Moderately spontaneous behavior might appeal to both speakers. Antonio recognizes a value in spontaneity, and Marla allows that moderation itself can be taken too far. Neither clearly rejects the desirability of moderate spontaneity. We need opposite positions, not merely a topic both discuss.
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