PrepTest 125, Section 1, Question 6
Passage A Drilling fluids, including the various mixtures(466 more words not shown)
Passage A(240 more words not shown)
Passage B(234 more words not shown)
A primary purpose of each(5 more words not shown)
- Aprovide causal explanations(6 more words not shown)
- Bdescribe the general(6 more words not shown)
- Cpoint out possible(6 more words not shown)
- Dexplain why oil-well(7 more words not shown)
- Eidentify difficulties inherent(7 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Our read-through gave us two related main points: A introduces the uses and complicated formulations of drilling muds; B compares two types and their environmental risks. The question asks for a primary purpose each account serves. We need an overlap broad enough to fit both, rather than B's distinctive focus on offshore discharges.
Working the answers
- A
B connects features of the muds with environmental harm. A mainly explains their jobs and composition; it doesn't develop a causal account of a particular kind of pollution.
- BCorrect
Both describe what drilling muds contain and what those mixtures are like. A introduces ingredients and formulations, while B compares water-based and oil-based mixtures. This captures their shared descriptive purpose.
- C
A ends by mentioning problems studying waste and some toxic ingredients. That isn't enough to make pointing out environmental impacts a primary purpose of A, even though impacts receive much more attention in B.
- D
A explains why the fluids matter to drilling by listing their jobs. B takes their use for granted and compares types; it doesn't explain why drilling requires them.
- E
A's difficulty concerns studying waste, not regulating operations. B describes regulations without identifying difficulties in administering them.
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