PrepTest 125, Section 2, Question 20
Of the various food containers made of recycled(43 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- ANo food containers(17 more words not shown)
- BThere are some(15 more words not shown)
- CThe main reason(21 more words not shown)
- DBecause they are(18 more words not shown)
- ENot every type(19 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why are egg cartons so easy to make? My first thought might be their shape or the way a machine forms them. But the passage gives a different reason: the shell keeps the part we eat from touching the recycled Styrofoam, so the material doesn't need as much cleaning.
Compare that with a hypothetical container holding milk directly. Whatever is on the inside of that container can touch the milk. With an egg, the shell supplies a barrier. That's the useful contrast in the explanation.
Are eggs the only food with a barrier like that? What about a banana in its peel? A banana container is just a possibility to keep in mind, not a claim about what manufacturers actually make. The passage says egg cartons are among the easiest containers to make. That doesn't make them unique.
What we’re looking for
We're asked what the information most strongly supports. Stay with what the cleaning explanation gives us, and be careful about turning a useful feature of egg cartons into a claim that no other container could have it.
Working the answers
- A
'No food containers other than egg cartons' is too sweeping. The passage doesn't rule out every other way to keep food apart from recycled Styrofoam. Our hypothetical banana container could also have a natural barrier. It might still be harder to manufacture for some other reason. Nor does 'not as thoroughly cleaned' establish the precise amount of cleaning that every other container needs to be safe. A claims an exclusive safety rule the passage doesn't supply.
- B
We aren't told that any food is impossible to package in recycled Styrofoam. Some foods could require more cleaning or a different design, but difficulty isn't impossibility. B adds a claim about foods that couldn't be packaged this way under any circumstances.
- C
Why does the material need cleaning? The passage doesn't identify the main substance being removed. It might be food residue, dirt, or something else. Those are possibilities, and we have no basis for choosing residual food as the main reason.
- D
Easy to make doesn't mean most commonly used. Manufacturers might still make most egg cartons from cardboard or another material. The passage compares how easy certain recycled Styrofoam containers are to make; it doesn't count the materials used for egg cartons overall.
- ECorrect
At least some recycled Styrofoam food containers allow contact with the food inside. That is the contrast the cleaning explanation depends on: the eggshell keeps food away from the material, while other containers need more thorough cleaning because the material can touch the food. E doesn't say every other type allows contact. It makes the narrower claim that the shell's protection isn't present in every type, which the passage supports.
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