PrepTest 126, Section 3, Question 13
Botanist: It has long been believed that people(47 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AChild-rearing books should(10 more words not shown)
- BPoinsettias are not(2 more words not shown)
- CAccording to many(5 more words not shown)
- DThe belief that(11 more words not shown)
- EPoinsettias pose no(5 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why should households with children or pets keep these plants out? Are the plants dangerous, or is that familiar belief mistaken?
First we hear the belief: households with children or pets should avoid the plants. Then we hear where that belief gets support: child-rearing books call the plants dangerous. The botanist pushes back with “it is mistaken” and offers the research finding as the reason. Within this argument, we're told to accept that the research conclusively found no risk to children or pets.
What we’re looking for
So when the question asks for the conclusion, follow the direction of the explanation. Why does the botanist think the belief is wrong? Because of the research result. The research result supports the rejection of the belief; the rejection is the point the botanist wants us to accept. The last sentence isn't automatically the conclusion.
Working the answers
- A
Saying people needn't keep a plant out because of the supposed danger isn't recommending that they put it in their homes. People could have no interest in owning it. The botanist disputes a reason for avoidance without proposing a campaign to encourage ownership.
- B
This focuses on the plants' poisonousness rather than the belief the botanist rejects. The stated research finding concerns risk to children and pets, not every possible question about toxicity. More fundamentally, a claim about lack of danger would serve as support for the conclusion here, not capture the conclusion about the household belief.
- C
This is background the botanist acknowledges. The books have encouraged the belief by listing the plants as dangerous. But the botanist's point is that the belief is mistaken despite that encouragement. C stops before the author's response.
- DCorrect
The belief that households with children or pets should not have poinsettias is mistaken. That's the claim expressed by “it is mistaken,” with the research offered afterward as support. Don't turn the task into a debate about whether someone might dislike the plants for another reason. We're identifying the conclusion this botanist draws in this argument.
- E
This is the tempting final sentence, but it answers why the botanist rejects the belief. According to the botanist, the research establishes no risk to children or pets, and that finding supports the claim that the avoidance belief is mistaken. E gives the reason; D gives the conclusion supported by it.
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