PrepTest 129, Section 1, Question 19
Dietitian: It is true that nutrients are most(63 more words not shown)
The statement that fat in(16 more words not shown)
- AIt is mentioned(20 more words not shown)
- BIt is mentioned(18 more words not shown)
- CIt is mentioned(12 more words not shown)
- DIt is attacked(20 more words not shown)
- EIt is cited(13 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
If fat is generally unhealthy, avoiding it might seem like a sensible way to eat. But how far should we take that idea?
The dietitian gives us a limit. Raw carrots contain beta carotene, yet the body can't turn that beta carotene into vitamin A unless it is consumed with some fat. On the passage's account, eating the carrots entirely by themselves therefore isn't an effective way to obtain vitamin A. Adding some fat, perhaps by eating them with another food, changes that situation.
So the conclusion isn't a blanket rejection of natural foods or a claim that fat is always good. The dietitian accepts the general concern about fat while pointing out a problem with avoiding it completely. Something can be a reason to limit a food component without being a reason to eliminate every bit of it.
What we’re looking for
The role question asks about the general concern: fat is usually unhealthy. That is the reason someone might adopt a fat-avoiding practice. The rest of the argument explains why taking that practice to its extreme would interfere with obtaining vitamin A from the carrots.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
The dietary practice is limiting or avoiding fat. The statement that fat is generally unhealthy gives a reason for that practice. But carrying it to the extreme of consuming no fat with the carrots prevents conversion of their beta carotene into vitamin A. The dietitian therefore gives a reason not to follow the practice without qualification.
- B
Nothing tells us how frequently anyone cites this reason. We know what the reason is and how the dietitian qualifies the response to it. We cannot describe it as the least often cited reason without information about those citations.
- C
The dietitian explicitly accepts that fat is generally unhealthy. Showing that some fat is needed for this conversion doesn't completely undermine that general claim. It limits what someone should infer from it about avoiding fat altogether.
- D
The claim about fat isn't being attacked as inadequate support for preferring natural foods to supplements. Those are separate claims the dietitian accepts as background. The point developed concerns why carrots alone don't provide vitamin A effectively, given the need for some fat.
- E
The dietitian doesn't call the concern about fat a bad reason. It is a reason for limiting fat, but not for taking avoidance to the extreme discussed here. E also makes the statement a reason for a habit the dietitian recommends, whereas its role is to motivate a practice that the dietitian then qualifies.
More Role/Main Point questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Role/Main Point questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.