PrepTest 130, Section 4, Question 2
To keep one's hands warm during the winter,(44 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(6 more words not shown)
- AMaintaining the temperature(15 more words not shown)
- BSeveral layers of(15 more words not shown)
- CWearing an extra(16 more words not shown)
- DKeeping one's hands(17 more words not shown)
- EThe physical effort(18 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Never needing gloves is different from gloves being useless. You might keep your hands warm in another way, and gloves could still help. So I would not object simply because gloves are a familiar way to stay warm.
The author proposes a particular alternative: put on an extra layer around your body. Keeping your vital organs warm can also keep your hands warm. Let's accept that it can help.
But what if it is really cold outside? Could your torso be warm while your uncovered hands are still cold? A sweater helping in some conditions does not establish that another layer will always be enough. The words “never” and “always” make the claim vulnerable to a situation where this method fails.
What we’re looking for
For the weaken question, I want a reason to doubt that the extra layer works in every circumstance. We do not need to show that it never works, or that gloves are the only possible alternative.
Working the answers
- A
This compares the importance of keeping two parts of the body warm. The argument concerns how to achieve the stated goal of keeping hands warm. Even if torso temperature matters much more, we still need to know whether a sweater will keep the hands warm.
- B
Five light layers might work better than one heavy layer without either method always keeping the hands warm. B compares ways to insulate the torso; it does not challenge the claim that additional clothing can always substitute for gloves or mittens.
- CCorrect
Here is the cold-weather limit we were looking for. At temperatures low enough to cause frostbite, an extra layer will not keep the hands warm. That directly conflicts with the claim that an extra layer always suffices.
C does not establish that gloves are the only possible solution; one might find another source of warmth. But it defeats the author's stated reason for saying gloves are never needed. The fact that a method can work does not make it adequate under these extreme conditions.
- D
Being less effective than turning up the heat does not mean that an extra layer is ineffective. Both could keep your hands warm, with one doing so more quickly or comfortably. D offers a better method without showing that the proposed method sometimes fails.
- E
The author does not rely on the exercise involved in putting on a sweater. The proposed benefit comes from keeping the vital organs warm after the sweater is on. The movement could fail to warm your hands while the additional insulation still helps. E attacks a mechanism the argument does not need.
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