PrepTest 131, Section 3, Question 11
Predictions that printed books will soon be replaced(48 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(6 more words not shown)
- AScholars and scientists(15 more words not shown)
- BPublishers will continue(12 more words not shown)
- CScholars and scientists(9 more words not shown)
- DAt some bookstores(19 more words not shown)
- ESome members of(18 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Electronic books are convenient when you want a book immediately. But it can also be pleasant to hold and read a physical book. I can understand the prediction that printed books will remain useful.
My own preference doesn't establish what the public wants, though. The argument depends on demand beyond scholars and scientists: bookstores and public libraries will stock what the general public desires, and the passage says that will be a format other than electronic. My initial question would be whether the general public really does prefer printed books. Evidence about that preference seems like a promising way to support the prediction.
What we’re looking for
We're asked to strengthen the argument, so let's see what the choices add to its account of why print will persist.
Working the answers
- A
Convenient searching and cross-referencing would explain why scholars and scientists like electronic books. The passage already allows that research libraries may favor that format. Supporting the attraction for researchers does not strengthen the case that printed books will remain in use among the general public.
- BCorrect
This supports the supply side, a different route from my initial focus on preference. The argument already gives us the public's demand for a nonelectronic format and the corresponding stocking choices of bookstores and public libraries. B adds that publishers will keep printing books in those formats.
Wanting a printed book would not by itself ensure a continuing supply if publishers stopped producing it. Their commitment to keep supplying the formats these outlets stock removes that concern. Together with the stated demand, it makes the prediction that printed books will persist more convincing.
- C
Where scholars and scientists usually conduct research doesn't tell us whether printed books will continue to be available to the general public. They could research in a laboratory, a research library, or at home, and the question about print's future would remain.
- D
Growing popularity for recordings and videos doesn't support the continued use of printed books. If anything, it directs attention to competing formats gaining ground. It gives us no additional reason to believe the argument's prediction about print.
- E
Some people preferring to buy an electronic book rather than borrow from a library doesn't show that the public will abandon print. “Some” could describe a small group, and the choice also compares buying with borrowing. Whatever its exact extent, that preference doesn't provide support for printed books continuing to be used.
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