PrepTest 132, Section 2, Question 10
Gigantic passenger planes currently being developed will have(58 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AGigantic planes currently(18 more words not shown)
- BThe additional space(21 more words not shown)
- CThe number of(12 more words not shown)
- DIn 20 years,(24 more words not shown)
- EIn 20 years,(10 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A coffee shop in the sky might be nice. But how much coffee would it have to sell to justify space that could hold passengers? If a seat could bring in $1,000 on a long flight, that same space would need to sell a lot of drinks. I can see a reason to expect more seats instead of shops.
The author gives a different reason for that prediction: passenger numbers are expected to triple, and airports won't be able to handle enough ordinary-sized planes to carry them. More seating in larger planes would help address that demand. The first sentence supplies the possibility of shops and lounges; the next predicts that the space will instead go to passengers; the final sentence explains why.
What we’re looking for
Could prices rise and discourage some trips? Perhaps. If visiting family required a $10,000 plane ticket, I might drive instead. But we're identifying the author's conclusion, not deciding how every airline or traveler will respond. The conclusion is the prediction we were considering: the extra space will more likely become passenger seating.
Working the answers
- A
This is the opening setup. The planes have enough room for shops and lounges as well as seats. That explains the possible uses being compared, but it doesn't give the author's conclusion about which use is more likely.
- BCorrect
This states the predicted use of the additional space: more passenger seating is likelier than shops and lounges. The expected increase in travelers and the limits on ordinary-sized planes are offered to support precisely that prediction.
- C
The expected tripling of passenger numbers is a reason to expect demand for more seating. It answers why the author thinks the space will go to passengers. It isn't the conclusion drawn from that reason.
- D
Airports' inability to handle enough normal-sized planes provides the other part of the explanation. If ordinary planes cannot carry the projected passengers through those airports, seating in gigantic planes becomes more useful. Again, this supports the prediction rather than stating it.
- E
The author never says most passengers will fly in gigantic planes. Predicting how those planes' extra space will be used doesn't establish what share of all travelers they will carry. We need the conclusion actually drawn, not a new prediction we might try to infer.
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