PrepTest 133, Section 1, Question 1
Backyard gardeners who want to increase the yields(60 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(5 more words not shown)
- Astinging nettles require(8 more words not shown)
- Bsome types of(12 more words not shown)
- Cthe types of(10 more words not shown)
- Dinsect pests typically(11 more words not shown)
- Emost aphid species(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
More potato plants surviving would mean more potatoes. I can see the benefit of attracting insects that kill potato pests. But is there a downside to planting the nettles? What if they take water away from the potatoes? A benefit doesn't settle whether the recommendation is good overall.
Then the author gives us a specific concern: nettles also attract aphids, and many kinds of aphids harm potatoes. That sounds like a reason to hesitate. Why bring a potato pest into the garden we're trying to protect?
What we’re looking for
The unfinished sentence promises to answer that objection. Perhaps the predator insects kill the aphids too. Perhaps the protection they provide outweighs the damage the aphids cause. Either would give us a possible response, but let's see what the choices actually establish. We need a reason the aphids don't undermine the recommendation. Another unrelated benefit of nettles won't answer that concern.
Working the answers
- A
Easy care is a benefit, but what about the aphids? A plant could be effortless to grow and still attract insects that destroy our potatoes. This doesn't complete the promised response to the objection.
- B
Which plants escape damage? The nettles. That's the wrong plant to protect. We're growing potatoes, and aphids could leave the nettles alone while damaging the potatoes next to them. B doesn't tell us whether that happens.
- CCorrect
These particular aphids don't damage potatoes. That's a simpler response than killing them or outweighing their damage: they aren't a threat to the crop in the first place.
Many aphid species being harmful doesn't mean every species is harmful. Nettles can attract aphids without attracting the kinds that hurt potatoes. C makes those two facts fit and removes the specific objection the author raised. We can still wonder about other possible downsides, but the aphid concern has been answered.
- D
Even if rabbits or other organisms do more damage than insect pests, insect damage still matters. We're deciding whether to attract aphids while trying to protect the potatoes. Ranking insects below other threats doesn't tell us that bringing in these aphids is harmless or worthwhile.
- E
Being worse for another crop doesn't make aphids safe for potatoes. Imagine aphids damage our potatoes but damage tomatoes even more. Our potatoes still suffer. We need to know whether the nettles bring a problem into this potato garden, not which other vegetables might have a bigger problem.
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