PrepTest 134, Section 1, Question 21
Game show winners choosing between two equally desirable(44 more words not shown)
The reasoning in which one(10 more words not shown)
- AWith a book(31 more words not shown)
- BWhen entering this(45 more words not shown)
- CThe elliptical orbit(44 more words not shown)
- DNew students in(33 more words not shown)
- ETo avoid predators,(45 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Familiarity can't break this tie. Both prizes are equally unfamiliar to Ed.
Accept the stated rule for equally desirable prizes: the winner chooses the more expensive one or the more familiar one. Ed is in that situation, but neither prize is more familiar. That leaves price as the deciding factor. A costs more, so Ed chooses A.
What we’re looking for
For the parallel, don't get lost in the prize labels. We have two possible routes, we rule out one, and we conclude that the other will be taken. The matching answer can use any subject matter. What matters is eliminating an option and being left with the alternative—not observing one option and assuming the other is excluded.
Working the answers
- A
The book contract supplies two possibilities: an advance or guaranteed royalties. But then the answer says al-Sofi received an advance and concludes there was no guarantee of royalties. That starts with one option occurring and rules out the other. Our argument rules out familiarity first and concludes that price determines the choice. Those are different moves. Also, A hasn't said a writer can't receive both kinds of payment.
- B
The two rides resemble the two choices, but Janine is said to choose the Rocket. The answer then rules out her standing near the Mouse during the first half hour. Again, it starts by selecting one alternative rather than eliminating one. It also changes from which ride she takes first to where she could have stood; taking the Rocket doesn't establish her location throughout that period.
- C
This gives a condition concerning planetary gravity and orbital eccentricity, then compares two asteroids. It doesn't present two alternative actions and eliminate one. Even if a planet's pull makes greater eccentricity possible, being affected by Jupiter doesn't by itself establish that Y's orbit must be more eccentric than X's. That isn't our remaining-option reasoning.
- D
Physics and art are the two required alternatives, but Miyoko wants neither. The conclusion predicts that she will avoid the program altogether. Our argument doesn't have Ed reject both prizes or leave the show; it has one basis for choosing unavailable, leaving the other basis to determine the selection.
- ECorrect
A pursued rabbit either doubles back or heads for nearby cover. Those are the two routes, corresponding to choosing by price or choosing by familiarity. The field offers no nearby cover, just as neither of Ed's prizes offers greater familiarity. Eliminate that route, and the other remains: the rabbit doubles back, just as Ed chooses the more expensive prize.
The rabbit isn't merely said to double back and then assumed not to seek cover. We are told first why the cover option is unavailable. That is the feature that makes E match and distinguishes it from A and B.
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