PrepTest 136, Section 4, Question 21
If the city starts requiring residents to sort(61 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(7 more words not shown)
- AMost of the(13 more words not shown)
- BIf the city(20 more words not shown)
- CImplementing the sorting(23 more words not shown)
- DThe amount of(16 more words not shown)
- EIf the city(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The city faces two unattractive possibilities. Require residents to sort their recycling, and more recyclable material goes into the trash. Do not require it, and the sanitation department goes over budget.
The first result makes sense as a response to the added hassle. If residents have to separate paper from cans themselves, some may decide to put more of it into ordinary garbage instead. The passage tells us that this will increase the recyclables buried in the landfill.
The budget rule then closes off an easy escape. Staying within budget requires making residents do the sorting. So we cannot have both a budget that stays on target and no increase in landfill recyclables. At least one of those outcomes must go badly; the facts do not rule out both going badly.
What we’re looking for
For the inference question, follow that connection. If the department does stay within budget, it must have imposed the sorting requirement—and that requirement brings the increase in landfill recyclables.
Working the answers
- A
We know many residents will put more recyclables in their garbage. That does not tell us how many will continue recycling at all. Some could throw away more while still recycling other materials. We cannot infer that most will or will not continue.
- B
Requiring sorting does not establish perfect compliance among everyone who continues recycling. Some remaining participants could still put unsorted material out for collection. The passage does not settle that issue. The fact that other residents put more material in the trash also does not directly contradict B's separate claim about those who continue.
- C
We are not given the relative costs of disposing of the additional garbage and having city workers sort recyclables. Knowing that worker sorting strains the budget does not establish a dollar comparison with landfill disposal. C adds a calculation the facts do not support.
- DCorrect
Staying within budget requires implementing the sorting rule. Implementing the rule increases the recyclables sent to the landfill. Put those facts together: if the department stays within budget, landfill recyclables increase. This is the unavoidable tradeoff identified while reading.
- E
The sorting rule is required to stay within budget; it is not stated to guarantee staying within budget. Other expenses could still push the department over its limit after the rule is imposed. E treats a necessary step as a complete solution.
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