PrepTest 137, Section 3, Question 15
Technologically, it is already possible to produce nonpolluting(59 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AIt is already(12 more words not shown)
- BThe fuel-distribution infrastructure(8 more words not shown)
- CIf a new(22 more words not shown)
- DThe fuel-distribution infrastructure(10 more words not shown)
- EHydrogen-powered vehicles will(17 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
We can build the car. Where would we refuel it?
Technical possibility doesn't automatically mean people will adopt a car. It might be too expensive, for instance. Here the author focuses on another obstacle: the national network of hydrogen fuel stations doesn't exist yet.
That sounds like a problem demand could help solve. If enough people wanted hydrogen cars, businesses might have a reason to supply their fuel. The author points to gasoline's history: its distribution network also started from nothing and then grew quickly in response to demand.
But will that demand exist for hydrogen cars? Maybe people won't want them, even if we can manufacture them. The historical example gives us a comparison, not a guarantee that the same market response will happen again.
What we’re looking for
The question asks for the conclusion, so find the forecast we were just testing: the hydrogen fuel network is likely to appear and grow rapidly. The opening describes the current situation; the gasoline example supplies a reason to believe the forecast.
Working the answers
- A
This establishes that manufacturing the vehicles is technically possible. It sets up the question of what other support they need. The author isn't offering the gasoline history to prove that hydrogen cars can be built; that history supports the forecast about fuel distribution.
- B
This captures the present lack of a fuel network. The author moves beyond that obstacle to predict that the network will develop quickly. Describing what still needs to be created leaves out the claim the historical example is offered to support.
- C
This generalizes from the particular forecast to new technology as a whole. The author predicts a rapid hydrogen fuel network, not a rule that every new technology is likely to receive its supporting infrastructure quickly. A broad principle could help support the argument, but it isn't the stated conclusion.
- DCorrect
This restates the claim that the infrastructure is likely to appear and grow rapidly. Why should we believe it? Because the author thinks the development of gasoline distribution provides a useful precedent. That support relationship identifies D as the conclusion even if we question the analogy.
- E
Similar amounts of consumer demand aren't stated. Perhaps hydrogen infrastructure could grow rapidly with substantially less demand than gasoline once had. The argument relies on a useful comparison, but it doesn't conclude that the two cases will have the same amount of demand.
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