PrepTest 137, Section 4, Question 11
Science fiction creates an appetite for interstellar space(46 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(6 more words not shown)
- AThe fact that(26 more words not shown)
- BIf science fiction(28 more words not shown)
- CFew if any(20 more words not shown)
- DMost people unrealistically(16 more words not shown)
- EIf the appetites(32 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Could dissatisfaction help us build better rockets?
I can see how stories about exploring other stars could make people want to do it themselves. And the passage tells us that the technology available soon won't fulfill that appetite. But even if that leaves people dissatisfied, why must the dissatisfaction be unproductive? It might encourage someone to study astronomy, improve spacecraft, or work toward making that imagined future possible.
What we’re looking for
That is the part of the conclusion I'd initially question. A necessary-assumption answer might connect the dissatisfaction to its alleged lack of benefit. But an argument can have more than one missing connection, so we should still check how each step works: an appetite, a gap between expectations and reality, discontent, and finally unproductive dissatisfaction.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This connects two earlier steps that are easy to slide past. Wanting to explore other stars isn't automatically expecting that we can. A person could enjoy the fantasy while fully understanding that it won't happen soon.
The argument uses a gap between expectations and reality to explain discontent. It therefore needs the unsatisfied appetite to create such a gap for at least some people. A supplies that connection. It doesn't settle our separate concern about whether dissatisfaction could be productive, but it is still an assumption this reasoning requires.
- B
The argument identifies one supposed route by which science fiction causes dissatisfaction. It doesn't need that to be the only route. Science fiction might also make people dissatisfied with other aspects of life. Those additional effects wouldn't undermine the claim about an appetite for space exploration.
- C
We only need the stated appetite for interstellar exploration to remain unsatisfied. Other desires inspired by science fiction could be fulfilled. A story might inspire a desire for romance or meaningful work, for example. The argument doesn't require nearly every appetite it creates to be beyond our technology.
- D
Most people is much more than the argument needs. The passage concerns an appetite among certain people, and the reasoning only needs an expectation gap for some of them. It doesn't require a majority of humanity to expect interstellar travel soon.
- E
This rules out every possibility of unproductive dissatisfaction if all the appetites could be satisfied. But the argument doesn't claim that unmet appetites are the only way science fiction can produce dissatisfaction. We need a connection supporting the route described, not a guarantee that removing it would eliminate every such effect.
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