PrepTest 138, Section 4, Question 3
The level of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere(48 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AIf current regulations(25 more words not shown)
- BThere have been(16 more words not shown)
- CIf the regulations(22 more words not shown)
- DEmissions from coal-burning(11 more words not shown)
- EGovernment regulations will(10 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Sulfur dioxide went up despite the new regulations. At first, that doesn't tell me whether the regulations helped. Maybe the increase would have been much larger without them.
But the final sentence gives us something stronger: following these regulations would have made the level decrease. We have to accept that relationship. Now compare its promised result with what actually happened. The level rose, so the regulations cannot have been fully followed.
What we’re looking for
That is the inference to look for: there were violations. Be careful not to turn it into 'Every plant ignored every rule.' Some plants could have complied. Nor does it mean the regulations accomplished nothing. It means we didn't get the compliance that, according to the passage, would have produced a decrease.
Working the answers
- A
We know what compliance would have produced over the past ten years. We aren't told what will happen from now on. Perhaps a new technology will remove sulfur dioxide from the atmosphere even if some plants keep violating the rules. Continued noncompliance doesn't guarantee a continued increase.
- BCorrect
If the regulations had been followed, sulfur dioxide would have decreased. It didn't decrease, so there must have been violations. This stays with the period and regulations described, without claiming that all plants violated them or that every violation had the same effect.
- C
Stronger regulations are a new situation. We don't know whether they would be followed or what effect they would have. The fact that the existing rules weren't fully followed doesn't establish that stronger rules would fail to reduce sulfur dioxide.
- D
The passage connects these plants and regulations to sulfur dioxide, but it doesn't rank the sources of air pollution overall. Coal-burning power plants could matter to this particular substance without being one of the main sources of all air pollution. We would need a broader comparison to establish D.
- E
Never? That extends far beyond one set of regulations during one period. In fact, we're expressly told these regulations would have reduced sulfur dioxide if followed. Their violation doesn't show that government regulations can never produce a reduction.
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