PrepTest 139, Section 1, Question 2
Jake: Companies have recently introduced antibacterial household cleaning(83 more words not shown)
The discussion above indicates that(15 more words not shown)
- AHousehold cleaning products(7 more words not shown)
- BHousehold cleaning products(12 more words not shown)
- CThe use of(12 more words not shown)
- DCommon household bacteria(5 more words not shown)
- EPeople should use(10 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Killing bacteria sounds useful. Does that settle whether we should use the cleaner?
Jake moves from one benefit to a recommendation. I'd still want to know about possible drawbacks. What if a product kills bacteria but also creates another problem? That is a possibility to check, not a reason to assume these products are harmful.
Karolinka supplies a particular concern: bacteria that survive can eventually produce strains resistant to antibiotics. She isn't saying the products fail to kill bacteria. She's saying that killing some bacteria can leave survivors with consequences serious enough to oppose using the products.
What we’re looking for
The question asks where they agree. Their recommendations pull in opposite directions, but their starting point overlaps: these products kill some common bacteria. Don't let the disagreement over what people should do hide that shared factual claim.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Jake expressly says the products kill common bacteria. Karolinka's objection accepts that some bacteria are killed and focuses on the bacteria that survive. A cleaner can kill some bacteria and still have a downside that makes someone oppose using it. That is how they can agree on A while giving different recommendations.
- B
Dirt and bacteria aren't interchangeable. Neither speaker compares how well the products remove dirt with how well other cleaners do. A product's ability to kill bacteria doesn't by itself establish better dirt removal.
- C
Karolinka says this. Jake doesn't address antibiotic-resistant strains, so we don't know whether he accepts her account. His recommendation doesn't prove he denies the risk, either; he might be unaware of it or think other considerations outweigh it. We need a position from both speakers.
- D
Neither speaker calls common household bacteria a serious health concern. Jake's recommendation is addressed to people who want fewer bacteria, and that desire need not rest on a serious health risk. Karolinka's concern is the resistant strains that could result from using these products. Neither point establishes agreement on D.
- E
This is their disagreement. Jake recommends antibacterial products to people seeking to minimize household bacteria. Karolinka says antibacterial agents should not be used in household cleaning products. The question wants their common ground, not the recommendation separating them.
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