PrepTest 139, Section 2, Question 1

What we’re looking for

Working the answers

• A

  This turns the account into a criticism of the planners. We hear an objection about people's preferences and then the planners' response. We don't reach the conclusion that they neglect residents' interests and values.

• B

  The economic and social separation is part of their complaint. But “specific reforms of zoning laws” adds something we weren't given. They describe a different neighborhood model and call for scrutiny of policies; they don't spell out particular legal changes. A partly accurate answer still needs its added claim supported.

• C

  “Most people” finding urban life more gratifying isn't established. The planners' argument that a design would improve community life doesn't tell us how most people would rate their own satisfaction.

• D
  Correct

  This gives both halves of our prediction: sprawl corrodes community life, and small urban neighborhoods provide the model for an alternative. It captures what the planners argue without treating their proposed benefits as proven results.

• E

  Traffic concerns help explain the zoning policies, but the proposed remedy is broader than changing traffic policy. The planners want a different arrangement of homes, businesses, schools, and shared spaces.