PrepTest 139, Section 4, Question 1
Scientists generally believe that no deep-sea creature can(52 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- ARed lights on(12 more words not shown)
- BRed lights on(19 more words not shown)
- CA foot-long deep-sea(9 more words not shown)
- DScientists generally believe(7 more words not shown)
- EScientists need to(10 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
If no deep-sea creature can see red light, what are these red lights doing?
The discovery gives us a reason to ask that question. Still, having a red light isn't quite the same as showing that another creature sees it. Maybe the lights don't currently serve a useful function. I'd be more convinced if we actually observed fish responding to them.
But the author gives us another detail: the lights look like something small fish eat. That makes the proposed use as lures plausible. If the lights attract prey, the prey presumably can detect them. I can see why that would make scientists reconsider the belief that no deep-sea creature detects red light.
What we’re looking for
Now we're identifying the overall conclusion. What is all this evidence supposed to get scientists to do? Reassess that belief. The first sentence gives us both the old position and the author's response to it. We want the response, not the old belief or one of the reasons for changing it.
Working the answers
- A
The lure claim helps explain why scientists should reconsider their view. If the lights lure fish, that suggests the fish can detect them. So this claim is a step toward the overall conclusion. Stopping here leaves out the larger point about revising the scientific belief.
- B
The shape of the lights helps support the idea that they attract prey. This is a detail the author uses to build the case for reassessment, not the reassessment itself.
- C
Discovering the creature supplies the example that prompts the argument. The author does more than announce a discovery: the author uses it to question an existing belief. C leaves out that point.
- D
This is the position being challenged. The author acknowledges that scientists generally hold this view, then says they need to reconsider it. Selecting D would give us the belief the argument pushes against.
- ECorrect
Scientists need to reconsider the belief that deep-sea creatures cannot detect red light. The newly discovered creature and the proposed function of its lights are offered as reasons for doing that. We can identify this conclusion even if we still want more evidence that the lights actually work as lures.
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