PrepTest 140, Section 4, Question 15
In certain fields of human endeavor, such as(466 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AIt makes proposals(11 more words not shown)
- BIt demonstrates that(14 more words not shown)
- CIt recapitulates the(22 more words not shown)
- DIt raises and(14 more words not shown)
- EIt draws two(16 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The final paragraph makes two moves. First, it concludes that intensive training plus ordinary competent-level talent may explain outstanding performance. Then it reasons that motivation may predict who becomes outstanding, because sustained training usually depends on interest and desire.
What we’re looking for
Those are different jobs: explaining an achievement and predicting who will achieve it. The paragraph draws those conclusions from the earlier findings; it doesn't merely repeat the examples.
Working the answers
- A
No educational reform is proposed. Someone might use these findings to argue for a change in schooling, but the author does not take that further step here.
- B
The two conclusions work together. If training helps produce excellence and motivation helps sustain training, motivation can help predict excellence. There is no conflict between them.
- C
The author draws conclusions about explanation and prediction, without recommending a direction for future research. That added recommendation is absent, regardless of how closely the first half resembles a summary.
- D
No opposing argument is raised and answered in this paragraph. The author is presenting the implications of the evidence, not staging a new objection to the training account.
- ECorrect
The first inference concerns what may explain the difference between good and outstanding performance. The second concerns which early signs may predict later excellence. Both parts map directly to the paragraph's two sentences.
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