PrepTest 140, Section 4, Question 18
In certain fields of human endeavor, such as(466 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- Ato illustrate the(24 more words not shown)
- Bto argue that(17 more words not shown)
- Cto show how(23 more words not shown)
- Dto defend the(14 more words not shown)
- Eto explain how(24 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The author contrasts an older explanation with newer research. Earlier claims about inherited traits drew mostly on the general population. The newer work examines superior performers and shows how specialized skills and training-related changes can explain their advantages.
What we’re looking for
So the purpose is to show why an explanation based on earlier research may not apply to this particular group. The abstract wording in the choices should still connect to those concrete people and findings.
Working the answers
- A
We are not applying successive versions of a model to a collection of previously unexplained problem cases. The author reviews research that challenges the claim that exceptional innate talent must account for superior performance.
- B
The author does not reinterpret the same earlier evidence as support for the opposite theory. The distinction is between the limited earlier research and the newer findings about trained superior performers.
- CCorrect
The recent research is the work on exceptional performers, acquired skills, and physiological changes. The earlier view is that outstanding achievement requires unusual innate talent. The particular class of cases is highly trained superior performers, who were not the focus of the earlier population-based estimates.
- D
The author isn't primarily defending a new interpretation against anticipated objections. No sequence of possible objections organizes the account.
- E
This is not a set of new abstract claims being related to old data from another field. The argument relies on recent findings to challenge the older explanation of outstanding performance.
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