PrepTest 141, Section 3, Question 19
Passage A Research concerning happiness and wealth reveals(487 more words not shown)
Passage A(297 more words not shown)
Passage B(198 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(33 more words not shown)
- Ainsular,(1 more words not shown)
- Baltruistic,(1 more words not shown)
- Chappy,(1 more words not shown)
- Dmisguided,(1 more words not shown)
- Elucky,(1 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
A warns that people chase material gains without anticipating how quickly they will adjust, and it describes wanting a better position than others as rivalry. B gives that desire a more favorable meaning: wanting to earn more can express a desire to create value for society.
What we’re looking for
We should therefore expect a critical description from A and an approving one from B. The question concerns how the authors assess the motive, not whether the person is currently happy.
Working the answers
- A
Insular and cosmopolitan concern narrow versus broad social or cultural outlooks. Neither author makes that distinction when explaining the desire for higher income than one's neighbors. These labels do not capture the disagreement.
- B
This reverses the direction. Altruistic would give A the favorable description, while egocentric would make B emphasize self-centeredness. B is the author who defends the desire as beneficial to society.
- C
B does not describe the person as miserable. It says wanting to create value can bring happiness. More fundamentally, this pair substitutes emotional states for the authors' contrasting assessments of the motive.
- DCorrect
Misguided fits A's concern about chasing material gains and relative position without lasting satisfaction. Admirable fits B's claim that the desire reflects value creation that benefits society. The pair captures both authors' evaluative directions.
- E
A does not attribute the desire to luck. B mentions an inherited, primeval urge only as an explanation it finds less well supported. Primitive therefore assigns B the view it challenges.
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