PrepTest 142, Section 1, Question 1
Children should be discouraged from reading Jones's books.(38 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(6 more words not shown)
- Ait will lead(9 more words not shown)
- Btoo many children(10 more words not shown)
- Ctheir doing so(10 more words not shown)
- Dtheir message may(7 more words not shown)
- Echildren may become(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What's wrong with these books? A recommendation to keep children away needs a reason. Harmful messages would be one possibility, but that isn't the concern the author gives us.
Instead, think about a child filling up on candy and then refusing chicken and broccoli. The candy gives immediate pleasure while making the more nourishing meal less appealing. The author thinks Jones's books do something similar: quick entertainment interferes with a child's appetite for more demanding literature, such as Dickens.
Why couldn't a child enjoy both kinds of books? That's a reasonable question about the recommendation.
What we’re looking for
But we're completing this author's argument, so we need to follow the comparison the author actually makes. The missing thought should concern losing appreciation for better reading. It shouldn't suddenly introduce a different reason to avoid the books.
Working the answers
- A
The comparison isn't literal. Reading a book doesn't supposedly create a craving for sweets. Candy illustrates how enjoying one thing could reduce someone's appetite for something more nourishing. We need the corresponding effect on reading preferences.
- B
This gets the difficulty backward. The books are being compared with candy because they offer easy, immediate pleasure. The concern is that children will become less interested in more challenging books, not that Jones's books are so challenging that children will quit reading.
- CCorrect
This carries the comparison across: as candy dulls a child's appetite for better food, Jones's books interfere with appreciation for more challenging literature. That is the problem the author has been describing, whether or not we find the underlying comparison convincing.
- D
That would be a different complaint about the books' content. We initially wondered whether their messages might be harmful, but the author never supplies that reason. We can't finish an argument by replacing its stated concern with another possible concern.
- E
Spending every waking hour reading might leave too little time for friends or exercise. But that isn't the danger described here. The author worries about which books children will appreciate, not that they will spend too much time reading books in general.
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