PrepTest 142, Section 1, Question 13
Community organizations wanting to enhance support for higher(64 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- ACommunity organizations seeking(17 more words not shown)
- BIt is easier(33 more words not shown)
- CIt is easy(19 more words not shown)
- DConvincing the public(18 more words not shown)
- EHigher education is(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why should someone who never attends college support higher education? One possible message is that graduates help create better products and services. The person who doesn't attend could still benefit from what educated people produce.
That illustrates the sort of pitch the author recommends: show the public a benefit reaching beyond the students themselves. The road example explains why that pitch might work. People are more receptive when they see a program as helping everyone.
What we’re looking for
We might initially picture a fight over taxpayer funding, but the passage doesn't limit public support to money. It already tells us the organizations' goal is to enhance support. The main-conclusion question asks what the author says those organizations need to do to pursue that goal: convince the public that higher education benefits society as a whole. The example and the claim about receptiveness support that advice.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This states the recommendation to the organizations: persuade the public that the programs benefit society as a whole. The rest of the passage explains why that approach would help obtain the support they want. It is advice about the message to communicate, not merely a statement that public support exists.
- B
This is the broader comparison used to support the recommendation. People more readily support programs they see as widely beneficial. Why does the author tell us that? To explain why organizations promoting higher education should emphasize benefits to everyone.
- C
Road building is the example, not the goal of the argument. Also, easier doesn't necessarily mean easy: one campaign could be difficult while another is even harder. The passage compares levels of receptiveness; it doesn't need to declare getting support for roads easy.
- D
This gives the reason the proposed approach helps: it makes the public more receptive. The conclusion takes the next step and tells organizations to adopt the approach. A captures that recommendation; D supplies support for it.
- E
The argument doesn't establish an independent comparison proving both activities benefit everyone. It describes how road building is seen and recommends persuading people to view higher education as broadly beneficial. E replaces that recommendation about public persuasion with a claim about the programs' actual benefits.
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