PrepTest 142, Section 4, Question 3
The master plan for the new park calls(58 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(6 more words not shown)
- ASome tree species(12 more words not shown)
- BThree Rivers Nursery(3 more words not shown)
- CMany of the(11 more words not shown)
- DTree species that(20 more words not shown)
- EThree Rivers Nursery(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What if the donated trees are cottonwoods?
The nursery sells mostly native trees and shrubs, which sounds promising. But the park's plan makes an exception for native trees that grow very large. Buying a native tree doesn't help if it's one of the trees the plan excludes.
Keep the rules precise. The plan allows native species except the very large ones; it doesn't explicitly tell us that every nonnative tree is forbidden. We don't need to invent that restriction to see the problem with the argument. Even the apparently suitable native stock could include trees that will get too big.
What we’re looking for
A strengthener should make the donated trees more likely to satisfy the plan. My first request is simple: tell us these trees won't grow very large. That would remove the concern raised by the exception.
Working the answers
- A
Which large trees? Saying some large species are allowed doesn't establish that the donated trees belong to those species. The native trees that grow very large are expressly excluded. A doesn't resolve whether this particular donation includes them.
- B
This keeps the cottonwood concern alive. If the nursery sells cottonwoods, the donation could include a native species the plan specifically rules out. That gives us a possible problem instead of removing one.
- C
We're evaluating donated trees, not donated shrubs. A large selection of native shrubs doesn't show that the trees purchased there satisfy the plan. It may even make the nursery's combined statistic about native trees and shrubs less informative about its trees alone.
- D
The availability of acceptable nonnative trees doesn't address our size concern. Even if suitable nonnative species are hard to find, the donated trees could still be native cottonwoods. D leaves that problem untouched.
- ECorrect
None of the nursery's tree species grows very large. Since the donated trees came from that nursery, this rules out the particular size problem we identified. We no longer have to worry that the donation includes cottonwoods or another very large native species.
This strengthens the conclusion without establishing every detail about the donated trees. The nursery sells mostly native stock, not exclusively native trees. E removes an important obstacle; we needn't claim it proves the donation satisfies every possible requirement.
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