PrepTest 145, Section 2, Question 12
When doctors vaccinate a patient, their intention is(37 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- ASome directors instruct(34 more words not shown)
- BSome parents read(30 more words not shown)
- CIn some circumstances,(34 more words not shown)
- DIn some cases,(30 more words not shown)
- ESome police departments(26 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A small encounter now is meant to make a later, more dangerous encounter easier to handle. That's the useful pattern here: expose the patient to a weakened pathogen so the patient becomes better able to resist the disease later.
What we’re looking for
The preparation matters. Think of it as practice with a less threatening version before facing the full challenge. For this principle question, we need another example with that same relationship between the initial exposure and the later protection.
Working the answers
- A
The director withholds rehearsal to prevent overconfidence and inattentiveness. That runs in a different direction from giving someone a preparatory exposure. The vaccination example builds resistance through the earlier encounter; A tries to preserve attention by stopping practice.
- BCorrect
The fairy tales give children an indirect, less threatening encounter with treachery and cruelty. The parents hope that encounter will make the children less vulnerable when they meet those things in real life.
The stories play the role of the weakened pathogen, the children play the role of the patients, and the later real experiences play the role of the more serious disease exposure. Both examples prepare someone for a later threat through a milder encounter now.
- C
'Fight fire with fire' sounds similar to using a pathogen to protect against a pathogen. But look at what the explosion does: it removes oxygen from a blaze that is already burning. It doesn't train something to resist a more serious fire later. The surface resemblance leaves out the preparation that makes B fit.
- D
The business accepts a cost now in pursuit of a benefit later. That's much broader than the given principle. Closing operations doesn't expose the company to a weakened version of a threat so it can better withstand that same threat in the future. A present cost and a later benefit aren't enough to match.
- E
Punishing minor offenders is intended to discourage people from committing more serious crimes. Those people are being deterred by examples, not strengthened by personally experiencing a milder form of a future threat. The smaller-versus-larger contrast is present, but the way the first event prevents the second is different.
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