PrepTest 148, Section 1, Question 1
In a recent study of dust-mite allergy sufferers,(65 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(13 more words not shown)
- ADust-mite allergens in(21 more words not shown)
- BWhen people report(13 more words not shown)
- CThe medical community(9 more words not shown)
- DFor dust-mite allergy(17 more words not shown)
- EAll of the(18 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Maybe the remaining allergens are still enough to set off the allergies. Removing most of something that triggers a reaction doesn't necessarily remove the reaction.
What we’re looking for
I'd have expected the mite-proof bedding to help: it substantially reduced the allergen, while the ordinary bedding didn't. But a 69 percent reduction still leaves 31 percent behind. What if even that smaller amount keeps the symptoms going? That would reconcile the results we're asked to explain. Both groups could continue suffering even though one group's mattresses now contain much less allergen.
Working the answers
- A
This makes bedding sound like an especially important source of irritation. But we already know bedding is the main source of exposure, which is why the lack of improvement seems surprising. A doesn't tell us why reducing the allergens in that important location failed to reduce symptoms.
- B
The passage doesn't specify that the reports came directly from the participants. Even if they did, exaggeration alone wouldn't explain the missing improvement. Someone could exaggerate both before and after treatment and still report feeling better afterward. We'd need a reason the reporting hid the reduction in symptoms, not merely a general tendency to make symptoms sound severe.
- C
A lack of complete medical understanding doesn't supply an explanation for this particular result. We need a fact showing how much lower allergen levels can coexist with unchanged symptoms. Saying we don't fully understand the mechanism leaves that question unanswered.
- DCorrect
The reduction didn't reach the level needed for relief. The bedding removed 69 percent, but sufferers need a reduction of 90 to 95 percent before their symptoms improve. So a substantial amount of allergen can be removed without producing any reported relief. This fits the remaining-allergen prediction without requiring us to eliminate every last trace.
- E
Knowing that one group would get mite-proof bedding doesn't tell us why neither group improved. It doesn't even say participants knew which group they were in. We would have to add a further story about how that information affected symptoms or reporting. D directly explains why the measured reduction wasn't enough.
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