PrepTest 148, Section 1, Question 17
In deep temperate lakes, water temperatures vary according(88 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AThe ease with(18 more words not shown)
- BCold water is(8 more words not shown)
- CLake trout are(6 more words not shown)
- DLake trout do(13 more words not shown)
- EIn deep temperate(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Follow the cold water. That seems sensible: lake trout generally stay in the coldest water, which is near the top in winter and at the bottom in summer. So winter fishing near the surface initially sounds like a better plan than fishing in the trout's summer locations. “Eschew” just means avoid.
What we’re looking for
My first question would be whether these particular spots really are the best ones. Could there be another place with even more trout? That's a fairly tentative objection, though. The recommendation seems to fit what we've been told about where the fish go. Since we're asked for a necessary assumption, let's look for something the recommendation needs, rather than just another fact that might make fishing easier.
Working the answers
- A
The fish can change locations without becoming harder or easier to catch. Perhaps anglers have equal success throughout the year as long as they fish in the right places. The recommendation concerns where to look, not a required seasonal change in difficulty.
- B
We don't need a claim about water density. We're given the seasonal temperature distributions and told that trout generally follow the coldest water. The argument can use those facts without assuming an explanation involving the weight of the water.
- C
Trout could also live in shallow lakes, rivers, or other bodies of water. That would not undermine advice about where to find them in deep temperate lakes. We don't need these lakes to be their only habitat.
- D
Their feeding habits might change while they continue to favor the coldest water. We're not recommending a particular food or bait. Unchanging feeding habits aren't needed to connect water temperature with the locations being recommended.
- ECorrect
Here's the timing issue I initially passed over: turnover happens in late winter, and we're being told where to fish in late winter. Has the water already switched to its summer arrangement? The argument assumes it hasn't switched while ice remains on the surface. If turnover had already happened, the coldest water could be at the bottom, and the trout would generally follow it there. Then avoiding their summer locations would no longer follow from the temperature information. The remaining ice has to place us before that change for this advice to work.
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