PrepTest 150, Section 1, Question 1
The following passage was written in the mid-1990s.(446 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AThough many accept(27 more words not shown)
- BScientific models of(27 more words not shown)
- CNew scientific evidence(31 more words not shown)
- DRecent scientific data(25 more words not shown)
- EThe greenhouse theory(23 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We've already predicted the main point: the evidence supports a warming trend, and greenhouse gases are the best explanation for the rise in the long-term average. The sulfate adjustment improves the greenhouse models, while solar variation cannot explain the entire increase.
What we’re looking for
Look for that overall conclusion. An answer that mentions a real problem with an early model still needs to reflect what the author concludes after addressing it.
Working the answers
- A
This reverses the direction. The author uses sulfate data to answer a challenge to the greenhouse theory and shows that solar models leave part of the warming unexplained. Those discussions support the theory rather than leave it newly questionable.
- B
The sulfate adjustment is real, but the claimed future prediction is not. The author is explaining a rise that has occurred, not arguing that the models are important because they predict continued warming.
- C
The original models did overestimate the increase, so that detail is familiar. But the second paragraph explains how including sulfates brings the calculations into line with observations. C ends on the earlier discrepancy instead of capturing the resulting support for greenhouse gases as a major cause of the trend.
- DCorrect
This includes both ideas we predicted: recent data support the warming itself, and the calculations support the greenhouse effect as a major cause. It covers the contribution of all three paragraphs.
- E
Solar activity explains some fluctuations, but the author never makes combining the theories a condition for accepting the greenhouse explanation. “Only if” adds that requirement. The conclusion instead identifies greenhouse gases as the best explanation for the shift in equilibrium temperature.
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