PrepTest 150, Section 1, Question 2
The following passage was written in the mid-1990s.(446 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(18 more words not shown)
- ATwo complementary theories(27 more words not shown)
- BA theory that(28 more words not shown)
- CA theory that(18 more words not shown)
- DA theory that(21 more words not shown)
- EA theory whose(22 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
What does each paragraph accomplish? Paragraph two answers an objection: the greenhouse models had predicted too much warming, but adding the overlooked sulfate effect makes their estimates match observations. Paragraph three tests an alternative: solar variation explains some fluctuations, but not the entire rise.
What we’re looking for
Both moves support the greenhouse explanation. We should predict an answer in which the author considers further evidence and ends up accepting that explanation, rather than rejecting it or replacing it.
Working the answers
- A
Paragraph two does not compare two complementary theories that paragraph three then chooses between. It improves the greenhouse calculation by including sulfates. The solar explanation arrives in paragraph three, where it is found insufficient.
- B
This gets the author's direction backward. The problem with the early estimates is addressed, and the final paragraph supports the greenhouse explanation. It does not tentatively reject it.
- CCorrect
The theory discussed in paragraph two is accepted after considering the solar alternative and the long-term temperature record. “Tentatively” fits “it seems reasonable to conclude”: the author gives an evidence-based conclusion without claiming absolute certainty.
- D
The adjustment involving sulfates happens in paragraph two. Paragraph three weighs a competing explanation; it does not substantially revise the greenhouse theory. An event elsewhere in the discussion cannot supply the sequence D describes.
- E
Opponents questioned the theory, but the author answers their objection in paragraph two. That is also where the adjusted estimates are shown to match observations. E misstates both the author's stance and where that matching evidence appears.
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