PrepTest 150, Section 1, Question 23
It might reasonably have been expected that the(461 more words not shown)
The authors would be most(10 more words not shown)
- AA raw-food diet(10 more words not shown)
- BHumans would not(20 more words not shown)
- CEarly humans controlled(11 more words not shown)
- DThe practice of(19 more words not shown)
- EEmpirical evidence does(16 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Keep the strength of the authors' claim in view. They argue that cooking may explain anatomical changes, but use tentative language: “we suggest,” “It is also possible,” and a claim that cooking might explain the evidence at least as effectively as raw meat does (paragraph 3). They finish by calling for a test between explanations. This is support for a promising hypothesis, not a claim that every connection has been definitively established.
Working the answers
- A
This is not an assessment of which diet is healthier. The authors discuss evolutionary history and the difficulty of surviving on raw food in the wild, not a health advantage of a raw diet over a traditional one.
- B
Cooking makes food easier to process, so special adaptations were not needed before humans could eat it. Later selection for efficient use of cooked food could still change our anatomy. B wrongly makes that later adaptation a prerequisite for ever using cooked food.
- C
The evidence connects ancient fire use with apparent ovens. It does not give a separate period during which people controlled fire without cooking. Uses such as warmth or protection might be imaginable, but this chronology is not supplied.
- D
The sedentary lifestyle is associated with an unusual circumstance in which modern humans can live on raw food. D transfers it to the adoption of cooked food. Recognizing a familiar phrase is not enough when the answer assigns it to the wrong diet.
- ECorrect
The authors present suggestive evidence and possible explanations, then say testing between the cooking and raw-meat models is warranted. That supports the conclusion that the evidence is not yet definitive.
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