PrepTest 152, Section 1, Question 23
Male boto dolphins often carry objects such as(45 more words not shown)
The pattern of reasoning in(15 more words not shown)
- AIf there is(29 more words not shown)
- BI expect the(36 more words not shown)
- CIf the weather(36 more words not shown)
- DIf construction of(30 more words not shown)
- EIf Tamika makes(26 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Maybe the males are displaying dominance rather than trying to attract mates.
The evidence gives us a reason to doubt the play explanation: if this were play, we'd expect females and juveniles to do it too, but only adult males do. Still, a problem with the play account doesn't automatically settle every other possible purpose. That would be my initial objection.
What we’re looking for
This question asks us to match the pattern of reasoning, though. It doesn't ask us to find another argument with that particular missing alternative. So focus on how the author tests the proposed explanation: if it were right, we'd expect to observe something; we don't observe it; that counts against the explanation.
Working the answers
- A
Heavy traffic would make Phyllis's lateness likely. The argument expects no heavy traffic and therefore predicts she will be on time. That removes a possible cause of lateness, not an expected effect that would count against a proposed explanation. Phyllis might be late for another reason. The dolphin argument instead starts from the absence of the behavior it would expect if the play explanation were right.
- B
The expected diagnosis would lead to the tree being cut down, and the author expects that diagnosis, so the author expects the cutting. This follows the proposed sequence forward. The dolphin argument doesn't expect play and then predict females playing; it observes that the expected behavior is absent and uses that absence against the play explanation.
- C
This starts with a proposed condition and an expected result, but then observes the result: Roy did cancel. It uses that observation to infer that the forecast probably called for snow. The original relies on not observing the expected result. A closer version would say Roy didn't cancel, making the proposed snow forecast less likely. C goes the other way.
- DCorrect
Map the pieces. Construction being on schedule plays the role of the behavior being play. A completed foundation is the result we would expect, just as we would expect females and juveniles to carry objects. But the foundation is only starting, just as the expected behavior in those other dolphins is absent. That missing result makes the proposed state less likely: construction is probably behind schedule, and the dolphin behavior is more likely something other than play.
D doesn't repeat the entire background or propose a second behavioral purpose. It matches the central test of the explanation. That is a much closer fit than answers that predict a result from a condition or infer a condition from an observed result. We need the closest reasoning, not an identical story.
- E
This predicts celebration from an expected big sale. The sale is treated as likely, and the expected consequence is therefore treated as likely too. Like B, it goes forward from an expected condition to an expected result. The difference isn't simply that E discusses the future; it never uses an absent expected result to cast doubt on the condition.
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