PrepTest 152, Section 2, Question 10
Godinez: In the past, land was sometimes measured(65 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AIt is now(17 more words not shown)
- BFor modern purposes,(13 more words not shown)
- CSome plots of(15 more words not shown)
- DModern measures of(17 more words not shown)
- EThe advent of(9 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A plot can take longer to plow without being any bigger.
Imagine two plots with the same length and width, but one is full of rocks. Working that ground could take longer, so a plowing-time measure would call the plots unequal. That measurement might tell a farmer something useful about the work involved. It wouldn't tell a builder how much space there is for apartment complexes.
What we’re looking for
The argument makes sense: once people want land for different purposes, a measure tied to one task can stop supplying the information they need. For the main conclusion, look for the claim that this change made new measures necessary. The observations about plowing explain why; they aren't the final point themselves.
Working the answers
- A
Easier measurement isn't the claim. A method could be just as laborious to use and still be necessary because it measures something better suited to a new purpose. The argument explains a need for different measures, not a reduction in the effort of measuring.
- B
This sounds favorable to newer methods, but it shifts the point to their general accuracy for modern purposes. The author specifically concludes that diversified land uses made new measures necessary. B doesn't capture that need or the change that produced it.
- C
This is the example in the second sentence: equal-sized plots can take different times to plow. The author uses it to illustrate what the old measurement tracks. It helps explain the need for a change without stating the conclusion about that need.
- D
This describes when people actually adopted modern measures and what they realized. The argument's conclusion is that new measures became necessary when land uses diversified. Necessity and actual adoption aren't identical: people could need a new method before they adopt it. D doesn't restate the particular claim the author makes.
- ECorrect
'The advent of diversified land uses' means the arrival of different ways of using land. Those new uses made new measures necessary. That matches the final sentence, supported by the mismatch between plowing time and information a builder needs. E gives us both the change in land use and the resulting need to change measurement.
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