PrepTest 154, Section 3, Question 23
In the absence of international statutes prohibiting nations(426 more words not shown)
The author claims that which(19 more words not shown)
- AThey have commonly(8 more words not shown)
- BThey reflect standards(7 more words not shown)
- CScholars have not(12 more words not shown)
- DScholars have debated(12 more words not shown)
- EThey are often(10 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The two principles are introduced as commonly accepted environmental norms. But later the author asks what role they actually play. Nations invoke these principles to justify their own conduct and criticize others, even when their behavior doesn't follow them. That gives us a concrete claim to look for.
Working the answers
- A
No history of drafting formal statutes from these two principles is given. Being widely professed doesn't establish that they have served as statutory models.
- BCorrect
Link the first and third paragraphs. The first identifies the transboundary-harm and precautionary principles as examples of the purported norms. The third says those norms reflect standards nations use to criticize one another. The claim about the broader group therefore includes these two examples.
- C
Scholars generally accept a criterion for customary norms: actual practice. The author doesn't describe a failure to reach consensus about how these particular principles differ from other environmental principles. The criticism is that scholars don't apply their stated criterion consistently.
- D
The author recommends studying negotiations, but reports no scholarly debate about these principles' legal status inhibiting negotiations. That is a different claim about their effect.
- E
The final paragraph recommends studying how affirming core principles can contribute to treaty formation. A recommendation for studying their possible contribution doesn't establish that these two principles are already firmly established models for forming treaties. This turns a proposed direction into an existing practice.
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