PrepTest 156, Section 2, Question 1
When primatologist Akira Suzuki began studying snow monkeys(76 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- ASnow monkeys do(14 more words not shown)
- BFor snow monkeys,(8 more words not shown)
- CIn feeding soybeans(15 more words not shown)
- DSnow monkeys eat(10 more words not shown)
- EFeeding soybeans to(10 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why go down to the apple orchards if someone brings food right to you? The monkeys used to leave the mountains to eat apples. Suzuki then started giving them soybeans in their mountain habitat, and the orchard raids stopped. That change makes sense: the monkeys now have something to eat where they already live. They may no longer need to make the trip.
We also learn that the population grew from 23 to 270. Keep that fact, but don't rush to explain why it happened or decide whether it's good. The passage tells us about the growth without answering those questions.
What we’re looking for
We're asked which claim is most strongly supported. There isn't an argument here that we need to attack, and several facts could support an answer. I'd look for something modest about the population increase or the change in feeding behavior, then check what the choices actually say.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This fits the change we just observed. Once food was provided in the mountains, the monkeys stopped going to the orchards. Having food readily available at home appears to remove the need to feed elsewhere. The observations support that relationship more strongly than any of the other claims; we don't need to establish a rule about every possible monkey in every possible situation.
- B
We never compare soybeans with other beans. We also never measure how nutritious either food is. The monkeys' willingness to eat soybeans doesn't tell us that soybeans provide more complete nutrition than some other bean.
- C
What was Suzuki trying to accomplish? We aren't told. He might have wanted a larger population, or the growth might have surprised him. A description of what he did and what happened afterward doesn't establish what he intended.
- D
Imagine the monkeys had access to both apples and oranges. Would they refuse the apples? Nothing here tells us. We know that providing soybeans changed their orchard visits, not that apples are their last choice among all fruits.
- E
Why assume that more monkeys are bad for the environment? The population grew, but the passage doesn't describe environmental damage. That growth could be beneficial, harmful, or neither. E adds a negative judgment that the facts don't support.
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