RC Question 24 Explanation
DISCUSSION: For questions like this, there will be a few lines that directly support the right answer. If you don’t find those lines, you’re just guessing. With a small bit of practice you can learn to find lines within 3-5 seconds.
___________
- The first sentence of the fourth paragraph and the third sentence of the third paragraph directly contradict this. The author cares mainly about how many lives we can save.
- CORRECT. The third sentence of the first paragraph supports this. Voluntariness is a difference between expert judgments and regular judgments. Experts care about lives saved, regular people care whether an activity was voluntary.
- The passage never says what other risks airline passengers face, apart from crashes.
- The whole point of the passage is that voluntariness is not a useful concept. The author doesn’t care whether or how we decide that something is voluntary.
- The second sentence of the second paragraph touches on this. The author doesn’t give an exhaustive opinion on what risks are completely involuntary. They only mention asteroid risks – there could be other involuntary risks as well.
Hi Graeme, thanks for these explanations – they are very clear. I have a question about your method when you are actually taking the test. are you referring back to the passage for evidence to support your answer choice on questions where you are sure of the answer? For this question i had a pretty good grasp of the passage and b stood out as the obvious answer to me, but im wondering if as a good practice i should still find the support in the passage itself. thank you!
Depends on time. I usually do because:
1. I’m very quick at finding the support, like less than 5-10 seconds max
2. I like to be 100% sure, not 98% sure
3. I am generally not pressed for time
If you’re rushing, I wouldn’t check. If you’re aiming for 170+, and can spare the time, I would check.
If it takes longer, I would do a drill to improve your speed at finding info. At the speed above, if you did it for 12 questions extra per section, we’re talking 1-2 minutes extra.