LSAT 150 | Section 4 | Reading Comprehension: Q19

RC Question 19 Explanation

DISCUSSION: There’s no way to prephrase this, so you should skim the answers and identify which ones seem most plausible, then check the passage to see if they were answered.

For me, D and E seemed most plausible. This shows why you shouldn’t consider any answers deeply until you have looked at every answer. The earlier answers are often there to distract you.

___________

1. I skipped this as I didn’t recall the passage placing any importance on timelines. While writing the explanation I checked, and can’t find any reference to how long dowsing has been around.
2. I don’t believe the passage mentions rainstorms. The only mention of water is that dowsers often search in areas water is likely to be found. But that’s underground water, not rain.
3. Lines 2-4 say that forked sticks are used, but that’s the only mention of them. No part of the passage mentions the frequency with which dowsers use particular tools.
4. CORRECT. Lines 1-2 say that dowsing is used to locate resources or objects. Lines 4-5 say that water is merely an example of what dowsing is used to find. So dowsing is used to locate many things.
    
   The first lines of a passage are often crucial. The whole passage seems to be about water, but really “dowsing” is the topic, and water merely helps illustrate a debate about dowsing.
5. I had remembered that paragraph 2 mentioned surface clues (lines 20-24). So this answer seemed tempting. But, upon inspection, that paragraph didn’t give any examples of types of clues.
    
   Paragraph 4 also mentions surface clues, in line 55. But that was only to say that the arid areas did not have surface clues.