Q21

[Laura Damone]

21. (D)
Question Type: Synthesis (20-22, 58-69)

Looking back at the line reference given to us in the question, we see that the generalization is that caries tends to increase as reliance on agriculture increases. The final paragraph of Passage B tells us that the Ban Chiang population does not fall in line with the generalization made in passage A, thus making (D) the correct answer.

(A) is contradicted. Furthermore, no single example could confirm a generalization of this nature"”"in general, the greater..""”so cross out (A) twice!
(B) is contradicted.
(C) is wrong because a non-conforming example is relevant.
(E) is too extreme. A single example can’t disprove a generalization of this nature.

[steves]

I had picked (B) for this question based on the 2nd paragraph of passage B. It was hard to reconcile this paragraph with the last paragraph (supporting (D)). How should I have best decided to use the last paragraph rather than the 2nd in picking the correct answer?

[rinagoldfield]

Thanks for your post, Steves. The key to focusing on the third and fourth paragraphs lies in the question stem: it asks about the evidence from Ban Chiang. The second paragraph is generic. The third and fourth paragraphs offer the specific evidence the question asks about.