Reading Comprehension · Social Science
PrepTest 107 · Section 2 · Passage 2
Questions 8–15
Before you start
Open PrepTest 107, Section 2 in your official copy from LSAC and read the passage for Questions 8–15, using the structure guide below. The passage is not reprinted here.
Structure guide
- P1: states that a group values something, names a threat to it, and says some members solved the problem themselves
- P2: describes the steps of the solution in order, with a short example of the first step
- P3: names a first obstacle and explains why one strict demand makes it worse
- P4: names a second obstacle, gives an example of a flexible choice, notes some pushback, and reports quick success
- P5: raises a challenge to the whole practice and gives the defenders' reply, including a concession
Step 2 · The kid passage
Saving the Clap Games
The kids at Maple Street School love their old hand-clap games. But as tablets crept into recess, fewer kids learned the games, which had always been passed from older kids to younger ones by watching and copying. Some kids saw the danger and decided to teach the games themselves.
Before anyone can teach the games in a planned way, someone has to map every move. Priya's group spent two weeks charting each clap, slap, and snap. Then they ordered the moves from easiest to hardest. Last, they picked teaching ways that fit recess, like short practice circles.
There were bumps. Writing claps down is hard, since nobody ever wrote them before. Lulu insisted that every clap sound get its own special symbol. Nice idea, but no system of marks has ever managed that perfectly.
Another bump: each grade plays the games a bit differently. Which version should be taught? Priya's group chose not to pick one official version. Any version was fine as long as the game still worked. Marcus, who loves rulebooks, grumbled. But it fit what the kids needed. Within a month, even kindergartners were clapping along.
Some say writing the games down is silly, since they have always been passed on by copying. The group answers that copying at recess is fading, which is exactly why they write. Still, they admit the games could survive without paper if kids gave up the tablets that crowd them out.
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Case of the Knot Notebook
The Harbor Sailing Club wanted to write down its old knots, always taught hand to hand. A member sued to stop the notebook. "Each knot must have one perfect drawing, or nothing!" Mr. Whitfield rose. "Your Honor, no drawing system has ever matched every twist perfectly. We aim close, not perfect." The other side tried again. "The docks each tie their bowline a little differently. Which one is right?" "Any version that holds the boat," said Mr. Whitfield. "The club's needs come first. Our youngest sailors learned in three weeks." Finally: "Why write it down at all? Knots got along fine without paper." "Because hand-to-hand teaching is fading. We admit knots could live without paper, if folks put down their phones." The judge smiled. "Notebook allowed."