Reading Comprehension · Law
PrepTest 120 · Section 2 · Passage 3
Questions 12–18
Before you start
Open PrepTest 120, Section 2 in your official copy from LSAC and read the passage for Questions 12–18, using the structure guide below. The passage is not reprinted here.
Structure guide
- P1: contrasts two ways of handling the same kind of problem, laying out how each one works
- P2: presents the arguments made by supporters of the first way, with the author granting them partial credit
- P3: gives the author's verdict in favor of the second way, backed by its fans' points and survey results
Step 2 · The kid passage
Two Ways to Fix a Bike
A broken bike on Maple Street can be fixed two ways. A kid can drop it at Grandpa's repair shop. Grandpa does the whole job himself, follows a printed checklist, writes every fix in his big logbook, and his word on what went wrong is final. Or a kid can bring it to Aunt Rosa's Saturday garage club, which is small, relaxed, and held in her driveway. Aunt Rosa never touches the wrench. She asks questions and points, and the kid does the fixing.
Fans of the shop say it beats the club in several ways, and they have a fair point. Grandpa's checklist makes sure every bike meets the town safety code, while a club fix might skip a step nobody remembered. His logbook keeps a record, so if the bike breaks again, the next fixer can see what was done; the club keeps no notes. And since Grandpa sees hundreds of bikes, each tricky repair teaches him a trick he uses on later bikes, while club repairs never reach him.
Still, for kids' bikes, the garage club is the better choice. Club fans say it is faster and cheaper than waiting a week at the shop. Kids who fix their own chains learn how to handle the next breakdown alone, and they take better care of a bike they repaired themselves. When Ms. Rivera surveyed club members, most had finished their repair and called the club fun and fair, unlike the shop's drop-it-and-wait feeling.
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Case of the Community Garden
In a made-up town hearing, Judge Plum had to decide how the new neighborhood garden would be planned. One side wanted a hired designer to draw the whole plan, stamp it, and file it with the town. Mr. Whitfield snapped his suspenders. "Your Honor, the designer has real strengths. The plan would follow every code, and it would leave a paper trail. I admit that." He paused. "But for a garden that neighbors will tend for years, a coach who helps them plan it together works better. They learn to fix problems themselves, they care for what they built, and in the last three towns that tried it, most gardeners said they loved the process." Judge Plum nodded. "Grant the other side its points, then show why yours wins."