Reading Comprehension · Social Science
PrepTest 121 · Section 2 · Passage 1
Questions 1–5
Before you start
Open PrepTest 121, Section 2 in your official copy from LSAC and read the passage for Questions 1–5, using the structure guide below. The passage is not reprinted here.
Structure guide
- P1: lays out the traditional definition of the first kind of setup, its features, and why it is thought to be steady, with a famous example
- P2: contrasts a second kind of setup, its features, and why it is thought to be shaky, with examples
- P3: the author says changed conditions call for rethinking both labels and argues the first kind may now be risky
- P4: the author looks back at history in this new light and suggests the second kind may actually have kept the peace
Step 2 · The kid passage
The Lunchroom Puzzle
For years, the grown-ups at Maple Street School believed that a lunchroom full of many small tables, each about the same size, was the calmest setup. Kids drift from table to table as friendships change. Little squabbles pop up a lot, usually when a few small tables team up to stop one bossy table from hogging the ketchup. But all that pushing back and forth evens out, and the room stays calm. The famous example was the old cafeteria, which had calm lunches for nearly ten years.
A room with just two giant tables is different. Everyone else picks a side. Seats lock in place. Whatever one table gains, the other table loses. Both giant tables want to be the top table, so they bicker, stage big showdowns, and in the end one table gives up and scatters. The gym lunches worked like this.
But Priya says the new cafeteria, with its squirt-bottle sauces and slippery floors, means we should rethink both beliefs. Today, the little squabbles that once kept things balanced could spray sauce everywhere and wreck lunch. More tables and constant switching would just make a jumble of arguments.
Priya also looks back at last spring. Back then, two small tables dragged the bigger tables into one giant food fight that ruined the whole period, and the strict cleanup rules afterward set up the next mess. In contrast, during the two-table months, one single rivalry, stiff but mostly steady, may be exactly what kept lunch peaceful.
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Case of the Two Garden Clubs
Judge Ada Pell tapped her gavel. "Mr. Whitfield, the town says a park run by many little garden clubs is always the calm choice?" Mr. Whitfield snapped his suspenders. "That was the old wisdom, Your Honor. Lots of small clubs, lots of small quarrels, and they balance out." He held up a hose. "But now every club has power sprayers. A small quarrel today soaks the whole park." The town's lawyer frowned. "And two big clubs? They just fight until one quits." Mr. Whitfield smiled. "Look back at the last ten summers. When five clubs shared the park, two tiny ones started the great mulch feud. When only two clubs ran it, one steady rivalry kept the peace." The judge nodded. "So the labels need a second look."