Reading Comprehension · Science
PrepTest 139 · Section 2 · Passage 2
Questions 8–12
Before you start
Open PrepTest 139, Section 2 in your official copy from LSAC and read the passage for Questions 8–12, using the structure guide below. The passage is not reprinted here.
Structure guide
- Passage A P1: gives early observations of a phenomenon, then a later decoding, and notes an open question about the mechanism
- Passage A P2: reports a discovery offering one possible mechanism, explains why it was set aside, and introduces a rival hypothesis
- Passage A P3: presents evidence against the rival hypothesis and a final experiment confirming the first mechanism
- Passage B P1: states a broad general thesis, distinguishes a special kind within it, and supports it with an experiment on a different example
- Passage B P2: turns to the same phenomenon as Passage A as another example, notes a rejected hypothesis, and adds a study showing receivers do not follow every message
Step 2 · The kid passage
Two Reports on the Treasure Club Taps
Report A: Long ago, Aunt Rosa noticed that when a treasure-club scout found a good prize, she ran back to the clubhouse, tapped on the table, and soon teammates rushed to that very spot. Years later Grandpa found a pattern: he watched a scout tap, decoded it, and walked straight to the prize. Still, nobody knew how the message got across. Then Nadia and Owen each noticed that the taps make a soft drumming sound, which could explain why the code works with the lights off. Marcus argued that mud, not sound, was the key: teammates sniff the mud on the scout's shoes. But Priya showed that scouts can send teammates to spots the scouts never visited, which mud could not do. Finally Lulu built a tapping robot, and teammates followed its taps to the right spot. The sound really matters.
Report B: Every game uses signals. Tag players yell, card players wink. But some games use true symbols. Frankie and Sharon played recorded charades calls through a speaker, and players reacted just as they did to live calls, so each call stands for one specific thing. Grandpa cracked the treasure club's tap code, which stands for how far, which way, and how good the prize is. Marcus thought teammates also need mud clues, but that proved false. And teammates do not follow just any message. Priya trained a scout to find a prize on the school roof, and teammates ignored the taps, probably because prizes are never hidden up there.
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Case of the Kitchen Bell
Judge Okafor held up two reports. 'Report one talks only about the Golden Spoon diner's bell code: how a cook first noticed it, how a waiter decoded it, and how a recording proved the ringing itself carries the order.' Mr. Whitfield nodded. 'And report two, Your Honor, argues that every busy kitchen uses signals, some of them true symbols. It uses the bell code as one example among others.' The judge tapped the desk. 'So one report lives entirely inside the bell. The other uses the bell to prop up a bigger claim. Both cite the same waiter's tests, and both agree the first decoder cracked it open.' Mr. Whitfield grinned. 'Same bell, different jobs.'