Reading Comprehension · Science
PrepTest 147 · Section 3 · Passage 1
Questions 1–6
Before you start
Open PrepTest 147, Section 3 in your official copy from LSAC and read the passage for Questions 1–6, using the structure guide below. The passage is not reprinted here.
Structure guide
- P1: introduces a modern practice, raises a growing worry that it can backfire, and explains with an example why the natural system relied on what the practice suppresses
- P2: describes the harmful result of the suppression and concludes that policy must shift from eliminating to managing
- P3: names three factors, singles out the one that can be controlled, recommends a two-part method, and predicts its benefits
Step 2 · The kid passage
The Great Closet Crash
Grandpa's house had a clever habit for the giant toy closet. Every few weeks, on Giveaway Saturday, the kids pulled out a handful of small, broken toys and passed them along. The big sturdy favorites stayed put, and the closet stayed roomy. You can still see the old giveaway dates penciled inside the door, never more than a month apart.
Then Aunt Rosa decided giveaways were wasteful and stopped them. For two years, junk piled up. Last week Kevin opened the door, and an avalanche crashed down, snapping the top shelf and cracking the oldest, best toys. Biscuit barely scrambled clear. So the family should stop trying to keep every single toy and start managing what leaves the closet.
How bad a closet mess gets depends on three things: the size of the closet, how many presents show up, and the junk itself. The closet will never get bigger, and nobody can guess what birthdays will bring. Only the junk can be controlled, so that is where to aim. The best plan mixes two tools. First, sell the small extra toys at a yard sale, which keeps the sturdy favorites and opens up space. Second, bring back planned giveaway days, and let Biscuit carry off a chew toy only on days when the pile is low enough that nothing can topple. Once the pile shrinks, a tune-up cleanout every two or three months will keep it small. Then the next birthday flood will be easy to handle.
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Case of the Caved-In Barn
In the fictional town of Pebble Hollow, the roof of the old skating barn caved in under a mountain of snow. The town council blamed bad luck. Mr. Whitfield snapped his suspenders. "Your Honor, for fifty years the barn keeper swept a little snow off the roof every week. Then the council banned roof sweeping as a waste of time. Small, regular sweeping kept the load light. Banning it let the load build until one storm finished the job." The judge asked what the town should do now. "We cannot move the hill and we cannot order the weather," said Mr. Whitfield. "We can only control the snow. So sweep in small batches again, on a schedule, and the next storm will be a nuisance, not a disaster."