Reading Comprehension · Law
PrepTest 149 · Section 2 · Passage 3
Questions 13–20
Before you start
Open PrepTest 149, Section 2 in your official copy from LSAC and read the passage for Questions 13–20, using the structure guide below. The passage is not reprinted here.
Structure guide
- Passage A, P1: points out that a formal system exists for a group's problem, yet the group almost never uses it, and gives two reasons why
- Passage A, P2: states a common view and turns it into a puzzle the passage must answer
- Passage A, P3: answers the puzzle: an informal system fills the gap, describes how it is enforced and what it lets the group do
- Passage B, P1: introduces a second group whose valued work is poorly covered by formal systems, notes one formal option that is rarely used, and claims informal rules do the job instead
- Passage B, P2: lists three informal rules one by one and matches each to a formal counterpart
Step 2 · The kid passage
Forts, Folds, and the Rules Nobody Wrote Down
Passage A. Kids at Ms. Rivera's school hate it when someone takes over a snow fort they built. The school has an official fix: fill out a Recess Complaint Form and let the office decide. On paper, the form covers forts. Yet almost nobody files one, even though fort grabbing happens all the time. Why? The office takes two weeks to answer (by then the fort has melted), and it can rarely tell who built what first. So the form just is not worth the trouble. Grown-ups often say that without official protection, kids would quit building, since their work might be wasted. So why do kids keep building new forts every snowy day? Because kid rules fill in for the office. Break the playground code and you pay: kids grumble about you, and nobody picks you for their team. That stings for weeks. With the code, builders can claim forts, lend them, punish grabbers, and still have every reason to build.
Passage B. Nadia's class treats a great paper airplane fold like treasure. But the school's official systems barely cover folds. The Inventions Board almost never accepts one, and the Name Plate Rule only covers posters. Ms. Rivera's locked Secret Drawer could keep fold plans safe, but kids almost never use it. Instead, three unwritten rules do the job. First, never fold an exact copy of a classmate's new design, even if you watched it being made. That works like the Inventions Board. Second, if a friend shows you a secret fold, do not show anyone else without asking. That works like the promise card you sign for the Secret Drawer. Third, always say whose fold it is. That works like the Name Plate Rule.
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Case of the Borrowed Garden Plot
Judge Okafor peered over her glasses. "Mr. Whitfield, your client is a community gardener. Why has no gardener ever sued over a stolen plot?" Mr. Whitfield snapped his suspenders. "Your Honor, suing costs more than a whole season of tomatoes, and proving who planted first is nearly impossible. So the gardeners made their own code. Take a neighbor's plot, and nobody lends you a hose. Nobody trades you seeds. It works better than any lawsuit." The judge nodded slowly. "So the formal path exists, but it is too costly to walk, and a homemade system walks it for them." "Exactly, Your Honor. That is why they keep planting every spring."