Q27

[hyewonkim89]

I was down to (C) and (D) and ended up picking the wrong answer

Is (D) too strong because it says saving human lives is the "sole" criterion?

Thanks in advance!

[ohthatpatrick]

You got it!

We always want to beware extreme language when they're testing us on what we've read.

(whereas extreme language is fine if they're offering us new ideas ... such as "Which of the following, if true, would strengthen the claim made in line 40?")

Here's a rundown of all the answers

(A) "rampant" misunderstanding is too strong and the author's concern is not so much that people misunderstand the risks of activities, but rather that people use a very ambiguous notion of "voluntary vs. involuntary risk" to guide their thinking.

(B) "excessive government regulation" kinda comes out of nowhere. Also, if the people had their way, the government would NOT regulate such voluntarily risky activities as mountain climbing / skydiving.

(C) Lines 18-19, the thesis of this passage.

(D) "sole" is too strong. Lines 47-49 are more moderate than that. "In general", saving lives is our primary goal, although our limited resources devoted to risk reduction are part of the calculation as well. And the final sentence of the passage allows for "departures from the principle" of saving as many lives as possible.

(E) This passage was about the distorted perception of laypeople, not of experts.

Hope this helps.