#20 - Specific Reference, Must be True, Purpose

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (B).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):


This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[hope]

This one was tricky for me. My first instinct was B but then I changed it to A given the information in the first paragraph that a wall would be hit and that according to the laws of Physics computer chips couldn't be smaller than 25 nanometers. I reasoned that researchers would concede that nothing could be done beyond this. Please let me know the way in which I am thinking wrongly toward AC A. Thank you.

[Adam Tyson]

The question here is about why the author told us that background information, hope. What was the author tying to help us understand?

The passage is about some promising new research that could, perhaps, solve the problems described at the beginning of the passage, but why tell us about the problem in the first place? To set the scene for why this research matters! The purpose here is to help readers understand that the research is important and even a little bit exciting, with big implications for our future.

Always start with a prephrase, which means you should answer the question yourself before you look at the answer choices. Then, find the answer that is the best match for what you know you are looking for. Also, generally speaking, changing answers once you have selected one is a bad idea. I always advise my students not to change their answer unless they have clear and convincing evidence that the new answer choice is superior to the old one. Not just a feeling, not just that you've allowed some doubt about your first choice to creep in, but a clearly articulated argument for what makes the new answer better. I see too many students who have the right answer for a good reason, and then they switch to a wrong one without a good reason for doing so. Don't switch without a convincing explanation!