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- Fri May 13, 2016 11:01 am
#24505
Complete Question Explanation
Resolve the Paradox. The correct answer choice is (C)
The stimulus states that patients with acute cases of disease W have low fat levels in the blood, but that doctors believe that reducing blood fat levels is a good way of preventing acute cases of the disease.
You are asked to resolve the paradox, and in this case there is a fairly straightforward path. Since the body naturally attempts to fight diseases on its own, it is fairly probable that lowering fat levels is simply the body’s way of fighting the disease, rather than something that makes people vulnerable to the disease.
Answer choice (A): If the blood fat levels for those cured of disease W are roughly equivalent to those of the population, it is more difficult to understand why blood fat should be reduced below normal. This choice does not help resolve the paradox, and is therefore incorrect.
Answer choice (B): Since the stimulus concerns preventing the actual disease rather than the symptoms, information about preventing the symptoms would not explain why doctors believe that a treatment will prevent the disease, so this choice is irrelevant and incorrect.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. If progression from the latent to the acute illness can occur only when the causal agent absorbs large quantities of fat from the blood, that explains two things. First of all, it suggests that the disease-agent itself causes the lowered fat levels by absorbing fat. Secondly, it suggests that lowering fat levels may prevent the disease-agent from absorbing enough fat to cause the disease by removing a necessary cause. You might have been concerned about the meanings of “latent” and “acute,” but no-one actually needs to know that to select the correct response with confidence. Just for information’s sake, however, “latent” refers to the actual but inactive infection by an agent, whereas “acute” refers to the occurrence of the disease caused by the agent.
Answer choice (D): Since the stimulus suggests that an action be taken before development of the acute disease, it is not immediately clear that slow response during the disease is relevant. Furthermore, the speed of adjustment does not explain the doctor’s motivation or resolve the cause-effect discrepancy.
Answer choice (E): Whether or not high levels of fat in the blood indicate several other diseases has no clear relevance to why one might want to reduce levels of fat in order to prevent acute cases of disease W, so this choice is wrong.
Resolve the Paradox. The correct answer choice is (C)
The stimulus states that patients with acute cases of disease W have low fat levels in the blood, but that doctors believe that reducing blood fat levels is a good way of preventing acute cases of the disease.
You are asked to resolve the paradox, and in this case there is a fairly straightforward path. Since the body naturally attempts to fight diseases on its own, it is fairly probable that lowering fat levels is simply the body’s way of fighting the disease, rather than something that makes people vulnerable to the disease.
Answer choice (A): If the blood fat levels for those cured of disease W are roughly equivalent to those of the population, it is more difficult to understand why blood fat should be reduced below normal. This choice does not help resolve the paradox, and is therefore incorrect.
Answer choice (B): Since the stimulus concerns preventing the actual disease rather than the symptoms, information about preventing the symptoms would not explain why doctors believe that a treatment will prevent the disease, so this choice is irrelevant and incorrect.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. If progression from the latent to the acute illness can occur only when the causal agent absorbs large quantities of fat from the blood, that explains two things. First of all, it suggests that the disease-agent itself causes the lowered fat levels by absorbing fat. Secondly, it suggests that lowering fat levels may prevent the disease-agent from absorbing enough fat to cause the disease by removing a necessary cause. You might have been concerned about the meanings of “latent” and “acute,” but no-one actually needs to know that to select the correct response with confidence. Just for information’s sake, however, “latent” refers to the actual but inactive infection by an agent, whereas “acute” refers to the occurrence of the disease caused by the agent.
Answer choice (D): Since the stimulus suggests that an action be taken before development of the acute disease, it is not immediately clear that slow response during the disease is relevant. Furthermore, the speed of adjustment does not explain the doctor’s motivation or resolve the cause-effect discrepancy.
Answer choice (E): Whether or not high levels of fat in the blood indicate several other diseases has no clear relevance to why one might want to reduce levels of fat in order to prevent acute cases of disease W, so this choice is wrong.