ParadoxDiff: Hardest
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Smoking is the leading cause of house fires, and while smoking has decreased lately, the number of fire-related deaths has stayed the same.
Reasoning: N/A.
Analysis: We are looking for a discrepancy between a decrease in a primary cause (smoking) and a stagnation in the effect (fire deaths). To resolve this, we need information that explains why the death toll hasn't dropped despite the reduction in smoking. Maybe other types of fires have become more common, or perhaps modern home materials burn faster and more lethally than they used to. Since this is an 'EXCEPT' question, four choices will provide these types of explanations, while the correct one will likely be irrelevant to the death rate.
Reasoning: N/A.
Analysis: We are looking for a discrepancy between a decrease in a primary cause (smoking) and a stagnation in the effect (fire deaths). To resolve this, we need information that explains why the death toll hasn't dropped despite the reduction in smoking. Maybe other types of fires have become more common, or perhaps modern home materials burn faster and more lethally than they used to. Since this is an 'EXCEPT' question, four choices will provide these types of explanations, while the correct one will likely be irrelevant to the death rate.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage26.Each one of the following statements, if true over the last two decades, helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy above EXCEPT:
Correct Answer
B
If smoking-in-bed fires often start after occupants fall asleep, that suggests those fires are particularly dangerous. With a decline in smoking, we would then expect a drop in deaths, not the lack of one. So this does not help resolve the discrepancy and is the EXCEPT.
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