ParadoxDiff: Easy
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Even though running a marathon takes a very long time, people who practice for 90 minutes a day actually do better than those who practice for two hours or more.
Reasoning: Marathons are extremely long endurance events, yet runners who train for 90 minutes daily perform better than those who train for 120 minutes or more.
Analysis: This stimulus presents a classic 'more is not always better' paradox where increased effort correlates with decreased performance. To resolve this, we need to find reasons why the 120-minute group might be disadvantaged, such as physical exhaustion, injury, or diminishing returns on training. Since this is an 'EXCEPT' question, the correct answer will be the one that fails to explain why the shorter training period is more effective. Look for an answer choice that is either irrelevant to running performance or suggests that longer training should actually be better.
Reasoning: Marathons are extremely long endurance events, yet runners who train for 90 minutes daily perform better than those who train for 120 minutes or more.
Analysis: This stimulus presents a classic 'more is not always better' paradox where increased effort correlates with decreased performance. To resolve this, we need to find reasons why the 120-minute group might be disadvantaged, such as physical exhaustion, injury, or diminishing returns on training. Since this is an 'EXCEPT' question, the correct answer will be the one that fails to explain why the shorter training period is more effective. Look for an answer choice that is either irrelevant to running performance or suggests that longer training should actually be better.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage10.Each of the following, if true, contributes to an explanation of the difference in marathon performances described above EXCEPT:
Correct Answer
B
If longer daily runs make it easier to adjust to different race lengths, that is a benefit of running longer and does not explain why the 120+ minute group would perform worse in marathons. In fact, for marathons (a fixed length), it suggests longer-training runners might do better, not worse.
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