Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumCompleting the Passage Logically

Municipal planners in City X recently replaced traditional asphalt in high-density commercial zones with permeable interlocking concrete pavers to reduce storm runoff and mitigate the urban heat island effect. Although the pavers successfully absorbed rainfall and lowered surface temperatures, routine road maintenance costs rose significantly because traditional mechanical rotary sweepers dislodged the stabilizing joint sand between the pavers, requiring frequent re-sanding. To eliminate these extra maintenance expenses while preserving the environmental benefits, the city plans to replace its mechanical sweepers with high-pressure suction vacuum sweepers. However, this plan is unlikely to achieve its intended cost-saving goal because __________

Which of the following most logically completes the passage?

  1. high-pressure suction sweepers pull joint sand from between interlocking pavers at a rate equal to or greater than mechanical rotary sweepers doAnswer
  2. B
    the fuel required to operate high-pressure suction sweepers throughout commercial zones will significantly increase municipal expenditure
  3. C
    permeable interlocking concrete pavers become less effective at absorbing storm runoff when joint sand is absent
  4. D
    mechanical rotary sweepers reduce ambient surface temperatures more effectively than suction sweepers do
  5. E
    commercial zones experience higher volumes of storm runoff than residential zones during heavy rainfall events

Answer

The passage is most logically completed by the statement that high-pressure suction sweepers pull joint sand from between interlocking pavers at a rate equal to or greater than mechanical rotary sweepers do.
The correct answer completes the logical chain of the passage. The passage identifies the root cause of increased maintenance costs as the dislodgement of joint sand by sweeping equipment. If high-pressure suction sweepers dislodge or extract joint sand at an equal or higher rate than mechanical rotary sweepers, switching to suction sweepers will not resolve the sand loss issue, thus failing to lower maintenance costs.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the premises and identify the core argument structure
Goal: Reduce road maintenance costs caused by lost joint sand while preserving environmental benefits of permeable pavers. Plan: Replace mechanical rotary sweepers with high-pressure suction vacuum sweepers.
The conclusion begins with 'However, this plan is unlikely to achieve its intended cost-saving goal because...', which requires a premise that explains why the new sweepers will fail to reduce joint sand maintenance costs.
2
Evaluate the mechanism of failure needed to complete the argument
The problem with the old sweepers was that they dislodged joint sand. For the new sweepers to fail at reducing costs, they must also dislodge joint sand to a similar or greater extent.
Completing a passage logically requires closing the gap between the proposed intervention and its stated failure mechanism.
3
Match against the option choices
The option stating that suction sweepers extract joint sand at an equal or greater rate directly demonstrates why switching equipment will not reduce re-sanding maintenance expenses.
This is the only choice that strictly builds upon the explicit premises without introducing unstated external factors.

Key Concept

Completing the Passage Logically
Estimated Time:1m 45s
Rate this question

Topics

Completing the Passage Logically

More questions from this topic