PT131.S3.Q17

PrepTest 131 - Section 3 - Question 17

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A recent study of major motion pictures revealed that the vast majority of their plots were simply variations on plots that had been used many times before. ███████ ████ █████ ████ ██████ █████ ██████ ███████ ███ ██████ ████ █████

Analysis: Surprising Phenomenon

The stimulus tells us about a surprising phenomenon: even though, according to this study, most major motion pictures are "simply variations" on plots that have already been used, many people enjoy seeing several new movies every year.

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17.

Each of the following, if █████ █████ ██████████ ██ ██ ███████████ ██ ███ ████████ ███████████ ██ ███ ███████████ █████ ███████

a

Movies based on ████████ █████ ███ ████ ██████ ██ ██ ███████████ ██████████ ████ ███ ████ █████ ██ ████████ ██████
This is the answer choice we're looking for. According to (A), movies based on standard plots are more likely to be financially successful than those with original plots. This means movies with standard plots are more popular with audiences than movies with original plots. But (A) still doesn't tell us why movies with standard plots are more successful with audiences. (A) might tell us about what motivates movie studios to produce movies with standard plots, but it doesn't tell us what motivates people to watch and enjoy such movies.
79%
b

If the details ██ █████ ███████ ███ ████████████ ██████████ ███ ██████ ████ ███ ████ █████ ████ ████ ██ █████████ ██ ██████████ ██ ██████ █████████ ██████
(B) helps explain the discrepancy in the stimulus. Even though the plots of two movies can basically be the same, moviegoers don't notice if the details vary enough, which might explain why moviegoers still enjoy watching several new movies each year despite new movies recycling plots. So (B) isn't the answer choice we want.
2%
c

Because of the █████ ██████ ██ ██████ ████████ ████ █████ ███ ████ ██ █ ██████ ██████ ███ ██████ ████ ███ ████ ███████ ████ █████████ ██ █ █████████ ██████ ███ ██████ ████
(C) also helps explain the apparent discrepancy in the stimulus. Even though movies in general might recycle plots that have been used before, each individual viewer is unlikely to see two movies with the same plot within a five-year period. This helps explain why many people still enjoy going to see new movies each year. So (C) isn't the answer choice we want.
6%
d

A certain aesthetic ████████ ██ ███████ ████ ██████ ███████ ██████ ████ ███████ ███ ████ ████ ██ ████████ █████████ █████
(D) also explains the phenomenon in the stimulus. People might still enjoy going to see new movies because they actually enjoy seeing the same plot developed in different ways. So (D) isn't the answer choice we want.
1%
e

Although most modern █████ █████ ████ ████ ████ ███████ ████ ██ █████ ████████ ████ ████████ ██████ ███ █████ ███ ██████
(E) also explains the phenomenon in the stimulus. Even though most new movies recycle plots that have technically been used before, most of those plots were used long ago, in the 1940s and 1950s. So people who enjoy seeing new movies might not have seen the older movies where the plots were originally used. (E) isn't the answer choice we're looking for.
12%

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