PT147.S3.P1.Q2

PrepTest 147 - Section 3 - Passage 1 - Question 2

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P1

In the last half-century, firefighters in North America have developed a powerful system for fighting wildfires using modern technology. ███ ██ ███ ████ █████ █████████ ███ ██████████ ███ ████████████ █████ ████ ███ ████ ████████████ ███ ██ █████ ████ ████ ██ ████ ████ ███ ██████████ ████ ██████ ██████████ ████ ███████ ██ ████ █ ███ ████ ████ ███ █████████ ██ ████████ █████ ███ ███████ ███ ███ ████████ ██████ ████ █████ ██ ██████ ███

problem · Too much firefighting can be bad for forests
Forest ecosystems depend on wildfires
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Example · of forest dependence on wildfires
In ancient ponderosa forests, frequent small wildfires prevented large wildfires
P2

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Explain problem · Fighting small wildfires results in larger, more-damaging fires
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Impacts of problem · on wildlife, mature trees, and topsoil
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Emphasize problem · Ponderosa and other forests at risk of large fires
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Proposed solution · Adapt land management policies
P3

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Details of solution · Selective harvesting and prescribed fires
Selective harvesting creates conditions for small fires, which are permitted/scheduled as prescribed fires
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Implications of solution · Wildfires will be more manageable and less damaging
Passage Style
Problem-analysis
Single position
Show answer
2.

By " maintenance burns " ███████████████ ████████ ██ ███ █████ ██████████ ███ ██████ ████ ███████ ██████ ██

a

the low-intensity fires ████ █████████ ████████ ██ ███████ ███████

Ancient forests are mentioned only in P1. That reference to ancient forests has nothing to do with the meaning of “maintenance burns” in the last paragraph.

12%
b

fires that reduce ███ ██████████ ███████ ██ ██████ █████

To understand the meaning of the phrase, think about the point made earlier in the paragraph. The author has just described a fire management policy designed to reduce fuel available for large fires to burn. “Maintenance burns” refers to fires that will be required to reduce the fuel available for large, devastating fires. These burns aren’t designed to reduce the larger, fire-tolerant trees. They’re designed to reduce the smaller, less fire-tolerant trees.

2%
c

the types of █████ ████ ███ ██████ ██ █████ ██ █████ ████████ ██████ ██████████ █████

To understand the meaning of the phrase, think about the point made earlier in the paragraph. The author has just described a fire management policy designed to reduce fuel available for large fires to burn. “Maintenance burns” refers to fires that will be required to reduce the fuel available for large, devastating fires.

0%
d

a type of ████ ████ ████ ██ █████ ██ █████████ ███████ ████ ██ █████

“50 years” is a number mentioned in connection with ponderosa forests in P2. It has nothing to do with the meaning of “maintenance burns” in the last paragraph.

0%
e

naturally or intentionally ███ █████ ████ ███ ███████ ██ ████ ██ █████████ ████

To understand the meaning of the phrase, think about the point made earlier in the paragraph. The author has just described a fire management policy designed to reduce fuel available for large fires to burn. “Maintenance burns” refers to fires that will be required to reduce the fuel available for large, devastating fires. This is the only answer that sounds anything like the idea of fires designed to control the amount of fuel. There’s nothing wrong with the word “eliminate” here because the policy involves burning out the fuel for larger fires. The goal is to eliminate that fuel. Whether in practice the policy only ends up reducing rather than completely eliminating doesn’t matter; the goal is still to eliminate fuel. We allow the fires for the purpose of eliminating fuel.

86%

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