PrepTest 1 - Section 3 - Question 18

joeytortellini

I'm having a hard time understanding the correct answer choice here as it seems to directly contradict the passage, which states that the amount of domestic oil reserves considered extractable has not changed in ten years. The correct answer E would indeed explain how annual domestic consumption of this oil could have increased without new oil field discoveries, but still it seems to contradict that stated fact. Though I didn't feel D was an extremely good choice, it seemed like the only choice that could have provided a link while agreeing with the text. Could someone explain how E fits with the passage?

bailey_k

For this one, you can try picturing two points in time: Let's imagine May 1, 2010, and May 1, 2020. On May 1, 2010, there were 600 billion barrels of oil in reserve. In the last 10 years, we've sucked 100 billion barrels of oil out of these reserves, so the level would be at 500 billion. But! Choice E says, actually we've found exactly 100 billion barrels of oil that weren't extractable 10 years ago. So our reserves are the exact same as they were 10 years ago. Does that help at all?

joeytortellini

Yes totally! Thanks, I wasn't picturing it like that.