After a major toll highway introduced a system of electronic toll paying, delays at all of its interchanges declined significantly. Travel time per car trip decreased by an average of 10 percent. Tailpipe pollution for each trip decreased commensurately. Despite this, the total air pollution from vehicles on that highway did not decrease measurably.

"Surprising" Phenomenon
The new electronic tolling system reduced delays on the highway, which decreased travel times and consequently lowered pollution levels per trip, but the total air pollution on the highway did not decrease measurably.

Objective
The correct answer will describe some other factor or phenomenon that also began when the tolls changed, but which caused increased pollution on the highway. That increase must offset the decrease from the shortened trip times, yielding essentially constant pollution levels as described in the stimulus.

A
The highway began charging higher tolls when it switched to electronic toll paying.
This would likely cause fewer people to take the highway, leading to further decreased pollution levels. We’re looking for something that would cause heightened pollution to counteract the decrease from the shortened trip times, so this does the opposite of what we need.
B
Even after the switch to electronic toll paying, there were sometimes long delays at the highway’s interchanges.
This answer doesn’t give us a factor that helps explain the constant pollution levels. The stimulus tells us that the average trip length decreased with the toll method switch, which remains true even if some trips are impacted by long delays.
C
The prospect of faster, more convenient travel induced more drivers to use the highway.
This explains why the pollution level on the highway remains the same despite the fact that the average pollution per trip went down: the shortened trip times attracted more drivers, so even though each trip produces less pollution on average, there are now more trips overall.
D
Travel time on the highway for car trips under 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) did not decrease appreciably.
Even if shorter-distance trips did not become markedly faster, we know that trips on the highway did on average. We would therefore still expect to see lowered pollution levels based on this answer and the stimulus alone, so this doesn’t help reconcile the issue at hand.
E
Some drivers did not switch to the electronic system but instead continued to use cash to pay their tolls at toll booths.
This answer doesn’t give us a factor that helps explain the constant pollution levels. The stimulus tells us that the switch to the electronic system had an impact on average trip times, whether or not every driver utilized the new system.

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Film director: Although the production costs of my latest film are very high, there is little risk that the film studio will not recover these costs. Even if the film is unpopular, much of the money is being spent to develop innovative special-effects technology that could be used in future films.

Summarize Argument
The film director concludes that there’s little risk of the studio losing money on his new movie despite its high costs. This is because some of the money is being spent on special-effects technology will be used in future films.

Notable Assumptions
The film director assumes that much of the cost of the movie is being put towards developing innovative special-effects technology. If that cost was instead being put towards paying actors or elaborate set design, then the studio wouldn’t be likely to recover costs from a box-office failure. The film director also assumes that the technology will in fact be used in future films. If the technology was never used again, or only used in films that fail, then the studio wouldn’t be likely to recover costs.

A
Because the film studio owns the new technology, the studio will be able to control its use in any future films.
This supports the film director’s argument. The technology will be exclusive to the studio, which will perhaps give the studio the upper-hand over competitors later on.
B
Films that introduce innovative special-effects technologies generally draw large audiences of people who are curious about the new effects.
This suggests the film director’s film will be successful. We care about what will happen if it isn’t successful.
C
The production costs of this film are so high that, even if the film is popular, it is unlikely that the film’s ticket sales will offset those costs.
The film director accounts for scenarios where the film loses money. She argues that the studio will nevertheless recover those costs.
D
In the past, many innovative special-effects technologies were abandoned after the films for which they were developed proved to be unpopular.
The special-effects technology might never be used again. Since that’s the only way the film director sees the studio recovering costs, this defeats the film director’s argument that it’s “likely” the studio will recover costs.
E
The use of the new special-effects technology would lower the production costs of other films that use it.
This supports the film director’s argument. The special-effects technology will save the studio money in the long run.

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For a work to be rightly thought of as world literature, it must be received and interpreted within the writer’s own national tradition and within external national traditions. A work counts as being interpreted within a national tradition if authors from that tradition use the work in at least one of three ways: as a positive model for the development of their own tradition, as a negative case of a decadent tendency that must be consciously avoided, or as an image of radical otherness that prompts refinement of the home tradition.

Summary

For a work to be considered world literature, it must be received and interpreted by the writer’s own national tradition and by other national traditions. A work is interpreted by a national tradition if writers from that tradition use it in at least one of three ways: as a positive model for the development of their tradition, as a negative model to avoid in the development of their tradition, or as a way to refine the development of their tradition.

Strongly Supported Conclusions

A work can be a negative model in some contexts and a positive model in others and still be considered world literature.

In order to be interpreted by a national tradition, a work of literature must affect the development of that tradition in some way.

A
A work of literature cannot be well received within an external national tradition if it is not well received within the writer’s own national tradition.

Unsupported. The stimulus doesn’t connect the the writer’s own national tradition with external national traditions. Perhaps a work can still be received well in an external tradition without being received well in the writer’s own tradition.

B
A work of world literature offers more to readers within external national traditions than it offers to readers within the writer’s national tradition.

Unsupported. The stimulus does not give any information about what a work of world literature offers to different audiences.

C
A work should not be thought of as world literature if it is more meaningful to readers from the writer’s national tradition than it is to readers from external national traditions.

Unsupported. Whether a work is more meaningful to one group or another has no effect on whether it should be thought of as world literature.

D
A work of world literature is always influenced by works outside of the writer’s national tradition.

Unsupported. For a work to be world literature, it must be received and interpreted by the writer’s own national tradition and by other national traditions. We aren’t told that it’s always influenced by other works outside of the writer’s national tradition.

E
A work is not part of world literature if it affects the development of only one national tradition.

Strongly supported. A work of world literature must be interpreted by the writer’s national tradition and other national traditions. Thus, it must affect the development of both traditions either as a positive model, a negative model, or a model of refinement.


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