nahid78 wrote:
The initial causes of serious accidents at nuclear power plants have not so far been flaws in the advanced-technology portion of the plants. Rather, the initial causes have been attributed to human error, as when a worker at the Browns Mills reactor in the United States dropped a candle and started a fire, or to flaws in the plumbing, exemplified in a recent incident in Japan. Such everyday events cannot be thought unlikely to occur over the long run.
Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the statements above?
(A) Now that nuclear power generation has become a part of everyday life, an ever-increasing yearly incidence of serious accidents at the plants can be expected.
(B) If nuclear power plants continue in operation, a serious accident at such a plant is not improbable.
(C) The likelihood of human error at the operating consoles of nuclear power generators cannot be lessened by thoughtful design of dials, switches, and displays.
(D) The design of nuclear power plants attempts to compensate for possible failures of the materials used in their construction.
(E) No serious accident will be caused in the future by some flaw in the advanced-technology portion of a nuclear power plant.
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
(A) No. This is too strong. The passage does imply that a serious accident is likely to occur, but it does not imply that there will be an ever-increasing yearly incidence of serious accidents.
(B) Yes. The point of the passage is that it is the people who are flawed, not the technology. Further, since people cannot be rewired, they will inevitably make mistakes. Hence, over time a serious accident is likely to occur.
(C) No. Although the passage implies that the technology is well designed, the clause “have not so far been” in the first sentence leaves open the possibility that nuclear power plants may have flaws that have yet to become apparent.
(D) No. The point of the passage is that it’s the people that are flawed, not the materials used to construct the plants.
(E) No. The passage does indirectly support this conclusion (though, it is a bit strong). However, this conclusion misses the point of the passage, namely that a serious accident is likely to occur due to human error.
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