Official Explnanation
Q1. It can be inferred from the passage that a large plant might have to spend more than a similar but smaller plant on environmental compliance because the larger plant is
A. more likely to attract attention from local regulators
B. less likely to be exempt from permit and reporting requirements
C. less likely to have regulatory costs passed on to it by companies that supply its raw materials
D. more likely to employ older production technologies
E. more likely to generate wastes that are more environmentally damaging than those generated by smaller plants
InferenceThis item depends on understanding the implications of the passage’s discussion of differences between large and small plants. It asks what might be true of a larger plant that would compel it to spend more than a smaller plant on environmental compliance. The passage addresses this issue by stating that smaller plants are often not subject to the same permit or reporting requirements that larger plants are.
A. The likelihood of attracting regulatory attention is discussed only in the context of comparing plants that are isolated with small plants that are near large noncompliant ones. The passage does not suggest that size is generally the crucial determining factor in attracting regulatory attention.
B. Correct. According to the passage, certain permit or reporting requirements may not apply to smaller plants; this suggests that larger plants are less likely than smaller plants to be exempt from these requirements, and thus that the larger plants would have to spend more to comply.
C. The passage does not discuss the passing on of regulatory costs from suppliers to plants.
D. The passage does not suggest that larger plants are any more likely than smaller plants to employ older production technologies.
E. The passage does not distinguish between the types of wastes emitted by larger plants and those emitted by smaller plants.
The correct answer is B.
Q2. According to the passage, which of the following statements about sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide outputs is true?
A. Older production technologies cannot be adapted so as to reduce production of these outputs as waste products.
B. Under the most recent environmental regulations, industrial plants are no longer permitted to produce these outputs.
C. Although these outputs are environmentally hazardous, some plants still generate them as waste products despite the high compliance costs they impose.
D. Many older plants have developed innovative technological processes that reduce the amounts of these outputs generated as waste products.
E. Since the production processes that generate these outputs are less costly than alternative processes, these less expensive processes are sometimes adopted despite their acknowledged environmental hazards.
Supporting ideaThis item depends on identifying what the passage states explicitly about outputs of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. The passage says that plants that produce these outputs are those that use older industrial coal-fired burners, and that such plants are subject to extensive compliance costs imposed by new regulations.
A. The passage does not address the question of whether older production technologies might be adapted to reduce outputs of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.
B. The passage states that new regulations have imposed high compliance costs on companies that produce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide outputs, not that these outputs are prohibited.
C. Correct. The passage states that some companies are still using the older kinds of burners that generate sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide outputs, and that new regulations have imposed high compliance costs on these companies.
D. The passage does not address the question of whether older plants have developed new processes to reduce the amounts of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide they produce.
E. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide outputs, the passage suggests, are produced only by older industrial coal-fired burners; newer facilities (using alternative processes) do not employ this technology, the expense of which is not mentioned in the passage.
The correct answer is C.
Q3. Which of the following best describes the relationship of the statement about large plants (lines 12–17) to
the passage as a whole?
A. It presents a hypothesis that is disproved later in the passage.
B. It highlights an opposition between two ideas mentioned in the passage.
C. It provides examples to support a claim made earlier in the passage.
D. It exemplifies a misconception mentioned earlier in the passage.
E. It draws an analogy between two situations described in the passage.
EvaluationThis question asks about the role played in the passage by the following statement: Additionally, large plants can spread compliance costs such as waste treatment across a larger revenue base; on the other hand, some smaller plants may not even be subject to certain provisions such as permit or reporting requirements by virtue of their size. This statement describes situations in which compliance costs for plants of different sizes may differ, which serve as evidence in support of the passage’s main claim: that environmental regulations do not affect all competitors in a given industry uniformly.
A. The statement in question is not a hypothesis; rather, it reports factors that are known to affect the varying impact of environmental regulations.
B. This is too vague to be a good description of the kind of relationship the question asks about. The highlighted statement does present a contrast—it suggests that larger plants’ compliance costs are lower under some circumstances, while smaller plants’ compliance costs are lower under other circumstances. But this purports to state two facts rather than mere ideas; they are contrasting facts but not in any meaningful sense opposed, since they can easily coexist.
C. Correct. The statement provides examples to support the initial claim made in the passage that regulatory costs fall unevenly on competitors in an industry: large plants can spread compliance costs around, and smaller plants may not even have to pay certain costs.
D. This statement helps to dispel, not exemplify, a misconception mentioned earlier in the passage—i.e., the myth that environmental regulations affect all companies in an industry the same way.
E. The statement does not suggest that the situation of larger and smaller plants is similar (or analogous) to any other situation mentioned in the passage.
The correct answer is C.
Q4. The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. address a widespread environmental management problem and suggest possible solutions
B. illustrate varying levels of compliance with environmental regulation among different corporations
C. describe the various alternatives to traditional methods of environmental management
D. advocate increased corporate compliance with environmental regulation
E. correct a common misconception about the impact of environmental regulations
Main ideaThis question depends on understanding the passage as a whole. Its first sentence indicates its main purpose: to dispel a myth about environmental regulations that is often taken as fact.
A. The passage is not about the management of any environmental problem, which would be a problem about how to prevent or undo damage to the environment. The passage primarily aims to dispel a belief that the passage says is widely held by environmental managers.
B. The passage refers to variations in firms’ levels of compliance with environmental regulations, but its primary purpose is not to illustrate those varying levels, nor does it do so.
C. The passage suggests that most environmental managers are mistaken about a key concept; its primary purpose is not to describe traditional methods of environmental management or alternatives to those traditional methods, nor does it do so.
D. The passage takes no position on whether companies should increase their compliance with environmental regulation.
E. Correct. The passage primarily aims to dispel the belief that environmental regulations affect all companies in an industry uniformly.
The correct answer is E.
Nov 20
Nov 22
Nov 25
05 Apr 2022, 03:00
