Sarrin monks practice the Pran meditation technique only when extremel

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

Here's our "Odd-Man-Out" example, and since we need to find the one statement that isn't inferred, we should keep careful track of the boundaries around the argument. That way we'll be better prepared to spot what isn't there. The author begins by noting that the Sarrin monks use Pran meditation only in cases of severe weather. The author then explains the differences between Pran meditation and ritual meditation. Understanding the differences will likely be key to getting this question right. Pran meditation is different from ritual meditation because it's more highly disciplined and uniquely involves isolation and fasting. Thus there are three specific ways in which Pran meditation is different from ritual meditation. Let's go to the choices.

(A) The author states that Pran meditation is more disciplined than ritual meditation, so (A) must be true. Since we have one example of a less disciplined form of meditation, we can rightfully infer that some practices are less disciplined.

An 800 test taker understands that on the GMAT, the word some strictly means "one or more."

(B) The monks practice Pran meditation only when there's severe weather and, since weather isn't precisely scheduled, then Pran meditation must not be precisely scheduled either. Sure, that's an inference.

(C) If Pran meditation involves the unique practice of isolation, then no other meditation, including ritual meditation, involves isolation. This is therefore also inferable from the passage.

(D) Some means "one or more," so since the monks practice Pran meditation in response to local weather threats, then some types of meditation do in fact exist as a response to local threats.

(E) is correct because, even though the author implies that ritual meditation is less disciplined than Pran meditation, that doesn't mean that it's UNdisciplined. (E) takes us beyond what the passage supports, so it's not a valid inference and is therefore the correct answer here.

An 800 test taker has a keen eye and ear for distortions of the passage text