MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 47: Answer and Explanation

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Test Information

Question: 47

2. The author suggests which of the following to be true of cults?

  • A. They can influence society at large.
  • B. They promote illogical and unreasonable beliefs.
  • C. They are simply groups of like-minded individuals.
  • D. They are usually organized around a focus on costs.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

A This is an Inference question.

A: Yes. In paragraph 6, the author says, "The cult of efficiency, like other cults, advances political purposes and agendas." Advancing a political purpose entails making an impact on the political conversation. Cults, as the author defines them, therefore can influence society.

B: No. Be sure to choose answers that are supported by the passage text. This choice is a common-sense view of cults that is not expressed in the passage. The author does not go so far as to call the cult of efficiency "illogical."

C: No. The author uses the word "cult" in the context of describing how the "cult of efficiency" "misuses language" in a way that "has profound consequences for the way that we as citizens conceive of public life" (paragraph 3). She also writes that the "cult of efficiency, like other cults, advances political purposes and agendas" (paragraph 6). To label cults as simply groups of people who agree with each other would be inconsistent with the author's tone.

D: No. This choice uses language that is too absolute. The "cult of efficiency" may be based on a discussion of costs, but the passage does not apply this idea to other cults.

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