Logical Reasoning

PT108 · S2 · Q4 High cholesterol levels are highly

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High cholesterol levels are highly correlated with cardiovascular disease.

Given that ...

High cholesterol is highly correlated with cardiovascular disease.

How can it be that ...

In Limone, each resident has had high cholesterol for many years, but hasn't developed cardiovascular disease.

Evaluate / Goal

We're going to need hear something special or atypical about the residents of Limone that can explain why they're not getting cardiovascular disease, despite their high consumption of cholesterol.

4.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the unusual health condition of the residents of Limone?

  1. Persons who come from families

    Unclear Impact

    This could only help us explain why citizens of Limone aren't getting cardiovascular disease if we knew that the people of Limone "come from families that have enjoyed great longevity", which we were never told.

    1% picked this

  2. The stress and pollution found

    No Impact

    This answer is about a factor that can worsen cases of cardiovascular disease that have already developed. This answer would help us explain why people in Limone have milder cases of cardiovascaular disease. But we're looking for a factor that can explain why the people in Limone never developed cases in the first place.

    6% picked this

  3. The residents of Limone have

    No Impact

    This answer is a bit of a tease. They tell us that "very low blood sugar levels" can cancel out the cardiovascular danger of high cholesterol. Oh, okay! Did the residents of Limone have "very low" blood sugar levels? No, it says, they had normal blood sugar levels. Thanks for nothing, then, (C).

    16% picked this

  4. Correct

    The residents of Limone inherited

    Why this is right

    This tells us something special about the residents of Limone that helps prevent cardiovascular disease. They have some blood protein that prevents one of the causes of cardiovascular disease. If we were thinking, "Hey, that just says a cause. Couldn't the residents of Limone still get cardiovascular disease via one of its other causes?" Sure, but correct answers on Paradox (and Strengthen and Weaken) don't have to be bulletproof and exhaustive. They just have to do more than any other answer choice does. No other answer gave us any possible way of explaining why Limone has this lower-than-usual rate of cardiovascular disease, so (D) "most helps to explain".

    Skill tested: Paradox · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    71% picked this

  5. Olive oil is a staple

    Unclear Impact

    This identifies olive oil as a factor that can contribute to lower rates of cardiovascular disease. Do the people of Limone use lots of olive oil, rather than butter? We don't know. This answer says that "in some parts of Italy" they use olive oil, but we aren't told whether Limone is one of those parts. This answer is clearly our 2nd best, and if we didn't have (D), then this innuendo that Limone may be one of those parts of Italy that uses olive oil rather than butter could be our best available answer. But we don't have to speculate with the correct answer whether it applies to Limone.

    6% picked this

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