SAT #15 Reading (Questions 22 & 23)

Question

Based on the passage, textbook authors in the early 1990’s would most likely have expected which condition to result from the blocking of fast fibers?

Answer 1

Answer Choices D and B are the correct answers because Lines 4-7 say, “Sensations of pressure and vibration were believed to travel only along myelinated, fast-signaling nerve fibers, which also give information about location,” which clearly tell us what “textbook authors in the early 1990’s” thought about fast fibers. Based on these lines, we can say that these authors would most likely expect sensations of pressure and vibration to go away if fast fibers were blocked. This most closely matches Answer Choice D, which says that these authors would most likely expect “the ability to perceive vibrations would be impaired.” For Question 23, Answer Choice A is incorrect because these lines talk about slow-conducting nerves and not fast fibers. Answer Choice C is incorrect because these lines talk about “blocking slow fibers” and not about fast fibers. Answer Choice D is incorrect because it [separates from the pack] and because, although it concerns fast-conducting fibers, it doesn’t mention a likely perspective of textbook authors in the 1990’s. For Question 22, Answer Choice A is incorrect because neither the Passage nor our Texts mention that blocking fast fibers would cause other nerve fibers to fire more rapidly. Answer Choice B is incorrect because neither the Passage nor our Text talk about subjects perceiving gentle stimuli as painful if fast fibers were blocked. Answer Choice C is incorrect because the Passage never quite says that slow fibers would compensate for blocked fast fibers by sensing pressure, and because slow fibers ability to detect pressure came from Olausson and his colleagues and textbook authors in the 1990’s.