16Hit1600
Information and IdeasVery hardInference weighing two explanations

Information and Ideas practice question

A bakery's sourdough sold out every day until it moved to a new oven, after which loaves came out paler and sales fell. The baker blamed the flour. But a rival bakery using the same flour reported no change, and when the new oven's thermostat was recalibrated the loaves — and the sales — recovered. The most reasonable interpretation is that ____

Which choice most logically completes the text?

  1. A. the new oven had been running too cool, and the flour was not the problem.Correct
  2. B. the flour had deteriorated.
  3. C. customers had lost interest in sourdough.
  4. D. the rival bakery used a different oven.

Answer: A. the new oven had been running too cool, and the flour was not the problem.

Same flour fine elsewhere; recalibrating the oven fixed it.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. the flour had deteriorated.
The rival's loaves were unaffected with the same flour.
C. customers had lost interest in sourdough.
Sales recovered once the loaves did.
D. the rival bakery used a different oven.
Whether it did is irrelevant; the thermostat fix is the evidence.

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