Civil Service Exam Reviewer · Reading Comprehension · hard

When Numbers Rise Together

A city health office once noticed that barangays with more fast-food outlets also had higher rates of high blood pressure. A councilor quickly proposed limiting new fast-food permits, arguing that the restaurants were making people sick. The proposal was popular, but a statistician on the staff urged caution. The two figures rose together, she explained, but that did not prove that one caused the other. Barangays with many fast-food outlets also tended to be the most densely populated and the most commercial; their residents worked longer hours, slept less, and walked less because they commuted by vehicle. Any of these factors could raise blood pressure on its own, and any of them could also attract restaurants. A third factor that drives two others in this way is called a confounding variable. The statistician did not claim that fast food was harmless. Her point was narrower: before restricting businesses, the city should gather evidence that could separate the effect of diet from the effects of stress, sleep, and inactivity, for example by comparing residents of similar barangays who differ mainly in what they eat. Policies built on mistaken causes, she warned, can burden the public without improving anyone's health.

The phrase "Her point was narrower" means that she

  1. made a more limited claim than simply defending fast food
  2. spoke only about a small area of the city
  3. disagreed with every part of the proposal
  4. knew less about the issue than the councilor

Answer

A. made a more limited claim than simply defending fast food

Solution

She did not argue that fast food was safe. She only argued that the evidence could not yet show the cause.

More Reading Comprehension questions

  1. Which study would best follow the statistician's recommendation?
  2. Which best describes the statistician's position?
  3. In the passage, an example of a confounding variable is
  4. The primary purpose of the passage is to
  5. According to the passage, both groups of historians agree that
  6. Which point from the passage supports the view that the trade had lasting benefits?
  7. What can be inferred about many Spanish residents of Manila?
  8. As used in the passage, a "lopsided" economy is one that is
  9. The passage mainly focuses on
  10. The final sentence suggests that

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