Digital PSAT Reading and Writing Practice Question 133: Answer and Explanation

Question: 133

The following text is from President Ronald Reagan's 1981 speech to Congress.

Almost 8 million Americans are out of work. These are people who want to be productive. But as the months go by, despair dominates their lives. The threats of layoff and unemployment hang over other millions, and all who work are frustrated by their inability to keep up with inflation.

One worker in a Midwest city put it to me this way: He said, "I'm bringing home more dollars than I ever believed I could possibly earn, but I seem to be getting worse off." And he is. Not only have hourly earnings of the American worker, after adjusting for inflation, declined 5 percent over the past 5 years, but in these 5 years, federal personal taxes for the average family have increased 67 percent.

The underlined quotation in the text primarily serves to

• A. give concrete statistics.
• B. provide anecdotal evidence.
• C. separate fact from opinion.
• D. acknowledge likely objections.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

(B) In the text, Reagan quotes an American worker to illustrate the incongruity of the hourly wage. Since anecdotal means an "account based on personal story or experience," (B) is accurate. These lines specifically do not contain statistics or address a counterargument. Moreover, choice (C) is wrong because rather than separating them, Reagan uses facts directly after the quote to support the personal testimony.