Digital PSAT Reading and Writing Practice Question 163: Answer and Explanation

Question: 163

Text 1

If you have a driver's license, I expect that you are aware that this is the process by which one registers as an organ donor (at least in most states). Yet, it may surprise you that only 40 percent of American adults have registered; that's only two out of every five. This statistic is particularly jarring when it is contrasted with another: 95 percent of Americans strongly support organ donation (according to a 2005 Gallup poll). That is every nineteen out of twenty people, which is a figure that positively dwarfs the number who have registered.

Text 2

Contrary to tabloid sensationalism, no organ donor has ever been declared dead prematurely; donors are subject to more post-mortem testing than non-donors just to ensure that this scenario never occurs. Thus, you are far more likely to be buried alive as a non-donor than to be declared dead as a donor.

The argument presented in Text 2 could be best used to explain which portion of Text 1?

• A. That the driver's license is the primary way by which one can register to become an organ donor
• B. That premature burial is a major safety concern for most American adults
• C. That most states record one's willingness to become an organ donor through official government documents
• D. That 95 percent of Americans support organ donation, while only 40 percent are registered as organ donors

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

(D) Text 2 highlights how many people may feel a fear of being declared dead prematurely, which could dissuade them from wanting to be organ donors. This unfounded fear would go a long way in explaining why there would be such a disparity between those who support organ donation-95 percent of Americans-and those who are actually register to be organ donors-just 40 percent. It is not (A) or (C), because there is no focus on the procedure to become an organ donor in Text 2. It is not (B), because Text 1 does not suggest that premature burial is a major safety concern for most adults.