Digital PSAT Reading and Writing Practice Question 187: Answer and Explanation

Question: 187

The following text is from a 1981 speech to Congress by President Ronald Reagan.

Can we, who man the ship of state, deny it is somewhat out of control? Our national debt is approaching $1 trillion. A few weeks ago I called such a figure, a trillion dollars, incomprehensible, and I've been trying ever since to think of a way to illustrate how big a trillion really is. And the best I could come up with is that if you had a stack of thousand-dollar bills in your hand only four inches high, you'd be a millionaire. A trillion dollars would be a stack of thousand-dollar bills sixty-seven miles high. The interest on the public debt this year we know will be over $90 billion, and unless we change the proposed spending for the fiscal year beginning October 1st, we'll add another almost $80 billion to the debt.

The primary function of the text is to

• A. share relevant first-hand observations.
• B. concretely illustrate the severity of a problem.
• C. verbalize the incomprehensible complexity of a concept.
• D. highlight the widespread interest in a particular solution.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

(B) The best approach to a question like this is to consider the purpose of the text as a whole. Reagan speaks directly to Congress here, providing visuals and empirical evidence of just how bad the current situation is. So, (B) is the only choice that indicates his intention to illustrate severity.