PSAT Reading Question 389: Answer and Explanation

Question: 389

The passage suggests that at the time the passage was written, the scientific consensus about the existence of the Higgs boson was

• A. indubitably conclusive.
• B. generally unsettled.
• C. worryingly confused.
• D. unwaveringly skeptical.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

(B) Line 51 states, "In any event, the answer looms near on the horizon," meaning that scientists do not yet definitively know whether or not the Higgs boson exists. If its existence is confirmed, then choice (A) could work. However, that is not the status at the time of the writing of this passage. Although the passage contains some confusion and some skepticism about the Higgs boson, choices (C) and (D) are too extreme in their descriptions.