Question 157·Easy·Text Structure and Purpose
Many cities are experimenting with replacing sections of traditional asphalt with light-colored, permeable pavement to address urban heat and stormwater runoff. Traditional asphalt absorbs sunlight and channels rain into gutters, contributing to both higher surface temperatures and flash flooding. Lighter surfaces reflect more solar radiation, lowering temperatures. Because permeable pavement allows rain to seep through rather than pool on top, more water enters the ground and fewer drains are overwhelmed during storms.
Which choice best states the purpose of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
For SAT purpose or structure questions, first read a sentence or two before and (if present) after the targeted text to see the flow of ideas. Briefly restate in your own words what the underlined part is doing (for example: giving an example, explaining a result, contrasting with something earlier). Then check each answer against that restatement, eliminating any that mention functions you do not see in the passage, such as history, drawbacks, or new topics. Choose the answer that best matches the role you identified, even if it uses different wording from the passage.
Hints
Zoom out from the underlined portion
Reread the whole paragraph and list the main problems caused by traditional asphalt that the author mentions before the underlined sentence.
Summarize the underlined portion
In your own words, say what the underlined sentence tells you about permeable pavement and what happens to rainwater when it falls on it.
Connect problem and solution
Ask yourself: Does the underlined sentence bring up a new issue, or does it relate to one of the earlier problems? Is it giving a negative consequence, background information, or showing how something helps solve an issue already described?
Step-by-step Explanation
Clarify what the question is asking
The question is not asking what the underlined portion says, but what its purpose is in the passage. In other words: how does this underlined sentence function in relation to the rest of the paragraph?
Review the earlier parts of the passage
Before the underlined portion, the passage explains:
- Cities are replacing traditional asphalt with light-colored, permeable pavement.
- Traditional asphalt causes two problems: it absorbs sunlight (raising surface temperatures) and channels rain into gutters (contributing to flash flooding).
- Then it shows how lighter surfaces help with the heat problem by reflecting more solar radiation and lowering temperatures.
So by the time we reach the underlined sentence, the passage has already introduced two problems (heat and stormwater runoff) and has clearly addressed the heat problem.
Understand what the underlined portion adds
The underlined portion says that, because permeable pavement lets rain seep through instead of pooling, more water goes into the ground and fewer drains are overwhelmed during storms.
So this sentence:
- Describes a specific feature of permeable pavement (letting rain seep through).
- Shows the result of that feature: less pooled water and fewer overwhelmed drains.
- Focuses on the stormwater / flooding problem that was mentioned earlier.
Match that role to the best answer choice
From the analysis, the underlined sentence explains how a particular feature of the new material (its permeability to rain) directly addresses one of the earlier problems (stormwater runoff and overwhelmed drains). That is exactly what choice A states: "It explains how a feature of the new material directly mitigates one of the problems identified earlier."