Question 62·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While preparing a report on urban rail transit, a student has compiled the following notes:
- Trains equipped with rubber tires generate substantially less noise than those with traditional steel wheels.
- Rubber tires, however, wear out more quickly and must be replaced far more often than steel wheels.
- Steel wheels, because of their lower rolling resistance, use energy more efficiently than rubber tires.
- Rubber tires are manufactured from petrochemical materials that are difficult to recycle.
- Steel wheels can remain in service for decades with minimal maintenance.
The student wants to highlight a trade-off between reducing noise and increasing maintenance demands. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to achieve this purpose?
For rhetorical synthesis questions with notes, restate the exact goal (here: “show a trade-off between noise reduction and increased maintenance”). Identify which notes supply each required idea, then check choices for (1) inclusion of both ideas, (2) an explicit contrast, and (3) factual consistency with the notes. Eliminate choices that add an unsupported claim or shift to an irrelevant trade-off.
Hints
Identify the two key ideas you must connect
Underline the words in the question that describe what needs to be contrasted. What are the two things that must both appear in the sentence (one is about sound, the other about upkeep)?
Locate the matching notes
Look back at the bullet points: which one talks about how noisy or quiet the trains are, and which one talks about how often parts need replacing?
Look for a sentence that combines and contrasts
Cross out any choice that doesn’t include both required ideas. Then check whether the remaining choice(s) accurately reflect what the notes say.
Step-by-step Explanation
Clarify the purpose
The student wants to highlight a trade-off between reducing noise and increasing maintenance demands.
So the best choice must:
- Include an idea about noise (quieter vs. louder), and
- Include an idea about maintenance (wearing out, replacement frequency, upkeep), and
- Show a contrast (for example, using “but”).
Match the purpose to the notes
From the notes:
- Noise: Rubber tires generate substantially less noise than steel wheels.
- Maintenance demand: Rubber tires wear out more quickly and must be replaced far more often.
A sentence that fits the purpose should connect these two ideas directly.
Evaluate each choice against the notes
Check each option for (1) noise + (2) maintenance + (3) accuracy.
Eliminate choices that:
- Don’t include both required ideas, or
- Include both ideas but contradict what the notes say.
Select the choice that states the correct trade-off
The correct choice is the one that accurately says rubber tires make trains quieter but also require more frequent replacement.
Therefore, the correct answer is: Rubber-tired trains reduce noise compared with steel-wheeled trains, but the tires wear out sooner and require more frequent replacement.