Question 68·Medium·Inferences
During a six-month study, a city transportation department installed protected bicycle lanes on three major corridors. Bicycle counts on those corridors rose by 40% on weekdays and 20% on weekends relative to pre-installation counts; on comparable corridors without new lanes, counts rose by 5% or less. On one corridor, some curbside parking was removed; merchants there reported fewer patrons arriving by car, yet overall sales remained steady. Travel times for cars on nearby streets did not change significantly. The department cautioned that an unusually dry spring and a citywide "Try a Bike" publicity campaign occurred during the same months as the study.
Therefore, ____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For SAT logical-completion questions, first identify the role of the blank by looking at transition words like "Therefore," "However," or "For example." Then, quickly jot or mentally summarize what a reasonable conclusion or next idea should be (e.g., a cautious conclusion, a contrast, or a result). Next, eliminate any choices that clearly contradict specific facts from the passage, and be especially skeptical of extreme or absolute claims (like "primary cause" or "always") unless the text strongly supports them. Finally, pick the remaining choice that best matches both the tone (cautious vs. confident) and the logical direction set up by the passage.
Hints
Use the signal word
Focus on the word "Therefore" before the blank. What kind of statement usually comes after "Therefore"—a new detail or a conclusion based on previous information?
Pay attention to the department's warning
Look closely at the sentence starting with "The department cautioned that..." What does this warning suggest about how certain they are about the cause of the increased bicycling?
Check for direct contradictions
For each answer choice, ask: does this match what the passage actually says about sales and car travel times, or does it say the opposite?
Be wary of strong causal claims
Ask yourself if the passage ever proves that one specific factor is the main or only cause of the increase in bicycling, or if it leaves room for multiple possible causes.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the "Therefore" must do
The blank follows the word "Therefore", which signals a conclusion. That conclusion must be a reasonable, cautious summary of what the transportation department can say based on the study and the cautions they mention.
Review the key facts given
Go back through the paragraph and list the important points:
- Protected bicycle lanes were added on three corridors.
- Bicycle counts on those corridors rose sharply (40% weekdays, 20% weekends).
- On similar corridors without new lanes, bicycle counts also rose, but only by 5% or less.
- On one corridor, car arrivals to shops went down, but overall sales stayed steady.
- Car travel times on nearby streets did not change significantly.
- The department cautioned that an unusually dry spring and a citywide "Try a Bike" publicity campaign occurred at the same time as the study.
Interpret the department's caution
When the department says it "cautioned" that dry weather and a publicity campaign happened during the same months, they are warning that these other factors could also have influenced the rise in bicycling. This means they should avoid claiming that only the new lanes caused the increases.
Test each answer against the passage
Now compare each choice to the information:
- One choice should express a careful conclusion that fits the idea that other factors (weather, campaign) may have contributed.
- Any answer that contradicts a clear fact (like sales being steady or travel times not changing much) must be wrong.
- Any answer that claims one factor was definitely the main or only cause goes beyond what the passage supports.
Match the best-supported, most cautious conclusion
The only option that (1) matches the department's cautious tone and (2) does not contradict any given detail is A) the rise in bicycling observed during the study cannot be attributed solely to the new protected lanes. It acknowledges that the lanes may have helped but correctly reflects that other events during the study could also have contributed, so the increase cannot be blamed on the lanes alone.