Question 83·Medium·Inferences
At the start of the school year, a town’s transit agency introduced a bus line connecting three high schools with the central library. The bus ran every 15 minutes and stopped directly in front of each school. Within weeks, student ridership grew so much that on some afternoons the buses reached capacity, leaving students waiting at stops. In response, the agency added two extra buses to the line during the afternoon rush. As a result, the agency most likely ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For SAT completion and inference questions like this, identify the problem described, then the action taken "in response," and infer the most direct likely result of that action. Choose the option that directly resolves the stated problem and avoid choices that introduce new, unsupported changes or contradict the cause-and-effect in the passage.
Hints
Locate the cause-and-effect relationship
Reread the sentences that begin with "Within weeks" and "In response." What problem is being described, and what specific action did the agency take because of that problem?
Think about what more buses actually do
When extra buses are added to a crowded route during the busiest time, what changes for the people waiting at the stops?
Check for new or contradictory information
Eliminate any choices that talk about things the passage never mentions (like changing the route) or that go against common sense about what adding buses would require.
Match the answer to the original problem
The correct choice should clearly connect back to the issue of high ridership and buses reaching capacity, not introduce a different issue.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the main problem in the passage
Focus on the sentence: "Within weeks, student ridership grew so much that on some afternoons the buses reached capacity, leaving students waiting at stops." This tells you the specific problem: the buses are full, and some students cannot get on and are left waiting.
Notice the agency’s response to that problem
The next sentence says, "In response, the agency added two extra buses to the line during the afternoon rush." The phrase "in response" connects the action (adding buses) directly to the earlier problem (buses at capacity and students left behind). Adding buses increases total space for riders during the busiest time.
Infer the most logical result of adding extra buses
If there are more buses serving the same route during the busiest time, the original problem should be reduced: fewer students will be stuck waiting because a bus is full.
Match your inference to the answer choices
The choice that says "reduced the number of students left waiting at stops during rush hour." directly matches the situation: the original problem was students being left waiting because buses were full, and adding extra buses would reasonably reduce that problem. Therefore, the correct answer is "reduced the number of students left waiting at stops during rush hour."