Question 98·Hard·Inferences
In a coastal town, multiple residents born before 1920 recounted "a narrow-gauge track that once ran along the dunes." No contemporaneous maps show a track there, and county construction permits from 1900–1930 contain none for a permanent rail line near the dunes. However, a 1911 lighthouse-service memo notes that a "temporary tramway" was laid along the dunes for jetty repairs and was removed once the project ended. Barring the possibility that several residents independently misremembered the same nonexistent feature, these facts most strongly suggest that _____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For inference "most strongly suggests" completion questions, first restate in your own words what mystery or gap the passage is trying to resolve (here, how to reconcile residents’ memories with official records). Then list the key facts and look for the simplest explanation that fits all of them without adding new, unsupported claims. When you evaluate each choice, quickly ask: (1) Does it directly use the important evidence? (2) Does it avoid contradicting the passage? (3) Does it avoid overgeneralizing or inventing new facts? Eliminate any answer that requires assuming extra information or that doesn’t account for every major detail mentioned.
Hints
Link the residents’ memories to the evidence
First, focus on what the residents say: they remember a "narrow-gauge track that once ran along the dunes." What kind of thing are they describing, and in what general location?
Use the absence of a permanent rail line in records
Look carefully at what the maps and construction permits say about permanent rail lines near the dunes. How does that limit what could have been there?
Pay close attention to the 1911 memo
The memo describes a specific type of track along the dunes in 1911. How does this description help explain what the residents might be remembering, especially given that the track was later removed?
Test each answer against all the facts
For each answer choice, ask: Does it explain the residents’ memories and fit both the lack of permanent-line records and the existence of the 1911 tramway? Eliminate any option that contradicts or goes beyond what the passage states.
Step-by-step Explanation
Clarify what the question is asking
The question asks what the facts "most strongly suggest" if we assume the residents are not all misremembering something that never existed. That means we should:
- Accept that some kind of track really did exist along the dunes.
- Use the details given (maps, permits, the memo) to figure out what kind of track it most likely was.
Gather the key pieces of evidence
Pull out the crucial facts from the passage:
- Several residents recall "a narrow-gauge track" along the dunes.
- No contemporaneous maps show a track there.
- County permits from 1900–1930 show no permits for a permanent rail line near the dunes.
- A 1911 lighthouse-service memo says a "temporary tramway" was laid along the dunes for repairs and removed after the project.
So we have:
- Strong memory of a track along the dunes.
- Explicit absence of any permanent rail line in official records.
- Clear evidence of a temporary track in that exact location and era.
Decide what is most reasonable to infer
Given this evidence, ask:
- If there was no permanent rail line permitted or mapped there, is it likely that a permanent railroad existed? No, that would go against the records.
- Is there any documented track that does fit the residents’ description (a track along the dunes, early 1900s)? Yes: the temporary tramway mentioned in the 1911 memo.
The most logical explanation is that the residents’ memory of a track along the dunes refers to this documented track, not to an undocumented permanent railroad or to some other, unmentioned rail system.
Match this inference to the answer choices
Now compare this inference to the choices:
- One choice says that the remembered "track along the dunes" was the short-lived construction tramway (the temporary, removable track) and not a permanent railroad. This exactly fits:
- the residents' memories (there really was a track),
- the lack of any permanent-line permits or map evidence,
- and the documented existence of the temporary tramway in 1911.
Therefore, the best answer is A) the remembered 'track along the dunes' was the short-lived construction tramway rather than a permanent railroad.