Question 18·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Craft and Structure
Although pulse oximeters have long been standard equipment in hospitals, their tendency to overestimate blood oxygen levels in patients with darker skin tones has only recently drawn scrutiny, serving as a ______ reminder that medical devices are not always universally reliable.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For SAT Words in Context questions, always read a few lines around the blank and ask: what is being described, and what is the tone (positive, negative, serious, casual, etc.)? Then plug each answer choice mentally into the sentence and quickly eliminate any that clearly clash with the meaning or tone, or that don’t logically fit the surrounding ideas. When you’re down to one or two, choose the word whose precise definition matches what the sentence is actually saying, not just what “sounds smart” or vaguely familiar.
Hints
Use the full sentence for context
Reread the whole sentence, especially the clause after the comma that begins with “serving as a ______ reminder.” Ask yourself: what role does this reminder play in the discussion of pulse oximeters?
Decide the overall tone
Is the reminder being described as fun, boring, unoriginal, or as something serious that helps people realize an important problem? Think about how the issue of overestimating blood oxygen levels in patients with darker skin tones would realistically be described.
Eliminate choices that clash with the situation
For each option, imagine it in the phrase “a ___ reminder” and say the full sentence in your head. Cross out any words that sound emotionally off or logically mismatched with a reminder about a medical device’s unreliability.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the sentence is saying
Pulse oximeters are standard in hospitals, but they tend to overestimate blood oxygen levels in patients with darker skin tones. This problem has recently drawn scrutiny and is described as a reminder that medical devices are not always universally reliable. The blank describes what kind of reminder this is.
Identify the tone and purpose of the reminder
The reminder comes from discovering a serious flaw that affects patient care, so the tone is serious and cautionary. Even though the situation is negative, the reminder itself serves a purpose: it alerts people to a problem so they can be more careful and improve things. The missing word should describe a serious, ultimately useful wake‑up call.
Test each choice against the context
A) “insipid” means dull or lacking flavor or interest; a reminder about a dangerous bias in medical devices is not dull, so this does not fit. C) “derivative” means unoriginal or copied from something else; that does not relate to the idea of a reminder about reliability. D) “euphoric” means extremely happy or joyful; pairing that with “reminder” in a sentence about a harmful bias makes no sense in context. None of these capture a serious, helpful warning.
Choose the word that fits both meaning and tone
The remaining option, “salutary,” means producing good effects or being beneficial, especially when something unpleasant teaches an important lesson. The problematic behavior of the devices serves as a salutary reminder—a helpful warning—that medical devices are not always universally reliable, so the correct answer is B) salutary.