SAT Reading & Writing · Text Structure and Purpose
Motor-vehicle deaths per mile driven in the United States fell dramatically over the course of the twentieth century, even as the total…
Motor-vehicle deaths per mile driven in the United States fell dramatically over the course of the twentieth century, even as the total number of miles driven each year rose substantially. This decline reflects the combined contributions of safety belts, airbags, improved road design, better emergency trauma care, and advances in vehicle engineering, meaning a falling death rate can still coexist with periods when the total number of deaths rose, simply because so much more driving was occurring overall.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
Answer and explanation
Answer: B: To explain a safety improvement measured one way while clarifying how that improvement can coexist with a different, less favorable trend measured another way
The passage's structure explains the falling per-mile rate, names several contributing safety factors, and then explicitly reconciles that improvement with the separate possibility of rising absolute death counts during periods of increased driving. B captures both halves of that structure. A contradicts the passage's clear description of multiple safety improvements. C overstates the passage into a claim about total deaths that the passage explicitly complicates instead of asserting. D invents a criticism the passage never makes.
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