SAT Reading & Writing · Text Structure and Purpose
A city's initial plan to convert an abandoned rail line into a public walking path was projected to cost relatively little, based on early…
A city's initial plan to convert an abandoned rail line into a public walking path was projected to cost relatively little, based on early estimates that assumed the existing rail bed could be used largely as-is. Once engineers conducted a detailed structural survey, they discovered extensive erosion beneath the rail bed in several sections, ultimately more than doubling the project's estimated cost.
Which choice best describes the function of the second sentence in relation to the first?
Which choice best describes the function of the second sentence in relation to the first?
Answer and explanation
Answer: B: It reveals a discovery that substantially undermined the assumption behind the original cost projection.
The second sentence directly explains why the first sentence's assumption, that the rail bed could be used largely as-is, turned out to be wrong, and connects that discovery to the resulting cost increase. B captures that undermining function precisely. A misstates the relationship, since the second sentence contradicts the estimate instead of confirming it. C invents an opposition angle absent from the passage. D overgeneralizes a single project's cost overrun into a sweeping claim about an entire category of infrastructure.
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