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Information and Ideas / Central Ideas and Details Difficulty: Medium

In a study by Mika R. Moran, Daniel A. Rodriguez, and colleagues, residents of Quito, Ecuador, and Lima, Peru, were surveyed about parks in their cities. Of the 618 respondents from Quito, 82.9% indicated that they use the city’s parks, and of the 663 respondents from Lima, 72.7% indicated using city parks. Given that the percentage of Quito respondents who reported living within a 10-minute walk of a park was much lower than that reported by Lima respondents, greater proximity alone can’t explain the difference in park use.

The text makes which point about the difference between the proportions of Quito residents and Lima residents using parks?

It was much larger than the researchers conducting the study expected.

It is caused by something other than the parks’ proximity to city residents.

It could be due to inaccuracies in the survey results.

It was calculated using sources that predate the survey.

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Explanation

Choice B is the best answer because it presents a statement about the difference between the proportions of Quito residents and Lima residents using parks that is supported by the text. The text states that 82.9% of surveyed Quito residents and 72.7% of surveyed Lima residents reported using their city’s parks. The text then notes that compared to Lima respondents, a much smaller percentage of Quito respondents said they live within a 10-minute walk of a park. The text concludes that because a greater proportion of Quito respondents used parks despite generally living farther from them than Lima respondents did, "greater proximity"—being closer to a park—"can’t explain the difference in park use." That is, the text makes the point that the difference between the proportions of Quito residents and Lima residents using parks is caused by something other than the distance of the parks from city residents.

Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t address whether the researchers had expected a particular result and doesn’t indicate that they were surprised by the difference in park usage between the two cities’ residents. The text simply presents the survey findings without stating the researchers’ expectations. Choice C is incorrect because the text gives no indication that there might be inaccuracies in the survey results; the text presents the findings as factual information and uses them as the basis for a conclusion that a certain factor doesn’t explain differences in park usage between Quito and Lima residents. Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t mention any sources that predate the survey or suggest that the difference in proportions was calculated using such sources. According to the text, the information about park usage came directly from the survey of residents in Quito and Lima.