Read the following passage carefully and answer the question given below:…
2023
Read the following passage carefully and answer the question given below:
Firefighters are often asked to speak to school and community groups about the importance of fire safety, particularly fire prevention and detection. Because smoke detectors reduce the risk of dying in a fire by half, firefighters often provide audiences with information on how to install these protective devices in their homes.
Specifically, they tell them these things: A smoke detector should be placed on each floor of a home. While sleeping people are in particular danger of an emergent fire, and there must be a detector outside each sleeping area. A good site for a detector would be a hallway that runs between living spaces and bedrooms.
Because of the dead-air space that might be missed by turbulent hot air bouncing around above a fire, smoke detectors should be installed either on the ceiling at least four inches from the nearest wall, or high on a wall at least four, but no further than twelve inches from the ceiling.
Detectors should not be mounted near windows, exterior doors, or other places where drafts might direct the smoke away from the unit. Nor should they be placed in kitchens and garages, where cooking and gas fumes are likely to cause false alarms.
The passage states that, compared with people who do not have smoke detectors, persons who live in homes with smoke detectors have a
Answer: A. 50% better chance of surviving a fire. — ConceptIn passage-based multiple-choice questions, first identify the exact source claim, then choose the offered statement that best preserves its central…
- A.
50% better chance of surviving a fire.
- B.
50% better chance of preventing a fire.
- C.
75% better chance of detecting a hidden fire.
- D.
100% better chance of not getting injured in a fire.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Concept
In passage-based multiple-choice questions, first identify the exact source claim, then choose the offered statement that best preserves its central quantity and outcome.
When an offered paraphrase is not a formal probability identity, distinguish the exam-intended closest answer from the stricter mathematical interpretation.
Application
The passage’s exact claim is that smoke detectors reduce the risk of dying in a fire by half. The survival statement is the official keyed and closest offered paraphrase, but it should not be read as a formal 50% relative increase in survival probability; that calculation would require the baseline death risk.
Contrast
“50% better chance of preventing a fire” changes the measured outcome to ignition prevention.
“75% better chance of detecting a hidden fire” introduces a detection-performance percentage that the passage does not supply.
“100% better chance of not getting injured” changes mortality to nonfatal injury and introduces an absolute figure.
Cross-check
The other statements change the measured outcome or introduce unsupported numbers. Thus the survival statement is the best-supported offered answer, while the formal probability distinction remains explicit.
Result
Therefore, among the offered statements, the supported answer is “50% better chance of surviving a fire.”