For years scientists have been scanning the skies in the hope of finding life on other planets. But in spite of the ...

Victoria August 9, 2019

Hi @ishadoshi,

A is incorrect because it makes an overstatement. The passage is arguing that "the dream of finding extraterrestrial life is destined to remain a dream." This does not mean that there is no extraterrestrial life out there; the author is simply arguing that the scientists will not find the extraterrestrial life.

While C does seem to be more decisive than the argument itself in stating that scientists will not find extraterrestrial life, the author of the passage is arguing that the dream of finding life is destined to remain a dream. If a dream is destined to remain a dream, it will not become a reality meaning that scientists searching for extraterrestrial life will not find it. Whether this conclusion will always remain true or not, it is the conclusion that is drawn by the author in the passage and is, therefore, the main point of the passage making C the correct answer.

Hope this is helpful! Please let us know if you have any further questions.

pajberman August 18, 2019

I understand what you are saying, but at one point it saids "not the first shred of evidence of such life has been forthcoming." I used that to understand that there is no reason to believe that life exists on other planets. Why can't we use that line from the passage to make the conclusion that is stated in A?

Ravi August 18, 2019

Your interpretation of what that phrase means is correct. However,
what is not correct is that phrase equating to being the main
conclusion of this argument. It's not the main conclusion; rather,
it's a premise that's used to support the main point that the dream of
finding extraterrestrial life is destined to remain a dream. This is
why we can get rid of (A).

If you're ever stuck between two phrases and can't figure out which
one the conclusion is, put the word "because" in between the two
phrases. Read it one time through with the first phrase before the
"because" and the second time with the second phrase before the
"because." Whichever way makes sense, the conclusion will be before
the word "because."

not the first shred of evidence of such life has been forthcoming
BECAUSE the dream of finding extraterrestrial life is destined to
remain a dream (this doesn't make sense)

the dream of finding extraterrestrial life is destined to remain a
dream BECAUSE not the first shred of evidence of such life has been
forthcoming (this makes sense)

Hope this helps. Let us know if you have any other questions!

bellengriffin December 7, 2019

Dude I so picked A too but when I read back over the ques, it clearly says, "And there is no reason to expect this scientists will be any more successful in the future..." thus, while of course if C was not an option then A would be correct, but because it is an answer choice and is more specific to the argument simply due to that little detail about how they never will be successful...therefore the best answer is C. This doesn't make A less true, it just makes C better, ya dig?

bellengriffin December 7, 2019

Sorry for alert, still navigating app, I was trying to help clarify and did not see the instructor comments, whoever Ravi is...dude is a baller! Thank you! That explanation he gave was other level shit, amazing tips, like wow