Which statement about the rapid selector is supported by the passage?

Which statement about the rapid selector is supported by the passage?

• A. It will be highly useful in all bibliographic tasks
• B. It will be least useful in bibliographic work over the next decade
• C. It is the primary tool for autobiography
• D. It will be replaced by high-speed electronic machines

Answer: (B)

The passage is likely making a cautious forecast about how useful the rapid selector will be in the near future for library work. The supported view is that it will be least useful in bibliographic tasks over the next decade. This kind of statement usually comes from the author noting limitations, specialized uses, or the emergence of better tools in that time frame, which means it won’t dominate most bibliographic work. Think about why the other options don’t fit: claiming universal usefulness in all bibliographic tasks would require the text to assert it’s universally beneficial, which is rarely supported when a passage also mentions limitations. Saying it’s the primary tool for autobiography is a highly specific use that the passage wouldn’t establish unless it focused on autobiographical materials, which is unlikely in a bibliographic context. Claiming it will be replaced by high-speed electronic machines requires a definite prediction of replacement; if the passage discusses ongoing development without promising wholesale replacement, that wouldn’t be supported. The key cue is the time-bound, relative judgment—being described as the least useful within the next decade.

The passage is likely making a cautious forecast about how useful the rapid selector will be in the near future for library work. The supported view is that it will be least useful in bibliographic tasks over the next decade. This kind of statement usually comes from the author noting limitations, specialized uses, or the emergence of better tools in that time frame, which means it won’t dominate most bibliographic work.

Think about why the other options don’t fit: claiming universal usefulness in all bibliographic tasks would require the text to assert it’s universally beneficial, which is rarely supported when a passage also mentions limitations. Saying it’s the primary tool for autobiography is a highly specific use that the passage wouldn’t establish unless it focused on autobiographical materials, which is unlikely in a bibliographic context. Claiming it will be replaced by high-speed electronic machines requires a definite prediction of replacement; if the passage discusses ongoing development without promising wholesale replacement, that wouldn’t be supported.

The key cue is the time-bound, relative judgment—being described as the least useful within the next decade.