GRE Long Reading Comprehension Passages diagnostic test

Historically, a cornerstone of classical empiricism has been the notion that every true generalization must be confirmable by specific observations. In classical empiricism, the truth of “All balls are red,” for example, is assessed by inspecting balls; any observation of a non red ball refutes unequivocally the proposed generalization.

For W. V. O. Quine, however, this constitutes an "overly narrow” conception of empiricism. “All balls are red,” he maintains, forms one strand within an entire web of statements (our knowledge); individual observations can be referred only to this web as a whole. As new observations are collected, he explains, they must be integrated into the web. Problems occur only if a contradiction develops between a new observation, say, “That ball is blue,” and the preexisting statements. In that case, he argues, any statement or combination of statements (not merely the “offending” generalization, as in classical empiricism) can be altered to achieve the fundamental requirement, a system free of contradictions, even if, in some cases, the alteration consists of labeling the new observation a “hallucination.”

It can be inferred from the passage that Quine considers classical empiricism to be “overly narrow ” (bold) for which of the following reasons?

I. Classical empiricism requires that our system of generalizations be free of contradictions.
II. Classical empiricism demands that in the case of a contradiction between an individual observation and a generalization, the generalization must be abandoned.
III. Classical empiricism asserts that every observation will either confirm an existing generalization or initiate a new generalization.

Historically, a cornerstone of classical empiricism has been the notion that every true generalization must be confirmable by specific observations. In classical empiricism, the truth of “All balls are red,” for example, is assessed by inspecting balls; any observation of a non red ball refutes unequivocally the proposed generalization.

For W. V. O. Quine, however, this constitutes an overly “narrow” conception of empiricism. “All balls are red,” he maintains, forms one strand within an entire web of statements (our knowledge); individual observations can be referred only to this web as a whole. As new observations are collected, he explains, they must be integrated into the web. Problems occur only if a contradiction develops between a new observation, say, “That ball is blue,” and the preexisting statements. In that case, he argues, any statement or combination of statements (not merely the “offending” generalization, as in classical empiricism) can be altered to achieve the fundamental requirement, a system free of contradictions, even if, in some cases, the alteration consists of labeling the new observation a “hallucination.”

The author of the passage is primarily concerned with presenting

Warm-blooded animals have elaborate physiological controls to maintain constant body temperature (in humans, 37℃). Why then during sickness should temperature rise, apparently increasing stress on the infected organism? It has long been known that the level of serum iron in animals falls during infection. Garibaldi first suggested a relationship between fever and iron. He found that microbial synthesis of siderophores—substances that bind iron—in bacteria of the genus Salmonella declined at environmental temperatures above 37℃ and stopped at 40.3℃. Thus, fever would make it more difficult for an infecting bacterium to acquire iron and thus to multiply. Cold-blooded animals were used to test this hypothesis because their body temperature can be controlled in the laboratory. Kluger reported that of iguanas infected with the potentially lethal bacterium A. hydrophilia, more survived at temperatures of 42℃ than at 37℃, even though healthy animals prefer the lower temperature. When animals at 42℃ were injected with an iron solution, however, mortality rates increased significantly. Research to determine whether similar phenomena occur in warm-blooded animals is sorely needed.

Which of the following can be inferred about warm-blooded animals solely on the basis of information in the passage?

Warm-blooded animals have elaborate physiological controls to maintain constant body temperature (in humans, 37℃). Why then during sickness should temperature rise, apparently increasing stress on the infected organism? It has long been known that the level of serum iron in animals falls during infection. Garibaldi first suggested a relationship between fever and iron. He found that microbial synthesis of siderophores—substances that bind iron—in bacteria of the genus Salmonella declined at environmental temperatures above 37℃ and stopped at 40.3℃. Thus, fever would make it more difficult for an infecting bacterium to acquire iron and thus to multiply. Cold-blooded animals were used to test this hypothesis because their body temperature can be controlled in the laboratory. Kluger reported that of iguanas infected with the potentially lethal bacterium A. hydrophilia, more survived at temperatures of 42℃ than at 37℃, even though healthy animals prefer the lower temperature. When animals at 42℃ were injected with an iron solution, however, mortality rates increased significantly. Research to determine whether similar phenomena occur in warm-blooded animals is sorely needed.

According to the passage, Garibaldi determined which of the following?

Warm-blooded animals have elaborate physiological controls to maintain constant body temperature (in humans, 37℃). Why then during sickness should temperature rise, apparently increasing stress on the infected organism? It has long been known that the level of serum iron in animals falls during infection. Garibaldi first suggested a relationship between fever and iron. He found that microbial synthesis of siderophores—substances that bind iron—in bacteria of the genus Salmonella declined at environmental temperatures above 37℃ and stopped at 40.3℃. Thus, fever would make it more difficult for an infecting bacterium to acquire iron and thus to multiply. Cold-blooded animals were used to test this hypothesis because their body temperature can be controlled in the laboratory. Kluger reported that of iguanas infected with the potentially lethal bacterium A. hydrophilia, more survived at temperatures of 42℃ than at 37℃, even though healthy animals prefer the lower temperature. When animals at 42℃ were injected with an iron solution, however, mortality rates increased significantly. Research to determine whether similar phenomena occur in warm-blooded animals is sorely needed.

The passage is primarily concerned with attempts to determine?