#1

(E) is the best answer not only through process of elimination, but because the piece is not truly a persuasive piece. The arguments presented are mainly those of others, not the author. Because this is an informative piece, any answers indicating the existence of arguments are suspect. Only in the second highlighted sentence does the author draw a conclusion or give a slight acknowledgment of people’s concerns over medical nanotechnology. (A), (B), and (C) can be passed over quickly because the first sentence is not the main idea and its contents are contradicted by the following sentence, which is directed more at the central focus. (D) can be dismissed in that the second highlighted sentence to some degree supports people’s concerns about nanotechnology and does not refute it, as the choice suggests.

#2

A careless test taker might be tripped up here because this question is reversed from the standard form. In the answer choices, there are four true statements and one false statement. It is the false one that must be found, so each of the true ones should be evaluated and confirmed in the text. Choice (A) is the early favorite for the right answer because the second sentence mentions that much of nanotechnology is biological, but not all, and nothing else in the text gives any indication that this does not apply to medical nanotechnology as well. Choice (A) is too extreme, and it is therefore the correct answer. All other choices can be confirmed within the text through explicit or easily inferred information.