Logan: I disagree. Schoolchildren should acquire the fundamental knowledge necessary for future success, and they learn such fundamentals only through disciplined, systematic instruction from accredited teachers.
Speaker 1 Summary
Gaby says that children in school should get to follow their interests, with support from teachers but minimal guidance. In support, Gaby claims that this model of education would enable the children to be most successful as adults.
Speaker 2 Summary
Logan argues that Gaby is wrong; in other words, children should not just follow their interests in school. Why not? Because children should learn fundamental knowledge that they need to succeed in the future. Logan says that this is only possible through disciplined and systematic teaching, which is at odds with freely following various interests.
Objective
We’re looking for a point of disagreement. Gaby and Logan disagree about the best model of education: free exploration or disciplined and systematic instruction.
A
the way in which schoolchildren best acquire fundamental knowledge
Logan thinks that the only way for children to acquire fundamental knowledge is through disciplined and systematic instruction, but Gaby doesn’t disagree. In fact, Gaby doesn’t talk about fundamental knowledge at all.
B
the extent to which teachers should direct schoolchildren’s education
Gaby thinks that teachers should minimally direct education, but Logan thinks they should provide a lot of direction: this is the point of disagreement. Logan doesn’t say this outright, but “disciplined, systematic instruction” indicates a teacher-directed structure.
C
the importance of having qualified teachers involved in schoolchildren’s education
Both speakers indicate that it’s important for qualified teachers to be involved in education. Gaby talks about “experienced” teachers and Logan talks about “accredited” teachers, meaning both of them care about teachers’ qualifications.
D
the sort of school environment that most fosters children’s creativity
Neither speaker talks about creativity. Gaby’s proposal sounds like it might foster creativity, but that’s not a claim Gaby actually makes, just that it will enable success. Likewise, Logan talks about “fundamentals” without mentioning if creativity is included.
E
the extent to which schoolchildren are interested in fundamental academic subjects
Neither speaker talks about whether children are interested in fundamental academic subjects. Gaby talks about letting children follow their interest, and Logan talks about fundamental knowledge, but neither mentions if there’s an overlap between the two.
Summary
Birds and mammals are infected with West Nile virus only through bites from mosquitoes. Mosquitos become infected when they bite infected birds or mammals. The virus was first detected in Africa and spread to North America. Humans can catch West Nile virus, but infected humans cannot infect a mosquito.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Mosquitos infected with West Nile virus have been present in Africa and North America.
Humans are sometimes bitten by mosquitos infected with West Nile virus.
Humans are sometimes bitten by mosquitos infected with West Nile virus.
A
West Nile virus will never be a common disease among humans.
Unsupported. Humans can get the virus from mosquitoes, so they may be bitten by infected mosquitoes in large numbers in the future. There’s no evidence this won’t happen.
B
West Nile virus is most common in those parts of North America with the highest density of mosquitoes.
Unsupported. We know that humans can get West Nile virus, but we don’t know how common the virus is among mosquito populations in North America. Perhaps it’s most common in specific parts without dense mosquito populations.
C
Some people who become infected with West Nile virus never show symptoms of illness.
Unsupported. We don’t know anything about the symptoms of West Nile virus and whether people can have the virus without exhibiting symptoms.
D
West Nile virus infects more people in northern Africa than it does in North America.
Unsupported. We know that the virus was first detected in northern Africa. We don’t know whether that suggests the virus infects more people there than in North America. Maybe there are far fewer people to be infected there? Maybe the virus is more common North America?
E
West Nile virus was not carried to North America via an infected person.
Strongly supported. We know that infected humans cannot infect a mosquito. So, if the virus was found in North America, that means a mosquito must have bitten an infected bird or mammal. Either that mosquito or the infected bird or mammal carried the virus to North America.
"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why do people who have reduced their consumption of red meat eat, on average, a lot more fat than those who haven’t reduced their consumption of red meat?
Objective
The correct answer will tell us something that allows us to differentiate people who have reduced red meat consumption from those who haven’t, and this difference will lead to greater fat consumption among the people who reduced red meat consumption.
A
Many more people have reduced their consumption of red meat over the last two decades than have not.
The number of people who have reduced red meat consumption has no bearing on the average fat intake of those people. We’re talking about group averages here; the number of people in the group has no effect.
B
Higher prices over the last two decades have done as much to decrease the consumption of red meat as health concerns have.
The cause of reduced red meat consumption has no impact on the average fat intake of people who eat less red meat.
C
People who reduce their consumption of red meat tend to consume as much of other foods that are high in fat as do those who have not reduced their consumption of red meat.
This could be correct if it had said people who reduce red meat consumption eat more high-fat foods than others. But it just says they eat “as much” as others. That doesn’t explain why their average fat intake is higher than that of those who haven’t reduced red meat consumption.
D
People who reduce their consumption of red meat tend to replace it with cheese and baked goods, which are richer in fat than red meat.
This shows why people who reduce consumption of red meat, on average, end up eating more fat. They replace red meat with stuff that has more fat. People who don’t reduce red meat consumption have nothing to replace, so they don’t eat as much of the other higher-fat foods.
E
Studies have shown that red meat contains slightly less fat than previously thought.
We’d still expect people who reduce red meat consumption to reduce their fat intake, even if the expected reduction isn’t as great as we initially thought.
Summarize Argument
Jazz consists largely of voicelike horns and hornlike voices. Why the claim about “voicelike horns”? Because jazz horn players mimic the sound of voices by throwing in spontaneous twists and turns, giving their horn playing a voicelike quality. And why the claim about “hornlike voices”? Because the best jazz singers use their own voices in a similar way to how horn players use their horns. As an example of this, take the singer Billie Holiday, who thought of her singing voice as a horn.
Identify Argument Part
The claim referenced in the question stem is the first sentence in the stimulus. It’s a sub-conclusion that’s supported by the example of Billie Holiday, and goes on to support the second assertion made in the main conclusion: jazz consists, in part, of hornlike voices.
A
It is the argument’s main conclusion and is supported by another statement, which is itself supported by a further statement.
It’s not the main conclusion. It lends support to one half of the main conclusion: namely, that jazz consists, in part, of hornlike voices. Because it lends support, it cannot be the main conclusion.
B
It is the argument’s only conclusion, and each of the other statements in the argument is used to support it.
It’s not the argument’s conclusion. It lends support to one half of the conclusion: namely, that jazz consists, in part, of hornlike voices. Because it lends support, it cannot be the argument’s conclusion.
C
It is a statement for which some evidence is provided and which in turn is used to provide support for the argument’s main conclusion.
Accurately describes the statement’s role as a sub-conclusion. The example of Billie Holiday provides some evidence for the claim, and the claim then goes on to help support the main conclusion.
D
It is a statement for which no evidence is provided but which itself is used to support the argument’s only conclusion.
It’s supported by some evidence. The example of Billie Holiday lends support to the idea that the best jazz singers use their voices similarly to how horn players use their instruments.
E
It is a statement used to support a conclusion that in turn is used to support the argument’s main conclusion.
It does not support a sub-conclusion. Instead, it directly supports the main conclusion.