Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
Other people think that as active landfills are closed over the next ten years, there will be a serious shortage of usable landfills. The author concludes that this belief is unsound. The author supports this conclusion by asserting that the belief is based on the assumption that no new landfills will open over the next ten years, and by asserting that this assumption is unlikely to be true.
Identify Argument Part
The referenced text is other people’s position. They think that there will be a shortage of landfills because many active landfills will be closed over the next ten years.
A
It follows from the claim stated in the argument’s first sentence.
The referenced text does not follow from the first sentence. It doesn’t follow from any claim in the stimulus. Some people think it follows from the claim that landfills will close over the next decade, but the author’s point is that it does not follow from that claim.
B
It is the main conclusion of the argument.
The author’s conclusion criticizes the referenced text.
C
It establishes the truth of the argument’s conclusion.
The referenced text does not support the author’s conclusion. It’s criticized by the author’s conclusion.
D
It is a claim on which the argument as a whole is designed to cast doubt.
This accurately describes the role of the referenced text. The author’s argument criticizes the view that there will be an inevitable crisis of landfill availability.
E
It is an intermediate conclusion of the argument.
The referenced text is not a premise or a conclusion of the author’s argument. It’s criticized by the author’s argument.
"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why are residents of X who are reported to have disease P more likely to die from it than are residents of any other country, even though X has the lowest rate of disease P out of all countries?
Objective
The correct answer should help explain why the fatality rate for those reported to have disease P is higher in country X despite the lower rate of disease P in that country.
A
There are several forms of disease P, some of which are more contagious than others.
But are residents of country X more likely to contract the more contagious forms of disease P? In any case, degree of contagiousness doesn’t indicate the deadliness of a disease. It indicates instead the likelihood of spreading to others.
B
Most of the fatal cases of disease P found in Country X involve people who do not reside in Country X.
The statistic in the stimulus concerns residents of country X. So, deaths from people who don’t reside in country X are irrelevant, because they aren’t counted in the statistic.
C
In Country X, diagnosis of disease P seldom occurs except in the most severe cases of the disease.
This could explain both the lower rate of disease P in country X (mild cases go unreported) as well as the higher likelihood of death for those reported to have disease P. The reported cases would be more severe, on average, than cases in other countries.
D
The number of cases of disease P that occur in any country fluctuates widely from year to year.
Varying levels of disease P from year to year doesn’t help explain a lower rate of the disease in country X or why the reported cases are more deadly. We would already expect the number of cases not to be exactly the same every year.
E
Because of its climate, more potentially fatal illnesses occur in Country X than in many other countries.
We’re trying to explain the higher fatality rate of disease P in country X. Other illnesses don’t affect the fatality rate of disease P.