LR Drill Set 3, Question 5
Some argue that because the same product standards(60 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(6 more words not shown)
- ANew economic opportunities(14 more words not shown)
- BUnified standards for(23 more words not shown)
- CAs trade barriers(14 more words not shown)
- DIncreased accessibility to(16 more words not shown)
- EWeakened national barriers(17 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Europeans could want more kinds of products and buy every new kind from somewhere else.
The initial concern is that common product standards will make goods more alike. I'm not sure that follows: the same rules can leave room for different designs and consumer preferences. But the author gives a particular response. Unification will increase incomes, and people with more money will demand a wider variety of goods.
Let's accept that demand. Who supplies it?
Suppose European consumers start buying several new kinds of goods, all imported from outside Europe. Their shopping baskets become more varied, but European manufacturers don't produce a single new kind. The evidence about what people want would be true while the conclusion about what is made in Europe failed.
What we’re looking for
For a strengthener, I'd look for a connection to European production. Some reason companies in Europe will supply the new variety would help. We don't need to prohibit all imports; we need support for more kinds of goods being made on the continent.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
European companies will be able to produce goods that previously had to be imported. That gives us a route from the new economic opportunities to a wider range of European-made products. The goods aren't merely being bought in Europe; production that formerly had to happen elsewhere can now occur there. This makes the conclusion more plausible without proving that every new demand will be met locally.
- B
Producing existing goods more efficiently doesn't necessarily diversify what is produced. A factory might streamline its process and turn out more of the same product. That could improve costs or output while leaving the range of European goods unchanged. We need more variety, not just more efficient production.
- C
A greater volume of trade could consist entirely of more units of the same goods. Sending twice as many existing products between European countries doesn't establish that European companies will make more kinds of products. The conclusion is about diversity of production, not the amount of trade.
- D
Stockpiled goods already exist. Finding new buyers for them doesn't show an increase in the diversity of products made in Europe. The consumers may be diverse, but that adjective describes the buyers, not a newly expanded range of goods. We shouldn't let it substitute for the conclusion's required change.
- E
Companies can combine resources and raise prices without producing any new kinds of goods. E might concern their market power or revenue, but it doesn't connect unification with a wider product range. The conclusion requires a change in what is made, not merely what companies can charge.
More Strengthen questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Strengthen questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.