PrepTest 108, Section 1, Question 20
Many people complain about corporations, but there are(441 more words not shown)
The conception of morality that(17 more words not shown)
- AWhat makes actions(9 more words not shown)
- BAn action is(10 more words not shown)
- CActions are morally(8 more words not shown)
- DIt is morally(8 more words not shown)
- EActions are not(6 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Legally required doesn't mean morally right. That's the distinction the final paragraph keeps pressing: a CEO might owe profits to the owners and still need to oppose a harmful decision.
What we’re looking for
That gives us a starting point, but not yet a neat definition of morality. We need a principle that fits how the author judges these decisions. Let's compare the choices against the reasoning rather than demand our exact wording.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
The recurring concern is the public good. Why object to the profitable paper mill? It damages the environment. Why might a CEO resist another profitable action? It would probably harm public welfare (paragraph 4). A captures that standard. We don't get a sentence defining morality this way, but we do get an argument repeatedly judging actions by their public consequences.
- B
Possible punishment doesn't make something right. The ending says a CEO may need to act morally despite “penalty or dismissal”. That's different from saying any action carrying a penalty is moral. A harmful action could also get someone punished.
- C
The paper mill is explicitly operating legally, yet the author criticizes the damage it could do. Legal isn't enough.
- D
Seeking a benefit for yourself isn't automatically wrong here. The author objects to pursuing profit without considering its public effects, not to every profitable decision.
- E
This says an action cannot be wrong unless it harms others. The author doesn't establish that general limit on moral wrongness. A better captures the repeated emphasis on contributing to the public good.
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