PrepTest 109, Section 1, Question 3
Juan: Unlike the ancient Olympic games on which(93 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(11 more words not shown)
- Awhether the participation(16 more words not shown)
- Bwhether both amateur(16 more words not shown)
- Cwhether the athletes(10 more words not shown)
- Dwhether any amateur(13 more words not shown)
- Ewhether governments sponsor(10 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A professional who can train all day may have an advantage over an amateur who has a full-time job and practices on weekends. I can follow Juan's concern about unequal resources. But what does “fair” mean here?
It could mean that competitors follow the same rules: everyone runs the same distance and starts at the same signal. Or it could mean they arrive with comparable opportunities to prepare. Those are different standards. Showing a difference in resources doesn't, by itself, tell us which standard the Olympics should follow.
Michiko responds by emphasizing another ideal: showing us the world's finest athletes. If professionals are among the best, excluding them because of their resources would work against that purpose. Michiko doesn't need to deny Juan's resource difference to disagree about whether professionals belong in the games.
What we’re looking for
The question asks for their point of disagreement. I'd focus on whether letting professionals compete fits the purpose of the modern Olympics. Juan thinks their presence violates an essential ideal; Michiko thinks it serves an essential ideal. We don't have to choose which view of the games we prefer.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Juan says having professionals compete against amateurs violates the spirit of fairness essential to the games. Michiko says professionals should be included because the games are meant to showcase the finest athletes regardless of resources. So they disagree about whether including both groups fits the modern Olympics' ideals.
- B
Juan makes a claim about the ancient games, but Michiko doesn't challenge it. Michiko's response concerns what the modern games are supposed to achieve. We can't infer a disagreement about ancient participation from a disagreement about whom to include today.
- C
Juan doesn't say that the athletes are unskilled or that the world's best are absent. His objection is about fairness. Michiko says the games should showcase the finest athletes, which is a statement of purpose, not necessarily a claim that the current selection perfectly achieves it. The exchange doesn't establish opposite answers to C.
- D
Juan says amateurs rarely have the resources professionals have, not that no amateur ever does. Michiko says resources should not determine whether the best athletes may participate. Neither point sets up a disagreement about the existence of an exceptionally well-funded amateur.
- E
Government sponsorship never enters their discussion. Different resources could come from different sources, but neither speaker tells us which athletes governments support. A disagreement over participation doesn't automatically become a disagreement over sponsorship.
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