PrepTest 109, Section 1, Question 4
Juan: Unlike the ancient Olympic games on which(93 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(7 more words not shown)
- AIn general, amateur(10 more words not shown)
- BIn certain events(20 more words not shown)
- CThe concept of(20 more words not shown)
- DIn the modern(27 more words not shown)
- EMany amateur athletes(22 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
If an amateur works all week while a professional can train all week, I can see why Juan expects a competitive advantage. His conclusion goes further, though: that advantage makes professional participation unfair.
Unfair by which standard? Having different preparation isn't the same as being allowed to run a shorter race. We could insist that everyone compete under the same rules without insisting that everyone have the same resources beforehand. My first objection is that Juan hasn't explained why the resource difference violates the sort of fairness the games require.
We should also respect the qualification he does give. Juan focuses on events in which amateurs actually compete against professionals. Saying that some sports involve only amateurs wouldn't, by itself, answer his concern about the events where the two groups meet.
What we’re looking for
We're asked to undermine Juan's argument. I'd initially look for a challenge to his idea of fairness, much as Michiko questions whether his concern should determine who participates. But an answer can attack another link in his reasoning. What matters is whether it gives us a reason to doubt his move from unequal resources to an unfair competition.
Working the answers
- A
More amateurs doesn't tell us whether they can seriously challenge the professionals. A group could have more competitors and still lose to a smaller group with an advantage. Juan's claim concerns the effect of the resource difference, not the total number of each kind of athlete.
- B
This is tempting: some of the best competitors are amateurs. But are they beating professionals in those events? Perhaps every competitor in one of those events is an amateur. Then its top finishers would necessarily be amateurs, while Juan's concern about mixed events would remain untouched. B doesn't give us the comparison we would need.
- C
Not having a familiar label for a distinction doesn't establish whether the arrangement is fair. The ancient Greeks could have lacked these categories and still had views about unequal preparation. More basically, Juan's claim concerns the fairness of professional participation in the modern games. Unfamiliarity with a concept in the past doesn't refute that claim.
- DCorrect
This takes a different route from my initial concern about the meaning of fairness. It challenges the connection between resources and performance. If spending more on athletes' training has no noticeable relationship with how they eventually perform, Juan has less reason to treat the professionals' greater resources as an overwhelming competitive advantage.
We don't have to conclude that resources can never matter. D gives evidence against the performance link Juan relies on to say amateurs cannot mount a serious challenge. Take that evidence as true for the question, even if your own expectations about training would be different.
- E
A lack of government support doesn't remove the resource disadvantage Juan worries about. If anything, it could fit that concern. Nor does receiving no government support mean an athlete has no resources from any source. E doesn't show that the professionals' participation is fair or that amateurs can challenge them.
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