PrepTest 109, Section 4, Question 2
Faced with a financial crisis, Upland University's board(60 more words not shown)
The conclusion of the argument(11 more words not shown)
- AThe computer center(15 more words not shown)
- BThe budgets of(8 more words not shown)
- CThe computer center(21 more words not shown)
- DNo funds from(11 more words not shown)
- EThe board of(18 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
They need another million dollars. The board has provided $1.5 million, and the center needs at least $2.5 million to operate. That is a real shortfall.
But why is the board's allocation the only money the center can get? Maybe it could run a fundraising campaign. A car wash or an online appeal might bring in donations. We don't know that any particular fundraiser would cover the whole gap; the point is that the author hasn't ruled out outside funding at all.
What we’re looking for
The passage closes one route: transferring money from other university programs. Then it concludes that there is no route. For the question asking us to make that conclusion follow, I'd want to close the remaining gap. If the board's $1.5 million allocation is the center's only source of funds for the coming year, the center cannot reach the minimum it needs.
Working the answers
- A
What happened to the unused money? If it were still available to the center, it could matter. But A doesn't say how much remained, whether it carried over or whether the center could use it next year. Knowing that last year's allocation wasn't fully spent doesn't establish that operating next year is impossible.
- B
Other programs also received cuts. That helps describe the university's financial trouble, but it doesn't eliminate other ways for the computer center to get money. The center might still find donors even if every university program has a smaller budget.
- CCorrect
This says the coming year's board allocation is the center's only source of funds. No outside fundraiser, donor or other source can supply the missing million dollars.
Now the numbers settle the question: only $1.5 million is available, and at least $2.5 million is required. With the additional funding routes ruled out, the center cannot operate for the coming year. C supplies exactly what the original argument needed.
- D
This blocks transfers among all university programs. We already know the relevant part: other programs cannot transfer funds to the computer center. Making the restriction broader doesn't block outside donations. The same fundraising possibility survives, so the conclusion still doesn't follow.
- E
The board's preferences might explain its budget choices. They don't determine every source of money the center could receive. Trustees could prefer other programs while outside supporters raised enough to keep the center running. We need a limit on available funding, not an explanation of why the board cut the allocation.
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