PrepTest 112, Section 3, Question 2
Several companies will soon offer personalized electronic news(60 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(7 more words not shown)
- AIn reading newspapers,(28 more words not shown)
- BCompanies offering personalized(25 more words not shown)
- CApproximately 30 percent(22 more words not shown)
- DThe average monthly(24 more words not shown)
- EMost people who(27 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A faster news service doesn't necessarily replace everything people want from a newspaper.
I can see the convenience. Someone interested in a particular storm, for example, could subscribe to that topic and receive updates instead of waiting for tomorrow's paper. Let's grant that this is a quicker, more efficient way to find the information the person is already seeking.
But are the customers interchangeable? Maybe regular newspaper buyers like reading a physical paper and won't switch just because another service is faster. The paper may serve other purposes too—even its physical material can be reused to wrap something. That last possibility isn't much of a sales forecast by itself, but it reminds us not to assume the two products are identical.
What we’re looking for
The weakener should give us a reason people will keep buying newspapers despite the new service. My initial thoughts are that newspaper buyers may be a different audience or may value something the personalized service doesn't replace. We don't have to deny the service's convenience to question the predicted drastic decline.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Here's a particular reason to keep reading the newspaper: discovering stories you weren't already looking for. Someone might open it for one topic, then browse a headline or picture about an unfamiliar subject. That interest isn't captured by simply delivering requested information faster.
The described electronic service provides updates on subscribed topics. A shows that most newspaper readers also value wandering beyond their selected topics. That gives them a reason to keep buying the paper. We shouldn't assume extra features based on another news service we happen to use; we're evaluating the one described here. A weakens the forecast without guaranteeing that newspaper sales won't fall at all.
- B
Different fees tell us about variation among the electronic services. They don't tell us that those services are too expensive compared with newspapers or that newspaper buyers will refuse them. There might be affordable options as well as expensive ones. B supplies no clear reason to expect the existing newspaper audience to stay.
- C
These people already weren't buying their information through newspapers. The predicted decline concerns losing newspaper sales that currently exist. Knowing that 30 percent have always used other sources doesn't tell us whether today's newspaper readers will change their habits. The remaining audience could switch, stay, or partly do each.
- D
Comparable prices don't create an obvious obstacle to switching. If several electronic channels cost about the same as one newspaper subscription, a reader could obtain the faster service without paying more for that comparison. D doesn't show that people will switch, but it doesn't give us a reason the predicted decline is less likely.
- E
Avoiding installation costs makes adopting the service easier. A large extra charge might have supplied a reason readers would resist switching, but E removes that possible obstacle for most subscribers. It doesn't support continued newspaper purchases.
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