PrepTest 121, Section 4, Question 18
Leadership depends as much on making one's followers(49 more words not shown)
If all of the statements(12 more words not shown)
- ASome leaders who(24 more words not shown)
- BOne who succeeds(25 more words not shown)
- COnly if one(20 more words not shown)
- DSometimes people succeed(19 more words not shown)
- ESometimes people who(19 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why put in the effort if you think it won't matter?
The passage says that getting people to follow a leader requires more than giving them a vivid goal. The followers must believe two things about their own work: their efforts are needed, and those efforts will achieve the goal if they make them. Notice whose importance matters here—the followers', not just the leader's.
What we’re looking for
The question asks what cannot be true. So look for a direct conflict with a requirement we're given. If people follow a leader while still unconvinced that their efforts are needed, for example, that would violate the second sentence. An answer that merely adds something we don't know is not enough; it must contradict the passage.
Working the answers
- A
This could happen. People might believe their efforts are necessary and follow a leader, yet still fail to reach the goal. The passage requires certain beliefs for following; it doesn't guarantee that following produces success. Even convinced followers can fail.
- B
This goes beyond what we're told, but that doesn't make it impossible. The passage doesn't establish that successfully explaining the relationship between effort and the goal ensures success. It also doesn't rule that result out. Since we need a statement that cannot be true, an unsupported guarantee is not enough by itself.
- C
This limits who must convince others that their efforts are needed: only leaders. The passage gives a requirement for getting people to follow a leader, but doesn't tell us whether anyone else has a similar obligation. A writer urging people to recycle might also need to explain why their efforts matter. Or perhaps only leaders face the stated requirement. The passage doesn't settle that broader question, so C doesn't contradict it.
- D
Success and confidence can come apart. People might achieve a shared goal despite never believing that trying would succeed. D doesn't say they followed a leader while lacking a required belief. Since the passage doesn't set conditions for every instance of collective success, this possibility remains open.
- ECorrect
These people follow a leader while remaining unsure that their efforts are necessary. That directly conflicts with the requirement that people be convinced their efforts are needed before they will follow. Unlike the other choices, E doesn't merely make a claim about success or introduce a broader rule; it describes a case the passage expressly rules out.
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