PrepTest 125, Section 4, Question 9
The Jacksons regularly receive wrong-number calls for Sara,(90 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(12 more words not shown)
- AIt is always(27 more words not shown)
- BBeing helpful to(11 more words not shown)
- CIf one can(26 more words not shown)
- DDoing something for(23 more words not shown)
- EThe only actions(24 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The Jacksons aren't automatically Sara's messaging service. Still, passing along the number sounds like a helpful thing to do. Those are different judgments. The argument allows the Jacksons to say, 'Wrong number,' and stop there. It also says they would deserve praise if they took the extra step of giving callers Sara's correct number. 'Laudable' means worthy of praise.
We know that helping would be easy and useful to Sara. We also know the Jacksons never led her to expect that they would help. I can follow the basic idea: doing someone a favor can be good even when declining the favor wouldn't be wrong.
What we’re looking for
The question asks for a principle that helps justify this reasoning. My first thought is to connect being helpful with deserving praise. As we read the choices, though, we need to keep both judgments in view: praise for helping, and permission to decline.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
The first part supplies the helpfulness-to-praise connection: doing something helpful is always laudable. Passing on Sara's number would be helpful, so it earns that praise under this rule.
The second part handles the other judgment. Failing to help would be wrong only if the Jacksons had led Sara to believe they would help. They did not create that expectation. So the rule allows them to decline without doing something wrong. A supports both parts of the conclusion, not just the praise that first caught our attention.
- B
This can support praise when being helpful is not wrong. But it says nothing about whether refusing to help would be wrong. That is a separate part of the argument's conclusion, and B leaves it unsupported. We can't treat a rule about helping as automatically deciding whether declining is acceptable.
- C
This looks very close because helping would indeed be easy. The rule would establish that passing along the number is laudable and not wrong. But notice which action the conclusion says is not wrong: refusing to pass along the number. Being allowed to help and being allowed not to help are two different claims. C only settles the first.
- D
This requires a praiseworthy action to be difficult and requires refusing it to be wrong. Our action is easy, and the author says refusing it would not be wrong. D puts requirements on praise that this case fails to meet. It works against the reasoning we want to support.
- E
This says a laudable action must be one that a person could decline without doing wrong. It doesn't say that every action a person may decline is laudable. Even if we had already established that the Jacksons may refuse, meeting this requirement would not establish that helping deserves praise. E also doesn't establish the permission to refuse in the first place.
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