PrepTest 126, Section 4, Question 21
If one has evidence that an act will(18 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(5 more words not shown)
- AA country's leaders(45 more words not shown)
- BA government study(35 more words not shown)
- CBetsy overheard a(46 more words not shown)
- DSejal learned in(31 more words not shown)
- EZachary hoped that(23 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
If I have reason to think bringing cookies will make my neighbors happy, and I bring them cookies to make them happy, it will probably help. There could be an exception: perhaps a neighbor is trying to stick to a diet and doesn't appreciate the temptation. But the proposition says “generally,” not “always.” An occasional failure doesn't defeat it.
What we’re looking for
For the best illustration, we want the ordinary successful pattern it describes. Keep three pieces in view: evidence that the act will help someone, acting for that person's benefit, and an actual benefit. Good intentions alone won't supply the evidence, and taking an action doesn't by itself tell us how it turned out.
Working the answers
- A
The leaders have a reason to expect diplomacy to reduce the risk of war, and confrontation is avoided. But their stated motive is protecting their own reelection chances. The proposition specifically concerns acting to benefit other people. A favorable outcome doesn't replace that missing motive.
- B
This gives evidence and the appropriate purpose: the government expects shorter lines and acts for that reason. But the procedure fails. A failure could be an exception to the proposition's general pattern; it isn't the best illustration of the success the proposition describes.
- CCorrect
The contractor's statement gives Betsy evidence that changing the filter will help. She acts on it by changing the filter at her daughter's home, and the result is a benefit: the furnace avoids maintenance due to dust or dirt clogging. Evidence, action for someone else's benefit, and successful benefit all appear.
- D
Sejal has been taught that confrontation will help, and she confronts her friend. But how does it turn out? The choice never tells us whether Bob benefits. We have the first two pieces without the successful outcome needed to illustrate the complete proposition.
- E
Zachary hopes therapy will help, persuades his parents to seek it, and their problems are resolved. The missing piece is evidence available to him that the action would benefit them. Hope isn't itself evidence. He might have had such evidence, but the answer doesn't provide it, so this isn't as complete an illustration as C.
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