PrepTest 127, Section 1, Question 13
Consumer advocate: A recent study concluded that top-loading(42 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AFor some consumers(14 more words not shown)
- BWashing machines of(13 more words not shown)
- CConvenience is the(12 more words not shown)
- DRetrieving clothes from(11 more words not shown)
- ERetrieving clothes from(10 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
I might prefer a front-loading washer, but that preference does not refute a study favoring top-loaders overall. We need to see what the consumer advocate's actual reason is.
Picture reaching into the opening at the top of a washing machine from a wheelchair. Having the opening and controls in front could make the job much easier. That supports a real convenience advantage for the consumers the advocate describes.
Does an advantage for those consumers show that front-loaders are better for everyone? No, but notice the conclusion: better for some consumers. That is a much more modest claim. One consumer for whom the front-loader is superior would be enough, so we should not criticize the argument for making a universal claim it never makes.
There is still a question about “superior.” What if the front-loader is easier to unload but does a much worse job cleaning the clothes? Convenience matters, but other advantages might outweigh it. To conclude that the front-loader is better for some people, its convenience advantage must win that comparison for at least some of them.
What we’re looking for
That is the assumption I would seek: for some consumers, easier access outweighs whatever advantages the top-loader has. We do not need convenience to be the only consideration.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
The advocate moves from a particular advantage, convenience, to a judgment of superiority for some consumers. A makes that advantage decisive for at least some consumers by saying it outweighs the top-loader's advantages. Without that comparison, the fact that a machine is easier to use would leave open whether it is better overall for the people being discussed.
- B
The advocate is doing exactly the comparison B would forbid: comparing front-loaders with top-loaders. The argument does not rely on a rule requiring each type to be compared only with itself.
- C
This is tempting because convenience is the evidence the advocate uses. But “the only important factor” goes too far. Cleaning performance, price, or other considerations could matter while convenience outweighs them for a particular consumer. A requires the convenience advantage to prevail for some people; C says nothing else matters at all.
- D
We are not told how convenient top-loaders are for people who do not use wheelchairs, and the conclusion does not require a claim about them. Top-loaders could be inconvenient for many other people as well. That would not destroy the advocate's reason for recommending front-loaders to some consumers.
- E
Front-loaders might be convenient for everyone, including people who do not use wheelchairs. The advocate's claim that they are superior for some consumers does not require them to inconvenience a different group. E adds a drawback for people the argument never evaluates.
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