PrepTest 128, Section 1, Question 6
In many Western societies, modern bankruptcy laws have(424 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AThe modern trend(24 more words not shown)
- BBankruptcy laws have(22 more words not shown)
- CModern bankruptcy laws(15 more words not shown)
- DPunishment for debt(19 more words not shown)
- EGreater economic interdependence(18 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We've already predicted the main point: modern bankruptcy law is better because it keeps people and businesses functioning instead of simply punishing them. Look for both the change and the author's approval of it.
What we’re looking for
The first paragraph's insistence that a return to punishment “must be resisted” matters. It tells us the author is defending this approach, not merely describing it.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
A captures the shift, its economic benefit, and the recommendation to preserve it. If “should not be abandoned” initially seems stronger than our prediction, that first-paragraph sentence supplies direct support.
- B
Creditors do benefit from continued productive activity. But their needs alone don't capture the broader public-good argument, and B leaves out the author's defense of the change. A includes the central judgment we've been looking for.
- C
The earlier approach is criticized for its economic shortcomings. Calling it “more economically efficient” reverses the argument; humanitarian justification isn't the basis offered instead.
- D
The author doesn't say punishment has lost its power to deter. The objection is that disabling debtors harms productive activity and creditors' prospects of collecting.
- E
Economic interdependence helps explain why these laws are useful. We aren't told that an increase in interdependence triggered their creation. E supplies a causal history and misses the main recommendation.
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