PrepTest 130, Section 1, Question 14
Theater managers will not rent a film if(43 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(7 more words not shown)
- AAdults consume less(18 more words not shown)
- BMovies of the(13 more words not shown)
- CFood-and-beverage concession stands(13 more words not shown)
- DTheater managers generally(19 more words not shown)
- EFilms that have(15 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A theater manager wants a film to bring in enough money to yield a profit. That makes sense: why rent a film that seems likely to lose money? Ticket sales matter, and so do the popcorn, drinks, and other concessions bought by the people who attend.
But where did younger audiences come from? The conclusion says producers tend to make films managers consider attractive to young people. We've been told that managers care about profit, not that they expect younger audiences to generate it more reliably.
What we’re looking for
Perhaps young customers buy more concessions. That would be one possible explanation, but it isn't the only possible link. For the required assumption, I want the broader connection between the managers' profit expectations and the films' appeal to younger audiences. Producers' desire for wide distribution doesn't explain this choice of audience without that connection.
Working the answers
- A
Consuming these foods isn't necessarily buying them at the theater. More fundamentally, concessions are only one source of revenue. A youthful audience could be more profitable because it buys more tickets even if adults consumed just as much of the relevant foods. The argument doesn't require this particular explanation of the expected profit.
- B
A film could appeal to young people and older people alike—think of a family movie such as Shrek. That overlap wouldn't undermine the producers' reason for making a film attractive to younger audiences. The argument doesn't need the audiences' tastes to be almost entirely separate.
- C
This divides the profit into a pie chart: how much comes from concessions and how much from the movie itself? The premise says managers consider the total. It doesn't require concessions to be the larger portion, and that ranking doesn't establish which audience managers think will be profitable.
- DCorrect
Managers generally expect films attractive to younger audiences to be more likely to make a profit. That supplies the missing connection: producers want broad exhibition, managers select films based on expected profit, and managers associate youthful appeal with a better prospect of profit. Without that connection, the given preferences don't explain the producers' tendency.
- E
Films appealing to older audiences could often be profitable while managers still regard youth-oriented films as more likely to be profitable. The argument needs a comparative expectation favoring youthful appeal, not the near-total failure of films attractive to older viewers.
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