PrepTest 131, Section 3, Question 14
Economist: A country's trade deficit may indicate weakness(42 more words not shown)
The economist's argument employs which(5 more words not shown)
- Aclaiming that a(5 more words not shown)
- Bdemonstrating that an(10 more words not shown)
- Cappealing to an(12 more words not shown)
- Dcalling into question(11 more words not shown)
- Eshowing that a(8 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The trade deficit may be a sign of an economic problem without itself causing that problem. The economist wants us to keep that distinction in mind when judging the proposed response.
The thermometer makes the point concrete. Put it in cold water and its reading will fall, but the patient's fever has not been treated. Changing the indicator is not necessarily changing the condition it indicates. In the comparison, the trade deficit plays the role of the thermometer's reading, and the weak economy plays the role of the sick patient.
What we’re looking for
For the reasoning-technique question, identify both the comparison and what it is meant to show. The economist uses an analogy to portray restricting imports to reduce the deficit as an ineffective response to economic weakness.
Working the answers
- A
The economist does not isolate a crucial assumption and show that it produces a false result. The stated distinction between an indicator and a cause is illustrated through the thermometer comparison. A describes a different way of attacking reasoning.
- B
There is an analogy, but the economist is using it, not showing that somebody else's analogy is faulty. B reverses the role of the comparison. The thermometer is offered as support for the economist's point.
- CCorrect
The analogy is between lowering the trade deficit and lowering a thermometer's reading by placing it in cold water. “Futility” means the action doesn't accomplish its intended purpose. The comparison suggests that changing the deficit this way would fail to fix the economic weakness, just as cooling the thermometer fails to treat the patient.
- D
The argument never attacks anyone's authority or qualifications. It does not say a claim is unreliable because the person making it lacks economic expertise. It compares the proposed action with an ineffective way of responding to a fever.
- E
Failing to solve a problem is different from making it disastrously worse. The cold water doesn't treat the patient, but the analogy doesn't show that putting the thermometer there worsens the illness. Similarly, the economist's point is ineffectiveness, not disastrous consequences.
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