PrepTest 132, Section 4, Question 15
Jewel collectors, fearing that their eyes will be(46 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(13 more words not shown)
- AJewel collectors should(10 more words not shown)
- BThe value of(10 more words not shown)
- CIt should not(16 more words not shown)
- DThe value of(11 more words not shown)
- EJewel collectors should(15 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Looking the same doesn't automatically mean being worth the same.
A collector might care about resale value, not just how a jewel looks. There could also be differences in durability or how the jewels feel. Those are possible reasons to value a genuine diamond differently even when the naked eye cannot distinguish it from a counterfeit.
What we’re looking for
The author wants to move from equal aesthetic pleasure to equal value. So the principle needs to connect those ideas and set aside the other possible bases for value. We're justifying the judgment about what the jewels should be worth, not deciding which jewels collectors should buy.
Working the answers
- A
This tells collectors to choose jewels that provide the most aesthetic pleasure. It doesn't say that two equally pleasing jewels should have equal value. Advice about what to collect isn't the rule about value that the conclusion needs.
- B
Market demand could make the genuine diamond more valuable even if the two jewels look identical. That introduces another basis for value instead of establishing that aesthetic pleasure should determine it. B doesn't support the author's move to equal value.
- C
Different people can enjoy diamonds to different degrees while each person finds these two visually indistinguishable jewels equally pleasing. The argument compares the real and counterfeit jewels, not one person's enjoyment with another's. C supplies no rule connecting a jewel's aesthetic pleasure to its value.
- DCorrect
If a jewel's value should come solely from the aesthetic pleasure it provides, other concerns such as resale demand should not make one jewel more valuable. The author's claim that the indistinguishable jewels give equal aesthetic pleasure would then support treating them as equally valuable.
“Solely” does the work. It rules out the other bases for value that made us question the argument while reading.
- E
This places a restriction on buying counterfeits: don't buy them unless you cannot tell them apart from real jewels. Meeting that restriction still doesn't tell us what either jewel should be worth. The answer remains about buying decisions, while the conclusion is about equal value.
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