PrepTest 133, Section 2, Question 16
Publisher: The new year is approaching, and with(40 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(11 more words not shown)
- AThe company should(6 more words not shown)
- BBy increasing its(8 more words not shown)
- CThe company will(13 more words not shown)
- DIt is imperative(10 more words not shown)
- EThe company should(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The customers are about to want fitness books. Get those books shipped in time to sell them. That's the publisher's point. The approaching new year explains the timing: demand for exercise and fitness books rises then. The organized competitors add urgency. If their books are ready while ours aren't, we risk missing the opportunity the publisher is worried about.
What we’re looking for
We're identifying the main conclusion, so focus on the action the publisher demands. Do whatever it takes to ship books in this category on time. The seasonal demand and competitive concern explain why the publisher makes that demand. We don't need to decide the best shipping method or rank every responsibility the company has.
Working the answers
- A
The publisher says timely shipment of exercise and fitness books is essential. A broadens that into making book shipping the company's highest priority. Essential doesn't necessarily mean more important than every other obligation, and 'books' also loses the specific category. D states the actual demand more closely.
- B
The publisher doesn't claim that greater efficiency will preserve an existing competitive edge. We know competitors are organized, not that this company already has an advantage or that efficiency is the proposed way to keep it. B substitutes a general business claim for the specific shipping demand.
- C
The competitors' organization is part of the reason for urgency, but the publisher doesn't say matching that organization is the only way to avoid being outsold. Perhaps extra effort could get the books shipped even without matching the competitors' system. This conditional prediction isn't the conclusion stated in the passage.
- DCorrect
It is imperative to ship fitness and exercise books on time. 'Imperative' captures the force of 'must do whatever it takes,' while keeping both the category and the deadline. Everything else explains why that action matters.
- E
Getting the books shipped doesn't require adopting the competitors' practices. The publisher could want a different system that accomplishes the same result. The reference to organized competitors supports acting promptly; it isn't an instruction to copy how they ship books.
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