PrepTest 133, Section 2, Question 7
Whether one is buying men's or women's clothing,(52 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AFormal attire tends(11 more words not shown)
- BThe amount of(21 more words not shown)
- COne should not(11 more words not shown)
- DThe amount of(18 more words not shown)
- EIt is more(11 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
If I'm still going to wear the suit in five years, I want it to hold together. Paying more for good construction could be worthwhile. But why pay for a hat to last five years if I'll stop wearing it after one or two?
That's the reasoning behind the two recommendations. The author connects how long we expect to use an item with how much we should spend on it. Someone who values quality regardless of price might shop differently, but we can still identify the rule guiding this advice.
What we’re looking for
The question asks for that underlying principle. I'd put it this way: spend more on clothing you plan to keep wearing longer, and spend less on something you'll soon stop wearing. The important difference is expected use, not whether the item is a suit or a hat.
Working the answers
- A
This says formal clothes tend to be manufactured to last longer. The passage doesn't tell us how manufacturers generally make clothes. It tells shoppers to choose a well-constructed suit because they may use it for years. Advice to buy better construction isn't evidence that a whole category is already better constructed.
- BCorrect
What we spend should roughly track how long we plan to wear the garment. The suit justifies a larger investment because it will stay useful longer; the short-lived fashion calls for a cheaper purchase. We aren't being given an exact dollars-per-year formula. B expresses the practical relationship behind both examples.
- C
This would tell us to reject the cheap hat whenever a well-constructed one was available. The passage tells us to buy that short-term item as cheaply as possible. The author's rule doesn't make superior construction the deciding factor for every purchase; how long we'll wear the item matters.
- D
The advice applies to both men's and women's clothing, but that doesn't mean the amounts spent should be equal. Two shoppers following the same rule could spend different amounts because they plan to use their purchases for different lengths of time. Applying one principle to both groups isn't prescribing one price for both.
- E
The passage doesn't divide purchases into office clothes and casual clothes. A casual item could be worn for years, and an office item could quickly go out of style. The recommendations turn on expected time in use, not where someone plans to wear the clothing.
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