PrepTest 133, Section 3, Question 10
Editorial: Many critics of consumerism insist that advertising(47 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AThe claim that(16 more words not shown)
- BMany critics of(15 more words not shown)
- CThere is nothing(14 more words not shown)
- DMany critics of(12 more words not shown)
- ECritics of consumerism(8 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Do I need a new car, or do I just want one? The critics say advertising gets people to mistake the second for the first.
The editorial challenges the distinction that accusation relies on. What exactly counts as a need? If we mean what keeps us alive, water and a new T-shirt look easy to separate. But the editorial is talking about what is essential to someone's happiness, which may be harder to judge.
We don't have to agree that the line is fuzzy in every case. Our job is to find the editorial's point: this accusation against advertising depends on a distinction between wants and needs that is difficult to draw. The final sentence supports that point by explaining the difficulty of deciding what is merely desirable and what is essential to happiness.
What we’re looking for
That leaves three different jobs in the passage: the critics' accusation sets up the discussion, the editorial challenges its basis, and the last sentence explains why. Identify those jobs by how the statements relate, not by assuming a certain sentence position must contain the conclusion.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This states the editorial's challenge to the accusation: it rests on a fuzzy distinction. The difficulty of telling wants from needs is offered as a reason to accept that challenge. A captures the conclusion without turning it into a broader defense of advertising.
- B
This describes the critics' side of the discussion, the claim the editorial responds to. The editorial's own point begins with its objection to the wants-versus-needs distinction. Reporting an opposing accusation and making a point about that accusation are different roles.
- C
The editorial doesn't declare this advertising morally acceptable. Questioning one criticism of a practice isn't the same as proving there is nothing wrong with the practice. Other objections could remain, and the conclusion never makes the sweeping judgment C states.
- D
The editorial doesn't accuse the critics of forgetting that people have things essential to happiness. It questions how clearly we can separate those things from mere desires. Recognizing that needs exist and being able to draw the boundary are different issues.
- E
This expands a point about one particular accusation into a claim about what critics often do. The editorial identifies the fuzzy distinction used in this criticism of advertising. It doesn't make a frequency claim about critics' arguments in general. A keeps the specific accusation and the specific objection together.
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