PrepTest 134, Section 2, Question 10
In order to reduce traffic congestion and raise(81 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(15 more words not shown)
- AThe mayor's plan(14 more words not shown)
- BThe city will(21 more words not shown)
- CThe plan to(18 more words not shown)
- DRaising revenue is(12 more words not shown)
- EA daily charge(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
When does the charge actually begin?
We know when the enforcement equipment will be ready: the end of next year. We don't know when the mayor plans to start charging drivers. Those are two different dates, and the argument needs a relationship between them.
The charge might discourage some people from driving downtown, while other people simply pay it. There are also fair questions about its burden on commuters. But the conclusion isn't about whether this is the best policy. It says payment won't be effectively enforced when the plan first starts.
What we’re looking for
Let's accept the claim that without the cameras and registration system, lots of drivers will evade the charge. What if the mayor waits until that system is ready before launching the plan? Then the equipment's current absence doesn't establish an enforcement problem at launch. For a necessary assumption, I'd look for the missing timing fact: the plan starts before the system is ready.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Starting the charge before the end of next year puts the launch before the enforcement system is ready. That connects the delay in the equipment with the predicted problem when the plan begins.
If the plan instead waited until the system was ready, the reason offered for mass evasion would no longer apply to the launch. That wouldn't prove enforcement would be perfect, but it would remove this argument's basis for predicting failure. The argument therefore needs the earlier start that A provides.
- B
A budget deficit concerns the city's overall finances. The city could have a healthy budget even if many drivers evade this charge, or a deficit for entirely different reasons. The argument about enforcement at launch doesn't require either financial situation.
- C
This tells us when the plan should begin, not when it will begin. The argument predicts what will happen at launch; it doesn't recommend an implementation date. Even if starting as soon as effective enforcement is possible were a sensible policy, that recommendation wouldn't establish the timing the prediction needs.
- D
The mayor lists two goals, but the reasoning doesn't rank them. Revenue could matter more, congestion could matter more, or they could matter equally. We would still need to know whether charging starts before the equipment is available.
- E
The charge doesn't have to be the most effective way to reduce congestion for the argument to predict problems collecting it. Another traffic policy could work better and leave the enforcement argument unchanged. This answer evaluates the policy against alternatives rather than connecting the launch date with the equipment delay.
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