PrepTest 136, Section 2, Question 16
The owners of Uptown Apartments are leaning toward(51 more words not shown)
The reasoning in which one(13 more words not shown)
- AJohn's injured knee(38 more words not shown)
- BSince its fishing(34 more words not shown)
- CMax's mechanic thinks(64 more words not shown)
- DBecause of dental(36 more words not shown)
- EBulk Fruit Company(41 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The renovations might help more than just the apartments being renovated.
The owners are comparing the improvement costs with the extra rent they could charge at Uptown Apartments. That extra rent wouldn't cover the costs, so they're leaning against the work. But suppose the improvements also make their rental house next door more attractive. The author points to that kind of additional benefit: the owners' surrounding properties would become more valuable and bring in higher rents.
Is the extra benefit large enough? We still don't know. The nearby properties could gain value without gaining enough to make the entire project worthwhile. That's a reasonable question about the argument, but our task is to match its reasoning.
What we’re looking for
Look for someone reluctant to act because an initial benefit doesn't seem worth the cost. Then the argument adds another benefit and recommends the action. Keep those roles separate: the initial tradeoff, the overlooked benefit, and the recommendation.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
John is reluctant to have surgery because the pain of surgery doesn't seem worth relieving a knee that causes little pain. That matches the owners' reluctance to renovate when the extra apartment rent won't cover the cost. Surgery also permits regular exercise, corresponding to the additional benefit from the surrounding properties. The argument uses that extra benefit to recommend surgery, just as the original uses the extra rental benefit to recommend improvements.
- B
This is close: the company prefers renting because it needs boats for only six months, and the argument points to other uses. But why would those uses favor buying over renting? Rented boats might serve those other purposes too. The answer doesn't establish an added benefit of the proposed purchase. The original gives a further benefit of making the improvements; A similarly gives a further benefit of surgery. B mentions more uses during the fishing season without showing why ownership would provide an advantage the company lacks by renting.
- C
The mechanic recommends a diagnostic check to avoid the risk of a ruined engine. We aren't told that Max rejected the check after comparing its cost with one benefit and then received a different, additional benefit. Avoiding engine damage is the basic reason for checking in the first place, so the sequence of reasoning doesn't match.
- D
Leona already changed her eating and experienced a benefit. The conclusion describes how dental problems ultimately led to better health. It doesn't recommend an initially unattractive action after adding an overlooked benefit.
- E
The company is enthusiastic from the start because customers are expected to like the fruit. The conclusion endorses the proposal on that basis. We never get the original's initial downside and reluctance, followed by a separate benefit that changes the recommendation.
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