PrepTest 137, Section 2, Question 10
Annie: Our university libraries have been sadly neglected.(88 more words not shown)
Annie and Matilda disagree about(1 more words not shown)
- Alibrary administrators are(10 more words not shown)
- Blibrary improvements could(9 more words not shown)
- Cstudents will ultimately(13 more words not shown)
- Dthose not responsible(14 more words not shown)
- Efunds for library(8 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why should students pay for the administrators' mistake? They already pay tuition. Couldn't the university address the neglected library without adding another charge?
That's my reaction to Annie's proposal, and Matilda raises the same fairness objection. Both recognize that the library is in poor condition. Annie wants students to pay a library fee because that would fund the quickest repair. Matilda says students shouldn't bear the cost of mistakes they didn't cause.
What we’re looking for
The disagreement is about who should pay. Annie says the students should; Matilda says they shouldn't. Don't assign Matilda a funding plan she never gives. She rejects charging students without telling us who else can or should provide the money.
Working the answers
- A
This is a point of agreement. Annie says the administrators should admit that their policies were mistaken. Matilda explicitly blames the library officials. Their disagreement concerns what follows from that responsibility, not whether the officials bear blame.
- B
Annie says the fee would produce the fastest remedy, but Matilda doesn't dispute its speed. She could agree that charging students is the quickest method and still think it is unfair. ‘Fastest’ and ‘something we should do’ are different judgments.
- C
Matilda doesn't say whether students would benefit from improved libraries. They might benefit greatly, and she could still object to charging them for someone else's mistakes. We have no opposing positions on the benefit described here.
- DCorrect
‘Those not responsible’ refers to the students. Annie blames the administrators' policies but proposes that students fund the repairs. Matilda explicitly says students aren't responsible and therefore shouldn't pay. They give opposing answers to whether the people who didn't cause the problem should bear the cost of fixing it.
- E
Matilda doesn't establish that another source of funding exists. She might think the students shouldn't pay even if that means the repairs cannot currently be funded. Rejecting a proposed source of money doesn't amount to claiming that some other source is available. Annie also calls the fee the fastest remedy, not the only possible source of funds.
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