PrepTest 137, Section 2, Question 4
One way to furnish a living room is(63 more words not shown)
Each of the following, if(12 more words not shown)
- AModular furniture, unlike(5 more words not shown)
- BThe consumer demand(9 more words not shown)
- CThe most fashionable(7 more words not shown)
- DBecause modular furniture(10 more words not shown)
- EModular sofas, on(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Modular furniture works a little like building with blocks: buy separate pieces and arrange them into the sofa you want. That flexibility sounds useful. But why does a modular sofa cost nearly twice as much as a standard sofa of the same size and quality?
There isn't a conclusion here to argue with. We're given a price difference and asked to explain it. Perhaps making the separate pieces costs more. Perhaps they require more material or labor. We need something that distinguishes modular furniture from standard furniture; a reason that all sofas are expensive won't explain the gap between them.
What we’re looking for
This is an EXCEPT question. Four answers help explain the higher modular price. Our answer will be the one that leaves that comparison unexplained.
Working the answers
- A
Mass production can reduce the cost of making each item by producing many similar items together. If standard furniture gets that advantage and modular furniture doesn't, we have a reason modular furniture could cost more. This helps explain the difference, so we eliminate it.
- BCorrect
Demand sometimes outpaces supply for sofas generally. That could help explain a rise in sofa prices, but it doesn't distinguish modular sofas from standard sofas. Both kinds could become more expensive while we still had no explanation for why one costs nearly twice as much as the other.
We need a fact about the difference between the two categories. B describes the broader market and never tells us that the demand or supply pressure is greater for modular furniture.
- C
Fashionable designers favor modular designs. That can create demand for that style and make customers willing to pay more for it. Comparable size and quality don't mean customers must value the two designs equally. This gives a possible reason for the premium.
- D
Standard furniture can be discounted, while custom-ordered modular pieces are never put on sale. Those discounts can lower the average price paid for standard furniture. Modular furniture's lack of sale prices therefore helps explain the higher average cost.
- E
More upholstered surface means more surface to cover with fabric and related materials, and potentially more work to cover it. Two sofas can have the same overall size and quality while separate modular pieces require additional upholstery. That supplies a production-cost difference that can help explain the higher price.
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