PrepTest 138, Section 3, Question 18
The chairperson of Acme Corporation has decided to(43 more words not shown)
The argument requires assuming which(4 more words not shown)
- AAll Acme employees(9 more words not shown)
- BThe chairperson of(14 more words not shown)
- CNone of Acme's(14 more words not shown)
- DCurrently, most Acme(9 more words not shown)
- EAcme's move to(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Do all these employees actually have to work at the new location?
Moving a company's headquarters doesn't necessarily move every employee's workplace. Some could work remotely; others could work at separate locations, as employees of a large chain often do. If they never have to travel to Ocean View, expensive housing near Ocean View doesn't determine their commute.
What we’re looking for
That is one assumption I'd look for: the move really does require these people to get to the new workplace. The argument takes their inability to afford nearby housing and predicts that most will travel more than thirty minutes after the move. For a required-assumption question, we need an answer the author must rely on to carry that current information into the future prediction. It might address a different gap from the one we first spotted.
Working the answers
- A
Where employees could afford to live near Milltown doesn't settle where they will be able to live after the move. The conclusion predicts a commute longer than thirty minutes at Ocean View. It doesn't require every employee to have affordable housing near the old location.
- B
A financially sensible move for the company could still leave employees with long commutes. So could a poorly justified move. The chairperson's reasons don't determine whether the housing information supports the prediction.
- C
Employees might welcome the move for other reasons even if it lengthens their commute. Or they might oppose it. Their preferences don't establish how far away they can afford to live, so universal opposition isn't required.
- D
The argument doesn't claim that commutes will become longer than they are now; it claims most will exceed thirty minutes after the move. That could happen whether current commutes are short or already long. We don't need the comparison D supplies.
- ECorrect
This closes another gap: a substantial raise could change what housing employees can afford. The author uses their current inability to afford nearby housing as the basis for the post-move prediction, effectively keeping that financial limitation in place. If the move came with a raise large enough to put closer housing within reach, that reasoning would no longer establish the longer commute. E rules out the significant pay change that could undermine the prediction; it doesn't guarantee that every conceivable raise would let every employee move nearby.
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