PrepTest 140, Section 1, Question 1
Several years ago, most of one country's large(55 more words not shown)
The conclusion of the argument(12 more words not shown)
- Athe agency may(8 more words not shown)
- Ba single company(8 more words not shown)
- Cthe country's overall(13 more words not shown)
- Dthe banks sold(15 more words not shown)
- Eall of the(8 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Who is buying the banks?
The government took over after the banks failed and now wants to sell them to strengthen the banking system. Selling could be part of that plan, but a sale by itself isn't the goal. We need the system to become stronger.
We're told that won't happen if the former owners buy the banks back. All right. Then sell to someone else. Why does a problem with that particular group make the whole plan unlikely to succeed?
What we’re looking for
The missing reason should close off that escape: perhaps the former owners are the only buyers available. That would connect the warning about those owners with the prediction that the agency won't achieve its goal. Since the question asks us to complete the argument so that its conclusion follows, that's the connection to look for.
Working the answers
- A
Being unable to sell some banks could complicate the plan, but it doesn't establish that the system is unlikely to become stronger. Selling the others to new owners might still help. The argument's stated obstacle concerns who buys the banks; A doesn't connect that obstacle to the expected outcome.
- B
One company could buy several banks and still be a new owner. We haven't been told that owning multiple banks prevents the system from improving. The problem given in the argument is selling back to the former owners, not consolidating ownership.
- C
A weak overall economy might sound worrying, but we aren't given a rule saying that the banking system can improve only after the economy improves. This doesn't explain why the agency cannot avoid the particular problem it identified by selling to new owners.
- D
Weaker than other banks doesn't mean unable to improve. These banks could become stronger and contribute to a stronger system while remaining behind the country's other banks for a while. D gives us a comparison between banks, not a reason the agency's improvement plan is unlikely to work.
- ECorrect
Every current bidder is a former owner. That gives us the missing reason to expect the banks to go back to the very people whose ownership would prevent the system from being strengthened. The agency's goal is therefore unlikely to be achieved. We don't need to prove that no different bidder could ever appear; the conclusion is a forecast about what is unlikely, and the current pool of bidders supports it.
More Sufficient Assumption questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Sufficient Assumption questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.