PrepTest 143, Section 3, Question 20
Engineer: Semiplaning monohulls are a new kind of(77 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(27 more words not shown)
- AIt serves as(20 more words not shown)
- BIt draws an(26 more words not shown)
- CIt draws a(20 more words not shown)
- DIt constitutes a(19 more words not shown)
- EIt draws a(24 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Would people pay more to get there faster? That's the tradeoff the engineer is relying on.
The new ships are faster, but their fuel needs make transportation more expensive. Higher prices could make it harder to attract enough business. The engineer answers that worry by pointing to jet airplanes: people paid more for their speed and reliability, and the jets were profitable.
I might still wonder about competing ways to travel. If speed matters to a customer, could an airplane be an attractive alternative to even a faster ship? We don't know which options these customers have. That is a question about whether the comparison proves enough, not about which role the cost statement plays.
What we’re looking for
The question asks about that role. Start from the conclusion: the ships will probably be profitable. Their higher cost is a possible obstacle to that prediction. The airplane comparison is the author's response to the obstacle.
Working the answers
- A
The targeted statement compares the cost of new ships with conventional ships. It doesn't itself compare ships with airplanes. Later, the engineer makes one broader analogy using both the higher cost and the advantages that could make customers willing to pay. Calling the target one of two supporting analogies misdescribes its role.
- B
A difference in cost between two types of ship isn't the analogy used to answer the concern. The relevant analogy comes later, when the engineer compares the ships' situation with that of jet airplanes. B incorrectly calls the initial cost difference an analogy.
- C
The target does distinguish the ships' costs, but higher cost doesn't independently support the prediction of profit. It introduces a reason to worry that customers might not pay. The later argument tries to show why the ships could succeed despite that concern.
- DCorrect
More expensive transportation could make the ships less attractive to customers, creating a potential objection to the profit forecast. The engineer counters it with the jet example: jets overcame their higher prices by offering advantages customers valued. The same advantages are then attributed to the new ships.
- E
The argument does compare the new ships with the situation of jet airplanes and other planes. But that comparison is part of the support, not the main conclusion. The conclusion says the ships will probably be profitable; it doesn't itself compare the cost distinction between types of ships with a distinction between types of airplanes.
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