PrepTest 143, Section 4, Question 3
Cable TV stations have advantages that enable them(65 more words not shown)
The statements above, if true,(8 more words not shown)
- ASome broadcast networks(6 more words not shown)
- BBroadcast networks do(7 more words not shown)
- CLow costs are(19 more words not shown)
- DSome advertisers prefer(9 more words not shown)
- EThe audiences that(9 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Think like an advertiser. If I'm selling a sports drink, a sports station gives me a way to reach an audience interested in sports. A network showing a mixture of programs makes that targeting harder. That's a concrete reason an advertiser might like cable's specialized programming.
Now add lower prices and the opportunity to reach viewers around the world. The passage presents all three as advantages that help cable attract advertisers. We don't have to invent a flaw in that explanation; we need to keep track of which claims it supports.
What we’re looking for
The question asks for the exception. Four choices will have support in what we've read, and one will go beyond it. That unsupported statement could be true in real life. Our job is to notice what the passage gives us reason to believe.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
We know many cable stations have expanded worldwide. We haven't been told that broadcast networks have done so. A takes a fact about cable and applies it to the other kind of television service. Nothing here settles whether any broadcast network can be viewed in several countries.
- B
The passage contrasts cable's funding with that of broadcast networks: cable can charge advertisers less because viewers subsidize it through subscription fees. That explanation supports the idea that broadcast networks don't rely on the same source of viewer funding. Read B in the context of this comparison, rather than bringing in outside information about television services.
- C
Lower advertising rates are offered as one of the advantages that attract advertisers. That supports the idea that cost matters when advertisers choose where to run an ad. If advertisers didn't care about cost, the lower rate wouldn't explain cable's appeal.
- D
Worldwide programming is another advantage in the explanation. That supports the idea that some advertisers want the opportunity to reach a worldwide audience. We don't need every advertiser to have that goal for the opportunity to be attractive to some of them.
- E
Around-the-clock news is one example of programming that lets advertisers reach particular audiences. The passage uses it to explain cable's appeal, so it supports the idea that some advertisers want to reach those viewers. It doesn't tell us who those viewers are, and we don't need to guess.
More Must Be True questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Must Be True questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.