PrepTest 144, Section 4, Question 4
Annette: To persuade the town council to adopt(49 more words not shown)
The dialogue provides the most(11 more words not shown)
- Athe council should(4 more words not shown)
- BSefu should take(9 more words not shown)
- CSefu has a(6 more words not shown)
- Dother towns have(5 more words not shown)
- Ethe appearance of(5 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Taking the council to a successful town might be persuasive. It might not: the town could owe its success to something other than the development plan. But that isn't Sefu's objection.
Sefu is worried about how the trip would look. Sefu wants the council's votes, so providing the council members with a trip could look like an attempt to buy their support. The trip could persuade them and still be inappropriate.
What we’re looking for
So separate whether the plan is good, whether a trip would work, and whether Sefu should provide that trip. The disagreement is about the last one. Annette recommends it; Sefu gives a reason against it. That's the yes-versus-no we need.
Working the answers
- A
Neither speaker argues against adopting the development plan. Annette suggests a way to win support, and Sefu objects to that method. Sefu could want the plan adopted just as much as Annette does while rejecting the trip.
- BCorrect
Annette says Sefu should take the council to visit other towns. Sefu responds that accepting a trip from someone who wants their votes would create the appearance of undue influence. They disagree about whether Sefu should take them on that trip.
- C
Sefu explicitly acknowledges having a vested interest in the votes. Annette doesn't deny that interest. She might know about it and still think the trip is a good idea, or she might simply not have considered its implications. We don't have opposing positions on C.
- D
Annette treats the other towns' successful plans as something worth showing the council. Sefu doesn't challenge their success. Silence doesn't prove agreement, but it certainly doesn't give us the disagreement this answer requires.
- E
Annette might agree that the appearance of undue influence should be avoided. She may simply not have recognized that this trip could create that appearance. Disagreeing about a particular recommendation doesn't establish a disagreement about every principle used to object to it.
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