PrepTest 148, Section 1, Question 15
Sanchez: The sixteen new computers that the school(51 more words not shown)
The dialogue provides the most(13 more words not shown)
- Aneeded sixteen new(1 more words not shown)
- Bpurchased more computers(4 more words not shown)
- Cspent more in(8 more words not shown)
- Dpaid more for(6 more words not shown)
- Ehas been harshly(6 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Less expensive than people thought doesn't mean affordable or appropriate. Imagine sixteen computers at one hundred dollars each. They could be much cheaper than people assumed and still cost sixteen hundred dollars when the school only had five hundred available. Sanchez's premise doesn't settle whether the school spent too much.
What we’re looking for
Merriweather challenges the spending for a different reason. The school may have paid a fair price for the models it bought, but those models were fancier than needed. A less elaborate computer could do the job. Getting a good price on unnecessary features doesn't make those features a good purchase. So their disagreement is about whether the school spent more than it should have on these computers. Sanchez says no; Merriweather's objection supports yes.
Working the answers
- A
Merriweather doesn't say the school had no need for sixteen new computers. The complaint concerns how elaborate the selected computers were. The school could need all sixteen while meeting that need with simpler models.
- B
This also concerns quantity. To support it, we'd need Merriweather to say fewer computers would have been enough, perhaps ten instead of sixteen. Criticizing the specifications of the computers doesn't establish that too many units were purchased.
- CCorrect
Sanchez explicitly denies that too much was spent. Merriweather responds that the purchased computers exceeded the school's needs, supporting the judgment that the school should have spent less on simpler computers. They can disagree about overspending even without disagreeing about whether the chosen models were worth their market price.
- D
Merriweather expressly says that paying more than each computer was worth is not the objection. Sanchez doesn't assert that the school overpaid relative to the models' value either. The dispute is about choosing unnecessarily elaborate models, not about being charged too much for the models selected.
- E
Sanchez responds to what people assume about the price. Merriweather discusses the school's needs and the computers' features, without taking a position on whether the school has faced harsh criticism. We don't have the opposing views on public reaction that this answer requires.
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