PrepTest 149, Section 1, Question 1

What we’re looking for

Working the answers

• A

  We don't know how voters weigh national experience against city experience. They might value Lewis's background, or they might prefer someone familiar with local issues. We would have to add a voter preference to turn this into a reason Lewis is likely to overcome the past pattern.

• B

  Greater campaign funding would generally give prodevelopment candidates another advantage. That fits the prediction that Chu will win rather than challenging it. It doesn't guarantee success, but it doesn't give us a reason to expect the pattern to break.

• C
  Correct

  Here the change is in the city and its voters, rather than in Chu personally. Most voters now blame overdevelopment for serious new problems. That gives them a reason to turn against the position that previously won elections. We don't have to prove development actually caused those problems; their belief matters to how they might vote. Nor does C guarantee a Lewis victory. It makes relying on the last six results less persuasive.

• D

  Lewis's old job doesn't tell us how voters will evaluate Lewis's current position. Someone could once work for a prodevelopment mayor and now favor tighter limits, as Lewis does. We still need a reason that this past association changes the expected election result.

• E

  Chu's earlier reputation doesn't establish how voters see Chu now or whether they dislike the current position. The passage identifies Chu as the prodevelopment candidate in this race. Without more about voter reactions, the previous image doesn't undermine the forecast.