PrepTest 154, Section 4, Question 9
Martin: I have heard it argued that, because(52 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AThe fact that(27 more words not shown)
- BThe fact that(25 more words not shown)
- CThe fact that(28 more words not shown)
- DThe fact that(27 more words not shown)
- EThe fact that(24 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Did the patients actually follow the advice? Being told to change a diet or exercise routine isn't the same as making the change. But Martin doesn't try to settle that question or prove that weight loss is common. He grants the possibility that it is rare and defends the advice anyway.
His reason is that diet and exercise changes have other benefits. Perhaps someone develops more discipline or feels happier. Those are examples of the kind of separate benefit that could matter, not specific outcomes established by the passage. The important move is that missing the result we first focused on doesn't make all the effort worthless.
What we’re looking for
For the principle question, look for that pattern in a new setting: an activity fails to achieve its initial goal, yet produces a different useful result. The reason to value it is the other benefit, not a lingering chance of achieving the original goal.
Working the answers
- A
Jen still has a chance of winning. That defends participation by pointing to the original goal, even though the chance is limited. Martin's response isn't that some patients might still lose weight. It's that the changes have benefits other than weight loss. A would be closer if it defended running for another benefit despite not winning.
- BCorrect
Solving the problem is the engineers' initial goal, just as weight loss is the result initially used to judge the doctors' advice. The engineers don't achieve that goal, but their work produces useful insights. Those insights are the separate benefit that corresponds to the other benefits of diet and exercise changes.
Both arguments resist dismissing an effort just because it misses one desired outcome. There is still something valuable to count.
- C
This says Chester should persist because his skills can improve, giving him a better chance of succeeding at gardening later. That keeps the same goal in view. Martin doesn't defend the advice by predicting eventual weight loss; he points to a different benefit it can already provide.
- D
Knowing in advance that a project might run over budget concerns expectations about its cost. It doesn't identify a separate benefit obtained despite failing at the original goal. Sharing the phrase no reason to stop doesn't make the underlying justification the same.
- E
This defends charity despite a public-relations motive. The objection and response concern why the company acts and whether the charitable act remains worthwhile. Martin isn't answering an accusation of self-serving motives. He's answering a claim that the advice fails to produce a particular result, and he does so by pointing to other benefits.
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