PrepTest 155, Section 1, Question 24
Editorial: Last year, many polls found that most(66 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- ALast year, everyone(28 more words not shown)
- BLast year, almost(33 more words not shown)
- CLast year, at(28 more words not shown)
- DLast year, none(24 more words not shown)
- ELast year, at(21 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What people say they watch might differ from what they actually watch.
Someone could complain about celebrity coverage and still turn it on at home. That's one possible explanation for the mismatch between poll answers and rising ratings. But it isn't the only one. If 51 percent said they wouldn't watch, the other 49 percent would still be a very large potential audience. And the ratings are for television news shows generally: perhaps programs with serious news rather than celebrity scandals account for the increase.
So the figures alone don't prove that particular respondents misrepresented their behavior. Now look at the explanation the editorial chooses. It says people present themselves as they wish to be perceived. That adds a claim about the image they want to project.
Maybe someone wants to seem above celebrity gossip. 'I wouldn't watch that' could then express the person's preferred image rather than describe what happens when the television is on. But have we established that people want that image?
What we’re looking for
That's the gap I'd focus on for the necessary-assumption question. If none of these respondents wanted to be seen as unwilling to watch, this example couldn't support the editorial's chosen explanation about presenting a desired image. We need some connection between the poll responses and how respondents wish to be perceived.
Working the answers
- A
The passage says most people claimed both to be tired of the coverage and unwilling to watch. A extends that pairing to everyone who made the first claim. The argument doesn't require perfect overlap. Some people could say they were tired of the programs without claiming they'd stop watching, while the editorial's argument concerns others who made both claims.
- B
Almost everyone is much more than the argument needs. Many respondents could accurately describe their unwillingness to watch; the editorial could still claim that people often present a desired image. It doesn't require almost every person in the relevant group to keep watching. Rising ratings also don't establish that near-universal behavior.
- C
This requires some respondents to know that their answers don't describe them accurately. But the editorial expressly allows the behavior to occur whether or not people are aware of it. Someone might sincerely think the desired self-image describes their behavior. The argument doesn't depend on any respondent knowingly giving a false picture.
- D
None of the respondents portraying themselves accurately is far too absolute. The editorial says people often present a desired image, not that every response from every person is inaccurate. Some fully accurate respondents would not undermine that claim. This answer concerns actual accuracy, while C concerns awareness; neither claim is required.
- ECorrect
At least some respondents must want to be seen as unwilling to watch television news programs for these answers to illustrate presenting that desired image. E supplies that limited connection. It doesn't prove who actually watched, erase the other possible explanations of the ratings, or guarantee the editorial's conclusion. A required assumption only needs to be something the reasoning depends on; it needn't repair every weakness by itself.
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