So I have come across 2 problems that in my opinion are very similar and I got both of them wrong. I am having a bit of difficulty making that leap from the very apparent second best choice ( also the trap) to the correct answer.
I think they are both strengthen questions... so outside info is OK. So help with reasoning and justification for the assimilation of this rather off topic info into the argument would be nice.
source: Manhattan CATs
(1) Almost every modern kitchen today is equipped with a microwave oven, mainly because microwave ovens offer a fast and convenient way of cooking and reheating food. Indeed, it has become a standard appliance in most households. Studies have shown, however, that microwave ovens are not completely safe and their use has occasionally resulted in serious injury. Because of this, some consumer advocates argue that microwave ovens should not be so readily accepted as a standard appliance until they can be certified to be completely safe.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument of the consumer advocates?
(A)Microwave ovens have taken much of the joy out of cooking.
(B)There have been many reported incidences of people who have been scalded by liquids superheated in microwave ovens.
(C)Absolute safety is the only criterion by which an appliance should be judged to be acceptable as "standard."
(D)There is no such thing as a completely safe appliance.
(E)Stoves and ovens that use natural gas consume energy much more efficiently than microwave ovens.
(2) The United States government uses only a household's cash income before taxes to determine whether that household falls below the poverty line in a given year; capital gains, non-cash government benefits, and tax credits are not included. However, yearly cash income is not a fool-proof measure of a given household's disposable income. For example, retirees who live off of capital gains from an extensive portfolio could earn hundreds of thousands of dollars, yet be classified by the government as living in "poverty" because this income is not included in the calculation.
Which of the following, if true, validates the contention that the government's calculation methods must be altered in order to provide statistics that measure true poverty?
(A)For more than 99% of those classified as living in poverty, yearly cash income comprises the vast majority of each household's disposable income.
(B)While the government's calculation method indicated a 12.5% poverty rate in 2003, the same calculation method indicated anywhere from a 9% to a 16% poverty rate during the preceding decade.
(C)Most established research studies conducted by the private sector indicate that the number of people truly living in poverty in the U.S. is less than that indicated by the government's calculation method.
(D)Several prominent economists endorse an alternate calculation method which incorporates all income, not just cash income, and adjusts for taxes paid and other core expenses.
(E)The government's calculation method also erroneously counts those who do not earn income in a given year but who have substantial assets on which to live during that year.
OA 1 C 2 C
I think they are both strengthen questions... so outside info is OK. So help with reasoning and justification for the assimilation of this rather off topic info into the argument would be nice.
source: Manhattan CATs
(1) Almost every modern kitchen today is equipped with a microwave oven, mainly because microwave ovens offer a fast and convenient way of cooking and reheating food. Indeed, it has become a standard appliance in most households. Studies have shown, however, that microwave ovens are not completely safe and their use has occasionally resulted in serious injury. Because of this, some consumer advocates argue that microwave ovens should not be so readily accepted as a standard appliance until they can be certified to be completely safe.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument of the consumer advocates?
(A)Microwave ovens have taken much of the joy out of cooking.
(B)There have been many reported incidences of people who have been scalded by liquids superheated in microwave ovens.
(C)Absolute safety is the only criterion by which an appliance should be judged to be acceptable as "standard."
(D)There is no such thing as a completely safe appliance.
(E)Stoves and ovens that use natural gas consume energy much more efficiently than microwave ovens.
(2) The United States government uses only a household's cash income before taxes to determine whether that household falls below the poverty line in a given year; capital gains, non-cash government benefits, and tax credits are not included. However, yearly cash income is not a fool-proof measure of a given household's disposable income. For example, retirees who live off of capital gains from an extensive portfolio could earn hundreds of thousands of dollars, yet be classified by the government as living in "poverty" because this income is not included in the calculation.
Which of the following, if true, validates the contention that the government's calculation methods must be altered in order to provide statistics that measure true poverty?
(A)For more than 99% of those classified as living in poverty, yearly cash income comprises the vast majority of each household's disposable income.
(B)While the government's calculation method indicated a 12.5% poverty rate in 2003, the same calculation method indicated anywhere from a 9% to a 16% poverty rate during the preceding decade.
(C)Most established research studies conducted by the private sector indicate that the number of people truly living in poverty in the U.S. is less than that indicated by the government's calculation method.
(D)Several prominent economists endorse an alternate calculation method which incorporates all income, not just cash income, and adjusts for taxes paid and other core expenses.
(E)The government's calculation method also erroneously counts those who do not earn income in a given year but who have substantial assets on which to live during that year.
OA 1 C 2 C
Last edited by what? on Thu Jun 16, 2011 8:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
