Mo2men wrote:After the recent court rulings, commercial shark fishing and shark hunting will resume in Diamond Bay. Many citizens of the communities around the bay have hailed this move, believing that a decrease in sharks will lead to an increase in all smaller fish, including the endangered Green-Gilled Silverfish, whose only ecosystem is within Diamond Bay. Ecologists, though, disagree, pointing out that a decrease in sharks will lead to a surge in Sea Lions, which are the principal predator of the Green-Gilled Silverfish.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
A) The first provides support for conclusion of the argument; the second states that conclusion.
B) The first describes evidence that has been taken as supporting a conclusion; the second states a contrary conclusion that is the main conclusion of the argument.
C) The first is an opinion that the argument opposes; the second is evidence inconsistent with the conclusion of the argument.
D) The first describes the circumstances that the argument as a whole seeks to explain; the second gives the explanation that the argument seeks to establish
E) The first describes the circumstances that the argument as a whole seeks to explain; the second provides evidence in support of the explanation that the argument seeks to establish.
Many BF CRs are structured as follows:
Many people believe that X is true.
They are wrong.
Generally, the main conclusion of the argument will be the statement in blue.
In the passage above:
Many citizens believe that a decrease in sharks will lead to an increase in all smaller fish, including the endangered Green-Gilled Silverfish.
Ecologists disagree.
Here, the main conclusion of the argument is the statement in blue.
Since the ecologists DISAGREE with the citizens, the main conclusion is that a decrease in sharks will NOT lead to an increase in all smaller fish.
BF1 is a PREMISE serving to support the conclusion of the citizens.
BF2 is the main conclusion: that that a decrease in sharks will NOT lead to an increase in all smaller fish but
will lead to a surge in Sea Lions, which are the principal predator of the Green-Gilled Silverfish.
Only
B correctly describes how each BF functions:
The first describes evidence that has been taken as supporting a conclusion (the conclusion of the citizens); the second states a contrary conclusion that is the main conclusion of the argument (the conclusion of the ecologists, who hold that the citizens are WRONG).
The correct answer is
B.
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