Peasants in Russia

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Peasants in Russia

by adamz » Thu Nov 24, 2011 9:58 pm
From the perspective of long-term survival, it was best for peasants in Czarist Russia to be weak. If they were strong, they would have been enlisted into the Czar's army against their will. Soldiers' lives were not highly valued by their commanders, and the bitter conditions and violent wars they endured led to a much shorter life span.

Which of the following best describes a flaw in the argument above?

(A) It assumes, without justification, that the only factor helping weak peasants survive longer was the fact that they were not enlisted into the army.


(B) It overlooks the possibility that there were peasants of intermediate strength who enjoyed survival benefits greater than those of either the strong or the weak.

(C) It assumes, without justification, that all strong peasants and all weak peasants of the time faced the same prospects in life.

(D) It overlooks the possibility that strong peasants were often targeted and killed by the local aristocracy for fear that they might lead a peasant uprising.

(E) The argument takes for granted that smart peasants knew how to make themselves appear weak when the army recruiters came through town.

OA:B
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by ranjeet75 » Fri Nov 25, 2011 6:31 am
A and B both are contenders.

How is A is not taken - I am confused

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by VivianKerr » Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:21 am
Concl: best for peasants to be weak

Evid: strong = enlisted in army, shorter life span

Asusmp: people can be classed as only "weak" or "strong"

What is a flaw?

Prediction: the categorization of people

The answer is (B) since it reveals the flaw of categorization inherent in the argument. The army mentioned in the passage is a small detail, so (A) is out.
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by adamz » Fri Nov 25, 2011 3:21 pm
Vivian

What would you rate the difficulty of this question.

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by HSPA » Fri Nov 25, 2011 6:24 pm
These are considered difficult questions for GMAT. I have not found them in prep practice tests.
I need to check if OG has such problems in it.

Method of reasoning and flaw questions 'I guess' are for LSAT.

By the way -Must be true questions are the most tested GMAT questions which are the predecessors for your question and as per 'R&D on prep questions' getting Must be true questions is almost mandatory for better scores. May be they are basic test elements for the GMAT
adamz wrote:Vivian

What would you rate the difficulty of this question.
First take: 640 (50M, 27V) - RC needs 300% improvement
Second take: coming soon..
Regards,
HSPA.