Critical Reasoning

Those who feel that fewer and fewer people in this country have a genuine interest in the fine arts are absolutely correct. This is true despite the oft-mentioned record levels of attendance at art museums.

The argument above would be most strengthened if which of the following statements were true ?

A- The increase in the number of people who visit art museums more than once has been greater than the increase in the number of visits of these museums.

B- An interest in the fine arts cannot be determined by examining levels of museum attendance.

C- A substantial and relatively consistent portion of the visitors to this country's art museums are, and always have been, international tourists.

D- Sales of art books have declined sharply.

E- Art museums in this country now display a much wider range of exhibits than was once the case.

aditya8062 wrote:Those who feel that fewer and fewer people in this country have a genuine interest in the fine arts are absolutely correct. This is true despite the oft-mentioned record levels of attendance at art museums.

The argument above would be most strengthened if which of the following statements were true ?

A- The increase in the number of people who visit art museums more than once has been greater than the increase in the number of visits of these museums.

B- An interest in the fine arts cannot be determined by examining levels of museum attendance.

C- A substantial and relatively consistent portion of the visitors to this country's art museums are, and always have been, international tourists.

D- Sales of art books have declined sharply.

E- Art museums in this country now display a much wider range of exhibits than was once the case.

The premise is that there has been a RECORD LEVEL OF ATTENDANCE.
The conclusion is that FEWER PEOPLE HAVE A GENUINE INTEREST IN THE ARTS.

The passage links the RECORD LEVEL ATTENDANCE to FEWER PEOPLE with a genuine interest in the arts.
The correct answer must strengthen this link.

Answer choice A: The increase in the NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO VISIT MUSEUMS MORE THAN ONCE has been greater than the increase in the NUMBER OF VISITS to these museums.
The implication is that the RECORD LEVEL OF ATTENDANCE has been due NOT to an increase in the number of visitors but to an increase in the number of people who visit the museum MORE THAN ONCE.
The result:
While the number of VISITS has increased, the number of VISITORS likely has decreased, since the SAME VISITORS are coming to the museum over and over -- strengthening the conclusion that FEWER people have a genuine interest in the arts.

The correct answer is A.

[quote="GMATGuruNY"][quote="aditya8062"]Those who feel that fewer and fewer people in this country have a genuine interest in the fine arts are absolutely correct. This is true despite the oft-mentioned record levels of attendance at art museums.

The argument above would be most strengthened if which of the following statements were true ?

A- The increase in the number of people who visit art museums more than once has been greater than the increase in the number of visits of these museums.

B- An interest in the fine arts cannot be determined by examining levels of museum attendance.

C- A substantial and relatively consistent portion of the visitors to this country's art museums are, and always have been, international tourists.

D- Sales of art books have declined sharply.

E- Art museums in this country now display a much wider range of exhibits than was once the case.[/quote]

The premise is that there has been a RECORD LEVEL OF ATTENDANCE.
The conclusion is that FEWER PEOPLE HAVE A GENUINE INTEREST IN THE ARTS.

The passage links the RECORD LEVEL ATTENDANCE to FEWER PEOPLE with a genuine interest in the arts.
The correct answer must strengthen this link.

Answer choice [spoiler]A[/spoiler]: [i]The increase in the NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO VISIT MUSEUMS MORE THAN ONCE has been greater than the increase in the NUMBER OF VISITS to these museums.[/i]
The implication is that the RECORD LEVEL OF ATTENDANCE has been due NOT to an increase in the number of visitors but to an increase in the number of people who visit the museum MORE THAN ONCE.
The result:
While the number of VISITS has increased, the number of VISITORS likely has decreased, since the SAME VISITORS are coming to the museum over and over -- strengthening the conclusion that FEWER people have a genuine interest in the arts.

The correct answer is [spoiler]A[/spoiler].[/quote]

[b]Why C is wrong? [/b][color=red][/color][size=18][/size]

GMATGuruNY, I got A But C is also strong contender.Could you please explain why C is wrong.

c: A substantial and relatively consistent portion of the visitors to this country's art museums are, and always have been, international tourists.
=> This suggests visitors have always been international tourists and none or nil visitors from that country. Which also strengthen the conclusion.

Please let me know if I am making mistake somewhere.

beatthe800 wrote:GMATGuruNY, I got A But C is also strong contender.Could you please explain why C is wrong.

c: A substantial and relatively consistent portion of the visitors to this country's art museums are, and always have been, international tourists.
=> This suggests visitors have always been international tourists and none or nil visitors from that country. Which also strengthen the conclusion.

Please let me know if I am making mistake somewhere.

To make the situation clearer, let's plug in values.
Let the ratio of INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS to OTHER TYPES OF VISITORS = 2:3.
Let the original attendance = 100, implying that international tourists = 40 and other types of visitors = 60.
Let the RECORD LEVEL of attendance = 1000, implying that international tourists = 400 and other types of tourists = 600.
The result:
The number of other types of visitors INCREASES from 60 to 600, WEAKENING the conclusion that fewer and fewer people in this country have a genuine interest in the arts.
Since the correct answer choice must STRENGTHEN the conclusion, eliminate C.

Thanks GMATGuruNY.
I missed the vital point "relatively consistent portion of the visitors"

Very well explained.