Many winemakers use cork stoppers; but cork stoppers can leak, crumble, or become
moldy, so that those winemakers must often discard a significant proportion of their
inventory of bottled wine. Bottlemaster plastic stoppers, which cannot leak, crumble,
or mold, have long been available to winemakers, at a price slightly higher than that
of traditional cork stoppers. Cork prices, however, are expected to rise dramatically in
the near future. Clearly, therefore, winemakers who still use cork but wish to keep
production costs from rising will be forced to reconsider plastic stoppers. And
since the wine-buying public's association of plastic stoppers with poor-quality wine
is weakening, there is an excellent chance that the Bottlemaster plastic stopper
will gain an increased share of the marked for wine-bottle stoppers.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following
roles?
A. The first is a judgment that has been advanced in support of a position that the
argument opposes; the second is the main conclusion of the argument.
B. The first is a judgment that has been advanced in support of a position that the
argument opposes; the second is a conclusion drawn in order to support the
main conclusion of the argument.
C. The first is the main conclusion of the argument; the second provides evidence
in support of that main conclusion.
D. The first is the main conclusion of the argument; the second is a restatement
of that main conclusion.
E. The first is a conclusion drawn in order to support the main conclusion of the
argument; the second is that main conclusion.