Q.3 -
Since the passage of the state's Clear Air Act ten years ago, the level of industrial pollutants in the air has fallen by an average of 18 percent. This suggests that the rule restrictions on industry embodied in the act have worked effectively. However, during the same period the state has also suffered through a period of economic decline. The number of businesses in the state has fallen by 10 percent, and the number of workers employed has fallen by 12 percent. It is probable that business decline, rather than regulations in the act, is responsible for at least half of the decline in the pollution.

Which of the following is an assumption made in the passage above?
a) The amount of air pollution in a given area is likely to be proportional to the number of businesses and workers active in that area.
b) The restrictions on business activity in other states are less stringent that are those embodied in the Clean Air Act.
c) Most businesses in the state have obeyed the regulations embodied in the clean Air Act.
d) The economic decline of the state can be attributed, in part, to the effects of the Clean Air Act.
e) The Clean Air Act has been only very slightly successful in achieving the goal of reduced air pollution.