Critical Reasoning

dear experts,

when I perform the CR questions, I found there are two kind of stems confuse me a lot
Which of the following best completes the passage below

Which of the following most logically completes the argument?

I don't know what the difference between these two kinds of stem
anyone can help explain it ? thanks in advance

OG questions
Which of the following best completes the passage below?

The computer industry's estimate that it loses millions of dollars when users illegally copy programs without paying for them is greatly exaggerated. Most of the illegal copying is done by people with no serious interest in the programs. Thus, the loss to the industry is quite small, because _____________ .

(A) many users who illegally copy programs never find any use for them
(B) most people who illegally copy programs would not purchase them even if purchasing them were the only way to obtain them
(C) even if the computer industry received all the revenue it claims to be losing, it would still be experiencing financial difficulties
(D) the total market value of all illegal copies is low in comparison to the total revenue of the computer industry
(E) the number of programs that are frequently copied illegally is low in comparison to the number of programs available for sale


39. Which of the following most logically completes the argument?

Sviatovin is a medieval Moringian text whose author and exact date of composition are unknown. However, the events in the life of Prince Sviatov that the text describes occurred in 1165, and in the diagram of Sviatov's family that accompanies the text his father, who died in 1167, is identified as still living. Thus Sviatovin must have been written between 1165 and 1167, assuming that .______________

(A) the life of Prince Sviatov is not the subject of any other medieval Moringian texts
(B) the author of Sviatovin intended it to provide as accurate a report about Prince Sviatov's exploits as possible
(C) the diagram accurately represents the composition of Sviatov's family at the time Sviatovin was written
(D) Sviatovin is the earliest Moringian text whose composition can be dated to within a few years
(E) Sviatovin was not written by Sviatov's father himself

thanks in advance

have a nice day
>_~

let us look at question 1.
What is the conclusion here? 'loss to the industry is quite small'.
Why does the author say this?
'most illegal copying is done by people with no serious interest in the programs'. (Premise 1)

We have been asked to find a second premise to support the conclusion (Note the usage of the premise indicator 'because').

You can write the argument as -
Most illegal copying is done by people with no serious interest --> ___________ --> loss to industry is quite small

The correct answer should be a link between the first part and the last part of the argument above.

Let us look at the answer options -
A - incorrect. "never find any use for them" is not the same as "would never purchase". it is perfectly possible that people who illegally copy programs might purchase them (even though they do not find any use for them).

B - correct answer. this option combined with Premise 1 leads to the conclusion.
The industry's conclusion is based on the assumption that illegally copied programs = lost revenue.
If none of those illegally copied programs would have been purchased otherwise, the industry's conclusion would fall apart. Hence, 'lost revenue'/'losses' would be minimal.

C - the argument is talking about 'loss from illegal copying' and Not about all kinds of 'financial difficulties'.

D - We are concerned with 'market value of illegal copies' but with 'loss of revenue to the industry from illegal copying'.

E - incorrect. What about programs that are not Frequently Copied? What if such Frequently copied programs cost much more than other programs?
Since, this requires additional assumptions, it is incorrect.

let us look at question 2.

Try to break down what the question says.

statement 1 : Sviatovin describes events that occurred in 1165 --> Sviatovin was written after 1165.

statement 2 : Sviatov's father is shown to be living (he died in 1167) --> Sviatovin was written before 1167.

Combinining statements 1 and 2, you get this -

Sviatovin was written between 1165 and 1167.

We have been asked to find an assumption for this argument.
One way to find an assumption to find a flaw in the argument. Any option that negates the flaw will be an assumption.
The correct answer will find a flaw in either statement 1 or statement 2 and then deny the flaw.

One possible flaw with statement 1 is - what if the author of Sviatovin had the gift of foresight? (highly unlikely)
One possible flaw with statement 2 is - what if the family diagram is not accurate?

Let us look at the answer options -
A - We are not concerned with other Moringian texts, only with Sviatovin.

B - negate this option -
'the author did not intend it to provide as accurate a report about Prince Sviatov' - there might have been some exaggerations.
Even then, the text had to written after 1165 since the events did not take place until 1165 (we know this from other sources).

C - correct answer.this addresses the flaw in statement 2. If the diagram is not an accurate representation of Sviatov's family at the time of its composition, it is quite possible that the text might have been written after 1167.

D - Whether Sviatovin is the earliest Moringian text that can be dated to within a few OR not has no relevance to the conclusion

E - Who wrote the text is irrelevant to the conclusion (look at statements 1 and 2 again).
If we negate this -
'Sviatovin was written by Sviatov's father' - this statement strengthens the conclusion that Sviatovin was written between 1165 and 1167. (note that his father died in 1167 - the book then could not have been written after that year).