Since it has become known that several of a bank's top executives have been buying shares in their own bank, the bank's depositors, who had been worried by rumors that the bank faced impending fi nancial collapse,have been greatly relieved. They reason that, since top executives evidently have faith in the bank's fi nancial soundness, those worrisome rumors must be false. Such reasoning might well be overoptimistic, however, since corporate executives have been known to buy shares in their own company in a calculated attempt to dispel negative rumors about the company's health.
In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
(A) The fi rst describes evidence that has been taken as supporting a conclusion; the second gives a reason for questioning that support.
(B) The fi rst describes evidence that has been taken as supporting a conclusion; the second states a contrary conclusion that is the main conclusion of the argument.
(C) The fi rst provides evidence in support of the main conclusion of the argument; the second states that conclusion.
(D) The fi rst describes the circumstance that the argument as a whole seeks to explain; the second gives the explanation that the argument seeks to establish.
(E) The fi rst describes the circumstance that the argument as a whole seeks to explain; the second provides evidence in support of the explanation that the argument seeks to establish.
can't understand why 1st BF doesn't "describes the circumstance that the argument as a whole seeks to explain" - we are given a circumstance than exec. are buying shares. 1st one conclusion is deduced and then arg. gives evidence to show that there can be other reason.
bank
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- vikram4689
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Don't worry so much about how that statement is right or wrong. The second part of answers D and E are both incorrect making your question obsolete.
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- vikram4689
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2nd part of E is perfectly correct as it supports the main conclusion
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What the BANK DEPOSITORS conclude: Those worrisome rumors about the impending financial collapse of the bank are FALSE.vikram4689 wrote:Since it has become known that several of a bank's top executives have been buying shares in their own bank, the bank's depositors, who had been worried by rumors that the bank faced impending fi nancial collapse,have been greatly relieved. They reason that, since top executives evidently have faith in the bank's fi nancial soundness, those worrisome rumors must be false. Such reasoning might well be overoptimistic, however, since corporate executives have been known to buy shares in their own company in a calculated attempt to dispel negative rumors about the company's health.
In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
(A) The fi rst describes evidence that has been taken as supporting a conclusion; the second gives a reason for questioning that support.
(B) The fi rst describes evidence that has been taken as supporting a conclusion; the second states a contrary conclusion that is the main conclusion of the argument.
(C) The fi rst provides evidence in support of the main conclusion of the argument; the second states that conclusion.
(D) The fi rst describes the circumstance that the argument as a whole seeks to explain; the second gives the explanation that the argument seeks to establish.
(E) The fi rst describes the circumstance that the argument as a whole seeks to explain; the second provides evidence in support of the explanation that the argument seeks to establish.
can't understand why 1st BF doesn't "describes the circumstance that the argument as a whole seeks to explain" - we are given a circumstance than exec. are buying shares. 1st one conclusion is deduced and then arg. gives evidence to show that there can be other reason.
According to the depositors, the first BF -- several of the bank's top executives have been buying shares in their own bank -- serves to SUPPORT this conclusion.
What THE PASSAGE concludes: Such reasoning might be overly optimistic.
In other words, the rumors about the impending financial collapse MIGHT NOT BE FALSE.
According to the passage, the second BF -- corporate executives have been known to buy shares in their own company in a calculated attempt to dispel negative rumors -- serves to WEAKEN the conclusion of the bank depositors.
Answer choice A: The first describes evidence that has been taken as supporting a conclusion; the second gives a reason for questioning that support.
This answer choices matches the analysis above.
The correct answer is A.
The first describes the circumstance that the argument as a whole seeks to explain.
No: the passage AS A WHOLE is not trying to explain WHY a bank's top executives have been buying shares in their own bank.
If this were the case, the CONCLUSION of the passage would be that these executives are trying to dispel negative rumors.
The conclusion here is not about the executives but about the BANK: that it might be headed for financial collapse.
According to the passage, the circumstance described by the first BF -- that top executives have been buying shares in their own bank -- could serve to SUPPORT THE CONCLUSION that the BANK might be in trouble.
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- vikram4689
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now i think i understand it. argument is providing different INTERPRETATIONS of a circumstance and not trying to explain WHY that circumstance occurred.
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