Kaplan CR Q6

Question

In certain parts of rural Mongolia, many villagers suffer from fungal infections of the feet and toenails because of poor foot hygiene. Fungal foot infections can cause the need for eventual amputation if left untreated. In order to combat the problem of untreated fungal infections, the public health department in Mongolia distributed a pamphlet to rural villagers instructing them on how to perform weekly foot checks to detect fungal infections of the foot.

Which of the following, if true, is the best criticism of the pamphlet as a method of achieving the public health department's goal?

A. Once fungal infections of the foot have been detected, the effectiveness of treatment varies from person to person.

B. The pamphlet was sent to all rural villagers, even those that practice good foot hygiene.

C. Fungal infections of the foot are much more common in men than in women, yet both sexes received the pamphlet.

D. People who do not use proper hygiene to care for their feet are unlikely to perform weekly checks of their feet for fungal infections.

E. A previous pamphlet from the public health department of Mongolia that warned of the dangers of smoking met with limited success in all parts of Mongolia.
[spoiler]
Confused between D and E[/spoiler]

techyrajeev · Answer

IMO : D E is out of scope; previous pamplet might have failed by many other reasons.

Sartaj · Answer

My Answer is D.

We are asked to give reason for WHY PAMPHLET WILL FAIL TO ACHIEVE DEPARTMENT'S GOALS?

Well, D and E both seem correct. But which is MORE CORRECT. Look at the following options:

D) Pamphlet will fail because people will not perform weekly checks of their feet.
E) Pamphlet will fail because a previous pamphlet failed.

Which one seems more correct? To my tiny little brain, the answer seems to be D.

What's the official version?

Brent@GMATPrepNow · Answer

I think D is best.

The passage say that poor foot hygiene causes fungal infections. The public health department wants to people to get their infections treated. The health department believes that this goal can be achieved if people inspect their feet once a week.

Answer choice D says that the people who are most susceptible to infection (those with poor foot hygiene) are unlikely inspect their feet once a week. In other words, the people who are most likely to have the problem are the least likely to perform the tasks needed to prevent the problem.
Looks good to me.

Answer choice E says that the anti-smoking pamphlets had limited success. For this answer choice to be correct, we must make A LOT of assumptions. We must assume that smoking and foot infections are analogous. We must assume that both pamphlets are of the same calibre. We must assume that the goal of the anti-smoking campaign was analogous to the goal of the foot infection campaign...etc.

Given all of this, it appears that D is the best answer.

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

hjafferi · Answer

IMO E

confuse mind wrote:In certain parts of rural Mongolia, many villagers suffer from fungal infections of the feet and toenails because of poor foot hygiene. Fungal foot infections can cause the need for eventual amputation if left untreated. In order to combat the problem of untreated fungal infections, the public health department in Mongolia distributed a pamphlet to rural villagers instructing them on how to perform weekly foot checks to detect fungal infections of the foot.

Which of the following, if true, is the best criticism of the[color=blue] pamphlet as a method of achieving the public health department's goal?[/color]

The question asks for the best criticism of pamphlet as a method.....

A. Once fungal infections of the foot have been detected, the effectiveness of treatment varies from person to person.
Does not mention any thing about pamphlet

B. The pamphlet was sent to all rural villagers, even those that practice good foot hygiene.
Cannot be sent to only those who have foot infection as dept does not know that

C. Fungal infections of the foot are much more common in men than in women, yet both sexes received the pamphlet.
Again is not a valid critisim to achieve the depts goal.

D. People who do not use proper hygiene to care for their feet are unlikely to perform weekly checks of their feet for fungal infections.
Does not show that pamphlet as a method had failed.

E. A previous pamphlet from the public health department of Mongolia that warned of the dangers of smoking met with limited success in all parts of Mongolia.
Correct response as it shows that "pamphlet as a method of achieving the goal (I.e combating the problem of untreated fungal infections) failed previously in a similar issue.
[spoiler]
Confused between D and E[/spoiler]

mohan514 · Answer

i went with d whats the oa

crisro · Answer

Option A got my attention but going over all the answer choices I choose D.

Choose how you want to prepare

Get Ready for GMAT Test Day Faster with Live Online Classes

Target Test Prep EA OnDemand

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Kaplan CR Q6

GMAT/MBA Expert

Chicago Booth

GMAT Course Reviews

Admissions Consulting Reviews

FREE GMAT PREP RESOURCES

GMAT PREP DEAL TRACKER