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OG10 Q201

by bluementor » Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:44 am
State spokesperson: Many businesspeople who have not been to our state believe that we have an inadequate road system. Those people are mistaken, as is obvious from the fact that in each of the past six years, our state has spent more money per mile on road improvements than any other state.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the reasoning in the spokesperson’s argument?

(A) In the spokesperson’s state, spending on road improvements has been increasing more slowly over the past six years than it has in several other states.
(B) Adequacy of a state’s road system is generally less important to a businessperson considering doing business there than is the availability of qualified employees.
(C) Over the past six years, numerous businesses have business have moved into the state.
(D) In general, the number of miles of road in a state’ road system depends on both the area and the population of the state.
(E) Only states with seriously inadequate road systems need to spend large amounts of money on road improvements.
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by newera » Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:56 am
I'm thinking E.

This guy assumes that more money means better/adequate road systems...but what if the reason behind this is that the road systems were miserable to begin with?

A --so what
B --out of scope
C --no mention of road systems or inadequacy or anything for that matter
D --yes and ...?
E ---weakens statesmen's argument
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by agent47 » Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:06 am
E is the answer according to me what is OA
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by bluementor » Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:18 am
Yup, the OA is E

My doubt here is that how does one know if the businesspoeple's belief was prior to the roadworks or after?

In the spokesperson's perspective, it seems that he is judging the business people's belief after the money has been spent on roadworks (if not he wouldnt have given the reason that he had spent money). If that is the case, then why would answer E undermine his argument (since that would no longer be true given that the roads have improved?

My mind is probably messed up now, so please excuse me if my reasoning is confusing... I just need some help to look at this in a clearer way.

Thanks,

BlueMentor
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by newera » Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:29 am
i think you're reading too much into it. sometimes its good just to take things at face value. so whether the businessmen are talking about before or after...well, i don't think there is a before or after. i think they're saying, in general, the roads are bad. and the statesmen is responding with the usual diplomatic, "we are in the process of doing xyz."

with regard to your other comment...this is where the problem lies. you're assuming that more money means better roads....you're assuming that the roads were good to begin with and putting in more money means they're become even better. but this could easily not be the case as answer choice E shows. The point here is that we don't actually know the real reason behind why more money is being spent. Is it because the roads are fine and the state is going that extra mile by spending more (as suggested by the spokesmen) or is it actually that the roads are terrible and thats why the state is spending money?

If the states are forced to spend money because the roads are bad and not already good, as the spokesman is arguing, then this point destroys his whole argument.

a lot of words but hopefully you're absorbing it now.

don't over-read into the stimulus!
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by bluementor » Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:45 am
Great explanation (and advice) newera! Thanks a lot. :)
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by khanshainur » Wed May 11, 2016 2:34 am
I still feel E should be the answer
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