Critical Reasoning

Preconceived notions of the world, especially that of the so-called Third World, have colored our perceptions enough to blind us to its true state, illustrated by decades of reliable statistics. The currently prevalent and popular juxtaposition of the struggling Third World and the flourishing First World is consistent with the state of the world in the mid - twentieth century, not the world in which we currently reside. For example, while the richest 20% of the world's population earn 74% of the total income and the poorest 20% earn 2%, the majority of the world's population belongs to a "middle-class", earning 24% of the total income. Most countries, with the exception of those African countries devastated by AIDS, share a relatively high life expectancy and low fertility rate. Child mortality rates in many Asian and South American nations are on par with those of the "developed world"; in fact, the country with the lowest child mortality rate in 2007 was Singapore. Unfortunately, most people's ignorance of these facts and others like them stems from a lack of access to understandable data. Although the data are available, access to statistics is often costly and, even when free access is granted, statistics are presented in a dull fashion, which repels all but the most dedicated.

With which of the following statements about life expectancy would the author of the passage most likely agree?

A) Life expectancy is inversely proportional to fertility rate.
B) Having a high life expectancy should be a requirement for common consideration as a "First World" country.
C) Life expectancy is an indicator of a country's overall state.
D) Although life expectancy is currently high in most countries, it will not remain so in those countries commonly referred to as "Third World" countries.
E) Low fertility rates cause life expectancy to rise.

OA C

Source: Economist Gmat