Max: We would lose money if we started processing orders electronically. Most people prefer to interact with human beings when placing orders. If we switch to electronic order processing, our business will appear cold and inhuman, and we will attract fewer customers.
Speaker 1 Summary
Hazel concludes that we should process orders electronically rather than manually in order to increase profits. This is because an electronic process would allow customers’ orders to go directly to the relevant people, which will lead to faster and more accurate order processing.
Speaker 2 Summary
Max concludes that we would lose money if we used electronic order processing. This is because most people prefer to interact with humans when placing orders, and using an electronic system will make the business appear cold and human. This will lead to fewer customers.
Objective
We’re looking for a point of disagreement. The speakers disagree about whether an electronic order processing system would help the business make money. Hazel thinks it would. Max thinks it wouldn’t.
A
electronic order processing is faster and more accurate than is manual order processing
Max doesn’t express an opinion. He thinks electronic processing will be less attractive to customers, but that doesn’t mean he thinks it’s not faster and more accurate than manual processing.
B
faster and more accurate order processing would be financially beneficial to their business
Max doesn’t express an opinion. He thinks electronic processing will make the business lose money, but that doesn’t mean he thinks faster and more accurate order processing will hurt the business. He might think a different process that’s faster and more accurate would help.
C
switching to electronic order processing would be financially beneficial to their business
This is a point of disagreement. Hazel thinks switching would help the business make money. Max thinks switching will make the business lose money.
D
their business has an obligation to be as profitable as possible
Neither speaker expresses an opinion. Although both seem to want the business to make money, that doesn’t imply a belief about an obligation to make the most profit possible. What if there’s a limit to how much money a business should make? We don’t know what they think.
E
electronic order processing would appear cold and inhuman to most of their customers
Hazel doesn’t express an opinion. She doesn’t comment on whether customers will think electronic processing appears cold and inhuman. Although she does think electronic processing will make more money, that doesn’t imply a belief about the potential cold and inhuman appearance.
Commentator: In the new century, only nations with all the latest electronic technology will experience great economic prosperity. The people in these nations will be constantly bombarded with images of how people in other countries live. This will increase their tendency to question their own customs and traditions, leading to a dissolution of those customs and traditions. Hence, in the new century, the stability of a nation’s cultural identity will likely _______.
Summary
In the future, only nations with the newest technology will experience economic prosperity. The people in these nations will be bombarded with images showing how people in other nations live. This will cause people in prosperous nations to question their own traditions, which will lead to a dissolution of those traditions.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Hence, the stability of a nation’s cultural identity will likely decrease if that nation is economically prosperous.
A
depend on a just distribution of electronic technology among all nations
A just or equitable distribution of technology plays no role in our causal chain of events. We only know that a nation generally possessing the latest technology will set off the causal chain of events.
B
decrease if that nation comes to have a high level of economic wealth
A nation having a high level of economic wealth results in a causal chain of events leading to dissolution of that nation’s customs and traditions.
C
be ensured by laws that protect the customs and traditions of that culture
We don’t know if laws will be enacted to protect the traditions of these nations.
D
be threatened only if the people of that culture fail to acquire the latest technical skills
We don’t know whether there’s only one way in which a nation’s cultural identity is threatened. We know possessing the latest technology is one way, but there could be various other ways as well.
E
be best maintained by ensuring gradual assimilation of new technical knowledge and skills
We don’t know if this is the best way to maintain a nation’s cultural identity. We also don’t know whether gradual introduction of technology will lessen its effects.
Galina: It must be something other than sugar, because the concentration of sugar in the maple sap is so low that a squirrel would need to drink an enormous amount of sap to get any significant amount of sugar.
Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
Lydia concludes that red squirrels are probably after the sugar in sugar maple tree sap. To support her claim, Lydia reasons that water is easily available from other sources, so the squirrels would not chew holes into trees just to get water.
Describe Method of Reasoning
Lydia concludes a hypothesis for a phenomenon she has observed. She does this by eliminating alternative hypotheses. Lydia reasons that if sugar tree sap is essentially water with sugar, and water is easily available from other nearby sources, then the squirrels are probably after the sugar content of the sap.
A
dismissing potentially disconfirming data
Lydia does not dismiss any data from consideration. Lydia dismisses an alternative hypothesis for the phenomenon of red squirrels consuming sugar maple tree sap.
B
citing a general rule of which the conclusion is a specific instance
Lydia does not apply her hypothesis to a specific instance. Her argument is stated generally and theoretically.
C
presenting an observed action as part of a larger pattern of behavior
Lydia does not address a larger pattern of behavior. We cannot assume that since the squirrels chew holes into certain trees that this action is part of a larger pattern.
D
drawing an analogy between well-understood phenomena and an unexplained phenomenon
Lydia does not draw an analogy to support her claims.
E
rejecting a possible alternative explanation for an observed phenomenon
The observed phenomena is the squirrels chewing holes to consume tree sap. The alternative explanation Lydia rejects is the explanation that the squirrels are after the water content of the sap.
Summary
Criminals often have an unusual self-image. For example, embezzlers think of their actions as borrowing money, and violent criminals think the victim “deserved it” or it wasn’t their fault.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Thus, in many cases, by criminals’ characterization of their situations, their actions are not necessarily criminal.
A
they ought to be rewarded for their actions
This answer is unsupported. The criminals are making excuses for themselves, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they also think they should be rewarded.
B
they are perceived to be the victim of some other criminal
This answer is unsupported. The criminals are making excuses for themselves, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they think of themselves as a victim.
C
their actions are not truly criminal
This answer is strongly supported. The criminals are making excuses for their behavior, therefore they think their behavior is not necessarily criminal.
D
the criminal justice system is inherently unfair
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know anything about the criminal justice system from the stimulus.
E
they deserve only a light sentence for their crimes
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know anything about sentencing from the stimulus.
Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author hypothesizes that the vomeronasal organ (VNO) is a functioning sensory organ in most humans. This is based on the fact that humans reported experiencing subtle smell sensations when researchers their stimulated VNO cells.
Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that it was the stimulation of the VNO cells that caused the smell sensations, and not some other impact of the actions taken by the researcher. The information given discusses a correlation between stimulation of VNO cells and experiencing smell sensations, and the author is assuming a causal relationship from this correlation. The author is also assuming that the test subjects actually experienced the subtle smell sensations that they reported experiencing.
A
It is not known whether the researchers succeeded in stimulating only VNO cells in the human subjects’ noses.
(A) weakens the argument because it introduces the possibility of an alternative hypothesis that some other factor, not the VNO cells, was responsible for the smell sensations that the test subjects experienced.
B
Relative to its occurrence in certain other animals, the human VNO appears to be anatomically rudimentary and underdeveloped.
“Rudimentary” and “underdeveloped” does not mean nonfunctional.
C
Certain chemicals that play a leading role in the way the VNO functions in animals in which it is highly developed do not appear to play a role in its functioning in humans.
It could be the case that the VNO functions differently in other animals and in humans––the human VNO could rely on other chemicals.
D
Secondary anatomical structures associated with the VNO in other animals seem to be absent in humans.
We do not know if these secondary anatomical structures are necessary in the function of the VNO; the human VNO could have different secondary structures or could function without these secondary structures.
E
For many animal species, the VNO is thought to subtly enhance the sense of smell.
The fact that the VNO produces subtle smell sensations in animals does not weaken the argument that the VNO does something similar in humans––this may give an additional reason to believe the argument.