. In the United States, vacationers account for more
than half of all visitors to what are technically called
тАЬpure aquariumsтАЭ but for fewer than one quarter of
all visitors to zoos, which usually include a тАЬzoo
aquariumтАЭ of relatively modest scope.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to account
for the difference described above between visitors to
zoos and visitors to pure aquariums?
(A) In cities that have both a zoo and a pure
aquarium, local residents are twice as likely to
visit the aquarium as they are to visit the zoo.
(B) Virtually all large metropolitan areas have zoos,
whereas only a few large metropolitan areas
have pure aquariums.
(C) Over the last ten years, newly constructed pure
aquariums have outnumbered newly established
zoos by a factor of two to one.
(D) People who visit a zoo in a given year are two
times more likely to visit a pure aquarium that
year than are people who do not visit a zoo.
(E) The zoo aquariums of zoos that are in the same
city as a pure aquarium tend to be smaller than
the aquariums of zoos that have no pure
aquarium nearby.


(D) may not be right due to following reasons:
People who visit a zoo in a given year are two times more likely to visit a pure aquarium This group can include vacationers and visitors. Since these vacationers and visitors can visit the acquariums, the difference still remains? - Fact doesn't change. Of course vacationers also visit acquariums and make up 1/2 or more. Locals still visit acquarium but make up less than half?

Actually, D wouldn't help resolve the discrepancy because the visitors from the zoo would likely visit the acquarium and the vacationers wouldn't make up 1/2 the visitors. But, note the wording likely doesn't mean their actually going to visit.

I disagree. I think it is (B).

Since most major metropolitan areas have a zoo (i.e., most people have access to a zoo), but very few have a pure aquarium, I would think that a visitor from such a place would be more like to visit something that he or she does not have at home.

Hence, B is, IMO, the best answer.
_________________

Best,

AkamaiBrah
Former Senior Instructor, Manhattan GMAT and VeritasPrep
Vice President, Midtown NYC Investment Bank, Structured Finance IT
MFE, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, Class of 2005
MBA, Anderson School of Management, UCLA, Class of 1993

Welcome on board, kk_tiger

Your answer is right but Akami's explanation is much easier to read

Practice writing nice for the analysis of argument essay:)!


_________________

Ride em cowboy

How about C ?

The original statement does not say anything about these vacation areas being either large or small.