Sales manager: Last year the total number of meals
sold in our company's restaurants was much
higher than it was the year be{bre. Obviously
consumers find our meals desirable.

Accountant: Ifyou look at individual restaurants,
however, you find that the number of meals
sold actually decreased substantially at every
one of our restaurants that was in operation
both last year and the year before, The
desirability of our meals to consumers has
clearly decreased, given that this group of
restaurants-the only ones for which we have
sales figures that permit a comparison between
last year and the year before-demonstrates a
trend toward ferver sales.

Which one of the following, if true, most seriously
calls into question the accountant's argument?
a) The company's restaurants last year dropped
from their menus most of the new dishes that
had been introduced the year before.
b) Prior to last year there was an overall
downward trend in the company's sales.
c) Those of the company's restaurants that did
increase their sales last year did not offer large
discounts on prices to attract customers.
d) Sales of the company's most expensive meal
contributed little to the overall two-year sales
increase.
e) Most of the company's restaurants that were in
operation throughout both last year and the
year before are located in areas where
residents experienced a severe overall decline
in income last year,

I want to discuss the pattern of this question type.
to weaken we generally we find alternate reason for the conclusion.but here right answer is based on the alternate reason for the premise- decrease in sales-

Pls explain
_________________

The proof of understanding is the ability to explain it.

people out of town will be out of scope.
Conclusion : no of meals will decrease
Premise : decrease in sales.
_________________

The proof of understanding is the ability to explain it.

The answer should be E. Here is how.

The conclusion to the argument by the Sales Manager is that "Desirability of meals has increased".
Accountant concludes that "Desirability has decreased" because the number of meals sold at certain restaurants has decreased.

Now you have to see that the accountant is referring to a "particular" group of restaurants, he is not talking about the overall sales.
He is only talking about restaurants that have been open for two years. The cumulative "number of meals" from all restaurants (including the ones that just opened or opened last year are higher, we already know that from the Sales Manager's contribution to the argument). Now the accountant says that desirability has decreased based on numbers from restaurants that have been open for at-least 2 years. So in order to override his argument we need to find a reason to establish that the low sales in these restaurants are not attributed to "desirability" but "something else is responsible for the low sales (for this particular group of restaurants)".

E. Most of the company's restaurants that were in
operation throughout both last year and the
year before are located in areas where
residents experienced a severe overall decline
in income last year.

Option E does just this, it takes the blame off of desirability and puts it on the lack of disposable income.
_________________

"Nowadays, people know the price of everything, and the value of nothing." Oscar Wilde