State spokesperson: Many businesspeople who have not been to

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State spokesperson: Many businesspeople who have not been to [#permalink]

12 May 2011, 08:31

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Question Stats:

52% (02:01) correct

47% (01:44) wrong

based on 3 sessions

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 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.

oa after discussion, please post your timing too
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Last edited by garimavyas on 13 May 2011, 03:04, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: og10 102 [#permalink]

12 May 2011, 22:29

A,C and D clearly misses the point.

B and E debunk the conclusion.

B - brings along a new element into consideration.
E - Gives a qualified reasoning for money/mile.

E.

timing is around 1min and 10 sec.
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Re: og10 102 [#permalink]

13 May 2011, 03:03

mine is 1:09 min . will post the OA soon .
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Re: og10 102 [#permalink]

16 May 2011, 02:20

I got E in 45 sec. E clearly suggests that the suspicion of Businesspeople could be correct, while the spokesperson is trying to deviate the actual reason by masking it with another explanation.
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Re: og10 102 [#permalink]

17 May 2011, 07:25

E in 1:08

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Re: og10 102 [#permalink]

17 May 2011, 13:11

Can someone explain why D) cannot be the right answer.

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Re: og10 102 [#permalink]

17 May 2011, 13:21

D is incorrect as we have no information as to how many people are in the state vs other states so it's a non starter. Further, it doesn't really weaken the argument. Even if we knew that per capita spending was low in this state, it doesn't necessarily imply that the roading quality was low.

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Re: og10 102 [#permalink]

17 May 2011, 13:36

eshabhide wrote:

Can someone explain why D) cannot be the right answer.

The passage doesn't give us any information as to how the determining factors for miles of road may influence the adequacy of the road system. Thus, "D" is merely an information which is detached from the argument or reasoning. Out of scope.

"E" is a very strong contender because it proves the argument's reasoning, relatively higher spending, as an effect of inadequate road system, directly undermining the argument that people were mistaken in their belief.
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Re: og10 102 [#permalink]

17 May 2011, 16:10

chose E in 1:05

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Re: og10 102 [#permalink]

17 May 2011, 19:12

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Re: State spokesperson: Many businesspeople who have not been to [#permalink]

20 Mar 2012, 19:40

I chose E for this question:

The conclusion of this passage is: [highlight]Those people are mistaken.[/highlight]

A. Although this answer choice may appear to weaken the argument, the fact that this state still spends more money per mile on road improvements still stands. Therefore, this answer is incorrect.

B. We are not concerned about what a business person finds important. We are trying to highlight a weakness with the relationship between adequate road systems and amount of money spent.

C. The answer choice does not specifically mention that the people leaving the state are doing so because of the roads. Also, the statement says that similar amounts of people are entering the state as leaving, so this wouldn't weaken the argument anyway.

D. We are not concerned about the number of miles of roads and what they depend on.

E. This answer choice illustrates a point that large amount of spending is needed to improve roads that are inadequate. Therefore, this is the correct choice.

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Re: State spokesperson: Many businesspeople who have not been to [#permalink]

20 Mar 2012, 23:19

E is the best among the options
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Re: State spokesperson: Many businesspeople who have not been to [#permalink]

23 Mar 2012, 02:46

E Shows that spending large amounts in fact goes against his argument

Re: State spokesperson: Many businesspeople who have not been to [#permalink] 23 Mar 2012, 02:46

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