During the past year, Pro-Tect Insurance Company's total

The second is a conclusion, so i think is B.

First and second are two different scenarios infact opposing ones
First is the concln that argument rejects , second is a premise+concl which argument concludes

i think it shud be B

as he first sentence is a problem (i dnt think we can call it a development)

and the last is just a prediction which is based on the assesment that people will respond +vely to the company's new policy

During the past year, Pro-Tect Insurance Company's total payout on car-theft claims has been larger than the company can afford to sustain. Pro-tect cannot reduce the number of car-theft policies it carries, so it cannot protect itself against continued large payouts that way. Therefore, Pro-Tect has decided to offer a discount to holders of car-theft policies whose cars have antitheft devices. Many policy holders will respond to the discount by installing such devices, since the amount of the discount will within two years typically more than cover the cost of installation. Thus, because cars with antitheft devices are rarely stolen, Pro-Tect's plan is likely to reduce its annual payouts.

In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

A. The first and the second are both evidence offered by the argument as support for its main conlusion.
B. The first presents a problem a response to which the argument assesses; the second is the judgement reached by that assessment.
C. The first is the position the argument seeks to explain; the second is a judgement the argument uses to support that position.
D. The first is a development that the argument seeks to explain; the second is a prediction the argument makes in support of the explanation it offers.
E. The first presents a development whose likely outcome is at issue in the argument; the second is a judgement the argument uses in support of its conclusion about that outcome.

it has to be B : The first presents a problem a response to which the argument assesses; the second is the judgement reached by that assessment.

The second boldface sentence, says

"Thus, because cars with antitheft devices are rarely stolen, Pro-Tect's plan is likely to reduce its annual payouts."

now the first part suggests that this is a judgement, but the second part of the sentence also declares that the plan is likely to reduce the annual payouts.

We can't say with full assurance that the payouts will reduce.

The second part only predicts that there may be a reduction in the annual payouts. I am unable to select the final answer. Its between B and D

i wonder why u sud think D as contender
D says :The first is a development that the argument seeks to explain; the second is a prediction the argument makes in support of the explanation it offers.

D's 1st part is wrong .





read is nicely :it says judgment reached by that assessment .likeliness or no likeliness is just the inclination of that judgment !!

I would go with A because both support the main conclusion: therefore is the signal of the same in the third sentence.

But the first one use the word cannot so and the context suggest me a problem that the company present. In the second one the word because is a judgment.....

I go for B

As a non native speaker, I could not understand the alternative B. Can someone rephrase it for me? =)

(B)The first presents a problem a response to which the argument assesses; the second is the judgment reached by that assessment.

The first statement says that this is a problem - Pro-Tect cannot reduce the number of car-theft policies it carries, so it cannot protect itself against continued large payouts that way. - whose solution we are trying to find in subsequent arguments. That is the case because subsequent statements talk about solving the problem. The second is a judgement means conclusion that we reached after the analysis.

Here is a brief analysis of all the options -

(A) The first and the second are both evidence offered by the argument as support for its main conclusion.

Incorrect. Second is the main conclusion of the question and it doesn't give any evidence. First is also not an evidence technically.

(B) The first presents a problem a response to which the argument assesses; the second is the judgment reached by that assessment.

Correct. Explained above.

(C)The first is the position the argument seeks to establish; the second is a judgment the argument uses to support that position.

Incorrect. The first is not the position the argument seeks to establish i.e. First statement is not the conclusion of the argument. Second is the judgement used to support first --> wrong. Second is the main conclusion.

(D)) The first is a development that the argument seeks to explain; the second is a prediction the argument makes in support of the explanation it offers.

The first is not a development and subsquent arguements don't explain anything. The first BF is left by itself. Next statements introduce new issues altogether.

(E) The first presents a development whose likely outcome is at issue in the argument; the second is a judgment the argument uses in support of its conclusion about that outcome. - same as (D)

(B) CORRECT. Aptly suggests that boldface 1 is the problem and bold-face the conclusion to that problem

(C) Indicates boldface 1 to be the conclusion.

(D) The second bold-face is not a prediction but the conclusion. The prediction in the para is “Many policyholders will respond to the discount by installing such devices, since the amount of the discount will within two years typically more than cover the cost of installation.”

(E) Indicates that neither of the bold-faces form the conclusion. We know this to be incorrect.

Veritasprepkarishma

Could you please explain what is a development . Or which part can be called a development?

[b]Posted from my mobile device

hi @Veritasprepkarishma

Could you please explain what is a development . Or which part can be called a development?

[b]KarishmaB hi expert, the same as adobe question, could you explain why BF1 is not a development? I can’t understand the exact meaning of these abstract words. Thanks in advance.

A development is something that has happened in the recent times.
For example, 'in the past 6 months, the interest rate has doubled' or 'in the past one year, many new covid vaccines have been developed' or 'the products of company XYZ are becoming popular since XYZ started its new marketing campaign.'

So consider BF1:
Pro-Tect cannot reduce the number of car-theft policies it carries, so it cannot protect itself against continued large payouts that way.

Is it a development? No.

Pro-Tect cannot reduce the number of car-theft policies it carries, so it cannot protect itself against continued large payouts that way - problem
Pro-Tect has decided to offer a discount to holders of car-theft policies whose cars have antitheft devices. - response to the problem and the argument assesses this response
Many policyholders will respond to the discount by installing such devices, since the amount of the discount will within two years typically more than cover the cost of installation. [b]Thus, because cars with antitheft devices are rarely stolen - Argument assessing the response
Pro-Tect's plan is likely to reduce its annual payouts - Judgment on the response

Understanding the argument -

During the past year, Pro-Tect Insurance Company's total payout on car-theft claims has been larger than the company can afford to sustain. - Problem
Pro-Tect cannot reduce the number of car-theft policies it carries, so it cannot protect itself against continued large payouts that way. - Also explaining the problem of choosing a normal solution, which is to reduce the number of car theft policies it carries and opening doors for choosing an alternate solution (providing discounts)
Therefore, Pro-Tect has decided to offer a discount to holders of car-theft policies whose cars have antitheft devices. - Pre-Tect's alternative solution or response to the problem. It is important to note that this is not the main conclusion as it says "has decided." This is something that was decided in the past, and the effect still continues, as shown by the present perfect.
Many policyholders will respond to the discount by installing such devices, since the amount of the discount will within two years typically more than cover the cost of installation. Response to the alternative solution.
Thus, because cars with antitheft devices are rarely stolen, Pro-Tect's plan is likely to reduce its annual payouts. - The main conclusion is that the plan is likely to reduce the annual cost. "is likely" explains the futuristic aspect of the steps we have taken.

We can use the therefore test here -
Say
Pro-Tect has decided to offer a discount to holders of car-theft policies whose cars have antitheft devices, SO Pro-Tect's plan is likely to reduce its annual payouts or
Pro-Tect's plan (plan of antitheft devices) is likely to reduce its annual payouts, SO Pro-Tect has decided to offer a discount to holders of car-theft policies whose cars have antitheft devices.
The first one makes sense because the first introduces what the plan is - the plan is to offer a discount to holders of car-theft policies whose cars have antitheft devices, then assesses why the plan will succeed (as the discount covers the cost) and as a result of that plan and surely of a positive response from the customers, Pro-Tect is likely to reduce its annual payouts.
The 2nd one doesn't make sense. We don't know what the plan is, and we don't know if that plan will succeed, but somehow, we say the plan is likely (futuristic) to reduce cost, so let's implement the plan (that, by the way, has been implemented).

Understanding the main conclusion is important as it'll help to eliminate some options.

In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

(A) The first and the second are both evidence offered by the argument as support for its main conclusion. - No. The second is the main conclusion.

(B) The first presents a problem a response to which the argument assesses (the word assess is a bit confusing as typically asses means finding +ves and -ves and then opinion. The only way I can explain it is that the first boldface highlights the problem with choosing the normal solution to solve the problem mentioned in statement 1, which is that the total payout on car theft claims has been larger than the company can afford to sustain. So, as a response to this problem, the argument shares an alternative solution, which is offering discounts....and then the argument further checks the possible response to an alternate solution that the users will respond positively. Why? Because the discount covers the cost in 2 years. A lot to unpack here); the second is the judgment reached by that assessment. (Ok)

(C) The first is the position the argument seeks to establish; (the first is not the main conclusion) the second is a judgment the argument uses to support that position. (The 2nd BF is not supporting BF1)

(D) The first is a development that the argument seeks to explain (the first is not a development but a problem with the normal solution); the second is a prediction the argument makes in support of the explanation it offers. (The BF2 does not support the explanation. It is a result of the alternative solution.)

(E) The first presents a development whose likely outcome is at issue in the argument (first, the BF1 is not a development. It highlights the problem with the normal solution. The outcome of the acknowledgment that the problem of normal solution will not solve the main problem (statement 1) is the alternative solution. The alternative solution is not the issue in the argument); the second is a judgment the argument uses in support of its conclusion about that outcome. (the 2nd is the conclusion of the outcome and not the support.)