warrior1991 wrote:
AndrewNNeed your help in eliminating option C.
Hello,
warrior1991. I have a little time before my first lesson, so I thought I would offer a full analysis of the answer choices, (C) included. I am uploading a color-coded image for discussion.
Attachment:
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The first line of the passage is the conclusion or, in this case, the prediction. The second provides the reasoning for drawing that conclusion, conveniently starting with
The reason for... I know that for assumption questions, many people prefer the negation technique; however, I prefer a "missing link" strategy. All I do is arrange the premise ahead of the conclusion and drag and drop an answer choice between the two to test for the missing link, keeping in mind that the GMAT™ adheres to as straightforward a logic as possible.
Choice (A) fails because we are not at all interested in production trends of paper products from Japan or Western Europe. The reason for the prediction given in the passage is that buying American wood pulp will be cheaper than getting it
from any other source. The premise and prediction do not match up with this information wedged in between.
Premise: It will be cheaper for paper manufacturers in Japan and Western Europe to buy American wood pulp than to get it from any other source.
Assumption: Factory output of paper products in Japan and Western Europe will increase sharply during this year.
Conclusion: [Therefore] Exports of United States wood pulp will rise considerably during this year.
No, that does not work. It begs the question of why the U.S. wood pulp would be needed; domestic outputs sound robust on their own, not to mention that we have no idea about the
demand for paper products in Japan or Western Europe.
Choice (B) works because the exports would be nothing more than cheap trash unless the argument presupposes that U.S. wood pulp would be good enough to meet the standards for Japanese or Western European paper products. Try the same test from before:
Premise: It will be cheaper for paper manufacturers in Japan and Western Europe to buy American wood pulp than to get it from any other source.
Assumption: The quality of the wood pulp produced in the United States would be adequate for the purposes of Japanese and Western European paper manufacturers.
Conclusion: [Therefore] Exports of United States wood pulp will rise considerably during this year.
Everything checks out. There is a clear and linear progression of ideas from step to step.
Choice (C) fails because we have no idea what paper manufacturers would prefer
if cost were not a factor. The reason offered in the passage makes it clear that cost
is a factor. Furthermore, maybe such manufacturers prefer their own wood pulp, but if something else comes along that is "close enough" and is also offered at a cheaper price than domestic wood pulp, they would be willing to take a gamble. I think of some of the knockoff replacement products I have bought over the years—ink cartridges and toothbrush heads come to mind—because genuine replacements were quite costly in comparison. (In some cases, my gamble paid off; in others, not so much.) Would I have rather had genuine replacements? Sure. But cost was a factor, just as it is in this passage.
Choice (D) fails because it focuses on
demand for Japanese- and European-made paper, and the passage concerns itself with U.S. exports of wood pulp. Besides, who is to say that Japan and/or Western Europe will not make domestically produced paper products out of the U.S. wood pulp? Are consumers in these places concerned with the contents of these paper products, or just where they happen to be produced?
Choice (E) fails because it does not help us get from X to Z in the passage. If the conclusion is that
exports of United States wood pulp will rise considerably during this year, then why would it be necessary to assume production of wood pulp by U.S. companies would do anything but rise to meet demand for these exports? This should be an easy answer to cross off.
I hope that helps address your concerns. If you have further questions, feel free to ask.
- Andrew
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Please use
official questions from the Official Guide or Verbal Review to practice for the Verbal section.