Many people argue that setting the minimum age for drinking alcohol

Question

Many people argue that setting the minimum age for drinking alcohol at 21 in the United States actually promotes teenage drinking. Believers in this position say that teenagers derive excitement from breaking the rules and drinking before they are allowed to. However, in several European countries where there is no legal drinking age, the incidence of teenage drinking is similar to the rate in the United States.

Which of the following statements can most reasonably be inferred from the information above?

A) Setting the minimum age for drinking alcohol at 21 cannot be the only factor that affects the incidence of teenage drinking.

B) Setting the minimum age for drinking alcohol at 21 does not play a role in causing teenagers to begin drinking.

C) Setting a drinking age does not reduce the amount of alcohol consumed by teenagers.

D) Drinking alcohol can cause teenagers to engage in other illegal and illicit activities, such as smoking tobacco.

E) A higher percentage of teenagers drink in the United States than do in France.

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ankushsambare · Answer

Premise: 
 
 Some people argue a drinking age of 21 promotes teen drinking (rule-breaking appeal). 
 But European countries with  no legal drinking age  have similar teen drinking rates as the US.  
 Key idea: 
Changing the legal drinking age alone does not clearly change teen drinking rates → suggests other factors are involved.

Option check:
 A)  Setting age 21 is not the only factor affecting teen drinking
→ Matches inference: similar rates despite different laws 
→  Correct 
 B)  Says drinking age has no role in causing teen drinking
→ Too strong; passage doesn’t rule out any role → eliminate
 C)  Says drinking age does not reduce teen drinking
→ Also too strong; we only know rates are similar, not reduction effect → eliminate
 D)  Talks about smoking/other activities
→ Not mentioned → eliminate
 E)  Compares US vs France
→ France not mentioned → eliminate

vasu1104 · Answer

setting minimum age for drinking alcohol at 21 promotes teenage drinking.
supporters says that teenage drive excitement from breaking the rules and drinking before they are allowed to.
but in european countries the teenage drinking incidence is similar to rate in usa.

A) Setting the minimum age for drinking alcohol at 21 cannot be the only factor that affects the incidence of teenage drinking.
yes. if despite no rule, europe has same rate of teenage drinking as us then there are other factors leading to that. so we can say that there can be other factors as well. keep.

B) Setting the minimum age for drinking alcohol at 21 does not play a role in causing teenagers to begin drinking.
passage never says that it doesnt cause at all. it rather says that the rate is similar. so there is drinking but at level as the people have assumed. reject.

C) Setting a drinking age does not reduce the amount of alcohol consumed by teenagers.
its not about reduction. passage never says any thing about that. it just says that the rate is similar. we dont know whats the actual rate. so reject.

D) Drinking alcohol can cause teenagers to engage in other illegal and illicit activities, such as smoking tobacco.
this is irrelevant. out.

E) A higher percentage of teenagers drink in the United States than do in France.
wrong. we dont anything about percentage. what we know is that europe has same drinker as usa. so reject.

BongBideshini · Answer

A) Setting the minimum age for drinking alcohol at 21 cannot be the only factor that affects the incidence of teenage drinking. 
  
If the age-21 law were the only thing dictating whether teens drink, the rates between the US and Europe would look drastically different. Because the rates are virtually identical, there must be other variables at play (like culture, parental habits, or availability) driving the numbers. Therefore, the law cannot be the sole factor.
 CORRECT  
 
 B) Setting the minimum age for drinking alcohol at 21 does not play a role in causing teenagers to begin drinking. 
Just because the final drinking rates are similar doesn't mean the law plays absolute zero role in the US. 
 
 C) Setting a drinking age does not reduce the amount of alcohol consumed by teenagers. 
The passage tells us absolutely nothing about the amount of alcohol those teenagers are consuming once they start. 
 
 D) Drinking alcohol can cause teenagers to engage in other illegal and illicit activities, such as smoking tobacco. 
This introduces completely outside information. Smoking tobacco is never mentioned or hinted at in the prompt. 
 
 E) A higher percentage of teenagers drink in the United States than do in France. 
The text explicitly states that the incidence is similar between the US and several European countries, which directly contradicts the idea that the US is notably "higher." Furthermore, France is never explicitly named in the passage.

ANS A

arushi118 · Answer

A is correct.

A - correct  - as we can understand from the passage that there are different outcomes which emerge when setting a lower minimum drinking age/no drinking age - one in USA where teenagers drink more where there is a minimum drinking age v/s another in europe where the incidence of teenage drinking is similar to that in the US even when there is no lgeal drinking age. This suggests that there are other factors which affect teenage drinking.

B - Nowhere is this said.
C - This too has not been stateted anywhere in the passage.
D - Other illegal activities have not been talked about in the passage.
E - The passage talks about Europe as a whole and not only FRance.

Bunuel · Answer

Official Explanation

This asks for something that can be properly inferred, so it's an Inference question.

According to the stimulus, some people believe that the drinking age of 21 causes teenage drinking, due to the excitement teens get from breaking the law, but the author provides evidence that other countries without such a drinking age have similar levels of teen drinking.

It's often hard to predict the right answer to an Inference question, but here, something may come to mind. An argument is presented, along with evidence that tends to weaken it. The right answer will likely point out that the argument is incorrect and that the drinking age of 21 doesn't have much of an effect on teen drinking.

(A) is the correct answer. It states that the setting of a minimum drinking age at 21 cannot be the only factor affecting teenage drinking. This has to be true. Otherwise, the drinking rate would be different in countries that have minimum drinking ages than in those that do not.

(B) is extreme. All that is known is that the drinking rate among teenagers is similar in the United States and some countries that do not have minimum drinking ages. That might be because the drinking age has no effect at all, or it may be that it in the United States, it induces some teenagers to drink, while in other countries, other factors induce them to drink.

(C) does not have to be true either. The stimulus provides no information about about the amount of alcohol consumed, only about the incidence of teenagers who drink.

(D) has no support from the stimulus, which is only about drinking, not other illegal activities.

(E) also has no support in the stimulus--there's no information about the drinking rate in France specifically.

Many people argue that setting the minimum age for drinking alcohol

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Many people argue that setting the minimum age for drinking alcohol