Bunuel wrote:
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.
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.