Bunuel wrote:
Competition Mode Question
The recently negotiated North American Free Trade Agreement among Canada, Mexico, and the United States is misnamed, because it would not result in truly free trade. Adam Smith, the economist who first articulated the principles of free trade, held that any obstacle placed in the way of the free movement of goods, investment, or labor would defeat free trade. So since under the agreement workers would be restricted by national boundaries from seeking the best conditions they could find, the resulting obstruction of the flow of trade would, from a free-trade perspective, be harmful.
The argument proceeds by
(A) ruling out alternatives
(B) using a term in two different senses
(C) citing a nonrepresentative instance
(D) appealing to a relevant authority
(E) responding to a different issue from the one posed
This is not a GMAT-type question, hence I wouldn't worry too much about it.
The question stem says: The argument proceeds by ...
So basically it is asking you how the author has framed his argument, using what principle?
(A) ruling out alternatives
No alternatives mentioned.
(B) using a term in two different senses
We don't know if the term 'free trade' is implied in a different sense in the agreement.
(C) citing a nonrepresentative instance
No non-representative example given to prove our point.
(D) appealing to a relevant authority
A relevant authority has been cited - Adam Smith, the economist who first articulated the principles of free trade.
This is something like "the argument proceeds by appealing to the reader's sense of fairness..."
Here the argument proceeds by appealing to a relevant authority.
So this is correct.
(E) responding to a different issue from the one posed
No different issue discussed.
Answer (D)