| Critical Reasoning Butler: May 2025 |
| May 9 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 The Patrolling Police is a sitcom that deals with funny situations that policemen often get into. The sitcom is so poorly made - with half-baked stories, poor actors, and immature direction – that most people poke fun at it. However, the sitcom still enjoys a wide viewership. This paradox has perplexed many who assumed that a sitcom has to be well made for it to be successful.
Which one of the following, best explains the paradox mentioned above in the argument?
A) People who watch TV for more than eight hours a day account for a large portion of viewership enjoyed by The Patrolling Police.
B) There are no other popular shows run during the time when The Patrolling Police is aired every night.
C) People who follow family-oriented TV shows do not prefer to watch The Patrolling Police.
D) TV show viewership surveys are not accurate because people tend to overemphasize their viewing habits.
E) People watch The Patrolling Police to poke fun at it.
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CR 2 Typically, newspapers run only a few in-depth and complex stories in each issue. In-depth and complex stories represent a higher standard of journalism but do not attract as many subscribers. However, this year in-depth and complex stories are the ones that newspapers have published most often- a clear sign that newspapers are assigning more importance to achieving a higher standard of journalism than to attracting subscribers.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?
A. This year’s bestselling newspaper has not published any in-depth and complex stories.
B. No newspaper has publicized that it would be prioritizing achieving a higher standard of journalism this year.
C. Because of changing market trends, the stories that attracted the most subscribers this year were more complex and in-depth than most others.
D. Because of declining interest in newspapers, all types of stories attracted fewer subscribers than in any previous year.
E. Subscription rates were lower this year than they had been in most of the years when in-depth and complex stories were rarely published.