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Passage Summary:
  • The editorial supports U.S. government restrictions on academic freedom (scientists shouldn't detach from national security policies if they're publicly funded).
  • But the same editorial criticizes the Soviet government for not letting scientists "detach from politics."
  • The author of the passage points out that if there's a valid difference in principle between these two cases, the editorial failed to explain it.
So, the passage highlights a contradiction or inconsistency in the editorial’s stance.

Correct Answer: (B) pointing out an apparent inconsistency in the editorial
Why it's correct:
  • The author is not making a counter-argument or proposing a new theory.
  • Instead, they are showing that the editorial applies double standards: it supports government control in one context (U.S.) and criticizes it in another (Soviet Union), without clarifying the difference.
  • This is a clear inconsistency, and the author criticizes the editorial for not resolving it.

Eliminating Other Options:

(A) disputing certain factual claims made in the editorial
Why it’s wrong:
  • The author doesn't question facts in the editorial.
  • There's no discussion about whether scientists are or aren’t doing something, or about the truth of any data.
  • The issue is with the logic or consistency, not with facts.

(C) describing an alleged exception to a general claim made in the editorial
Why it’s wrong:
  • The author doesn’t present an exception to a general claim.
  • Instead, they present two conflicting cases treated differently by the editorial.
  • There's no claim-exception structure in this passage.

(D) refuting an assumption on which the argument of the editorial appears to have been based
Why it’s wrong:
  • The author does not refute an assumption.
  • They don’t address the assumption behind national security or public funding.
  • The focus is not on challenging premises but on highlighting the lack of consistent reasoning.

(E) drawing conclusions from the editorial different from the conclusion drawn by the writer of the editorial
Why it’s wrong:
  • The author isn’t offering an alternate conclusion.
  • They're not saying what should be concluded — they're saying the editorial’s reasoning is flawed because it fails to explain a contradiction.

Bunuel
Some years ago, an editorial defended Unite States government restrictions on academic freedom, arguing that scientists who receive public funding cannot rightly “detach themselves from the government’s policies on national security.” Yet the same editorial criticized the Soviet government for not allowing scientists to “detach themselves from politics.” If there is a significant difference between the principles involved in each case, the editorial should have explained what that difference is.

The author of the passage criticizes the editorial by


(A) disputing certain factual claims made in the editorial

(B) pointing out an apparent inconsistency in the editorial

(C) describing an alleged exception to a general claim made in the editorial

(D) refuting an assumption on which the argument of the editorial appears to have been based

(E) drawing conclusions from the editorial different from the conclusion drawn by the writer of the editorial
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