zoezhuyan
The members of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) are famed for their intense devotion to one another. The Marine motto "Semper Fidelis" (Latin, "Always Faithful") is taken to connote, among other things, the lifelong devotion a Marine has to his or her comrades in the corps. Psychologists who study cohesion among groups have concluded that the USMC creates this intense bond through its unique Recruit Training program.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to justify the psychologists' position?
A) Throughout their time in the Corps, whether during war or peace, Marines frequently engage in activities that reinforce the value of cooperation and camaraderie.
B) New recruits are far more likely to engage in independent behavior during the early stages of the USMC Recruit Training than during later stages.
C) All branches of the armed forces have levels of internal cohesion much higher than typical civilian groups of similar aged individuals.
D) During their time in the USMC Recruit Training, new recruits have minimal interactions with people outside of the corps.
E) It is well documented that intense professional training programs, such as medical school, form strong bonds among participants
Hi
Magoosh experts,
I am sunk in B and D, IMO, they are similar,
the conclusion is that intense bond is created during the Recruit Training program,
the key of the conclusion is Recruit Training program.
so what I need to catch is emphasize the special time/special program.
go back to options
B) states more independent behavior in Recruit Training, compared with later stages.
D) during Recruit Training,
minimal interactions with outside , in another word, more independent in Recruit Training, compared with other stages.
how to distinct these 2 options.
genuinely want your explanation
have a nice day
>_~
Dear
zoezhuyan,
I'm happy to respond, my friend.
First, I want to point out something in your diction. The word "
distinct" is purely an adjective. As is, it cannot ever be a verb. The related verb is "
to distinguish." You wrote:
how to distinct these 2 options? = incorrect
how to distinguish these 2 options? = the diction is correct, but this version is still a little awkward
how should we distinguish these 2 options? = most natural sounding
Your command of English is quite good: I hope you appreciate a few pointers such as this.
I wrote this
Magoosh CR question about the USMC a couple years ago. Just so you know, it's a hard question: almost 50% of
Magoosh students get it wrong, and (D) indeed is the most tempting wrong answer.
We want to support the argument that the unique USMC Recruit Training--what is special about this one specific program--creates this special bond among Marines.
One way to say it is that (B) cites something specifically true about the USMC Recruit Training itself, while (D) cites something that seems more generally true. We absolutely know there are lots of conditions in the real world in which a specific group of people might be relatively isolated from others: students at a relatively isolated rural college, mountaineers going up one of the Himalayas, sailors on a sea-faring vessel, etc. If that's a general cause of bonding psychologically, then it would provide an alternative explanation and be a weakener. We don't know what it would mean in general for a group if it experienced relative isolation from others, so we don't know whether (D) would be a valid weakener, but being a possible weakener certainly doesn't help its candidacy as a strengthener!
Also, think about it. If the recruits are relatively isolated from outsiders, do they bond right away with each other, or do they remain lonely and awkward for a long time and start to bond after the training is over? We don't know. We don't know whether the content of the training program itself causes the bonding, or whether simply isolating them would work regardless of the content. (D) allows for a lot of wiggle room. Maybe the content of the training program itself causes the bond, maybe---in other words, maybe (D) is a strengthener. Maybe.
By contrast, (B) is tight. Recruits are more independent at the beginning of the training; later on, they are not acting separately, independently, so they are acting in connection with others. The decrease in independent behavior is an increase in cohesive behavior. If this is a consistent change during the training program, then it strongly suggests that the program systematically creates cohesive behavior. That's a clear strengthener.
On the GMAT, "maybe a strengthener" is not a strengthener. A strengthener must be crystal clear and unambiguous. Similarly if the question were asking for a weakener or inference or any other kind of CR question. Maybe doesn't cut it. Maybe is a lily-livered failure of a choice.
Also, there's the tricky issue of
outside knowledge. It's absolutely true that if, say, you had read an article or book about the USMC and had specialized knowledge about them from that reading, or if you knew personally someone who was in the USMC, then that would give you outside knowledge that shouldn't be used in answering the CR question. That kind of specialized outside knowledge should not be used and is not relevant. But general common sense outside knowledge (e.g. "are groups of people ever in relative isolation?") can and should be considered.
Does all this make sense, my friend?
Have a wonderful day!
Mike