Will be letting Aussies down if i don't get this lol..
A bunch of information is given describing a trend. Further statistics are given and then a prediction is made. This prediction is made by the Australian Daily themselves and thus forms at a minimum a partial conclusion. This prediction is then supported by an additional third-party prediction, which is used solely to support the first.
Australian Daily: Statistics suggest that some major investments by Northern Territory growers over the course of the last decade in planting and infrastructure have led to a steady increase in production of mangoes. With more than 9.3 million trays produced across the nation last year and 8.6 million trays the year before, the trend indicates that
this season's figures are set to break all records. The Australian Mango Industry Association has predicted
1.8 million trays will come from the Darwin region and a further 1.7 million trays from the Katherine region alone.
A. The first is a prediction that, if true, will support the main conclusion of the argument;
the second calls that conclusion into question.
A is incorrect because the second does not call the first into question at all, it supports it.
B. The first is a prediction that, if true, will support the main conclusion of the argument;
the second is that conclusion.
B is incorrect because the second is not the conclusion, it is an additional prediction used to support the first.
C. Both are predictions that, if true, will support
the main conclusion of the argument.
This is true, but the first is actually that conclusion. We can't infer that there is an additional conclusion sitting outside of the argument.
D. The first is a prediction that forms the main conclusion of the argument; the second supports the main conclusion of the argument.
D is correct because it aligns perfectly. Both are predictions, but the first is what the Australian Daily concludes. The Australian Daily then supplies third-party evidence (another prediction) to support this prediction.
E. The first is a prediction that forms an intermediate conclusion of the argument; the second supports the main conclusion of the argument.
The conclusion isnt overtly clear as its actually a prediction, but there is no other conclusion contained within the stem. Both are predictions also.