aragonn wrote:
Two years ago, Smart Cola, a soft drink manufactured by an Australian company, was introduced into China. The beverage quickly became one of the top-selling drinks in the country. Based on Smart Cola's success in China, the manufacturer plans to market the soft drink in India next year.
Which of the following is the most important assumption on which the Australian company's plan has been made?
A. Very few foreign soft-drink manufacturers plan to market their cola products in India next year.
B. Indian soft-drink manufacturers have faced a recent slump in revenues that has opened the market to foreign companies.
C. India's population has recently demonstrated beverage-buying trends similar to those of the Australian company's Chinese customers.
D. The political relationship between China and India has improved significantly over the past two years.
E. The cost-structures of the Australian company's operations in China and India would be similar.
Official Explanation:
Conclusion: The manufacturer plans to market the soft drink in India next year.
Premise: Two years ago, Smart Cola, a soft drink manufactured by an Australian company, was introduced into China. The beverage quickly became one of the top-selling drinks in the country.
Assumptions: X is similar to Y. In other words, India and China are similar in all factors relevant to selling the soft drink.
There are no problems with the plan. The plan to sell the soft drink in India will succeed.
This is an assumption question, as evidenced by the phrase Which of the following is the most important assumption. The passage concludes Based on Smart Cola's success in China, the manufacturer plans to market the soft drink in India next year. The premise is that the beverage quickly became one of the top-selling drinks in China.
This passage contains both analogy and planning reasoning patterns because the plan to market the soft drink in India is based on Smart Cola's success in China. The standard assumption of a planning argument is that there are no problems with the plan, and the standard assumption of an analogy reasoning pattern is that X is similar to Y, or India and China are similar in all factors relevant to selling the soft drink. Evaluate the answer choices, looking for one that reflects this idea.
Choice A: No. The fact that Very few foreign soft-drink manufacturers plan to market their cola products is out of scope. The passage is concerned with a single manufacturer who already found success in China, and negating this answer choice would not affect the manufacturer’s plans to market the soft drink in India next year.
Choice B: No. The fact that Indian soft-drink manufacturers have faced a recent slump in revenues is out of scope. This is not necessary to demonstrate the future success of the soft drink in India, and negating this answer choice would not affect the manufacturer’s plans to market the soft drink in India next year.
Choice C: Correct. The fact that India's population has recently demonstrated beverage-buying trends similar to those of the Australian company's Chinese customers indicates that India and China are similar in all factors relevant to selling the soft drink. Negating this answer choice would affect the manufacturer’s plans to market the soft drink in India next year. Thus, this answer choice is a necessary assumption.
Choice D: No. The political relationship between China and India is out of scope. A necessary assumption for the argument is that India and China are similar in all factors relevant to selling the soft drink not regarding politics. Negating this answer choice would not affect the manufacturer’s plans to market the soft drink in India next year.
Choice E: No. The fact that The cost-structures of the Australian company's operations in China and India would be similar is out of scope. The passage is concerned with sales, and negating this answer choice would not affect the manufacturer’s plans to market the soft drink in India next year.
The correct answer is choice C.
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