V36-13

Question

The underground metro rail stations of the city Kolta are known to be dirty. The commuters often do not throw away the trash in designated dustbins, but simply toss them on the station platforms. The new mayor of Kolta has planned to take up an intensive cleaning campaign lasting for four consecutive weeks for all the underground metro rail stations of Kolta. However the outgoing mayor of the city does not believe that the four week intensive campaign would be effective in keeping the underground metro stations clean in the long run after the campaign ends.
 
Which of the following statements most seriously bring into question the belief of the outgoing mayor?

A. The above-ground platforms of the metro rail stations are also dirty and there is no cleaning campaign planned for them.
B. Regular cleaning schedule for the underground stations will be introduced by the new mayor after the four week campaign ends.
C. The majority of people of Kolta who commute by metro rail stations did not vote for the new mayor.
D. The commuters throw trash in undesignated areas only if there is already trash lying around in these undesignated areas.
E. The amount of trash accumulated on the metro station platforms is enormous, making the cleaning campaign costly.

Bunuel · Answer

Official Solution:

The underground metro rail stations of the city Kolta are known to be dirty. The commuters often do not throw away the trash in designated dustbins, but simply toss them on the station platforms. The new mayor of Kolta has planned to take up an intensive cleaning campaign lasting for four consecutive weeks for all the underground metro rail stations of Kolta. However the outgoing mayor of the city does not believe that the four week intensive campaign would be effective in keeping the underground metro stations clean in the long run after the campaign ends.
 
Which of the following statements most seriously bring into question the belief of the outgoing mayor?

A. The above-ground platforms of the metro rail stations are also dirty and there is no cleaning campaign planned for them.
B. Regular cleaning schedule for the underground stations will be introduced by the new mayor after the four week campaign ends.
C. The majority of people of Kolta who commute by metro rail stations did not vote for the new mayor.
D. The commuters throw trash in undesignated areas only if there is already trash lying around in these undesignated areas.
E. The amount of trash accumulated on the metro station platforms is enormous, making the cleaning campaign costly.

A. The question is about underground platforms. The condition of the above-ground platforms is out of scope of the argument.
 
B. The argument is about whether the intensive four week campaign would be effective in keeping the stations clean in the long run. It may be true that a regular cleaning schedule after the campaign would keep the stations clean, but in that case, the reason for the stations remaining clean would be the regular post-campaign cleaning and not the four week intensive campaign itself. Thus this option does not deal with the belief of the outgoing mayor about the effectiveness of the four week intensive cleaning campaign.
 
C. This option has no direct bearing on the outgoing mayor’s belief. Even if one argues that the majority of the comforters are not supporters of the new mayor, they are less likely to support the campaign, thereby making the argument of the outgoing mayor strong.
 
 D. CORRECT.  This option shows a reason that the campaign would be effective in keeping the station clean in the long run. Once the stations are cleaned, it is less likely that people would throw trash on the undesignated areas of the cleaned rail stations, since they tend to throw trash ONLY if there is already trash lying around in undesignated areas.
 
E. This statement indicates that costs of the campaign would be high, but it does not indicate whether the campaign would be effective in keeping the stations clean in the long run (or not). Hence this option does not support or oppose the belief of the outgoing mayor.

Answer: D

miag · Answer

hi  Bunuel   bb , can someone elaborate a bit more on why B) is wrong? I am still confused between B) vs D) even after going through the reasoning. I understand the logic for D) but isnt there some assumption involved in terms of connection to the plan's effectiveness? How do we decide in such questions if one should focus on the plan's effectiveness or the long-term bit?

ppoomm · Answer

When I was solving this question, I too hesitated to pick either choice (B vs D.) I picked D) over B) at the end because D) directly addresses the issue at hand: Commuters kept throwing trash on the station platform. D) goes by addressing that if there is NO "trash on platform" on sight, commuters will NOT "throw trash on platform." B), on the other hand, addresses the follow-up plan, which doesn't explicitly counter outgoing mayor's argument (the cleanup plan - first plan - will keep the station clean.) The station could be clean whenever the cleaning schedule is due but... how frequent is the cleaning schedule? more important, would that deteriorate trashes laid by the commuters? This choice doesn't address it. That's how I picked D) over B).

miag

hi Bunuel bb, can someone elaborate a bit more on why B) is wrong? I am still confused between B) vs D) even after going through the reasoning. I understand the logic for D) but isnt there some assumption involved in terms of connection to the plan's effectiveness? How do we decide in such questions if one should focus on the plan's effectiveness or the long-term bit?

V36-13

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