Diane: As we both know, the population of this country is aging.

Question

Diane: As we both know, the population of this country is aging. Elderly people generally prefer not to live in harsh climates characterized by extreme temperatures. Accordingly, in this country's coastal regions, where the climate is generally most temperate, the population is likely to grow, while other regions are likely to suffer population declines.

Paul: I disagree. With few exceptions, regions where the climate is harsh are characterized by comparatively low living costs, a compelling factor for retired people with little savings and on fixed incomes.

Which of the following is the most likely point of disagreement between Diane and Paul?

A. the reason for the population shift toward coastal areas and away from other regions

B. whether the country's current decline in overall population will continue into the forseeable future

C. why older people find certain regions where the climate is harsh attractive places to live

D. whether regions characterized by harsh climates are likely to experience population declines in the foreseeable future

E. the extent to which coastal regions are affordable places to live for retired people

dinesh86 · Accepted Answer

Diane: As we both know, the population of this country is aging. Elderly people generally prefer not to live in harsh climates characterized by extreme temperatures. Accordingly, in this country's coastal regions, where the climate is generally most temperate, the population is likely to grow, while other regions are likely to suffer population declines.

Paul: I disagree. With few exceptions, regions where the climate is harsh are characterized by comparatively low living costs, a compelling factor for retired people with little savings and on fixed incomes.

Which of the following is the most likely point of disagreement between Diane and Paul?

Diane: Elderly people will re-locate from Harsh-whether-places to temperate-climate-Coastal-regions.
Paul: Because of low-living-costs at Harsh-whether-places, elderly people will not relocate.

A. the reason for the population shift toward coastal areas and away from other regions - Reasons for re-location are not discussed, instead reason for shifting is undermined.
B. whether the country's current decline in overall population will continue into the forseeable future - Population decline is not discussed, only shifting of elderly people is discussed.
C. why older people find certain regions where the climate is harsh attractive places to live - Only one argumentor mentioned about the low living cost as a factor for preferring harsh climate places but not other,
 D. whether regions characterized by harsh climates are likely to experience population declines in the foreseeable future - Correct. As per above discussion, answer would be in YES or NO. 
E. the extent to which coastal regions are affordable places to live for retired people - Not discussed. Affordability only in harsh places is discussed.

Kudos please...

rukna · Answer

Can you shed more light on option B.
Decline is discussed ( even in option D).

I think its not decline but rather overall country decline in population. This is something which is not mentioned. Only areas of harsh climate are discussed.

Konstantin1983 · Answer

As for B. Both Diana and Paul discuss people who relocate from one region to another (where climate is better). But they disagree about the outcome. Diana says that population in regions with harsh climate will decline (due to relocation to other regions), whereas population in coastal regions will increase (due to newcomers). But Paul disagrees that people will move because cost of living is lower in regions with harsh climates. They both talk about one group of people, they don't discuss overall decline. This is just inflow and outflow of people.

dina98 · Answer

How can it be D?

D- whether regions characterized by harsh climates are likely to  experience population declines in the foreseeable future

Diane is talking about "other regions". Other regions are likely to suffer population declines. And that is not even the focus of the argument. They both disagree about where old people will move to.

mvictor · Answer

we can easily eliminate A, B, and E.
between C and D, D is better. C - why older people find certain region with harsh climate attractive - NO. the argument is concerned that regions with harsh climate will face problems of declining population. P gives a valid reason why D's way of reasoning is flawed. D exactly states this.

startjumprun · Answer

I marked A...how is D related?...please explain

sayantanc2k · Answer

The question is on what point did Diane and Paul differ.

Diane and Paul are not stating two different reasons for population decrease in regions with harsh climates. In order to do so, they would first have to agree that population will indeed decease in regions with harsh climates, and then they may differ about the reason why there would be decrease. However Paul says there WOULD NOT be decrease, whereas Diane says there WOULD BE DECREASE: Hence they do not differ about the reason that there would be decrease, but about the basic point whether there would be decrease at all. Hence option A is wrong, and option D is correct.

dnalost · Answer

D clearly points out the differences in opinion between Diane and Paul.

subrataroy0210 · Answer

Diane: As we both know, the population of this country is aging. Elderly people generally prefer not to live in harsh climates characterized by extreme temperatures. Accordingly, in this country's coastal regions, where the climate is generally most temperate, the population is likely to grow, while other regions are likely to suffer population declines.

Paul: I disagree. With few exceptions, regions where the climate is harsh are characterized by comparatively low living costs, a compelling factor for retired people with little savings and on fixed incomes.

Which of the following is the most likely point of disagreement between Diane and Paul?

Possible solution: Diane says that the population of the harsh areas of the country will go down whereas Paul says that the population at the harsh areas won't go down because of low living cost, a compelling reason.

A. the reason for the population shift toward coastal areas and away from other regions

Paul doesn't state anything about the population shift.

B. whether the country's current decline in overall population will continue into the forseeable future

The overall population of the country is not discussed by either of them.

C. why older people find certain regions where the climate is harsh attractive places to live

This is what stated by Paul but not by Diane.

D. whether regions characterized by harsh climates are likely to experience population declines in the foreseeable future

Diane says that the population might decline and Paul says the otherwise. This might be the point of conflict between Diane and Paul.

E. the extent to which coastal regions are affordable places to live for retired people

How affordable the coastal regions area is never used by either of them.

Thus, option D.

AgarwalArpit20 · Answer

The evidence that Paul presents serves to refute Diane's prediction of a population shift away from regions with harsh climates and toward coastal areas — a prediction with which he expressly disagrees. The correct answer is (D).

WiziusCareers1 · Answer

In this dialogue, Diane and Paul are debating the demographic future of regions with harsh climates based on the behavior of an aging population.

Analysis of the Arguments 
 Diane's Position:  She argues that because the population is aging and the elderly dislike harsh climates, coastal regions will grow while harsh-climate regions will likely suffer population declines.
 Paul's Position:  He disagrees with the outcome. He argues that because harsh-climate regions have low living costs, they are attractive to retirees on fixed incomes, implying these regions will not necessarily see the decline Diane predicts.

A. The reason for the population shift toward coastal areas and away from other regions 
This is  incorrect  because Paul does not acknowledge that a shift  toward coastal areas  is actually happening. He disagrees with Diane’s conclusion that a shift away from harsh regions will occur. You cannot  disagree  on the reason for a shift if you do not agree that the shift itself is likely to take place.

B. Whether the country's current decline in overall population will continue into the foreseeable future 
This is  incorrect  because the passage never mentions an  overall population decline  for the entire country. Diane specifically states the population is  aging , not shrinking. Both speakers focus on the  movement  of people between regions, not the total number of people in the nation.

C. Why older people find certain regions where the climate is harsh attractive places to live 
This is  incorrect  because there is no "disagreement" here; rather, there is a  lack of shared information . Paul provides a reason (low cost of living), but Diane  does not address  attractive qualities of harsh climates at all—she only focuses on why they are unattractive (extreme temperatures). To disagree on a "why," both would need to offer competing reasons for the same attraction.

D. Whether regions characterized by harsh climates are likely to experience population declines in the foreseeable future 
This is the  key point of contention . Diane explicitly states that these regions are  "likely to suffer population declines."   Paul starts his response with "I disagree," specifically targeting Diane's conclusion. He argues that the economic benefits will keep people there, meaning he does not believe a  population decline  is the likely outcome for those regions.

E. The extent to which coastal regions are affordable places to live for retired people 
This is  incorrect  because the  affordability of coastal regions  is never discussed. While Paul mentions that harsh-climate regions are affordable, he makes no claim about the costs of coastal living. We might infer coastal areas are expensive, but the speakers do not  explicitly debate  this point.

Diane: As we both know, the population of this country is aging.

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Diane: As we both know, the population of this country is aging.

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards