D is the answer.Premise: The long winters of the Northeast and northern Midwest are associated with increased depression and lethargy in some people.
Conclusion: Weather patterns in various parts of the country appear to affect the emotional states of many residents.
Prediction/Deduction/Inference: Therefore, an extended, unseasonal cold spell in Florida would result in an increased incidence of depression among many Florida residents.
In the argument above, the author concludes that weather patterns of the country appear to affect the emotional states of many residents, and this based on the premise that the long winters of the Northeast and northern Midwest are associated with increased depression and lethargy in some people. The author went on further to predict that an extended unseasonal cold spell in Florida would result in an increased incidence of depression among many Florida residents.
A states that the author gives examples of a set of proven effects, and then analyzing the cause of those effects and this is clearly incorrect per the analysis provided above. No analysis was done on the cause of the effects in the argument above.
B states that the author draws a conclusion based on a generalization about weather patterns. This is not the case. The author did not draw a conclusion based on a generalization about weather patterns. He drew a conclusion based on specific occurrences in some parts of the country based on a specific weather pattern and went a step ahead to predict what would occur if a similar weather pattern occurs in Florida.
C states that the author presupposes that cold weather necessarily affects one’s emotional state. The author did much more than that. He also made a prediction for Florida based on the correlation between a specific weather pattern and the emotional states of residents in different parts of the country. So, C is incorrect.
D states that the author claims that a result will occur in a specific case after citing a correlation in another case. This is correct. The argument of the author is geared towards a prediction of what will occur in Florida after a prolonged winter based on what occurs in other parts that experience prolonged winter.
E states that the author makes a distinction between normal and unusual weather patterns. This is clearly not the case based on the analysis of the argument above.