Fast food industry representative: Many people blame fast food alone

Question

Fast food industry representative:  Many people blame fast food alone for the rise in obesity in the United States over the past thirty years.  Yet clearly, sedentary lifestyles have also played a major role in this trend. In the past thirty years, the number of people who report exercising less than twice a week has risen sharply, and studies show that a sedentary lifestyle is the most accurate predictor of obesity. In the fast-food industry representative's argument, the portion in boldface plays which of the following roles?

A. It is the conclusion the argument seeks to prove.

B. It is a finding that an opposing argument cannot explain.

C. It is a line of reasoning that the argument concludes is correct.

D. It is a piece of evidence supporting the argument's main conclusion.

E. It describes a statement that the argument seeks to counter.

Source - Ready4Gmat

stne · Answer

Clearly the whole argument is trying to counter the portion in bold. The author believes that fast food ALONE should not be held responsible for the rise in obesity.

A. It is the conclusion the argument seeks to prove : Certainly the portion in bold is not the conclusion. INCORRECT.

B.It is a finding that an opposing argument cannot explain : Not accurate, it is something that the argument is trying to oppose NOT trying to explain.  INCORRECT.

C. It is a line of reasoning that the argument concludes is correct : Clearly wrong, we are trying to prove just the opposite. INCORRECT.

D.It is a piece of evidence supporting the argument's main conclusion : Certainly NOT a evidence, it is a belief author is trying to counter. INCORRECT.

E.It describes a statement that the argument seeks to counter : Indeed it is a statement that the , argument is trying to counter.  CORRECT.

Ans- E.

Hope it's clear.

Abhi077 · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Don't be hasty and decide that this bolded portion is the fast food representative's claim just because it's the first sentence of his argument.

In fact, the word "yet" tips us off that he actually disagrees with the sentence in boldface. He goes on to argue against it, saying that a sedentary lifestyle, not fast food, is primarily responsible for the rise in obesity. (This also makes sense when you consider the fact that he's a representative of the fast-food industry and is, therefore, likely to defend it.)

The correct answer is Choice (E).

jaisonsunny77 · Answer

the highlighted portion mentions that  many people are blaming fast food for the rise in obesity . The rest of the argument is structured to highlight OTHER REASONS why obesity has been on the rise. So, the industry representative structures his argument to counter this general idea (that fast food is the sole cause of the rise in obesity)

So, let's analyze the answer choices:

A. It is the conclusion the argument seeks  to prove . - the argument does not seek to prove the bold faced statement; in fact, it is structured to do the exact opposite. Hence,  eliminate (A) .

B. It is a finding that an opposing argument cannot explain.- the boldfaced statement is NOT a finding but a belief (or a popular statement) that the argument tries to counter. Hence,  eliminate (B)

C. It is a line of reasoning that the  argument concludes is correct.  - the argument DOES NOT agree with the bold faced statement. Hence,  eliminate (C).

D. It is a piece of evidence supporting the argument's main conclusion. - the boldfaced statement is not a piece of evidence but a popular belief. Hence,  eliminate (D)

E. It describes a statement that the argument seeks to counter. - BINGO. this is exactly what the representative tries to do. Hence,   (E) is the right answer.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Fast food industry representative: Many people blame fast food alone

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