Official Solution:[b]The price of vehicles that do not meet the energy efficiency standards recommended by the federal government should include a surcharge fee of 10% of the vehicle's suggested retail price because the cost of dealing with the negative consequences of the emissions coming from these vehicles is borne by all taxpayers. This fee will be used by state governments to promote clean energy use. Car dealerships have come out against this idea because of the extra paperwork needed to implement the plan, but
some regulations are necessary for the greater good even if they are inconvenient to some. The two sections in boldface play which of the following roles in the argument above?[/b]
A. The first is the conclusion; the second is a restatement of a piece of evidence used elsewhere in the passage.
B. The first is the conclusion; the second is a general principle that supports the conclusion.
C. The first is a conclusion; the second is a conclusion that is supported by the first conclusion.
D. The first is a premise; the second is an observation that leads to an unstated conclusion.
E. The first is a piece of evidence; the second is a conclusion that follows indirectly from the evidence in the first boldfaced statement.
CR Box:
Bolded Statement
1) Find the ROLE of each statement The first statement is a conclusion; the second statement is a principle
2) Determine the RELATIONSHIP between the statements The second statement helps support the conclusion
The second sentence, which explains what will happen to the fee, also functions as evidence: Here's another reason that this plan is a good idea.
The third sentence gives us an objection to the plan. The final sentence, in bold, by explaining why this objection does not hurt the validity of the plan, also strengthens the plan. It, therefore, supports the conclusion; furthermore, it does so in general terms, referring to "regulations" in general rather than to this specific one.
Choice B is correct. The first statement is clearly a conclusion as it contains the word "should" and is followed by "because . . ." A statement that contains "should" is an opinion and is, therefore, a conclusion that needs to be supported by facts. The statement in the first sentence after "because" is a premise; it supports why the government should include the fee.
Answer: B