题目
The following appeared in a memo from a vice president of Quiot
Manufacturing.
"During the past year, Quiot Manufacturing had 30 percent more on-the-job
accidents than at the nearby Panoply Industries plant, where the work shifts are
one hour shorter than ours. Experts say that significant contributing factors in
many on-the-job accidents are fatigue and sleep deprivation among workers.
Therefore, to reduce the number of on-the-job accidents at Quiot and thereby
increase productivity, we should shorten each of our three work shifts by one
hour so that employees will get adequate amounts of sleep."
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated
assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on
these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the
assumptions prove unwarranted.
题目
In an attempt to improve highway safety, Prunty County last year lowered
its speed limit from 55 to 45 miles per hour on all county highways. But this
effort has failed: the number of accidents has not decreased, and, based on
reports by the highway patrol, many drivers are exceeding the speed limit.
Prunty County should instead undertake the same kind of road improvement project
that Butler County completed five years ago: increasing lane widths, resurfacing
rough highways, and improving visibility at dangerous intersections. Today,
major Butler County roads still have a 55 mph speed limit, yet there were 25
percent fewer reported accidents in Butler County this past year than there were
five years ago.
Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to
evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen
the argument.
题目
Fifteen years ago, Omega University implemented a new procedure that
encouraged students to evaluate the teaching effectiveness of all their
professors. Since that time, Omega professors have begun to assign higher grades
in their classes, and overall student grade averages at Omega have risen by 30
percent. Potential employers, looking at this dramatic rise in grades, believe
that grades at Omega are inflated and do not accurately reflect student
achievement; as a result, Omega graduates have not been as successful at getting
jobs as have graduates from nearby Alpha University. To enable its graduates to
secure better jobs, Omega University should terminate student evaluation of
professors.
Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to
evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen
the argument.
题目
The council of Maple County, concerned about the county's becoming
overdeveloped, is debating a proposed measure that would prevent the development
of existing farmland in the county. But the council is also concerned that such
a restriction, by limiting the supply of new housing, could lead to significant
increases in the price of housing in the county. Proponents of the measure note
that Chestnut County established a similar measure ten years ago, and its
housing prices have increased only modestly since. However, opponents of the
measure note that Pine County adopted restrictions on the development of new
residential housing fifteen years ago, and its housing prices have since more
than doubled. The council currently predicts that the proposed measure, if
passed, will result in a significant increase in housing prices in Maple
County.
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be
answered in order to decide whether the prediction and the argument on which it
is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions
would help to evaluate the prediction.
题目
Twenty years ago, Dr. Field, a noted anthropologist, visited the island of
Tertia. Using an observation-centered approach to studying Tertian culture, he
concluded from his observations that children in Tertia were reared by an entire
village rather than by their own biological parents. Recently another
anthropologist, Dr. Karp, visited the group of islands that includes Tertia and
used the interview-centered method to study child-rearing practices. In the
interviews that Dr. Karp conducted with children living in this group of
islands, the children spent much more time talking about their biological
parents than about other adults in the village. Dr. Karp decided that Dr.
Field's conclusion about Tertian village culture must be invalid. Some
anthropologists recommend that to obtain accurate information on Tertian
child-rearing practices, future research on the subject should be conducted via
the interview-centered method.
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be
answered in order to decide whether the recommendation and the argument on which
it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to these
questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.
题目
Nature's Way, a chain of stores selling health food and other
health-related products, is opening its next franchise in the town of
Plainsville. The store should prove to be very successful: Nature's Way
franchises tend to be most profitable in areas where residents lead healthy
lives, and clearly Plainsville is such an area. Plainsville merchants report
that sales of running shoes and exercise clothing are at all-time highs. The
local health club has more members than ever, and the weight training and
aerobics classes are always full. Finally, Plainsville's schoolchildren
represent a new generation of potential customers: these schoolchildren are
required to participate in a fitness-for-life program, which emphasizes the
benefits of regular exercise at an early age.
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated
assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on
these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the
assumptions prove unwarranted.
题目
The following appeared in a memo from the director of student housing at
Buckingham College.
"To serve the housing needs of our students, Buckingham College should
build a number of new dormitories. Buckingham's enrollment is growing and, based
on current trends, will double over the next 50 years, thus making existing
dormitory space inadequate. Moreover, the average rent for an apartment in our
town has risen in recent years. Consequently, students will find it increasingly
difficult to afford off-campus housing. Finally, attractive new dormitories
would make prospective students more likely to enroll at Buckingham."
Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to
evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen
the argument.
题目
The following is a recommendation from the Board of Directors of Monarch
Books.
"We recommend that Monarch Books open a café in its store. Monarch, having
been in business at the same location for more than twenty years, has a large
customer base because it is known for its wide selection of books on all
subjects. Clearly, opening the café would attract more customers. Space could be
made for the café by discontinuing the children's book section, which will
probably become less popular given that the most recent national census
indicated a significant decline in the percentage of the population under age
ten. Opening a café will allow Monarch to attract more customers and better
compete with Regal Books, which recently opened its own café."
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be
answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the
predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would
help to evaluate the recommendation.
8The following appeared in a memo from the director of student housing at
Buckingham College.
题目
The following appeared as a recommendation by a committee planning a
ten-year budget for the city of Calatrava.
"The birthrate in our city is declining: in fact, last year's birthrate was
only one-half that of five years ago. Thus the number of students enrolled in
our public schools will soon decrease dramatically, and we can safely reduce the
funds budgeted for education during the next decade. At the same time, we can
reduce funding for athletic playing fields and other recreational facilities. As
a result, we will have sufficient money to fund city facilities and programs
used primarily by adults, since we can expect the adult population of the city
to increase."
Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to
evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen
the argument.
题目
The following appeared in a letter to the editor of the Balmer Island
Gazette.
"On Balmer Island, where mopeds serve as a popular form of transportation,
the population increases to 100,000 during the summer months. To reduce the
number of accidents involving mopeds and pedestrians, the town council of Balmer
Island should limit the number of mopeds rented by the island's moped rental
companies from 50 per day to 25 per day during the summer season. By limiting
the number of rentals, the town council will attain the 50 percent annual
reduction in moped accidents that was achieved last year on the neighboring
island of Seaville, when Seaville's town council enforced similar limits on
moped rentals."
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be
answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the
predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would
help to evaluate the recommendation.
