题目
The following appeared in a memorandum from the owner of Movies Galore, a
chain of movie-rental stores.
"Because of declining profits, we must reduce operating expenses at Movies
Galore's ten movie-rental stores. Raising prices is not a good option, since we
are famous for our low prices. Instead, we should reduce our operating hours.
Last month our store in downtown Marston reduced its hours by closing at 6:00
p.m. rather than 9:00 p.m. and reduced its overall inventory by no longer
stocking any DVD released more than five years ago. Since we have received very
few customer complaints about these new policies, we should now adopt them at
all other Movies Galore stores as our best strategies for improving
profits."
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
A recent study reported that pet owners have longer, healthier lives on
average than do people who own no pets. Specifically, dog owners tend to have a
lower incidence of heart disease. In light of these findings, Sherwood Hospital
should form a partnership with Sherwood Animal Shelter to institute an
adopt-a-dog program. The program would encourage dog ownership for patients
recovering from heart disease, which should reduce these patients' chance of
experiencing continuing heart problems and also reduce their need for ongoing
treatment. As a further benefit, the publicity about the program would encourage
more people to adopt pets from the shelter. And that will reduce the incidence
of heart disease in the general population.
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 as part of a business plan developed by the manager
of the Rialto Movie Theater.
"Despite its downtown location, the Rialto Movie Theater, a local
institution for five decades, must make big changes or close its doors forever.
It should follow the example of the new Apex Theater in the mall outside of
town. When the Apex opened last year, it featured a video arcade, plush
carpeting and seats, and a state-of-the-art sound system. Furthermore, in a
recent survey, over 85 percent of respondents reported that the high price of
newly released movies prevents them from going to the movies more than five
times per year. Thus, if the Rialto intends to hold on to its share of a
decreasing pool of moviegoers, it must offer the same features as Apex."
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.
题目
The following appeared in a memo from the owner of a chain of cheese stores
located throughout the United States.
"For many years all the stores in our chain have stocked a wide variety of
both domestic and imported cheeses. Last year, however, all of the five
best-selling cheeses at our newest store were domestic cheddar cheeses from
Wisconsin. Furthermore, a recent survey by
Cheeses of the World
magazine indicates an increasing preference for domestic cheeses among its
subscribers. Since our company can reduce expenses by limiting inventory, the
best way to improve profits in all of our stores is to discontinue stocking many
of our varieties of imported cheese and concentrate primarily on domestic
cheeses."
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.
题目
When Stanley Park first opened, it was the largest, most heavily used
public park in town. It is still the largest park, but it is no longer heavily
used. Video cameras mounted in the park's parking lots last month revealed the
park's drop in popularity: the recordings showed an average of only 50 cars per
day. In contrast, tiny Carlton Park in the heart of the business district is
visited by more than 150 people on a typical weekday. An obvious difference is
that Carlton Park, unlike Stanley Park, provides ample seating. Thus, if Stanley
Park is ever to be as popular with our citizens as Carlton Park, the town will
obviously need to provide more benches, thereby converting some of the unused
open areas into spaces suitable for socializing.
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 a vice president of a large, highly
diversified company.
"Ten years ago our company had two new office buildings constructed as
regional headquarters for two regions. The buildings were erected by different
construction companies—Alpha and Zeta. Although the two buildings had identical
floor plans, the building constructed by Zeta cost 30 percent more to build.
However, that building's expenses for maintenance last year were only half those
of Alpha's. In addition, the energy consumption of the Zeta building has been
lower than that of the Alpha building every year since its construction. Given
these data, plus the fact that Zeta has a stable workforce with little employee
turnover, we recommend using Zeta rather than Alpha for our new building
project, even though Alpha's bid promises lower construction costs."
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
The following appeared in a letter from a firm providing investment advice
for a client.
"Most homes in the northeastern United States, where winters are typically
cold, have traditionally used oil as their major fuel for heating. Last heating
season that region experienced 90 days with below-normal temperatures, and
climate forecasters predict that this weather pattern will continue for several
more years. Furthermore, many new homes are being built in the region in
response to recent population growth. Because of these trends, we predict an
increased demand for heating oil and recommend investment in Consolidated
Industries, one of whose major business operations is the retail sale of home
heating oil."
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 president of Bower Builders, a
company that constructs new homes.
"A nationwide survey reveals that the two most-desired home features are a
large family room and a large, well-appointed kitchen. A number of homes in our
area built by our competitor Domus Construction have such features and have sold
much faster and at significantly higher prices than the national average. To
boost sales and profits, we should increase the size of the family rooms and
kitchens in all the homes we build and should make state-of-the-art kitchens a
standard feature. Moreover, our larger family rooms and kitchens can come at the
expense of the dining room, since many of our recent buyers say they do not need
a separate dining room for family meals."
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 vice president for human resources at Climpson Industries sent the
following recommendation to the company's president.
"In an effort to improve our employees' productivity, we should implement
electronic monitoring of employees' Internet use from their workstations.
Employees who use the Internet inappropriately from their workstations need to
be identified and punished if we are to reduce the number of work hours spent on
personal or recreational activities, such as shopping or playing games.
Installing software on company computers to detect employees' Internet use is
the best way to prevent employees from wasting time on the job. It will foster a
better work ethic at Climpson and improve our overall profits."
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 memo from the vice president of marketing at
Dura-Sock, Inc.
"A recent study of our customers suggests that our company is wasting the
money it spends on its patented Endure manufacturing process, which ensures that
our socks are strong enough to last for two years. We have always advertised our
use of the Endure process, but the new study shows that despite our socks'
durability, our average customer actually purchases new Dura-Socks every three
months. Furthermore, our customers surveyed in our largest market, northeastern
United States cities, say that they most value Dura-Socks' stylish appearance
and availability in many colors. These findings suggest that we can increase our
profits by discontinuing use of the Endure manufacturing process."
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.
