Economist: Machinery firms in this country

Answer choices

1. A

   Too Broad/Strong: rarely, if ever6% picked this

   Protection from foreign competition rarely if ever enables firms to grow big enough to compete

   This is close to what we were looking for, which is why it's no accident that it's answer choice (A) -- Inference questions frequently put a tempting but distorted version of what we want in spot (A). The conditional is only about whether it's possible for protection from foreign competition to enable this country's firms to grow big enough to successfully compete. This answer is saying something much broader and stronger -- that protection rarely if ever succeeds. The author isn't saying that foreign protection rarely succeeds, just that when it does it does so within ten years.

   6%
2. B

   Too Strong: any policy12% picked this

   Ten years is a sufficient time frame for assessing the success of

   The author's conditional is only saying that 10 years is sufficient to ascertain whether the economic policy of providing protection from foreign competitors is successful at allowing this country's machinery firms to grow enough. We don't have any support for the idea that 10 years is always a sufficient time frame for assessing any economic policy.

   12%
3. C

   Too Strong: none9% picked this

   None of the machinery firms in the economist’s country has grown significantly over the

   The statements reveal that protection from foreign competitors hasn't allowed firms to grow big enough to compete with foreign rivals, but they still might have grown significantly. My bookstore might grow significantly (200% more revenue than last year!) but still be miles away from being big enough to compete successfully with Amazon.

   9%
4. D

   Too Strong / Specific: most, unless Opposite4% picked this

   Most of the machinery firms in the economist’s country will go out of business unless they are

   The gist of this paragraph is that foreign protection isn't working (at its goal of enabling the firms to grow big enough to compete internationally). We don't have any support for this idea that "we need protection from foreign competition or else most firms will go out of business".

   4%
5. E

   Correct69% picked this

   Protection from foreign competition will not enable machinery firms in the economist’s country to grow big enough to

   Why this is right

   We were given a conditional that said, "If it were possible for protection to enable this country's firms to take on foreign rivals, then 10 years of protection would have already accomplished that goal". Since the other facts we're told seemingly reveal that 10 years of protection has already happened and they haven't achieved that goal, we can conclude that "it is not possible for protection to enable this country's firms to take on foreign rivals".

   Skill tested: Most Supported · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   69%