Logical Reasoning

PT21 · S2 · Q8 In the past, the railroads in Ostronia

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In the past, the railroads in Ostronia were run as regional monopolies and operated with little regard for what customers wanted.

Statements

comparison (past vs. recently) In the past, O's railroads were run as regional monopolies and cared little about what customers wanted.

Recently, O's highways have been improved and so the railroads face competition from long-distance trucking companies.

causal (because of X, Y) The fact that government subsidies have propped up O's railroads even while they incur substantial losses, the railroads continue to care little about what customers want.

Evaluate

The Overlapping Information in this paragraph is about O's railroads and about giving little regard for what customers wanted. The correct answer will probably relate to the fact that even though the railroad started having competition, it continued to treat customers badly since the loss it was experiencing in business was offset by government subsidies.

And there is a big Causal Indicator in the final sentence, so the correct answer might want us to reinforce the idea that "government subsidies can affect how customers get treated".

Goal

Pick the most provable answer we can find.

If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true on the basis of them?

If the government of Ostronia
Too Strong
Too Strong: few Too Speculative: if no subsidies We can't say that it must be true that pulling away subsidies would cause most railroad companies to cease operating. We were never told that most railroads depended on these subsidies for continued operation, only that railroad companies have been able to operate even while incurring substantial losses because of the subsidies. If the subsidies were yanked, then the railroad companies might just have to improve their business model to compete better with long-distance trucking and stop incurring huge losses.
16% picked this
Few companies in Ostronia that
Too Strong: few
We only know that the railroad companies have both received subsidies and not taken the needs and desires of customers into account. This answer is saying that's true of most companies in O that have received subsidies. But we don't know how any other companies that have received subsidies have behaved in relation to customers.
10% picked this
Without government subsidies, railroad companies
Out of Scope
Out of Scope: increase prices Speculation: without subsidies We were only told what was true with subsidies in place. Predicting an alternate universe without subsidies is something we'd consider on Most Supported, but it's hard to say that any predictions about what would happen in an alternate universe Must Be True. It's possible that without subsidies, the railroads wouldn't have to raise prices to stop their terrible losses; they could just improve their customer service by regarding their customers' needs and desires.
3% picked this
The transportation system in Ostronia
Out of Scope: efficient
We don't have any means to judge a comparison between the overall efficiency of the transportation system in the past vs. that of today.
4% picked this
Correct
In recent years, some companies
Why this is right
This just combines two things we know to be true about O's railroad companies: 1. like in the past, they have little regard for the desires and needs of their customers 2. they have nonetheless survived (they have continued to operate even while incurring substantial losses) Since "some" just means "at least one", we can say that there must be at least one company in Ostronia that has both qualities 1 and 2.
Skill tested: Must be True · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
66% picked this

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