Some health officials are concerned

Answer choices

1. A

   Weakens2% picked this

   The frequent use of alcohol by young people is being reported as occurring at

   This answer makes it sound like consumption of alcohol is actually changing, which would be the Alternate Explanation the author is rejecting. The author is selling us on a story where consumption of alcohol is basically the same. What's changed, instead, is attitudes about alcohol leading more people to "admit" that a death was alcohol related.

   2%
2. B

   No Impact5% picked this

   In some places and times, susceptibility to any kind of disease has been viewed as

   This is incredibly weak (some), so it's unlikely to ever be a correct answer on Strengthen, Weaken, Paradox, or Sufficient Assumption. It just saying "there was at least one place in the history of mankind where susceptibility to any kind of disease was viewed as a moral failing". That tells us nothing about the situation happening here and now with alcohol-related deaths.

   5%
3. C

   Correct89% picked this

   More physicians now than in the past are trained to recognize the physical

   Why this is right

   This adds some plausibility to the author's explanation. She is saying that the real reason for the uptick in reported alcohol-deaths is that things have changed in terms of how we view alcoholism. The same number of deaths always occurred, but we used to not label them as alcohol-related. She is claiming that nowadays physicians are more likely to identify these deaths as alcohol-related. One premise to support that is that we now see alcoholism more as a disease. Another premise to support that is this answer choice -- more doctors nowadays are trained to recognize the physical effects of alcoholism. Back in the day, when it wasn't considered a disease, physicians weren't trained to recognize its physical effects, so if they were looking at a patient who died from alcohol-related conditions, the physician might not realize that it was an alcohol-related condition (and the family members wouldn't volunteer that information, since alcoholism was considered a moral failing).

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

   89%
4. D

   No Impact2% picked this

   Even though alcoholism is considered to be a disease, most doctors recommend psychological counseling and support groups

   The way that most doctors choose to treat alcoholism is irrelevant to this discussion. We are trying to figure out why there's been an uptick in reported deaths from alcoholism. Is it because doctors are more likely to label certain deaths as alcohol-related? This answer does nothing to help us judge that question.

   2%
5. E

   No Impact2% picked this

   Many health officials are not

   This is so weak that it would almost never be a correct answer on Strengthen, Weaken, Paradox, or Sufficient Assumption. It's telling us, "there are at least 5 health officials who aren't physicians". Cool, (E). We know. We were never thinking that virtually all health officials are physicians.

   2%