GMAT ARGUMENT写作题纲解读之八!了解
61. The following appeared in the letters-to-the-editor section of a local newspaper.
“Muscle Monthly, a fitness magazine that regularly features pictures of bodybuilders using state-of-the-art exercise machines, frequently sells out, according to the owner of Skyview Newsstand. To help maximize fitness levels in our town’s residents, we should, therefore, equip our new community fitness center with such machines.”
1The bodybuilders may just pretend to be using the state-of-the-art exercise machines while, in fact, their excellent body conditions are due to the use of other types of equipment. And, they just do so for the advertisement purpose.
2The circulation is just one of the indicators of the popularity of the magazine. What is more, I can find no direct relationship between the popularity of the magazine and the author's suggestion that we should equip the community with the state-of-the-art excercise machine.
3The machines for body building will not necessarily have the same effect on fitness.
62. The following appeared as part of an article in the business section of a local newspaper.
“The Cumquat Cafe made a mistake in moving to a new location. After one year at the new spot, it is doing about the same volume of business as before, but the owners of the RoboWrench plumbing supply wholesale outlet that took over its old location are apparently doing better: RoboWrench is planning to open a store in a neighboring city.”
1False analogy
2Other factors other than location that may contribute to the faliure of the Cumquat Cafe should be considered and ruled out.
3Likewise, there may be some other factors that will explain the success of the success of the RoboWrench plumbing.
4One year's poor performance is too wake an evidence to conclude that the Cafe has made a mistake to relocate.
63. The following appeared in a memorandum from the Director of Human Resources to the executive officers of Company X.
“Last year, we surveyed our employees on improvements needed at Company X by having them rank, in order of importance, the issues presented in a list of possible improvements. Improved communications between employees and management was consistently ranked as the issue of highest importance by the employees who responded to the survey. As you know, we have since instituted regular communications sessions conducted by high-level management, which the employees can attend on a voluntary basis. Therefore, it is likely that most employees at Company X now feel that the improvement most needed at the company has been made.”
1The result of a last year's survey does not necessarily represent the improvement most needed of this year.
2How was the survey held has not been illustrated by the author, thus making the conclusion groundless.
3Whether the implement of the mentioned resolution is right or wrong is still unkonwn, it is still too early to say the improvement has been made.
64. The following appeared in a memorandum from the vice president of Road Food, an international chain of fast-food restaurants.
“This past year, we spent almost as much on advertising as did our main competitor, Street Eats, which has fewer restaurants than we do. Although it appeared at first that our advertising agency had created a campaign along the lines we suggested, in fact our total profits were lower than those of Street Eats. In order to motivate our advertising agency to perform better, we should start basing the amount that we pay it on how much total profit we make each year.”
1Although the total ammount of money spent on advertisement of Road food and Street Eats were the same, the Road food still paid less as the author has also mentioned that the Road food has more restaurants than the Street Eats.
2The author ignores other factors that may contribute to the less profit achieved by the Road than by the Eats.
3The profit-based fee strctcture is somewhat in accordance with the common sense. But it is still imprudent to make the final decision until other possible methods have been compared with the proposed one.
65. The following appeared in the promotional literature for Cerberus dog food.
“Obesity is a great problem among pet dogs, just as it is among their human owners. Obesity in humans is typically caused by consuming more calories than the body needs. For humans, a proper diet for losing weight is a reduced-calorie diet that is high in fiber and carbohydrates but low in fat. Therefore, the best way for dog owners to help their dogs lose weight in a healthy way is to restrict the dog’s diet to Cerberus reduced-calorie dog food, which is high in fiber and carbohydrates but low in fat.”
1The author commits a logical fallacy of false analogy. The cause for the obesity of the dog's owners can not be simply used to explain the obesity of the dogs.
2Likewise the solution for the human's obesity is not necessarily applicable for the dogs.
3Even if the reduced-calorie diet that is high in fiber and carbohydrates but low in fat can help the dogs lose fat, the Cerberus dog food is not necessarily the only choice for the dogs' owners to deal with their pets' obesity.
66. The following appeared in an article in a travel magazine.
“After the airline industry began requiring airlines to report their on-time rates, Speedee Airlines achieved the number one on-time rate, with over 89 percent of its flights arriving on time each month. And now Speedee is offering more flights to more destinations than ever before. Clearly, Speedee is the best choice for today’s business traveler.”
67. The following appeared in a memorandum to the planning department of an investment firm.
“Costs have begun dropping for several types of equipment currently used to convert solar energy into electricity. Moreover, some exciting new technologies for converting solar energy are now being researched and developed. Hence we can expect that solar energy will soon become more cost efficient and attractive than coal or oil as a source of electrical power. We should, therefore, encourage investment in Solario, a new manufacturer of solar-powered products. After all, Solario’s chief executive was once on the financial planning team for Ready-to-Ware, a software engineering firm that has shown remarkable growth since its recent incorporation.”
1The decrease of the cost of several types of equipment does not necessarily guarantee the reduction of the overall cost of the conversion of solar energy into electricity.
2It is still too early to say that the technologies for converting the solar energy that are being researched and developed will certainly make the solar energy cost efficient and attractive.
3Even if the cost reduction of the solar energy is immediately accessible, it is still imprudent to say the solar energy is more attractive compared with the coal and oil as a source of electrical power.
4The former performance of the CEO does not guarantee the future success of the Solario. From the autor's assertion, the CEO's ability to manage this solar energy company is, in fact, somewhat dubious, because he or she once was on the financial planning team for Ready-to-ware, which is in the industry completely different from the Solario.
68. The following appeared in a memorandum from a company’s marketing department.
“Since our company started manufacturing and marketing a deluxe air filter six months ago, sales of our economy filter—and company profits—have decreased significantly. The deluxe air filter sells for 50 percent more than the economy filter, but the economy filter lasts for only one month while the deluxe filter can be used for two months before it must be replaced. To increase repeat sales of our economy filter and maximize profits, we should discontinue the deluxe air filter and concentrate all our advertising efforts on the economy filter.”
1The positive statistical correlation between the decrease of profit and the marketing of a deluxe air filter can just be a coincidence. Other reasons such as the severer competition should be considered and ruled out.
2The author's suggestion is based on a groundless assumption that the consumers will resume buying the economy filter if the company stop manufacturing the deluxe air filter.
3Other alternatives other than the stop of the manufacturing of the deluxe filter have not been considered by the author, thus making the suggestion gratuitous.
69. The following appeared in a memorandum from the president of a company that makes (旧题有修饰词Glabrous) shampoo.
“A widely publicized study claims that HR2, a chemical compound in our shampoo, can contribute to hair loss after prolonged use. This study, however, involved only 500 subjects. Furthermore, we have received no complaints from our customers during the past year, and some of our competitors actually use more HR2 per bottle of shampoo than we do. Therefore, we do not need to consider replacing the HR2 in our shampoo with a more expensive alternative.”
1If the 500 subjects are randomly chosen and represent a diverse cross section of the population of shampoo users, the result will be reliable.
2The side-effects of HR2 is suggested by the study after prolonged use. Therefore, the fact cited by the president of the shampoo company that there was no complaint from consumers last year can not guarantee no emergence of problems in the future.
3The last fact cited by the president that other companies have more HR2 per bottle is not relevant to this case. The criterion to judge whether to use a more expensive alternative is based on the effect of using the H
R2. What is more, if we change to use the alternative while the competitors do not, we can gain reputation among the consumers.