Logical reasoning PrepTest 132 · Section 2 · Question 24

Incorrect. It's possible that the law will be misinterpreted compared to its intention—the legislators who supported it may have intended it to apply to people working in the houses of others!

Incorrect. Not only is this not contradicted, but it seems in keeping with the stated goal.

Incorrect. The law is targeted at workplaces and can't be interpreted to apply to homes, and this answer is in keeping with that.

Incorrect. The beliefs of the public are out of scope of this argument, and things that are out of scope aren't contradicted.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Cannot Be True

Stimulus Summary:
Goal—Protect employees from secondhand smoke
Approach/Legislation—Ban smoking in workplace
Problem—It's written so that people can't be barred from smoking in their own home

Answer Anticipation:
This Cannot Be True question requires us to find an answer that's contradicted by the stimulus. And with the way it's structured, and with the requirements that we find an answer contradicting the statement, our money's on that last statement being the one that we should focus on.

First, let's make sure we understand it, because it's written in an unbelievably convoluted manner. Getting rid of the double negatives in there, it states that the law can't stop someone from smoking in their own home. So while official places of business have a smoking ban, a residence doesn't.

However, the Commentator states this as if it's an issue for the legislation in achieving its goal of protecting employees from secondhand smoke—after all, she pivots from that goal to this statement ("But . . . "). How could smoking at home create a problem for employees?

Well, it must be the case that some people work in other people's homes. This makes sense: contractors, plumbers, housekeepers, nannies—they all work in someone else's home. Since we're looking for a contradicted answer, it'll probably establish something about this group being protected.

Answer Explanation:
Domestic workers by definition work in someone else's home, and the law can't be interpreted to apply there, so it can't protect these workers in their workplaces. This answer is contradicted by the information in the stimulus and is thus correct.

Key Takeaway:
First, make sure that you understand convoluted statements in the stimulus—they were written in that way for a reason, and that reason is probably to confuse you away from the correct answer. Second, don't forget that Cannot Be True questions have correct answers that contradict the stimulus—not answers that are unsupported or out of scope.