Logical reasoning PrepTest 145 · Section 4 · Question 10

Incorrect. The stimulus establishes that running the military is "at least as great" a "responsibility" as running a bank. That doesn't rule out the possibility that running the military requires more knowledge. While this answer is unsupported, it's possible, and this is a Cannot Be True question.

Incorrect. Since the Columnist is using their experience appointing military officials to highlight how they could do the same for a bank in rebuttal to those who would argue against the government running the banks, this answer very much aligns with the statements in the stimulus and thus isn't contradicted.

Incorrect. The Columnist says that politicians wouldn't need to do this, so this answer is compatible with her argument.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Cannot Be True

Stimulus Summary:
Opposing point Ð Government shouldn't take over failing banks because it doesn't have expertise running banks
Columnist Ð They appoint military leaders to run the military despite most politicians lacking experience there, so they could do the same for banks.

Answer Anticipation:
Cannot Be True questions task us with finding something that cannot be true in an argument—in other words, it has to be contradicted by the information provided. Generally, the stimulus is a series of facts, and we can identify statements that are likely to lead to contradictory answers. However, here, we're given an argument/debate, so we can start our analysis of each answer by seeing if it's something the Columnist has an opinion on and would disagree with. If we can find that, we likely have our answer.

The Columnist believes that it's possible for the government to appoint people to run a bank it takes over and run it well, much as they do for the military. Any answer that runs counter to that argument should be considered.

Answer Explanation:
The Columnist believes that government officials could appoint competent leaders to the bank, much as they do the military. Therefore, she believes that it's possible for a bank owned by the government to be well managed, contradicting this answer.

Key Takeaway:
Don't forget that Cannot Be True questions have correct answers that are contradicted by the stimulus, not answers that are merely unsupported by it. Additionally, it's easier to contradict a strong/absolute statement (here, "cannot" is akin to saying it's impossible), so when you see strong language in an answer choice, pay closer attention!

Incorrect. The debate is around banks that are failing, so other banks are out of scope and thus almost anything an answer could say about them would be possibly true.