Logical reasoning PrepTest 152 · Section 1 · Question 14

If anything, this suggests that bats aren't a threat to humans, thus working in favor of the author's conclusion.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Weaken

Stimulus Summary:
People almost always get rabies from animal bites. Bats have rabies. But they're shy, and very few have rabies, so there's no need to warn people to deal with a bat infestation.

Answer Anticipation:
Definitely a question written by Bruce Wayne.

For many Weaken questions, it can be helpful to think about strengthening the opposite of the author's conclusion in order to weaken it. Here, even if bats are shy and don't generally have rabies, why might it still be a good idea to warn people about the health risks of living with bats? (This shouldn't be a tough question!)

Maybe there's something about rabid bats that make them different from normal bats—they are rabid, after all. Even if they're rare, if rabid bats are not shy, then there should probably be warnings against living with them.

Unless you're a billionaire with a vendetta.

Answer Explanation:
A classic misdirect at the beginning of this answer! A lack of mobility might suggest rabid bats are safer, but the second half states that they're much more aggressive. If this is the case, the author's premise that they're shy is less relevant to the discussion of rabid bats, and thus the conclusion is weakened.

Key Takeaway:
A lot of these answers fall into common patterns. The right answer has a misdirection in the beginning. One wrong answer includes relative language that isn't strong enough to weaken the argument (D). Another has a small jump based on what one might expect based on knowledge from the real world (C). Knowing these common trap answers and misdirects can make it easier to eliminate trap answers while avoiding eliminating correct answers.

This answer is trying to trap you into picking it by making you think that bats are like other animals when not rabid, so maybe they're similar to other animals when rabid, and thus public health warnings are warranted. However, since the argument doesn't establish that public health warnings are warranted for other species, this answer choice is missing a key piece of information.

This answer includes relative language—"highest incidence." Maybe, however, those bat species have only a slightly higher incidence of rabies than other bat species that do tend to live in, say, caves hidden under mansions. In any case, this answer suggests that the warnings aren't necessary, and thus has, if anything, a strengthening impact on the argument.

When the bat bites, it's already too late, and that person has rabies. Whether it's easy to notice you've been bitten doesn't help you avoid the bite in the first place. Which is a bad thing—spider bites give you super powers, not bat bites.