PrepTest 116

Incorrect. Neither of them discusses overrating problems in the present or in the past, so this answer is out of scope.

Incorrect. First, there's no indication that nostalgia is a search for solutions in the past to current problems. Second, even if it were, both speakers agree that nostalgia is currently in the national mood.

Incorrect. While there is a discussion of regret, that's distinct from a determination of repeating past mistakes. You can regret a decision that you repeat, and you can learn to avoid making a similar wrong decision that you don't regret making.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed/Flawed

Question Type:
Point at Issue

Stimulus Summary:
M: The current nostalgia proves the people regret the revolution.

R: The nostalgia isn't for the recent past, but the distant past that the overthrown government hated, so the nostalgia doesn't prove regret.

Answer Anticipation:
Both Marc and Robert discuss the current feeling of nostalgia in the country, on which they agree. Marc, however, feels that the current nostalgia is a sign that the people regret the recent revolution. Robert, on the other hand, doesn't believe it demonstrates such regret, as the people are nostalgic for a time that the overthrown government despised.

So it's not the nostalgia over which they disagree, but whether it's a sign of regret over the revolution. Let's find that answer!

Answer Explanation:
Marc believes that the people regret the recent revolution, as is witnessed by their nostalgia, so he agrees with this answer. Robert, on the other hand, believes that they don't regret the recent revolution despite their nostalgia, thus disagreeing with this answer. It is therefore correct.

Key Takeaway:
Harder Point at Issue questions tend to have the disagreement between the speakers deal with the logic of the argument, or how the ideas connect, rather than just a fact from the statements.

Incorrect. While Robert does mention that the nostalgia is for the distant past, that's not necessarily the thing farthest" in the past, and there's also no indication he believes this period is what they're feeling most nostalgic about, so we can't commit him to an opinion on this answer. And Marc doesn't discuss what period the nostalgia is for, so it's out of scope of his statements, as well.