PrepTest 136

Incorrect. This is a great trap answer. Alex believes this, but Jolene could, as well. She notes that most owners try to keep their farms running "for many years," but that's compatible with them eventually abandoning them. She may agree with this answer, as well.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed/Flawed

Question Type:
Point at Issue

Stimulus Summary:
A: Investors are in it for a quick buck and then dump them, so shrimp farms hurt the environment.

J: Sure, some shrimp farms are dumped quickly, but they require a lot of investment, so most operate for years. So they don't hurt the environment.

Answer Anticipation:
Alex's argument has two pieces to it, so we should check to see which of them are disagreed with by Jolene.

Alex starts by concluding that shrimp farming damages the environment. Jolene opens her argument by saying she disagrees, but that's not directly following this conclusion. She also goes on to rebut Alex's premise, not his conclusion, so it seems as if her statement of disagreement is over that premise. Therefore, we can't commit Jolene to believing that

And so it appears the premise(s) is the point of disagreement. Alex brings up investors turning a quick profit and abandoning these farms. Jolene agrees that this is true for "some shrimp farms," but it's not true of most of them, so this is the point at issue between them, at least as far as what the norm is. That said, note a qualification on Jolene's argument—most owners "try" to keep their farms open for many years, so we don't know that they succeed. That may play into a trap answer, so we should be sure to note it.

Answer Explanation:
Jolene believes shrimp farms take time and money to construct, so she disagrees with this answer. Alex notes that investors make quick profits and then abandon these farms, so he'd agree with this answer. This is the point at issue between them.

Key Takeaway:
Be very careful with Point at Issue questions that are later in the section. The answer choices that are incorrect will often feel as if the speaker has an opinion on them despite being out of scope for a subtle reason.

Incorrect. Alex disagrees with this answer, but Jolene doesn't address environmental damage. She'd likely agree shrimp farms don't harm the environment because they're quickly abandoned, but she might believe that when they are eventually abandoned, they do harm the environment, or they damage the environment in other ways.

Incorrect. Alex believes this, but Jolene is silent on environmental damage, so we can't commit her to disagreeing with this for reasons similar to (C).

Incorrect. The closest either speaker gets to addressing this is Alex in talking about investors being environmentally irresponsible, so this answer is out of scope.