GWD17-Q34，Q9

GWD17-Q34 During the month of May, crabs arrive on Delaware’s beaches to lay eggs.  Certain shorebirds depend on these eggs for food during their annual spring migration to their northern breeding grounds.  Delaware’s crab population has declined recently.  This decline, however, poses no serious threat to the migrating shorebird populations:  by remaining longer in Delaware, the birds will be able to eat enough crab eggs to allow them to complete their migration.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

1. No other food available to the birds on Delaware’s beaches is as nutritious and accessible as are crab eggs.
2. The decline in the number of crabs on Delaware’s beaches is due to the harvesting of crabs by humans.
3. There are more crabs on Delaware’s beaches than in any other area that the migrating birds pass through.
4. The crabs do not conceal their eggs.
5. The earlier in the season the shorebirds complete their migration, the more likely they are to breed successfully.

E

我认为E和题目没有关系，人家的argument说的是poses no serious threat to the migrating shorebird populations，又没说the success of the shorebird's breeding. 我选D。因为我作者说只要这些birds留得时间久，他们就可以找到足够的eggs吃。但是如果crabs没藏eggs，就是说所有的eggs能找到的都找到了，那么留得时间再长也不可能再“无中生有”出一些eggs给他们吃。所以weaken了argument。

1. Canceling highway projects was not the only way for the President to punish legislative districts controlled by opposition parties.
2. The scheduled highway projects identified as wasteful in the report were not mostly projects in districts controlled by the President’s party.
3. The number of projects canceled was a significant proportion of all the highway projects that were to be undertaken by the government in the near future.
4. The highway projects canceled in districts controlled by the President’s party were not generally more expensive than the projects canceled in districts controlled by opposition parties.
5. Reports by nonpartisan auditors are not generally regarded by the opposition parties as a source of objective assessments of government projects.

 Answer: B    人家题目中已经说了They offer as evidence the fact that 90 percent of the projects canceled were in such districts，而且all of the canceled projects had been identified as wasteful in a report written by respected nonpartisan auditors。B只是换了个说法把facts又说了一遍，我认为不构成assumption。我选了D。用denial test，如果president的那些projects更贵的话，就说明president的projects也可能是wasteful的，但他cancel的又大部分不是他自己的project，所以构成偏袒嫌疑。

请大家指教~~

17-34

E The earlier in the season the shorebirds complete their migration, the more likely they are to breed successfully.

If these birds have to stay in Delaware's beaches longer to get enough crab eggs, they will arrive at their destination later. That means these birds will complete their migration later, therefore, their success rate of breeding will be lower. This will lead to less population of the bird, hence, poses  threat to the bird populations.

17-9

17-9.

B. The scheduled highway projects identified as wasteful in the report were not mostly projects in districts controlled by the President’s party.

Here, the scheduled projects are those which are not cancelled.

If most of the scheduled projects - i.e. not cancelled projects - which are identified as wasteful were in the districts controlled by the President's party while most cancelled projects are from the districts controlled by opposition partyes, it implies that these projects are handled to benefit to the districts controlled by President's party. It will contradict to what the secretary said - "So the President’s choice was clearly motivated by sound budgetary policy, not partisan politics."

So the secretary has to make this assumption in order to make her conclusion true.

B implies that the President didn't do anything to benefit the districts of his party, so B does support the secretary's conclusion, therefore, it is one of the assumption of THE SECRETARY's conclusion.

If B is not true, that is, most uncancelled projects which are actually wasteful are in the districts controlled by the president, it means the presidents make the unfaire decision to protect his party.