lsat-3-4-15

15.People who take what others regard as a ridiculous position should not bother to say, “I mean every word!” For either their position truly is ridiculous, in which case insisting that they are serious about it only exposes them to deeper embarrassment, or else their position has merit, in which case they should meet disbelief with rational argument rather than with assurances of their sincerity.

Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its reasoning to the argument above?

(A) A practice that has been denounced, as poor practice should not be defended on the grounds that “this I show we have always done it.” If the practice is a poor one, so much the worse that is has been extensively used; if it is not poor one, there must be a better reason for engaging in it than inertia

(B) People who are asked why they eat some of the unusual foods they eat some of the unusual foods they eat should not answer, “because that is what I like, “This sort of answer will sound either na?ve or evasive and thus will satisfy no one

(C) People whose taste in clothes is being criticized should not replay, “Every penny I spent on these clothes I earned honestly.” For the issue raise by the critics is not how the money was come by but rather whether it was spent wisely.

(D) Scholars who champion unpopular new theories should not assume that the widespread rejection of their ideas shows that they “must be no the right track.” The truth is that few theories of any consequence are either wholly right or wholly right or wholly wrong and thus there is no substitute for patient works in ascertaining which parts are right.

(E) People who set themselves goals that others denounce as overly ambitious do little to silence their critics if they say, “I can accomplish this if anyone can. “Rather, those people should either admit that their critics are right or not dignify the criticism with any reply.

This is a good reading, but I haven't got the meaning,especially the underline part.

Can anybody please help me to explain the meaning?

Sometimes the first difficulty of geting the answer is the reading.

这道题是选A吗？

我觉得这题的主要意思是：当一个人持有其他人都认为非常荒谬的一个立场时，不应该说“我对每一个字都是认真的”。因为，当他的立场真的很荒谬时，这句话只会加深他的尴尬；如果他的立场却是有理，他也应该用理性的论据来证明，而不是如何去强调自己的真挚。

所以这段话是先给个结论，然后分两种情况来论述这个结论。

所以只有A符合要求。

请指教！

you're right, arundhati.