LSAT-16－2－14

Pedigreed dogs, including those officially classified as working dogs, must conform to standards set by organizations that issue pedigrees. Those standards generally specify the physical appearance necessary for a dog to be recognized as belonging to a breed but stipulate nothing about other genetic traits, such as those that enable breeds originally developed as working dogs to perform the work for which they were developed. Since dog breeders try to maintain only those traits specified by pedigree organizations, and traits that breeders do not try to maintain risk being lost, certain traits like herding ability risk being lost among pedigreed dogs. Therefore, pedigree organizations should set standards requiring working ability in pedigreed dogs classified as working dogs.

14. The phrase "certain traits like herding ability risk being lost among pedigreed dogs" serves which one of the following functions in the argument?

(A) It is a claim on which the argument depends but for which no support is given.

(B) It is a subsidiary conclusion used in support of the main conclusion.

(C) It acknowledges a possible objection to the proposal put forth in the argument.

(D) It summarizes the position that the argument as a whole is directed toward discrediting.

(E) It provides evidence necessary to support a claim stated earlier in the argument.

the key is b, but i couldn't recognize this "certain traits like..." ,which is a phrase that example sentences usually start with, as a "subsidiary 【conclusion】" as in the choice B.

I chose E.

B is right.

"Subsidiary conclusion" is another name for "Intermediary conclusion".

The argument's line of reasoning is as follows:

Evidence 1 (E1): "dog breeders try to maintain only those traits specified by pedigree organizations",

Evidence 2 (E2): "traits that breeders do not try to maintain risk being lost"

Intermediary conclusion (IC): "certain traits like herding ability risk being lost among pedigreed dogs"

Final conclusion (FC): "pedigree organizations should set standards requiring working ability in pedigreed dogs classified as working dogs"

E1 + E2 --> IC --> FC

ic~thax lar.