lsat-5-2-25

25. The public in the United States has in the past been conditioned to support a substantial defense budget by the threat of confrontation with the Eastern bloc. Now that that threat is dissolving, along with the Eastern bloc itself, it is doubtful whether the public can be persuaded to support an adequate defense budget.

Which one of the following indicates a weakness in the position expressed above?

(A) It presupposes that public opinion can be manipulated indefinitely, without the public’s becoming aware of that manipulation.

(B) It refers to past and present events that do not have a causal connection with public support of the budget.

(C) It assumes as fact what it seeks to establish by reasoning.

(D) It fails to give any reason for the judgment it reaches.

(E) It hinges on the term “adequate,” the precise meaning of which requires reevaluation in the new context.

答案为E，作者认为the threat of Easten bloc是public support a substantial defense budget的原因，如今该原因dissoved从而whether public will support an adequate budget 也受到质疑。但同答案E有什么关系？不知这答案是什么意思？考什么来的？题目中“conditioned”是什么意思？

1。关于答案，E的意思是adequate的含义在结论中不明确。这就是原文推理的缺陷：如何算adequate。不同标准，原文的结论会不同。

2。关于condition，我找不出中文对应的意义，英文为to make a person think or behave in a certain way by influencing or training them over a period of time