Question 85-86 are based on the following.
Hardin argued that grazing land held in common (that is, open to any user) would always be used less carefully than private grazing land. Each rancher would be tempted to overuse common land because the benefits would accrue to the individual, while the costs of reduced land quality that results from overuse would be spread among all users. But a study comparing 217 million acres of common grazing land with 433 million acres of private grazing land showed that the common land was in better condition.
85. The answer to which of the following questions would be most useful in evaluating the significance, in relation to Hardin’s claim, of the study described above? (A) Did any of the ranchers whose land was studied use both common and private land? (B) Did the ranchers whose land was studied tend to prefer using common land over using private land for grazing? (C) Was the private land that was studied of comparable quality to the common land before either was used for grazing? (D) Were the users of the common land that was studied at least as prosperous as the users of the private land? (E) Were there any owners of herds who used only common land, and no private land, for grazing?
85. Hardin’s claim is that common grazing land deteriorates more quickly than private grazing land because of overuse. The study indicates that common grazing land is currently in better shape, but this would not undermine Hardin’s claim if common grazing land was in far better shape before grazing began. Thus, choice C is the best answer.
Choices A and E are inappropriate since the study can undermine Hardin’s Claim whether or not some ranchers use both sorts of land, or use only common land. Similarly, the study can undermine Hardin’s claim whether or not ranchers prefer to use common land, as B says. Finally, D is inappropriate since the force of the study is not diminished if users of common land are more or less prosperous.
86. Which of the following, if true and known by the ranchers, would best help explain the results of the study?
(A) With private grazing land, both the costs and the benefits of overuse fall to the individual user. (B) The cost in reduced land quality that is attributable to any individual user is less easily measured with common land than it is with private land. (C) An individual who overuses common grazing land might be able to achieve higher returns than other users can, with the result that he or she would obtain a competitive advantage. (D) If one user of common land overuses it even slightly, the other users are likely to do so even more, with the consequence that the costs to each user outweigh the benefits. (E)There are more acres of grazing land held privately than there are held in common.
86. The study indicates that common lands are in better shape than private lands. The best answer, D, indicates that, contrary to Hardin’s claim, it is in each rancher’s self-interest not to overuse common land, which would explain why common lands are in relatively good shape.
Choices A and C can only explain why private land is in better shape than common land, not the reverse. Neither the fact that it is more difficult to attribute deterioration of common land to any particular user (choice B) nor the fact that the relative amounts of common and private land differ (choice E) gives a reason for farmers not to graze their herds on common land as much as possible. 请问以上两道题黄色标出的句子的意思,谢谢!
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