GWD-5-38

Q38:

Three large companies and seven small companies currently manufacture a product with potential military applications.  If the government regulates the industry, it will institute a single set of manufacturing specifications to which all ten companies will have to adhere.  In this case, therefore, since none of the seven small companies can afford to convert their production lines to a new set of manufacturing specifications, only the three large companies will be able to remain in business.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the author’s argument relies?

1. None of the three large companies will go out of business if the government does not regulate the manufacture of the product.
2. It would cost more to convert the production lines of the small companies to a new set of manufacturing specifications than it would to convert the production lines of the large companies.
3. Industry lobbyists will be unable to dissuade the government from regulating the industry.
4. Assembly of the product produced according to government manufacturing specifications would be more complex than current assembly procedures.
5. None of the seven small companies currently manufactures the product to a set of specifications that would match those the government would institute if the industry were to be regulated.

The Key is E, but I also support B,    Can U give me a reason?Thank you

To see why B is not correct, imagine that the opposite scenario is true: it costs the same to convert for the small companies as for large companies. Can the argument's conclusion still be true? Yes, because as the passage states, large companies can better afford the cost, even if the cost is the same for everybody. Because the conclusion stands even if B is not true, B is not the answer.

选项 E 是什么意思？

“如果实施新法，这些小厂都不会成立”？这与题干之间的关系是什么？