[求助] LSAT-3-1-18

The question whether intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is certainly imprecise, because we are not sure how different from us something might be and still count as “intelligent life.” Yet we cannot just decide to define “intelligent life” in some more precise way since it is likely that we will find and recognize intelligent life elsewhere in the universe only if we leave our definitions open to new, unimagined possibilities.

18.The passage, if seen as an objection to an antecedent claim, challenges that claim by:

(A) showing the claim to be irrelevant to the issue at hand

(B) citing examples that fail to fit proposed definition of “intelligent life”

(C) claiming that “intelligent life” cannot be adequately defined

(D) arguing that the claim, if acted on, would be counterproductive（D）

(E) maintaining that the claim is not supported by the available evidence

这题完全不明白为什么选D？我选的是C.

This is an interesting one.

Q: "The passage, if seen as an objection to an antecedent claim, challenges that claim by:"

So, we have to look for answer choice that clearly challenges a prior claim.  In this regard, C is not a good choice because it doesn't discuss the how the passage challenges an earlier claim.

Now let's look at the passage again: "The question (i.e. the prior claim) ... is certainly imprecise, because ...  Yet we cannot just decide to define ... in some more precise way since ..."

The passage basically says the prior claim is imprecise and we can't fix it -- in other words, the prior claim is counterproductive.  Therefore D is the best answer.