LSAT-12-4-17,LSAT-12-4-18【identity of the sources】

Question 17-18

Teacher: Journalists who conceal the identity of the sources they quote stake their professional reputations on what may be called the logic of anecdotes. This is so because the statements reported by such journalists are dissociated from the precise circumstances in which they were made and thus will be accepted for publication only if the statements are high in plausibility or originality or interest to a given audience – precisely the properties of a good anecdote.

Student: But what you are saying, then, is that the journalist need not bother with sources in the first place. Surely, any reasonably resourceful journalist can invent plausible, original. or interesting stories faster than they can be obtained from unidentified sources.

17. The student's response contains which one of the following reasoning flaws?

(A) confusing a marginal journalistic practice with the primary work done by journalists

(B) ignoring the possibility that the teacher regards as a prerequisite for the publication of an unattributed statement that the statement have actually been made

(C) confusing the characteristics of reported statements with the characteristics of the situations in which the statements were made

(D) judging the merits of the teacher's position solely by the most extreme case to which the position applies

(E) falsely concluding that if three criteria, met jointly, assure an outcome, then each criterion, met individually, also assures that outcome

18. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the teacher's argument?

(A) A journalist undermines his or her own professional standing by submitting for publication statements that, not being attributed to a named source, are rejected for being implausible, unoriginal, or dull.

(B) Statements that are attributed to a fully identified source make up the majority of reported statements included by journalists

in stories submitted for publication.

(C) Reported statements that are highly original will often seem implausible unless submitted by a journalist who is known for solid, reliable work.

(D) Reputable journalists sometimes do not conceal the identity of their sources from their publishers but insist that the identity of those sources be concealed from the public.

(E) Journalists who have special access to sources whose identity they must conceal are greatly valued by their publishers.

key's B,A.

没看懂学生的想法与老师说的怎么联系在一起的。可能是我原文意思理解错了。

Journalists who conceal the identity of the sources they quote stake their professional reputations on what may be called the logic of anecdotes中的stake应该是“冒险”的意思

隐藏资料出处的记者是在拿自己的职业声誉在logic of anecdotes上冒险。也就是因为这样的statement是和事实不一致的，也只有在这种情况下才能被同意出版：这个statement有很高的可靠度和原创性并且有些读者对这很感兴趣。

很明显，学生的说法是错的，老师并没有认为记者没必要为资料的来源烦神，这个学生没有看清老师所说的statement会被出版的前提。

哦！是不是可以这样理解？：

学生说的“Surely, any reasonably resourceful journalist can invent plausible, original. or interesting stories faster than they can be obtained from unidentified sources.”暗示说journalist完全可能编造这种unattributed statement。

而老师说“This is so because the statements reported by such journalists are dissociated from the precise circumstances in which they were made ”有两种可能：确实有这个statement；记者编造的。所以说“Journalists who conceal the identity of the sources they quote stake their professional reputations on what may be called the logic of anecdotes.”就是有被认为违反职业操守而编造statement的可能。