og-166

tianwan

166. Last year the rate of inflation was 1.2 percent, but for the current year it has been 4 percent. We can conclude that inflation is on an upward trend and the rate will be still higher next year.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion above?

(A) The inflation figures were computed on the basis of a representative sample of economic data rather than all of the available data.

(B) Last year a dip in oil prices brought inflation temporarily below its recent stable annual level of 4 percent.

(C) Increases in the pay of some workers are tied to the level of inflation, and at an inflation rate of 4 percent or above, these pay raises constitute a force causing further inflation.

(D) The 1.2 percent rate of inflation last year represented a ten-year low.

(E) Government intervention cannot affect the rate of inflation to any significant degree.

According to choice B, last year’s inflation figure was an anomaly, and inflation has returned to its recent stable level. There is thus less reason to conclude that inflation will rise any further, making B the best answer.

So long as the sample on which the figures are based is representative, there is no reason to doubt that they are essentially accurate, so choice A does not affect the argument. Choice C supports the conclusion by suggesting that there are forces in place to push inflation higher, and choice E supports it indirectly by suggesting that the government is powerless to prevent further increase. Finally, choice D by itself has no clearly defined consequences one way or the other with respect to the conclusion.

黑体字的one way or the other 是什么意思？

robertchu

这样或那样.
Meaning: from choice D, we can neither infer that rate will be higher next year nor infer rate will be stable or lower.

tianwan

多谢robert，我看了字典后更糊涂了，看了你的解释后就明白了。