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Ordinary automobile engines can be converted to run on ethanol, which can be produced from corn and other grains. In the United States, ethanol is currently much more expensive than gasoline, and there is no prospect that the price of ethanol will decrease. Perhaps, though, as petroleum reserves continue to dwindle, the price advantage of gasoline will diminish and eventually disappear, and ethanol will displace gasoline as the primary automobile fuel. However, few people in the United States could afford to use their automobiles as they do now if gasoline were as expensive as ethanol. So, if ethanol does replace gasoline, a major change in transportation habits would be bound to occur in the United States.
In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
| "Ordinary automobile engines can be converted to run on ethanol, which can be produced from corn and other grains." | What it says: Cars can be modified to use ethanol fuel instead of gasoline, and ethanol comes from crops like corn.
Source: Author's factual statement |
| "In the United States, ethanol is currently much more expensive than gasoline, and" | What it says: Right now in the US, ethanol costs significantly more than gasoline per gallon.
Source: Author's factual observation |
| (Boldface 1) "there is no prospect that the price of ethanol will decrease" | What it says: Ethanol prices will not go down in the future - they'll stay high or potentially increase.
Source: Author's factual claim |
| "Perhaps, though, as petroleum reserves continue to dwindle, the price advantage of gasoline will diminish and eventually disappear, and ethanol will displace gasoline as the primary automobile fuel." | What it says: Even though ethanol won't get cheaper, gasoline might become much more expensive as oil runs out, making ethanol competitive. Eventually ethanol could become the main fuel.
Source: Author's hypothetical scenario |
| "However, few people in the United States could afford to use their automobiles as they do now if gasoline were as expensive as ethanol." | What it says: Most Americans can't afford to drive the same amount they currently drive if gas costs as much as ethanol does now.
Source: Author's economic analysis |
| "So," (Boldface 2) "if ethanol does replace gasoline, a major change in transportation habits would be bound to occur in the United States" | What it says: Therefore, if ethanol becomes the main fuel, Americans will definitely have to drastically change how they use their cars.
Source: Author's conclusion |
The author presents a complex scenario about fuel transition, weighing economic factors against resource constraints. The argument flows from establishing ethanol as a viable but expensive alternative, to showing how it might become competitive, to concluding what would happen if it actually replaced gasoline.
Main Conclusion: If ethanol does replace gasoline, a major change in transportation habits would be bound to occur in the United States.
Boldface 1 Function: This statement provides a key economic constraint - ethanol will remain expensive. It seems to argue against ethanol adoption initially.
Boldface 1 Direction: Supports the author's conclusion. While it appears to oppose ethanol use, it actually supports the final conclusion by establishing why ethanol adoption would force behavioral changes.
Boldface 2 Function: This is the author's main conclusion, stating the inevitable consequence if the fuel transition occurs.
Boldface 2 Direction: Supports the author's conclusion (it IS the author's conclusion).
Boldface 1 Structural Role: Supporting evidence/premise that contributes to the main conclusion by establishing ethanol's permanent cost disadvantage.
Boldface 1 Predicted Answer Patterns: "a premise that supports the argument's conclusion" or "evidence that supports the main conclusion"
Boldface 2 Structural Role: Main conclusion of the entire argument.
Boldface 2 Predicted Answer Patterns: "the main conclusion" or "the argument's conclusion" or "the conclusion the argument reaches"