The country of Boralia is among the world's largest exporters of timber. Fearing that excessive logging is accelerating deforestation, the...
GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions
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The country of Boralia is among the world's largest exporters of timber. Fearing that excessive logging is accelerating deforestation, the Boralian government plans to severely restrict logging operations. Job retraining will be provided for former loggers. Nevertheless, many of them will undoubtedly remain unemployed as a result of the restrictions, since a large drop in export revenue would weaken the Boralian economy to the point where there would be no jobs for retrained workers.
In the argument given below, the part that is in boldface functions as which of the following?
Solution
Understanding the Passage
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
| "The country of Boralia is among the world's largest exporters of timber." |
|
| "Fearing that excessive logging is accelerating deforestation, the Boralian government plans to severely restrict logging operations." |
|
| "Job retraining will be provided for former loggers." |
|
| "Nevertheless, many of them will undoubtedly remain unemployed as a result of the restrictions" (Boldface 1) |
|
| "since a large drop in export revenue would weaken the Boralian economy to the point where there would be no jobs for retrained workers." |
|
Overall Structure
The author is presenting an argument that predicts negative economic consequences from well-intentioned government policy. The flow moves from: background context → government policy → government solution attempt → author's pessimistic prediction → author's economic reasoning.
Main Conclusion: Many former loggers will remain unemployed despite retraining programs.
Boldface Segments
• Boldface 1: many of them will undoubtedly remain unemployed as a result of the restrictions
Boldface Understanding
Boldface 1 Analysis:
- Function: This serves as the author's main conclusion or prediction about what will happen to displaced loggers
- Direction: This supports the author's ultimate position - the author is arguing that the government's policy will have negative employment consequences despite their retraining efforts
Structural Classification
Boldface 1:
- Structural Role: Main conclusion of the argument - this is the author's central claim about the outcome of the logging restrictions
- Predicted Answer Patterns: Look for phrases like "main conclusion," "author's prediction," "the position the argument seeks to establish," or "the claim the passage supports"
Answer Choices Explained
A
Background information that provides a context for the argument
'Background information that provides a context for the argument' - ✗ WRONG - The boldface statement is not providing context or setting up the scenario. Background information would be factual details like 'Boralia is among the world's largest exporters of timber.' The boldface statement is making a prediction about future outcomes, not establishing context.
B
A consideration that supports the conclusion of the argument
'A consideration that supports the conclusion of the argument' - ✗ WRONG - This would mean the boldface statement is evidence or reasoning that supports some other conclusion. However, the boldface statement itself IS what the author is trying to prove, not evidence supporting something else. The economic reasoning that follows ('since a large drop...') is what supports the boldface statement.
C
A consideration that tends to weaken the conclusion of the argument
'A consideration that tends to weaken the conclusion of the argument' - ✗ WRONG - This would mean the boldface statement goes against the author's main point. But the author is actually arguing FOR this statement. The boldface statement represents the author's pessimistic prediction, not something that undermines their position.
D
A preliminary conclusion that supports the main conclusion of the argument
'A preliminary conclusion that supports the main conclusion of the argument' - ✗ WRONG - This would suggest there's an even more important conclusion that the boldface statement helps prove. However, there's no bigger conclusion beyond the boldface statement. This IS the main point the author wants to establish, not a stepping stone to something else.
E
The conclusion of the argument
'The conclusion of the argument' - ✓ CORRECT - The boldface statement represents the author's central claim about what will happen to the unemployed loggers. Everything in the argument builds toward establishing this prediction. The economic reasoning that follows ('since a large drop in export revenue...') provides support for this conclusion, confirming that the boldface statement is indeed what the author is ultimately arguing.
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