To combat persistent counterfeiting, Lackland's currency was redesigned to include images that cannot be convincingly duplicated by the means used...
GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions
To combat persistent counterfeiting, Lackland's currency was redesigned to include images that cannot be convincingly duplicated by the means used to successfully counterfeit the old bills. Last year, after the old currency was replaced, many crude counterfeits of the new bills were detected. But now it has been several months since any counterfeit currency has been found. Therefore, it is clear that counterfeiters have largely abandoned their attempt to reproduce the new currency, always assuming that ______.
Which of the following most logically completes the argument?
Passage Analysis:
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
| To combat persistent counterfeiting, Lackland's currency was redesigned to include images that cannot be convincingly duplicated by the means used to successfully counterfeit the old bills. |
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| Last year, after the old currency was replaced, many crude counterfeits of the new bills were detected. |
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| But now it has been several months since any counterfeit currency has been found. |
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| Therefore, it is clear that counterfeiters have largely abandoned their attempt to reproduce the new currency, always assuming that ______. |
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Argument Flow:
The argument moves from problem (counterfeiting) to solution (redesigned currency) to initial results (crude counterfeits detected) to current situation (no counterfeits found) to conclusion (counterfeiters gave up). However, the author recognizes this conclusion relies on an assumption that needs to be stated.
Main Conclusion:
Counterfeiters have largely given up trying to reproduce Lackland's new currency.
Logical Structure:
The evidence (no counterfeits found recently) supports the conclusion (counterfeiters gave up) only if we assume certain things are true. The blank asks us to identify what key assumption must hold for this reasoning to work - likely something about detection methods, counterfeiter behavior, or alternative explanations for the lack of discovered counterfeits.
Prethinking:
Question type:
Logically Completes - We need to find what assumption the author is making when concluding that counterfeiters have abandoned their attempts based on no counterfeits being found recently.
Precision of Claims
The conclusion is about counterfeiter activity/behavior (abandoning attempts) based on detection frequency (no counterfeits found for several months). The key precision issue is whether absence of detected counterfeits truly indicates absence of counterfeiting activity.
Strategy
The author assumes that 'no counterfeits being detected' equals 'counterfeiters giving up.' But this logic only works if we assume certain things about detection capabilities. We need to find what assumption makes this reasoning valid - likely something about the relationship between counterfeiting activity and detection rates.
This deals with whether old currency is still circulating, but the argument is specifically about counterfeiting attempts on the new currency. Whether old bills are still in use doesn't affect the logic about whether counterfeiters have abandoned efforts to fake the new bills.
This focuses on other currencies and old techniques, but the argument's logic is about counterfeiters giving up on Lackland's new currency specifically. What happens with other currencies doesn't impact whether the absence of detected counterfeits means counterfeiters have abandoned attempts on Lackland's currency.
This directly addresses the core logical gap. The author assumes that 'no detected counterfeits' means 'counterfeiters gave up.' But this reasoning only holds if counterfeiters haven't developed new, undetectable techniques. If they had adopted new methods, the lack of detected fakes wouldn't indicate abandonment - it would suggest improved counterfeiting skills. This assumption is essential for the conclusion to be valid.
Information about penalty changes doesn't affect the logical connection between detection rates and counterfeiter behavior. Whether penalties increased or not doesn't impact whether the absence of detected counterfeits indicates that counterfeiters have given up.
The currency's value relative to its initial introduction doesn't address the logical gap about why no detected counterfeits would mean counterfeiters have abandoned their efforts. Currency value changes don't affect the detection-to-abandonment reasoning.