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- Fri Jul 19, 2013 11:00 pm
#33318
Complete Question Explanation
Parallel Reasoning—PR. The correct answer choice is (C)
This author warns against trying to pull out all of the weeds in one’s garden, despite the fact that weeds do have a detrimental effect on the productivity of a garden. The author’s conclusion is based on the premise that the loss in productivity is justified by the avoidance of the painstaking work that would be involved with locating and removing every single weed:
The stimulus is followed by a Parallel Reasoning Principle question, so the correct answer will present analogous reasoning, based on the same principle.
Answer choice (A): This choice begins in the right direction, but quickly goes off track. It is a mistake to try to remove every personality imperfection, but in this choice, the conclusion is based on the premise that true happiness requires some defects—this is rather different from the basis of the stimulus’ conclusion (that removal of the last few weeds, or defects in this case, is not worth the trouble).
Answer choice (B): This choice has a conclusion that is somewhat similar to that of the stimulus: in this answer, the conclusion is that one shouldn’t try to change every aspect of one’s personality, but in this case the basis is that such a change is more likely to make you worse off than better off. This is different from the stimulus’ basis, which is that finding the last few weeds is more trouble than is justified.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. Just like the stimulus, the author of this choice warns against too much perfectionism: like weeds, once there are only a few remaining imperfections, the trouble associated with locating and removing them no longer justifies the time and effort.
Answer choice (D): This choice advises against trying to remove all of the imperfections of one’s personality, much like the stimulus advises against trying to remove all weeds. In this choice, however, the conclusion is based on the premise that complete removal is not possible, whereas the stimulus’ conclusion was based on a different notion: not that removing every last weed was impossible, just that the time and effort to remove the last few would not be justifiably spent.
Answer choice (E): This choice advises against trying to remove imperfections that are not too serious, as doing so will lead to more serious issues (rather different from the stimulus, which concludes that one should not try to remove every single weed, because the last few are not worth the effort). Since the reasoning in this choice is not based on the same principle as that of the stimulus, this cannot be the right answer to this Parallel Reasoning question.
Parallel Reasoning—PR. The correct answer choice is (C)
This author warns against trying to pull out all of the weeds in one’s garden, despite the fact that weeds do have a detrimental effect on the productivity of a garden. The author’s conclusion is based on the premise that the loss in productivity is justified by the avoidance of the painstaking work that would be involved with locating and removing every single weed:
- Premise:
Although weeds do reduce the productivity of a garden, the avoidance of the painstaking work
associated with the location and removal of every weed more than compensates for the slight loss
in productivity.
Conclusion: Thus, one should not try to remove every weed when weeding a garden.
The stimulus is followed by a Parallel Reasoning Principle question, so the correct answer will present analogous reasoning, based on the same principle.
Answer choice (A): This choice begins in the right direction, but quickly goes off track. It is a mistake to try to remove every personality imperfection, but in this choice, the conclusion is based on the premise that true happiness requires some defects—this is rather different from the basis of the stimulus’ conclusion (that removal of the last few weeds, or defects in this case, is not worth the trouble).
Answer choice (B): This choice has a conclusion that is somewhat similar to that of the stimulus: in this answer, the conclusion is that one shouldn’t try to change every aspect of one’s personality, but in this case the basis is that such a change is more likely to make you worse off than better off. This is different from the stimulus’ basis, which is that finding the last few weeds is more trouble than is justified.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. Just like the stimulus, the author of this choice warns against too much perfectionism: like weeds, once there are only a few remaining imperfections, the trouble associated with locating and removing them no longer justifies the time and effort.
Answer choice (D): This choice advises against trying to remove all of the imperfections of one’s personality, much like the stimulus advises against trying to remove all weeds. In this choice, however, the conclusion is based on the premise that complete removal is not possible, whereas the stimulus’ conclusion was based on a different notion: not that removing every last weed was impossible, just that the time and effort to remove the last few would not be justifiably spent.
Answer choice (E): This choice advises against trying to remove imperfections that are not too serious, as doing so will lead to more serious issues (rather different from the stimulus, which concludes that one should not try to remove every single weed, because the last few are not worth the effort). Since the reasoning in this choice is not based on the same principle as that of the stimulus, this cannot be the right answer to this Parallel Reasoning question.
), "The painstaking effort of finding and pulling every single weed" 
Answer Choice E "Cause one serious difficulties".