#12 - Sarah, who is an excellent mechanic, said that in her opinion the used

[bella243]

Could someone please explain why C is the correct answer? I struggled to eliminate most of the other answer choices. My prephrase was that 1) the author assumes that she lied to the other friend and 2) that he's comparing two different situations.

[Beth Hayden]

Hi Bella,

Answer (C) is basically just restating your prephase (2).

The stimulus says that because Sarah lied about Emmett's haircut, she can't be trusted, so we should not believe her opinion on John's car. Sarah doesn't have any reason to lie about the car, and since she's an excellent mechanic, her assessment is probably valid. On the other hand, Sarah does have a reason to lie to Emmett about his hair--she might not want to hurt his feelings. These are two completely different situations, and the fact that someone tells a lie in one situation does not mean they are always a liar all the time.

Answer (C) gets at just that by saying that this sweeping claim (Sarah's opinions can't be trusted) is based on evidence from one situation (the haircut) that has no real connection to her role as a mechanic.

I hope that helps!