Multiple choice

What is a necessary assumption for the argument to be true?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Citing the re-emergence of Tuberculosis as a serious disease in the country, a Republican Senator yesterday blamed the CDC for not working hard enough to control contagious diseases. The Senator accused the scientists of CDC of indulging in esoteric research and being unaware of the ground realities.

  1. CDC gets majority of its funding from philanthropists concerned with eliminating diseases.

  2. Any ongoing research by the scientists at CDC is unlikely to produce the desired results.

  3. The drugs currently used to treat Tuberculosis are failing to keep the disease in check.

  4. Communicable diseases sometimes spike for no explicable reason, and then revert to normal levels.

  5. Scientists sometimes find treatments for diseases purely by chance.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

(1) Incorrect; even if we negate the option, and believe that philanthropist do not contribute huge funds to CDC, it does not negate the Senator's assertion that scientists are not working hard enough to control spread of contagious diseases. (2) Incorrect; even if the option is negated, and it is believed that current research will get desired results, it cannot be said that the ongoing research is aimed at countering the spread of T.B. (3) Correct; if we reverse the option, and believe that currently used drugs can effectively treat T.B., the Senator's assertion that CDC is not working hard to control contagious disease, T.B. will be negated. If the current drugs are effective, there would be no need for CDC to work on T.B. control. (4) Incorrect; if the option is negated, and it is assumed that diseases do not spike without reason, it does not impact the conclusion. (5) Incorrect; inverting the option means that mostly scientists do not find the cures for diseases by chance. However, it does not prove that CDC scientists are not working hard.

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