Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: Only assumption I is implicit.
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
The politician rejects “industrial progress” claims by citing rising unemployment as contradictory evidence. The argument treats unemployment as a proxy for industrial performance. We must extract the necessary premise(s) behind this inference.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
To use rising unemployment as a rebuttal to industrial progress claims, one must assume a negative relationship between industrial progress and unemployment (I). Claim II about “financial crunch” is not used in the argument; it is extraneous.
Step-by-Step Solution:
1) The structure is modus tollens–like: If industrial progress, then lower (or stable) unemployment; but unemployment is rising sharply; therefore, not progressing.2) This requires I to connect progress to unemployment. 3) Statement II concerns fiscal conditions and is not part of the unemployment-based refutation.
Verification / Alternative check:
The politician’s claim collapses if industrial progress can coexist with rising unemployment (e.g., automation with jobless growth). Hence I is indeed the hinge premise; II is irrelevant to this specific reasoning.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Only II/Either/Both/Neither misrepresent the logical dependence of the argument.
Common Pitfalls:
Assuming every metric must move together; here the speaker specifically leans on unemployment as the barometer, which needs I.
Final Answer:
Only assumption I is implicit.
Discussion & Comments