7. The postal service is badly mismanaged. Forty years ago, first-class letter delivery cost only three cents. Since then, the price has increased nearly tenfold, with an actual decrease in the speed and reliability of service.>>

Each of the following statements, if true, would tend to weaken the argument above EXCEPT:>>

(A) The volume of mail handled by the postal service has increased dramatically over the last forty years.>>

(B) Unprecedented increases in the cost of fuel for trucks and planes have put severe upward pressures on postal delivery costs.>>

(C) Private delivery services usually charge more than does the postal service for comparable delivery charges.>>

(D) The average delivery time for a first-class letter four decades ago was actually slightly longer than it is today.（E）

(E) The average level of consumer prices overall has increased more than 300 percent over the last forty years.

想請問一下 位什麼 E不能削弱 ARGUMENT 我的理解是 如果consumer prices increase 300 percent over last forty year

那 postal sevice increase tenfold 就不算是mismanaged 不是嗎 因為上漲的幅度是合理的 我不知道我錯哪裡 請指教 謝謝先

11. Gloria: Those who advocate tuition tax credits for parents whose children attend private schools maintain that people making no use of a government service should not be forced to pay for it. Yet those who choose to buy bottled water rather than drink water from the local supply are not therefore exempt from paying taxes to maintain the local water supply.

Roger: Your argument is illogical. Children are required by law to attend school. Since school attendance is a matter not of choice, but of legal requirement, it is unfair for the government to force some parents to pay for it twice.

Which of the following responses by Gloria would best refute Roger’s charge that her argument is illogical?

(A) Although drinking water is not required by law, it is necessary for all people, and therefore my analogy is appropriate.

(B) Those who can afford the tuition at a high-priced private school can well bear the same tax burden as those whose children attend public schools.

(C) If tuition tax credits are granted, the tax burden on parents who choose public schools will rise to an intolerable level.

(D) The law does not say that parents must send their children to private schools, only that the children must attend some kind of school, whether public or private.（A）

(E) Both bottled water and private schools are luxury items, and it is unfair that some citizens should be able to afford them while others cannot.

我想請問一下 這一題的E是錯哪裡阿 謝謝

 Am I looking at the question wrong or you are?

Anwer E IS the correct answer.

But you didn't ask which one is the correct one, you asked why E is strengthening, I said: because price index increased 300% but US postal price increased 1000%, so it shows the argument has some grounds. So it's not weakening but strengthening.

我选了C, 觉得C某种程度也加强了，或者说不相关。牛牛说说，C错在哪？

对于答案E，难道涨价涨得多，就能直接推出是badly mismanaged？感觉E很牵强。