bigpig

11. 大致的意思是有人说，一些人选择在家工作的工作方式，而不是去固定的工作地点上班。作者认为有很多缺点：比如在家工作容易分心、缺乏职位提升的激励等，还有就是缺乏与人的沟通交流。
没有原题，上月ＪＪ里的
V1.说和办公室稳定工作比起来，self-employed and work at home earn less in long run。理由有三个：一个是在家会有distractions from phone calls, noisy neighbors and household chords；另外一个是self-employed的人with no set schedule，因此会avoid working，有另外一个单词不懂，哼唧~，大概就是说工作起来就不主动吧；第三个是说会socially and professionally isolated，因此会丧失很多其他工作机会。
V3.it is financially unwise for people working at home。Author给了三点理由，第一，家里各种noisy neighbor, telephone call什么的会打扰到你；第二，在家里工作的人没有schedule；第三，在家会socially &professionally isolated，所以不能career advancement。Therefore,作者总结,对long-tern 在家工作earning less money than在办公室工作。
感谢athue提供的思路：
我从三个方面来说的：
第一，        无理假设，no evidence is stated in the argument so support that在家工作的人没schedule和会有很多distraction打扰到你。
第二，        忽略他因，作者没有考虑到career advancement的其他原因，只说员工如果不professional的话，那就没有career advancement。
第三，        没有全面考虑有关earning的多个方面，即使在office工作可能收入会高一些，但是员工的成本也高啦，比如transportation fee。

bigpig

12.
No.53 The following editorial appeared in the Elm City paper.
“The construction last year of a shopping mall in downtown Oak City
was a mistake. Since the mall has opened, a number of local businesses have closed, and the downtown area suffers from an acute parking shortage, and arrests for crime and vagrancy have increased in the nearby Oak City Park. Elm City should pay attention to the example of the Oak City mall and deny the application to build a shopping mall in Elm City.” （52）(两个版本，此为较新版本)53. Elm城的报纸上的社论：
去年在橡树城市中心修建购物中心是个错误。由于中心开业，大量的本地企业倒闭了。而且市中心受到严重缺乏停车位的困扰。在附近的橡树城公园拘捕的罪犯和流浪汉也增加了。榆树城应该注意橡树城购物中心的例子并防止在榆树城建立购物中心。
没有这道新题的范文，下面先附上老版本的题目和范文
“The construction of last year of a shopping mall in downtown Oak City has done little for the residents of the community. Since the mall has opened, a number of local businesses have closed, and the downtown area suffers from an acute parking shortage. In addition, because the mall’s owner lives in nearby Elm City, the profits derived from sales at the mall are not being returned to the community. These problems, coupled with the increase in trash and litter in nearby Oak City park, demonstrate that Oak City did not use good judgment in allowing the construction of the mall in the first place.”(老题)
In this editorial the author rebukes Oak City for allowing the construction of a new downtown shopping mall. Citing a number of problems that have occurred since the building of the mail, the author concludes that the residents of Oak City have not benefited from the mail and that Oak City exercised poor judgment in allowing the mail to be built. Among the problems cited by the author are the closure of local businesses, lack of parking in the downtown area, and increased trash and litter in a city park near the mall. Moreover, the author argues that profits derived from sales are not benefiting Oak City because the owner of the mall lives in another city. The author’s argument is problematic in several respects.
In the first place, the author assumes that addition of the new mall is the cause of the various problems cited. The only evidence offered to support this claim is that the construction of the mall occurred before these problems manifested themselves. However, this evidence is insufficient to establish the claim in question. A chronological relationship is only one of the indicators of a causal relationship between two events.
In the second place, the author has focused only on negative effects the mall has had on the city. A more detailed analysis of the situation might reveal that the positive benefits for the city far outweigh the problems on which the author focuses. For example, new jobs might have been created for the residents of Oak City, and tax revenues might have been increased for the city. Lacking a more comprehensive analysis of the impact of the mail on Oak City, it is presumptuous on the part of the author to conclude that Oak City’s decision to allow the mall to be built was incorrect.
In conclusion, the author’s argument is unconvincing. To strengthen the argument the author would have to demonstrate that the construction of the mall caused the various problems mentioned. The author would also have to show that the negative effects of the project outweighed the positive effects.

上月LZ的新题思路：1.中心开业与本地企业倒闭之间没有必然的因果关系（causal oversimplification）
2.罪犯和流浪汉的增加可能是因为其他原因，比如失业率的上升。。。（感觉和第一点有点重复。。。）
3.缺乏停车位和中心的建立无关，问题可能本来就存在或者是车增加了

bigpig

13. 上个月寂静里的health center 游泳池新开的那道题。。看到这个我还以为没换苦呢。。。
题库原题: The following appeared as part of a business plan created by the management of the Take Heart Fitness Center.
“After opening the new swimming pool early last summer, Take Heart saw a 12 percent increase in the use of the center by members. Therefore, in order to increase the number of our members and thus our revenues, which depend on membership fees, we should continue to add new recreational facilities in subsequent years: for example, a multipurpose game room, a tennis court, and a miniature golf course. Being the only center in the area offering this range of activities would give us a competitive advantage in the health and recreation market.”
范文：Because Take Heart Fitness Center experienced a 12 percent increase in member usage as a result of opening a new swimming pool last summer, the author recommends the addition of new recreational facilities in subsequent years as a means of increasing membership in Take Heart. The author’s recommendation is problematic for several reasons.
First, and foremost, the author assumes that an increase in member usage portends an increase in membership. This assumption may hold true in some cases. However, it is unlikely to hold true in the case at hand, because it is reasonable to expect that members would visit the fitness center to inspect and try out the new swimming pool. This would account for the increase in usage. However, since the author provides no evidence that this new rate of usage was sustained, the abrupt increase in usage provides little evidence that the addition of facilities such as the pool will attract new members.
Second, the author assumes that the addition of the swimming pool was responsible for the increase in member usage. However, the only evidence for this claim is insufficient to establish the causal claim in question. While temporal precedence is one of the conditions required to establish a causal relationship between two events, by itself it is not a sufficient condition. Consequently, it is possible that the addition of the pool was unrelated to the increase in usage in the manner required by the author’s argument.
Finally, the author has provided no evidence to support the contention that Take Heart will be the only center in the area to offer a wide range of activities to its members and thus have a competitive advantage in the fitness market.
In conclusion, the author’s belief that adding additional recreational facilities will increase Take Heart’s membership is ill-founded. To strengthen the argument the author would have to provide evidence that member usage is reliable indicator of new membership. Additionally, it would be necessary to show that the cause of the increase in usage was the opening of the new pool.

bigpig

14．有一个公司有三个部分，过去两年一直盈利，所以它希望为买两样产品的人提供买第三样产品的discount,从而增大利润
感谢casy2003的考古

V2就是两年前那个经理在一个地方开披萨店，revenue上升很快，所以决定在nearby cities and town 开三个分店，他认为会带来很大盈利

考古
AA：在P district有三家店（theater, pizza, golf club）在过去的两年business都increase了，所以I district也想开这三家店，并且I district决定：如果有去其中两家店的顾客，那么去第三家店可以打折，这样 I district 觉得肯定可以contribute to profit and maximize revenue.

V2:一家capital investment company的recommendation：在Park Hill District 开的三家店XX theater，XX playhouse（貌似，反正不重要）和XX Golf Club，两年前盈利increase了，所以作者建议在另一个district也投资新开三家经营范围类似（但品牌不同）的店；另外，采用a program：上前两家消费的顾客在第三家永久享受折扣——那么这三家店每一家都能盈利并且投资公司能赚到钱。
提供观点：
2、    过去的营业额增长不代表在另一个district开三家店生意能够好，区域之间可能存在差异，错误的类比
3、    推理不充分，这种折扣政策能保证三家店的每一家都盈利么？会不会某一家店承担了过多的折扣？
某地开了高尔夫、披萨店、还有剧院，表现不俗，于是某投资公司决定在B地也开。

感谢可预见的雪mm提供原题
原题 125
The following appeared as part of the business plan of the Capital Idea investment firm.
“Across town in the Park Hill district, the Thespian Theater, Pizzazz Pizza, and the Niblick Golf Club have all had business increases within the past two years. Capital Idea should therefore invest in the Roxy Playhouse, the Slice-o’-Pizza, and the Divot Golf Club, three new businesses in the Irongate district. As a condition, we should require them to participate in a special program: Any customer who patronizes two of the businesses will receive a substantial discount at the third. By motivating customers to patronize all three, we will thus contribute to the profitability of each and maximize our return.”

Capital Idea投资公司的商业计划：
在ParkHill区的Thespian剧院，Pizzazz比萨，Niblick高尔夫俱乐部在过去2年都有业务增长。因此Capital Idea应该投资Poxy剧场，Slic－o比萨和Divot高尔夫俱乐部这3家新的Irongate区的企业。为使他们达到条件，我们应该要求他们参加特殊的项目：任何顾客在其中两家消费将在第三家得到折扣。通过刺激顾客在所有3家店消费，我们将增进每一家的利润，从而使我们的回报最大化。
观点
1，        The author commits a fallcy of false analogy.
2，        Therefore the proposal of investment in the Irongate district is groundless. No investment should be made until other factors have been considered and the benefit-cost analysis has been made.
3，        The programme suggested by the author is reckless or even ridiculous. The possible result can be the opposite of the author's imagination because the consumers have interest of only one or two of the three stores.

1，        The business increases occured in the past two years. No one can guarantee the future profit.
2，        The three new companies are not necessarily analogous to those profitable ones.
The condition that is required is absurd. There is no causal relatioship between the condition and the collective profit.

bigpig

15. 题库6---企业在寻找新的商机或位置时应该去Helios城那个，是原题。
The following appeared as part of an article in a magazine devoted to regional life.
“Corporations should look to the city of Helios when seeking new business opportunities or a new location. Even in the recent recession, Helios’s unemployment rate was lower than the regional average. It is the industrial center of the region, and historically it has provided more than its share of the region’s manufacturing jobs. In addition, Helios is attempting to expand its economic base by attracting companies that focus on research and development of innovative technologies.”
Discuss how well reasoned... etc.
6. 一份面向地方生活的杂志上的一篇文章：
企业在寻找新的商机或位置时应该去Helios城。甚至在最近的衰退中，Helios的失业率也比地区平均水平低，它是地区的工业中心，历史上它提供的比它在地区制造业工作中分享的份额中更多。而且，Helios正试图通过吸引研究和发展革新技术的公司来扩张它的经济基础。
提供观点：
1.        作者认为应该到该地区建厂理由是这里的失业率很高。但是却没有给出因果关系。从常理来看这是没有道理的因为失业率高的地方可能更难雇佣到雇员从而使成本增加。
2.        作者认为该地区会鼓励研发，所以应该到该地区投资。但事实上就象作者说的那样该地区是制造业中心怎么可能有很多对技术和科研很熟练的人员。

1，        因为H地区industrial and manufacturing比较attractive，所以那里的工人很可能只适合做这类的，如果缺乏能够做innovative technologies and research的工人labor pool，那么很可能导致失败。
2，        H的低失业率更可能成为坏处。因为比如有less available work force。企业必须提高wage才能吸引他们。提高了COST。
3，        错误的假设过去的成功能够代表未来。比方说已经饱和的资源、过分的竞争、以及可能出现的错误政策，都可能导致H地区的经济不再发达。

In this argument corporations are urged to consider the city of Helios when seeking a new location or new business opportunities. To support this recommendation, the author points out that Helios is the industrial center of the region, providing most of the region’s manufacturing jobs and enjoying a lower-than-average unemployment rate. Moreover, it is argued, efforts are currently underway to expand the economic base of the city by attracting companies that focus on research and development of innovative technologies. This argument is problematic for two reasons.
To begin with, it is questionable whether the available labor pool in Helios could support all types of corporations. Given that Helios has attracted mainly industrial and manufacturing companies in the past, it is unlikely that the local pool of prospective employees would be suitable for corporations of other types. For example, the needs of research and development companies would not be met by a labor force trained in manufacturing skills. For this reason, it’s unlikely that Helios will be successful in its attempt to attract companies that focus or research and development of innovative technologies.
Another problem with the available work force is its size. Due to the lower than average unemployment rate in Helios, corporations that require large numbers of workers would not find Helios attractive. The fact that few persons are out of work suggests that new corporations will have to either attract new workers to Helios or pay the existing workers higher wages in order to lure them away from their current jobs. Neither of these alternatives seems enticing to companies seeking to relocate.
In conclusion, the author has not succeeded in providing compelling reasons for selecting Helios as the site for a company wishing to relocate. In fact, the reasons offered function better as reasons for not relocating to Helios. Nor has the author provided compelling reasons for companies seeking new business opportunities to choose Helios.

bigpig

16. JJ上有的，就是那个某公司在去年给公司manager们都在各自家里配备了电脑和电话，好像是今年发现利润涨了。Author就推断是这个方案起作用了阿，那些managers因为下班后还能在家办公所以工作效率提高了，author就建议其他公司也效仿同样做法给员工在家配备电脑，这样可能利润就能大涨了。
题库原题：97. The following appeared as part of an article in a computer magazine.
“A year ago Apex Manufacturing bought its managers computers for their homes and paid for telephone connections so that the managers could access Apex computers and data files from home after normal business hours. Since last year, productivity at Apex has increased by 15 percent. Other companies can learn from the success at Apex: given home computers and access to company resources, employees will work additional hours at home and thereby increase company profits.”
电脑杂志的文章：
一年前Apex制造公司给它的经理们在家买了电脑，并支付电话费，这样他们就可以在工作时间以外从家里连接到Apex的电脑和数据文件。从去年开始，Apex的生产能力增长了15%。其他公司可以借鉴Apex的成功，提供家用电脑和到公司资源的链接，雇员会在家里加班并提高公司利润。

思路分析：
Notice that only managers were bought computers by Apex, whose productivity indeed rose 15 percent as the result. It is different from the assumption made in the article, which stated that if all employees were brought computers, they would work extra hours at home.  Managers ≠ all employees
A. This argument suffers from a fallacy of post hoc, ergo propter hoc.
B. Next, the author fails to provide any evidence that installing home computers for managers really led to the increase of Apex’s productivity.
思路参考：
1 home access 和increase productivity因果关系错误
2 就算有关系，productity增加也不代表profits会增加
3 就算以上都对，用去年来推今后也是错的  
4 hasty generalization。有两个，一是把apex推广到所有公司，二是把managers推广到了所有employees
论点： 1，错误的analogous 类比，各公司是不同滴，不能照搬滴；

2，利润涨了就推断是这个方案起的作用是没有根据的。。。

北美范文
In this article the author attributes Apex Manufacturing’s 15 percent increase in productivity over the past year to its decision to equip its manager with computers and paid telephone connections for their homes so that they would access company computers and files from home after normal business hours. On the basis of Apex’s experience the author recommends that other companies follow Apex’s example and provide computers and access to company resources to their employees. The author believes that such a policy would increase productivity and profits for other companies, just as it did for Apex. The author’s line of reasoning is questionable for several reasons.
First, the author assumes that Apex’s increase in productivity is due to its equipping its managers with home computers and access to company resources. However, the only evidence offered in support of this claim is the fact that Apex’s increase in productivity occurred after the home computers and after-hours access was provided. Unfortunately, this evidence is insufficient to establish the causal claim in question. While temporal precedence is one of the conditions required to establish a causal relationship between two events, by itself it is not a sufficient condition. Consequently, it is possible that Apex’s increase in productivity is not related to its decision to equip its managers with computers and after-hours access in the fashion required by the author’s argument.
Second, the author assumes that Apex and other companies are sufficiently similar to warrant a conclusion based on an analogy between them. Even if we accept the view that Apex’s increase in productivity was brought about by its policy of enabling its managers to work from home, differences between Apex and other companies could nullify this result. Lacking detailed information about Apex and the other companies in question it is difficult to assess the author’s conclusion.
In conclusion, the author’s argument is unconvincing. To strengthen the argument the author would have to provide additional evidence for the claim that Apex’s decision to provide its managers with home computers and access to company resources was responsible for its increase in productivity. Furthermore, it would be necessary to show that Apex and other companies are sufficiently similar to justify the analogy between them.

bigpig

17. 調查發現大眾關心環保議題  某信用卡公司打算捐錢給某環保機構  然後印logo在他們的卡上  藉以增加消費  和吸引顧客
题库原题：34. The following appeared as part of a plan proposed by an executive of the Easy Credit Company to the president.
“The Easy Credit Company would gain an advantage over competing credit card services if we were to donate a portion of the proceeds from the use of our cards to a well-known environmental organization in exchange for the use of its symbol or logo on our card. Since a recent poll shows that a large percentage of the public is concerned about environmental issues, this policy would attract new customers, increase use among existing customers, and enable us to charge interest rates that are higher than the lowest ones available.”

范文：In this argument the author concludes that the Easy Credit Company would gain several advantages over its competitors by donating a portion of its profits to a well-known environmental organization in exchange for the use of the organization’s logo on their credit card. The author reaches this conclusion on the basis of a recent poll that shows widespread public concern about environmental issues. Among the advantages of this policy, the author foresees an increase in credit card use by existing customers, the ability to charge higher interest rates, and the ability to attract new customers. While the author’s argument has some merit, it suffers from two critical problems.
To begin with, the author assumes that the environmental organization whose logo is sought is concerned with the same environmental issues about which the poll shows widespread concern. However, the author provides no evidence that this is the case. It is possible that very few credit-card users are concerned about the issues that are the organization’s areas of concern; if so, then it is unlikely that the organization’s logo would attract much business for the Easy Credit Company.
Next, the author assumes that the public’s concern about environmental issues will result in its taking steps to do something about the problem—in this case, to use the Easy Credit Company credit card. This assumption is unsupported and runs contrary to experience. Also, it is more reasonable to assume that people who are concerned about a particular cause will choose a more direct means of expressing their concern.
In conclusion, the author’s argument is unconvincing as it stands. To strengthen the argument, the author must show a positive link between the environmental issues about which the public has expressed concern and the issues with which this particular environmental organization is concerned. In addition, the author must provide evidence to support the assumption that concern about a problem will cause people to do something about the problem.

bigpig

18. 合并至7


19. 合并至14

20. 个咖啡店在他们的网站上加了一个customer feedback page，用来做调查，并且在他们的宣传单上明确的写明了他们的网址以便客户能找到这个feedback page，但是反馈的客户并不多。即便如此这个咖啡店仍然卖出了300000份咖啡，因此他们认为根本不需要这些feedback以提高他们产品的质量
感谢casy2003的考古
（10）本月机经11次 上月机经：5次
有一个咖啡店的CEO根据过去6个月他们从feedback网页上得来的信息，认为客户对店卖的东西和服务都很满意，不需要作什么改进了。这个feedback登录方式印在了receipt上，CEO认为顾客都能看到。顾客通过网页提交的投诉和建议数量分别是100多和几十，相较于卖掉的咖啡数很小。
V2六个月了，the hot cup cafe has a website, containing a customer feedback page,然后customers可以submit comments. the website address is clearly printed on the each receipt, so it is not difficult for customer to access the feedback page. 然后呢，那六个月the hot cup cafe卖了300,000cups of coffees，但是customer feedback page最有179个complaints和87个suggestions（大概数字是这样的既不清楚了）。然后就说almost all the customers are satisfied with our current products and customer service department, so we don't have make any improvement。
V3
ＨＯＴ　ＣＵＰ　ＣＡＦＥ的ＣＥＯ说他们吧网站和ｆｅｅｄｂａｃｋ　ｐａｇｅ印在了发票上，但是在３０００００多顾客中，只有１８７人ｃｏｍｐｌａｉｎｔｓ７６人ｓｕｇｇｅｓｔｉｏｎ，所以说不需要改进服务。

V4个咖啡店在他们的网站上加了一个customer feedback page，用来做调查，并且在他们的宣传单上明确的写明了他们的网址以便客户能找到这个feedback page，在这个咖啡店卖出了300，000份咖啡中调查，发现有500+人正评价，100+给了建议。因此他们认为根本不需要这些feedback以提高他们产品的质量（原文说的是to develop the procedure）
考古
说一个咖啡馆在网站上建了一个feedback的专页，并将网址打印在给每位顾客的Receipt上面。发现一段时间后只有一百多条抱怨和几十条建议，而在此期间咖啡馆却售出了30000杯饮料，于是作者认为咖啡馆的服务和产品非常好。
A Cafe build a website to allow the feed back of its customer in the past six months. The address of the site is clearly sited on the **(忘了，单词大家能认识),The site only receive 178 complaint and 33 advise,but the number of  total receipts is 33,000.Conclusion:the Cafe does not need to evaluate and improve the service.
[V2] 一个customer service department manager的report:
从六个月前开始，有一个Cafe在每一个receipt上面都印了一个website address，是一个customer feedback page。所以每一个顾客都不难找到。到现在为止，该公司只收到一百多条complaints和不到一百条suggestions，而从有feedback page到现在该公司一共卖了三万杯coffee drink（总之是很大的一个数）。因此可以assume that顾客对这个公司的产品和服务fully satisfied，不需要改进提升之类。
没有找到对应的题库，但有一道类似的题目（即JJ第39道），观点可以借鉴
类似：The following appeared in an Avia Airlines departmental memorandum:
“On average, 9 out of every 1,000 passengers who traveled on Avia Airlines last year filed a complaint about our baggage-handling procedures. This means that although some 1 percent of our passengers were unhappy with those procedures, the overwhelming majority were quite satisfied with them; thus it would appear that a review of the procedures is not important to our goal of maintaining or increasing the number of Avia’s passengers.”（39）

bigpig

21. 一个是Olympic Foods and color film 的那个
原题和范文
1. The following appeared as part of an annual report sent to stockholders by Olympic Foods, a processor of frozen foods.
“Over time, the costs of processing go down because as organizations learn how to do things better, they become more efficient. In color film processing, for example, the cost of a 3-by-5-inch print fell from 50 cents for five-day service in 1970 to 20 cents for one-day service in 1984. The same principle applies to the processing of food. And since Olympic Foods will soon celebrate its twenty-fifth birthday, we can expect that our long experience will enable us to minimize costs and thus maximize profits.”
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.
Citing facts drawn from the color-film processing industry that indicate a downward trend in the costs of film processing over a 24-year period, the author argues that Olympic Foods will likewise be able to minimize costs and thus maximize profits in the future. In support of this conclusion the author cites the general principle that “as organizations learn how to do things better, they become more efficient.” This principle, coupled with the fact that Olympic Foods has had 25 years of experience in the food processing industry leads to the author’s rosy prediction. This argument is unconvincing because it suffers from two critical flaws.
First, the author’s forecast of minimal costs and maximum profits rests on the gratuitous assumption that Olympic Foods’ “long experience” has taught it how to do things better. There is, however, no guarantee that this is the case. Nor does the author cite any evidence to support this assumption. Just as likely, Olympic Foods has learned nothing from its 25 years in the food-processing business. Lacking this assumption, the expectation of increased efficiency is entirely unfounded.
Second, it is highly doubtful that the facts drawn from the color-film processing industry are applicable to the food processing industry. Differences between the two industries clearly outweigh the similarities, thus making the analogy highly less than valid. For example, problems of spoilage, contamination, and timely transportation all affect the food industry but are virtually absent in the film-processing industry. Problems such as these might present insurmountable obstacles that prevent lowering food-processing costs in the future.
As it stands the author’s argument is not compelling. To strengthen the conclusion that Olympic Foods will enjoy minimal costs and maximum profits in the future, the author would have to provide evidence that the company has learned how to do things better as a result of its 25 years of experience. Supporting examples drawn from industries more similar to the food-processing industry would further substantiate the author’s view.

思路
1.        false analogy: The food industry is not analogous to the color film industry.
2.        causal oversimplification: Other factors that may contribute t to the cost decline of the printing cost should be considered and ruled out.
3.        gratuitous assumption: The conclusion of the argument is based on a gratuitous assumption that the company  can minimize cost and maximize profit because the company has been conducted for 25 years.

1.         错误类比：color film processing和processing of food不相同。problems of spoilage, contamination, and timely transportation都只影响food 不影响film.
2.        同时，忽略他因。是否是因为组织更有效率才使COST下降的？很可能是material necessary for the process下降了价钱。所以，两者更不同。
3.        gratuitous assumption：二十五年不代表学到了很多。很可能什么都没学到，或者技术已经out of date.

bigpig

22. 当地校医院的服务质量没有别的医院高的那篇
题库原题：43. The following appeared in an article in the health section of a newspaper.
“There is a common misconception that university hospitals are better than community or private hospitals. This notion is unfounded, however: the university hospitals in our region employ 15 percent fewer doctors, have a 20 percent lower success rate in treating patients, make far less overall profit, and pay their medical staff considerably less than do private hospitals. Furthermore, many doctors at university hospitals typically divide their time among teaching, conducting research, and treating patients. From this it seems clear that the quality of care at university hospitals is lower than that at other kinds of hospitals.”
范文：
In this argument the author concludes that university hospitals provide no better care than private or community hospitals. The author bases this conclusion on the following claims about university hospitals: the ones in this region employ 15 percent fewer doctors; they have a 20 percent lower success rate in treating patients; they pay their staffs less money; they make less profit than community hospitals; and they utilize doctors who divide their time between teaching, research and treating patients. This argument is unconvincing for several reasons.
The most egregious reasoning error in the argument is the author’s use of evidence pertaining to university hospitals in this region as the basis for a generalization about all university hospitals. The underlying assumption operative in this inference is that university hospitals in this region are representative of all university hospitals. No evidence is offered to support this gratuitous assumption.
Secondly, the only relevant reason offered in support of the claim that the quality of care is lower in university hospitals than it is at other hospitals is the fact that university hospitals have a lower success rate in treating patients. But this reason is not sufficient to reach the conclusion in question unless it can be shown that the patients treated in both types of hospitals suffered from similar types of maladies. For example, if university hospitals routinely treat patients suffering from rare diseases whereas other hospitals treat only those who suffer from known diseases and illnesses, the difference in success rates would not be indicative of the quality of care received.
Finally, the author assumes that the number of doctors a hospital employs, its success rate in treating patients, the amount it pays its staff, and the profits it earns are all reliable indicators of the quality of care it delivers. No evidence is offered to support this assumption nor is it obvious that any of these factors is linked to the quality of care delivered to patients. Moreover, the fact that doctors in university hospitals divide their time among many tasks fails to demonstrate that they do a poorer job of treating patients than doctors at other kinds of hospitals. In fact, it is highly likely that they do a better job because they are more knowledgeable than other doctors due to their teaching and research.
In conclusion, the author’s argument is unconvincing. To strengthen the argument the author would have to demonstrate that university hospitals in this region are representative of all university hospitals, as well as establishing a causal link between the various factors cited and the quality of care delivered to patients.