Testprep数学精解
EANING OF SOME.
SOME MEANS "AT LEAST ONE AND PERHAPS ALL."
AS MENTIONED BEFORE, THE CONCLUSION USUALLY COMES AT THE END OF AN ARGUMENT,
SOMETIMES AT THE BEGINNING, AND RARELY IN THE MIDDLE. WRITERS USE CERTAIN W
ORDS TO INDICATE THAT THE CONCLUSION IS ABOUT TO BE STATED. FOLLOWING IS A L
IST OF THE MOST COMMON CONCLUSION INDICATORS:
CONCLUSION INDICATORS
HENCE THEREFORE
SO ACCORDINGLY
THUS CONSEQUENTLY
FOLLOWS THAT SHOWS THAT
CONCLUDE THAT IMPLIES
AS A RESULT MEANS THAT
MOST OFTEN THE CONCLUSION OF AN ARGUMENT IS PUT IN THE FORM OF A STATEMENT.
SOMETIMES, HOWEVER, THE CONCLUSION IS GIVEN AS A COMMAND OR OBLIGATION.
EXAMPLE:
ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, YOU OUGHT TO VOTE.
HERE, THE AUTHOR IMPLIES THAT YOU ARE OBLIGED TO VOTE.
THE CONCLUSION CAN EVEN BE PUT IN THE FORM OF A QUESTION. THIS RHETORICAL TE
CHNIQUE IS QUITE EFFECTIVE IN CONVINCING PEOPLE THAT A CERTAIN POSITION IS C
ORRECT. WE ARE MORE LIKELY TO BELIEVE SOMETHING IF WE FEEL THAT WE CONCLUDED
IT ON OUR OWN, OR AT LEAST IF WE FEEL THAT WE WERE NOT TOLD TO BELIEVE IT.
A CONCLUSION PUT IN QUESTION FORM CAN HAVE THIS RESULT.
EXAMPLE:
THE NANUUTS BELIEVE THAT THEY SHOULD NOT TAKE FROM NATURE ANYTHING SHE CANNO
T REPLENISH DURING THEIR LIFETIME. THIS ASSURES THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS CAN
ENJOY THE SAME RICHES OF NATURE THAT THEY HAVE. AT THE CURRENT RATE OF DESTR
UCTION, THE RAIN FORESTS WILL DISAPPEAR DURING OUR LIFETIME. DO WE HAVE AN O
BLIGATION TO FUTURE GENERATIONS TO PREVENT THIS RESULT?
HERE THE AUTHOR TRUSTS THAT THE POWER OF HER ARGUMENT WILL PERSUADE THE READ
ER TO ANSWER THE QUESTION AFFIRMATIVELY.
TAKING THIS RHETORICAL TECHNIQUE ONE STEP FURTHER, THE WRITER MAY BUILD UP T
O THE CONCLUSION BUT LEAVE IT UNSTATED. THIS ALLOWS THE READER TO MAKE UP HI
S OWN MIND. IF THE BUILD-UP IS DONE SKILLFULLY, THE READER WILL BE MORE LIKE
LY TO AGREE WITH THE AUTHOR, WITHOUT FEELING MANIPULATED.
EXAMPLE:
HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN SHOULD CAST THE FIRST STONE. THERE IS NO ONE HERE WHO
DOES NOT HAVE A SKELETON IN HIS CLOSET.
THE UNSTATED BUT OBVIOUS CONCLUSION HERE IS THAT NONE OF THE PEOPLE HAS THE
RIGHT TO CAST THE FIRST STONE.
WHEN DETERMINING THE CONCLUSION’S SCOPE BE CAREFUL NOT TO READ ANY MORE OR L
ESSSINTOSIT THAN THE AUTHOR STATES. GMAT WRITERS OFTEN CREATE WRONG ANSWER-C
HOICES BY SLIGHTLY OVERSTATING OR UNDERSTATING THE AUTHOR’S CLAIM. CERTAIN W
ORDS LIMIT THE SCOPE OF A STATEMENT. THESE WORDS ARE CALLED QUANTIFIERS--PAY
CLOSE ATTENTION TO THEM. FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF THE MOST IMPORTANT QUANTIFI
ERS:
QUANTIFIERS
ALL EXCEPT LIKELY
SOME MOST MANY
ONLY COULD NO
NEVER ALWAYS EVERYWHERE
PROBABLY MUST ALONE
EXAMPLE:
WHETHER THE WORLD IS EUCLIDEAN OR NON-EUCLIDEAN IS STILL AN OPEN QUESTION.
HOWEVER, IF A STAR’S POSITION IS PREDICTED BASED ON NON-EUCLIDEAN GEOMETRY,
THEN WHEN A TELESCOPE IS POINTED TOSWHERESTHE STAR SHOULD BE IT WILL BE THER
E. WHEREAS, IF THE STAR’S POSITION IS PREDICTED BASED ON EUCLIDEAN GEOMETRY,
THEN WHEN A TELESCOPE IS POINTED TOSWHERESTHE STAR SHOULD BE IT WON’T BE TH
ERE. THIS STRONGLY INDICATES THAT THE WORLD IS NON-EUCLIDEAN.
WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING BEST EXPRESSES THE MAIN IDEA OF THE PASSAGE?
(A) THE WORLD MAY OR MAY NOT BE EUCLIDEAN.
(B) THE WORLD IS PROBABLY NON-EUCLIDEAN.
(C) THE WORLD IS NON-EUCLIDEAN.
(D) THE WORLD IS EUCLIDEAN.
(E) THE WORLD IS NEITHER EUCLIDEAN NOR NON-EUCLIDEAN.
CHOICE (A) UNDERSTATES THE MAIN IDEA. ALTHOUGH THE OPENING TO THE PASSAGE ST
ATES THAT WE DON’T KNOW WHETHER THE WORLD IS NON-EUCLIDEAN, THE AUTHOR GOES
ON TO GIVE EVIDENCE THAT IT IS NON-EUCLIDEAN. CHOICE (C) OVERSTATES THE MAIN
IDEA. THE AUTHOR DOESN’T SAY THAT THE WORLD IS NON-EUCLIDEAN, JUST THAT EVI
DENCE STRONGLY INDICATES THAT IT IS. IN CHOICE (B), THE WORD "PROBABLY" PROP
ERLY LIMITS THE SCOPE OF THE MAIN IDEA, NAMELY, THAT THE WORLD IS PROBABLY N
ON-EUCLIDEAN, BUT WE CAN’T YET STATE SO DEFINITIVELY. THE ANSWER IS (B).
PREMISES
ONCE YOU’VE FOUND THE CONCLUSION, MOST OFTEN EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE ARGUMENT
WILL BE EITHER PREMISES OR "NOISE." THE PREMISES PROVIDE EVIDENCE FOR THE C
ONCLUSION; THEY FORM THE FOUNDATION OR INFRASTRUCTURE UPON WHICH THE CONCLUS
ION DEPENDS. TO DETERMINE WHETHER A STATEMENT IS A PREMISE, ASK YOURSELF WHE
THER IT SUPPORTS THE CONCLUSION. IF SO, IT’S A PREMISE. EARLIER