Joyce:
Three years ago the traffic commission modified our town's busiest intersection for better visibility, a commendable effort to cut down on traffic accidents there.
Gary:
Over the past three years there have been more, not fewer, traffic accidents per week at that intersection, so the modification has increased the likelihood of accidents there
The answer to which of the following questions would be most useful in evaluating Gary's argument?
(A) What proportion of the town's drivers involved in accidents that occurred prior to the modification suffered personal injury in their accidents?
(B) How long, on average, had the members of the traffic commission held their offices when the modification was implemented?
(C) Do a majority of the town's residents approve of the traffic commission's overall performance?
(D) What measures have nearby towns taken within the last three years in order to improve visibility at dangerous intersections?
(E) How has the volume of traffic at the town's busiest intersection changed over the last three years?
logic book style:
P1: Three years ago the traffic commission modified our town's busiest intersection for better visibility, a commendable effort to cut down on traffic accidents there.
P2: Over the past three years there have been more, not fewer, traffic accidents per week at that intersection
C: so the modification has increased the likelihood of accidents there
整個論辯就分三組，
前提一：街道治保委員會改十字路口，得到好視野，降低意外
前提二：意外更多
結論：這更改使意外增加
所謂evaluating就是加上選項上的句子能夠幫句你對結論的這個句子判斷對跟錯，這個『結論的句子』所宣告的東西是否靠譜，或是對整個argument(論辯＝前提加結論)判定好壞，我不管他出來的評價是好還是壞，能夠幫助判斷就好，所以這時候就牽扯到連貫性了，要先找有連貫性的東西去連結結論，這樣我們才能去對結論有評價，另外在評價的意義就是對於結論去打上問號，質疑結論之後，才會有evaluation的這個動作，評價這個動作就是看完內容跟結論之後會說：恩～你講的沒錯。或是，他媽的吃大便，也可以是恩～隨便拉這樣的反應。講那麼多定義上的事情就是為了要鋪梗，鋪我所要下的解題關鍵，檢查點就兩個，
第一：關聯性-就是連貫性，從前提到結論，他們之間必定會有所謂連結點，彼此環環相扣，像這裡就是意外發生量
第二：結論主幹- 選項內容要跟結論的主幹有對應到，因為你這樣才能透過選項去判斷這個結論是好還是壞
所以看看上面的三個部分，所以看到的都是跟增加減少有關的字眼，而且是意外數的增減，選項跟數量有關的就只有（Ｅ），他的主幹是『量』volume
其他選項主幹：
Ａ： proportion of the town's drivers比例可能有機會對，但後面是司機啊
Ｂ：How long長度不能決定什麼
Ｃ：majority of the town's residents主要居民，都治保委員會在處理了沒居民的份
Ｄ：measures方法
在連貫性跟argument的定義下作題，就不易陷入翻譯找答案的陷阱中了。以上個人筆記希望有幫助到大家，有誤再請指教!!
托福TOEFL ibt (4)