Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

shunhe on June 29, 2020

Hi @avif,

Thanks for the question! We’re trying to figure out the main point of this passage. So let’s take a look at (A) and (B) here.

(A) tells us that the main point is to talk about the modern trend in bankruptcy law away from punishment and towards economic activity, and how that serves the best interests of society and shouldn’t be abandoned. And we see that this is a recurring theme throughout the passage. Bankruptcy should help individuals and corporations in trouble which benefits society in whole is the thrust of the entire passage. The first paragraph sets up the two perspectives and lets us know the author’s side, which is opposing bankruptcy as punishment. The second paragraph talks about the history of bankruptcy being used as punishment and why that wasn’t good. And the third paragraph introduces what the author thinks, that bankruptcy should benefit society by helping troubled individuals and corporations. So we can see that this all supports (A), which is the correct answer.

(B), on the other hand, isn’t correct because it’s not true that bankruptcy laws have evolved IN ORDER TO meet the needs of creditors. As the author says in lines 1-6, the shift has been an unexpected one for creditors. “In order to” suggests that it was done purposely, but the author clearly sees it as accidental, and so (B) doesn’t even accurately describe the nature of the shift, so it can’t be the correct answer.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.

avif on June 29, 2020

Thanks! I missed those words.

shunhe on June 30, 2020

You're welcome, glad I could help!

Shula on September 16, 2023

Thank you Shunhe! Your explanation is very helpful to me as well!