In Europe, schoolchildren devote time during each school day to calisthenics. North American schools rarely offer a d...

Andrew January 2, 2021

How is the answer, D?

Isn't the stimulus comparing children in North American schools to children in European schools? If that is so, wouldn't it be incorrect to assume that just because school calisthenics are an indispensable factor in European children's superior physical fitness, the same applies to North American children? I thought this answer choice was irrelevant to North American children, so I ruled this answer choice out. Please help me understand why the answer is D.

Replies

Create a free account to read and take part in forum discussions.

Already have an account? log in

shunhe January 4, 2021

Hi @Andrew,

Thanks for the question! So this question is asking for something that’s being assumed in the passage, which means we can use the negation test here. The conclusion of the argument is that North American children can be made physically fit ONLY IF they participate in school calisthenics on a daily basis. That’s a pretty strong conclusion. And how is it supported? Because Europeans do calisthenics, and Americans don’t, and Europeans are more fit. So what’s the argument assuming here? It’s assuming that the calisthenics are a necessary reason the European children are fit—otherwise, if they were just optional, then it’s not the calisthenics the American should be copying, but something else! And so the argument assumes (D), making it the correct answer.

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

Ryan July 28 at 10:22PM

Im very confused by your explanation. To me, it seems that your explanation fits the answer "All children can be made physically fit by daily calisthenics." because of the strong conclusion that "American children can be made physically fit ONLY IF they participate in school calisthenics on a daily basis." Can you help me out here with the misunderstanding?