hard · GRE Verbal

Municipal planners have argued that installing protected bicycle lanes reduces overall traffic fatalities. A recent study of twelve cities that added such lanes found that pedestrian deaths in those cities fell by nearly a third within two years. Yet critics note that all twelve cities simultaneously lowered downtown speed limits, a measure independently known to curb fatalities. Because the two interventions were introduced together, the observed decline cannot be confidently attributed to the bicycle lanes alone. In the argument, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles? (A) The first states evidence offered in support of a position; the second states the conclusion that the argument as a whole draws about that evidence. (B) The first is the main conclusion of the argument; the second is a consideration offered in support of that conclusion. (C) The first is an objection that the argument later rebuts; the second is the principle on which that rebuttal rests. (D) The first is a finding whose interpretation is in dispute; the second states the argument's judgment about how much that finding establishes. (E) The first provides the criterion the argument uses to evaluate a claim; the second applies that criterion to reach an intermediate conclusion.

The first states evidence offered in support of a position; the second states the conclusion that the argument as a whole draws about that evidence.
The first is the main conclusion of the argument; the second is a consideration offered in support of that conclusion.
The first is an objection that the argument later rebuts; the second is the principle on which that rebuttal rests.
The first is a finding whose interpretation is in dispute; the second states the argument's judgment about how much that finding establishes.
The first provides the criterion the argument uses to evaluate a claim; the second applies that criterion to reach an intermediate conclusion.

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