阅读量:
The following appeared in a memo from the owner of a chain of cheese stores located throughout the United States.
“For many years all the stores in our chain have stocked a wide variety of both domestic and imported cheeses. Last year, however, all of the five best-selling cheeses at our newest store were domestic cheddar cheeses from Wisconsin. Furthermore, a recent survey by Cheeses of the World magazine indicates an increasing preference for domestic cheeses among its subscribers. Since our company can reduce expenses by limiting inventory, the best way to improve profits in all of our stores is to discontinue stocking many of our varieties of imported cheese and concentrate primarily on domestic cheeses.”
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.
Introduction
In the argument, the owner of a chain of cheese stores believes that to discontinue stocking many of our varieties of imported cheese and concentrate primarily on domestic cheeses can best improve profits in all of the stores. However, there are multiple flaws in the argument since the owner omits to answer a number of questions whose answers are critical to the argument’s logic.
Body
(以其中几个逻辑疑点为例,其实还有许多逻辑疑点)
注意逻辑疑点的排序,合理的排序让我们的分析更有条理。我们先把所有cheese本身的问题讨论完毕。
The next questions are about cheeses. Did only cheddar cheeses as a particular type of cheese sell best? ← 步,提出质疑/问题(此句以问句的方式提问,通过as a particular type of cheese,强调逻辑疑点在“种类”上) 第二步,回答上一步中的问题(用对原文逻辑不利的答案回答)→ Since the argument omits to provide information addressing this question, it is not unlikely that the sales of other types of cheeses would not achieve the same level. Also, did only cheddar cheeses that are from Wisconsin sell best? ← 步,提出质疑/问题(此句以问句的方式提问,通过as a particular type of cheese,强调逻辑疑点在“种类”上) 第二步,回答上一步中的问题(用对原文逻辑不利的答案回答)→In other words, cheddar cheeses that are not from Wisconsin but from any other state would not sell as well as the Wisconsin ones. 两个关于cheese本身的问题都问完,再走第三步: Thus, it is unfair for the author to generalize from one particular type of cheese from one particular area to all domestic cheeses.
把所有cheese本身的问题讨论完毕,再去讨论“商店”的问题(地点问题)和时间问题:
Even if all types of cheeses from all over the country were popular, there remain two crucial questions. 步,提出质疑/问题(此句以陈述句的方式提问,通过强调句型,强调逻辑疑点在“地点”上): The first question is whether or not it is only at the newest store that the domestic cheddar cheeses from Wisconsin sold well. 第二步,回答上一步中的问题(用对原文逻辑不利的答案回答): In the other stores, the sales of the Wisconsin-produced cheddar cheeses may not have sold well. 第三步:分析对于原文结论的影响: It is therefore unsafe for the author at the conclusion togeneralize from the newest store to all of their stores. 复制上面的步骤,步,提出质疑/问题(此句以陈述句的方式提问,通过强调句型,强调逻辑疑点在“时间”上): We should also ask whether it is only during last yearthat there is the popularity. 第二步,回答上一步中的问题(用对原文逻辑不利的答案回答): The argument has no information responding to this question and showing that last year’s sales were not in the past year alone. 第三步:分析对于原文结论的影响:Since the information is missing in the argument, the author cannot be certain that domestic cheeses have long been popular.
(以上body仅以其中几个逻辑疑点为例,其实还有许多逻辑疑点)
Conclusion
If the owner, the author of the memo, could provide information answering the above questions, the argument would be logically sound. In other words, the owner would be sure that the all of the stores should, to best improve profits, discontinue stocking many of their varieties of imported cheese and concentrate primarily on domestic cheeses.