CAT Critical Reasoning Practice question with Solution 22

Some cosmetics firms claim that the new product-safety tests, which use cultures of human cells, reduce the need to conduct tests on live animals. Why would the firms devote resources to perfecting the tests? They must attach some value to reducing the scope of live-animal tests, all other things being equal. Therefore, the managers of those firms, the ones making the decisions, must believe that as long as safety measures can be maintained, it is better not to perform tests on live animals, choice (E).

(A) has two problems. First off, “pressure” is too strong a word to fit the scope of this stimulus. All we know is that the firms are committed to the concept of the new product safety tests that will reduce the need for testing animals. We can’t rightfully infer from this that the firms are being pressured into this commitment. But even if we do infer this outside pressure, there’s still no way to conclude who initiated such pressure.

(B) Consumers and their preferences are one step removed from the information in the stimulus. There’s no way for us to conclude which products consumers are more likely to buy.

(C) Just like “consumer preferences” in (B) above, financial consultants’ beliefs regarding the costs associated with the new product-safety tests are outside the scope of the argument.

(D) It is impossible for us to determine the number of product tests necessary using the new system as opposed to the old. We simply aren’t given enough information to validate the researchers’ beliefs stated in (D).