20. The Maxilux car company's design for its new luxury model, the Max 100, included a special design for the tires that was intended to complement the model's image. The winning bid for supplying these tires was submitted by Rubco. Analysts concluded that the bid would only just cover Rubco's costs on the tires, but Rubco executives claim that winning the bid will actually make a profit for the company.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly justifies the claim made by Rubco's executives?

A、 In any Maxilux model, the spare tire is exactly the same make and model as the tires that are mounted on the wheels.
B、 Rubco holds exclusive contracts to supply Maxilux with the tires for a number of other models made by Maxilux.
C、 The production facilities for the Max 100 and those for the tires to be supplied by Rubco are located very near each other.
D、 When people who have purchased a carefully designed luxury automobile need to replace a worn part of it, they almost invariably replace it with a part of exactly the same make and type.
E、 When Maxilux awarded the tire contract to Rubco, the only criterion on which Rubco's bid was clearly ahead of its competitors' bids was price.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】 Argument Construction
Situation Rubco won a bid for supplying tires for the Max 100, a new luxury model by Maxilux. The bid
would barely cover the cost of the tires, but Rubco executives claim that winning the bid will be
profitable.
Reasoning What would support the executives' claim? Rubco is not expected to make a profit from supplying
the tires for the new cars, so we must look for some other way that Rubco could derive a profit
as a result of winning the bid. If by winning the bid Rubco created an inevitable market for itself
in replacement tires—on which Rubco could earn a profit—then the executives' claim may be
justified.
A We have already been told that the bid is expected to barely cover the costs of supplying the tires on the new cars, so the analysts mentioned in the passage have presumably already taken into account that there is a spare tire supplied for the Max 100.
B If winning the bid led Rubco to win more exclusive contracts with the Maxilux, that might help support the executives' claim. But this statement indicates only that Rubco already has several exclusive contracts to supply Maxilux with tires, not that winning the bid has led to, or will lead to, more such contracts, which is what would be needed.
C As in answer choice (A), this is relevant to the costs of supplying the tires for the Max 100, but presumably this was taken into account by the analysts when they concluded that the bid would barely cover Rubco's costs on the tires.
D Correct. This indicates that by winning the bid Rubco has created a way to profit from the contract with Maxilux, specifically, by creating a market for replacement tires.
E This is likely one of the reasons that Rubco's bid only just covers Rubco's costs on the tires; it does nothing to justify the executives' claims that the bid will lead to a profit for Rubco.
The correct answer is D.