单选题 14.In setting environmental standards for industry and others to meet, it is inadvisable to require the best results that state-of-the-art technology can achieve. Current technology is able to detect and eliminate even extremely minute amounts of contaminants, but at a cost that is exorbitant relative to the improvement achieved. So it would be reasonable instead to set standards by taking into account all of the current and future risks involved.
The argument given concerning the reasonable way to set standards presupposes that

A、 industry currently meets the standards that have been set by environmental authorities
B、 there are effective ways to take into account all of the relevant risks posed by allowing different levels of contaminants
C、 the only contaminants worth measuring are generated by industry
D、 it is not costly to prevent large amounts of contaminants from entering the environment
E、 minute amounts of some contaminants can be poisonous

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】Argument Construction
Situation State-of-the-art technology can detect and eliminate even tiny amounts of environmental contaminants, but at a cost that is exorbitant relative to its benefits.
Reasoning What must be true in order for the argument's premises to support its conclusion? The, argument is that environmental standards requiring the best results that state-of-the-art technology can provide are unreasonably expensive relative to their benefits, so it would be reasonable instead to set environmental standards that take into account all present and future risks from contaminants. In order for the premise to support the conclusion, the environmental standards based on presrnt and future risks would have to be less expensive relative to their benefits than the best results environmental standards are. Furthermore, setting the current and future risks environmental standards cannot be reasonable unless it is feasible to assess present and future risks as those standards require.
A The argument does not say which standards, if any, environmental authorities have set. In any case, such standards could be reasonable or unreasonable regardless of whether industry currently meets them.
B Correct. If taking future risks into account were infeasible, then applying the current and future risks standards would also be infeasible. And setting those standards would be unreasonable if they could not feasibly be applied.
C According to the stimulus, the proposed current and future risks standards would apply to industry and others. So those standards could be reasonable even if the unspecified others also generated contaminants worth measuring, and even if the standards required measuring those contaminants.
D Even if it were costly to prevent large amounts of contaminants from entering the environment, the benefits of doing so to prevent present and future risks might outweigh the costs.
E The current and future risks standards could take into account any poisoning risks posed by minute and ants of contaminants.
The correct answer is B.