单选题 20.Aroca City currently funds its public schools through taxes on property. In place of this system, the city plans to introduce a sales tax of 3 percent on all retail sales in the city. Critics protest that 3 percent of current retail sales falls short of the amount raised for schools by property taxes. The critics are correct on this point. Nevertheless implementing the plan will probably not reduce the money going to Aroca's schools. Several large retailers have selected Aroca City as the site for huge new stores, and these are certain to draw large numbers of shoppers frorr neighboring municipalities, where sales are taxed at rates of 6 percent and more. In consequence, retail sales in Aroca City are bound to increase substantially.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

A、 The first presents a plan that the argument concludes is unlikely to achieve its goal; the second expresses that conclusion.
B、 The first presents a plan that the argument concludes is unlikely to achieve its goal; the second presents evidence in support of that conclusion.
C、 The first presents a plan that the argument contends is the best available; the second is a conclusion drawn by the argument to justify that contention.
D、 The first presents a plan one of whose consequences is at issue in the argument; the second is the argument's conclusion about that consequence.
E、 The first presents a plan that the argument seeks to defend against a certain criticism; the second is that criticism.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】Argument Evaluation
Situation Aroca City plans to switch the source of its public school funding from property taxes to a new local sales tax.
Reasoning What argumentative roles do the two portions in boldface play in the passage? The first boldface portion simply describes the city's plan. The next two sentences in the passage describe an observation some critics have made in objecting to the plan and say that the observation is correct. But then the second boldface portion rejects the critics' implicit conclusion that the plan will reduce school funding. The final two sentences in the passage present reasons to accept the statement in the second boldface portion, so they are premises supporting it as a conclusion.
A The argument concludes that the plan is unlikely to reduce funding for the schools. The passage does not mention the plan's goal, but presumably that goal is not to reduce school funding.
B The second boldface portion presents the argument's conclusion, not evidence to support the conclusion. The passage does not mention the plan's goal, but presumably that goal is not to reduce school funding.
C The passage does not say whether the plan is better than any other possible school funding plans.
D Correct. The plan's likely effect on the amount of school funding is at issue in the argument, whose conclusion is that the plan probably will not reduce that funding.
E The second boldface portion does not criticize the plan, but rather rejects a criticism of the plan by stating that the plan will probably not reduce school funding.
The correct answer is D.