单选题 17.After receiving numerous complaints from residents about loud, highly amplified music played at local clubs, Middletown is considering a law that would prohibit clubs located in residential areas from employing musical groups that consist of more than three people.
The likelihood that the law would be effective in reducing noise would be most seriously diminished if which of the following were true?

A、 Groups that consist of more than three musicians are usually more expensive for clubs to hire than are groups that consist of fewer than three musicians.
B、 In towns that have passed similar laws, many clubs in residential areas have relocated to nonresidential areas.
C、 Most of the complaints about the music have come from people who do not regularly attend the clubs.
D、 Much of the music popular at the local clubs can be played only by groups of at least four musicians.
E、 Amplified music played by fewer than three musicians generally is as loud as amplified music played by more than three musicians.

【正确答案】 E

【答案解析】Evaluation of a Plan
Situation Middletown is considering a law to eliminate a nuisance that residents have complained about loud, highly amplified music at local clubs. The proposed law would address this by prohibiting the clubs to have groups of more than three musicians playing at the club.
Reasoning Which statement, if true, would be the strongest indication that the proposed law would fail to reduce the noise that residents complained of? The proposed limit on group size depends on the assumption that the music played by a group of three musicians or fewer would not be loud enough to bother Middletown's residents. If this assumption is false, for example if some of the smaller groups feet a need to use powerful amplification, the proposed law would be unlikely to be eliminate the nuisance by reducing the noise sufficiently.
A We are given no information about whether Middletown, in framing its proposal, gave any consideration to the costs the clubs incur in hiring groups of various sizes. If the clubs' costs but not their revenues were to decrease by hiring smaller groups, they would likely obey the new law. However, this by itself would not indicate success for the noise abatement program.
B If the Middletown clubs were to relocate to nonresidential areas as a result of the law, this would contribute to the law's effectiveness in alleviating the noise disturbance.
C The proposal for the law is motivated by Middletown's need to respond to "numerous" resident complaints. If relatively few complaints come from residents who regularly attend the clubs, it may be because most of those residents either like loud music or are insensitive to it. But this has no bearing on whether the proposed law would be effective in addressing the noise level that bothers numerous other residents.
D This could make the law less acceptable to the clubs or their patrons. If the law proved unacceptable, an unacceptable frequency of violation might result unless the law is well designed for effective enforcement. But perhaps the law will be well designed for effective enforcement. Nothing in the passage suggests otherwise.
E Correct. This indicates that the size of a musical group generally has little impact on the volume of sound that the group produces. The proposed law is therefore likely to be ineffective in reducing the noise residents complained about.
The correct answer is E.