单选题 7.Newsletter: A condominium generally offers more value for its cost than an individual house because of economies of scale. The homeowners in a condominium association can collectively buy products and services that they could not afford on their own. And since a professional management company handles maintenance of common areas, condominium owners spend less time and money on maintenance than individual homeowners do.
The two portions in boldface play which of the following roles in the newsletter's argument?

A、 The first is the argument's main conclusion; the second is another conclusion supporting the first.
B、 The first is a premise, for which no evidence is provided; the second is the argument's only conclusion.
C、 The first is a conclusion supporting the second; the second is the argument's main conclusion.
D、 The first is the argument's only conclusion; the second is a premise, for which no evidence is provided.
E、 Both are premises, for which no evidence is provided, and both support the argument's only conclusion.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】Argument Construction
Situation Homeowners in a condominium association can buy products and services collectively. A management company handles maintenance of condominium common areas.
Reasoning What roles are played in the argument by the statement that a condominium generally offers more value for its cost than a house because of economies of scale and by the statement that condominium owners spend less time and money on maintenance than owners of individual homes do? In the passage, the first sentence (the first boldface statement) is a generalization. The second sentence provides an example of the economies of scale mentioned in the first sentence, so it helps support the first sentence as a conclusion. In the third sentence, the word since indicates that the first clause is a premise supporting the second clause (the second boldface statement) as a conclusion. That conclusion itself provides another example of the economies of scale mentioned in the first sentence, so it also helps support that first sentence as a conclusion.
A Correct. As explained above, the first boldface statement is supported by the rest of the statements in the argument, so it is the main conclusion. The second boldface statement supports the first, but is itself a conclusion supported by the since clause preceding it.
B The second and third sentences in the argument provide examples of economies of scale. These examples are evidence supporting the first boldface statement as a conclusion.
C Since the second boldface statement provides evidence of the economies of scale described by the first, it supports the first as a conclusion.
D The since clause immediately preceding the second boldface statement provides evidence that: supports it, so the second boldface statement is a conclusion.
E Both the second and the third sentences of the argument support the first boldface statement as a conclusion. And the since clause immediately preceding the second boldface statement supports it as a conclusion.
The correct answer is A.