Ordering the Chaos of the Contemporary World: An Introduction to Freakonomics
Question 8 • AZ-English Language Arts 11 B-CR
Read the following excerpt from Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics.When he started his business, he expected a 95 percent payment rate, based on the experience at his own office. But just as crime tends to be low on a street where a police car is parked, the 95 percent rate was artificially high: Feldman’s presence had deterred theft. Not only that, but those bagel eaters knew the provider and had feelings (presumably good ones) about him. A broad swath of psychological and economic research has shown that people will pay different amounts for the same item depending on who is providing it. . . .In the real world, Feldman learned to settle for less than 95 percent. He came to consider a company “honest” if its payment rate was above 90 percent. He considered a rate between 80 and 90 percent “annoying but tolerable.” The excerpt helps the authors arrive at their conclusion by
Answer
A
restating their claim about cheating.
B
presenting facts about the bagel business.
C
providing statistical evidence.
D
using deductive reasoning.
Explanation
The excerpt supports the authors’ conclusion with measured payment rates: Feldman expected 95 percent payment, and he judged rates above 90 percent honest and rates of 80–90 percent tolerable. These figures provide statistical evidence about how often customers paid, rather than merely restating a claim about cheating.
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