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Chapter 2: Problem 10

Of all the petty little pieces of bureaucratic arrogance, it's hard to imagine one smaller than that of the city schools in not admitting a British subject whose father is working-as a legal alien-for a nearby petrochemical company. Someone apparently decided that if the boy had been an illegal alien, a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Texas case would have required the district to admit him, but since he is legal, there is no such requirement. That is nonsense. Which of the following best expresses the point of the author's argument? A. The city schools outside Texas should not base decisions on a precedent set in Texas. B. The stability of a parent's job should have no bearing on the educational opportunity offered his or her child. C. Bureaucratic arrogance has resulted in unsound legal interpretation. D. Legal sense and nonsense are sometimes indistinguishable. E. Both legal and illegal aliens should receive equal treatment.

Short Answer

Expert verified
C. Bureaucratic arrogance has resulted in unsound legal interpretation.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the author’s argument.

The author argues that a British boy of a legal alien status has been denied admission into city schools because someone has erroneously interpreted that a U.S. Supreme Court decision, which appears to defend the rights of illegal aliens, doesn't apply to him because he is a legal alien. The author brands this as 'nonsense' and a reflection of 'petty little pieces of bureaucratic arrogance'.
02

Match the argument to answer choices.

You need to match the author's argument to the choices provided. The argument pertains to the mishandling and misinterpretation of laws due to bureaucratic arrogance.
03

Eliminate wrong choices.

Choice A is incorrect as the author never states that schools outside Texas should not base their decisions on precedents set in Texas. Choice B is irrelevant as the author never discusses the stability of a parent's job. Choice D proposes an argument that is too broad and isn't focused on the author's main point. Choice E is close, but the author does not argue about equal treatment between legal and illegal aliens. They argue against the misinterpretation of the law.
04

Final confirmation.

This leaves us with Choice C which directly pertains to the author's discussion on bureaucratic arrogance resulting in the unsound legal interpretation. This choice is perfectly in line with the author's argument.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

The following letter was sent to a candidate applying for entrance to Nathford University. Thank you for your interest in Nathford University. We regret to say that your application for entrance has been rejected. Unfortunately, because of the unusually high number of candidates this year, we were not even able to accept all those with SAT scores of 1000 or above, as has been our practice in the past. We have only a limited number of openings and must accept entering students accordingly. Which of the following can be validly concluded from the letter? A. The student receiving the letter had SAT scores of 1000 or above. B. The student receiving the letter did not have SAT scores of 1000 or above. C. Nathford University accepted only those students with SAT scores of 1000 or above. D. Nathford University rejected many students with SAT scores of 1000 or above. E. Nathford University had constraints other than SAT scores that affected selection of candidates.

In England in 1880, the Roman Catholic father of a child born of a Baptist mother would probably have been legally allowed to do all of the following EXCEPT: A. ignore the child's religious education. B. bring up the child as a Roman Catholic. C. bring up the child as a Baptist. D. make sure that the child was brought up very religiously. E. abrogate his authority without reason.

The argument that a child of divorced parents by keeping the parental name may be given a "healthy sense of family" (line 38), "ethnic and religious identity" (lines 38-39), and a "rightful link with an absent ... father" (line 40) is based upon all of the following doubtful assumptions EXCEPT: A. Ethnic identity is determined by the father. B. Religious identity is determined by the father. C. Record keeping systems cannot handle changes of names. D. A father's name gives a sense of family. E. A link to an absent father should be maintained.

This author's statement might be strengthened if he or she pointed out that A. advanced knowledge is often manifested in creative dreams. B. the mind is quite active during sleep. C. few empirical studies have concluded that sleep is an intellectual stimulant. D. advanced capabilities are not necessarily mind-associated. E. dreams teach us how to use waking experiences more intelligently.

The author's statement might be weakened by pointing out that A. eight hours of sleep is a cultural, not a physical, requirement. B. the most capable people rarely sleep. C. rest is a positive contribution to knowledge and capability. D. young children enjoy themselves less than knowledgeable adults. E. people rarely waste time during their waking hours.
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