DLPT Following Complex Arguments 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A DLPT passage presents a long policy speech in which the speaker spends most of the time describing the severity of a problem and very little time justifying the proposed solution. A skilled listener should recognize that:
- The severity of the problem itself justifies any solution offered
- The argument for the solution may be underdeveloped regardless of how serious the problem is (Correct answer)
- The speaker is using inductive reasoning to build from evidence to conclusion
- The speech structure indicates the solution is universally accepted
Correct answer: The argument for the solution may be underdeveloped regardless of how serious the problem is
Establishing the seriousness of a problem does not automatically validate a proposed solution, which requires its own separate justification.
Question 2: In a DLPT listening exercise, a negotiator says: 'Everyone at the table agrees that stability is the highest priority.' A critical listener should consider whether:
- The negotiator is authorized to speak on behalf of all parties
- The claim of consensus might suppress legitimate disagreement or alternative priorities (Correct answer)
- The word 'stability' has been correctly translated from the source language
- The negotiations follow established international protocols
Correct answer: The claim of consensus might suppress legitimate disagreement or alternative priorities
False or premature claims of consensus can silence dissenting viewpoints and manipulate the direction of debate.
Question 3: A DLPT passage features a military analyst arguing: 'This strategy worked in the Falklands conflict, so it will work in the current operation.' For this analogy to be strong, it would need:
- The current operation to be in the southern hemisphere
- Relevant similarities between the two conflicts' conditions and context (Correct answer)
- The analyst to have served in the Falklands conflict personally
- A majority of military historians to agree with the comparison
Correct answer: Relevant similarities between the two conflicts' conditions and context
An argument from analogy is only strong when the two cases share relevant, comparable features that support the conclusion.
Question 4: During a DLPT audio segment, a political leader states: 'Our nation has always been a defender of peace, and that is why we must go to war now.' A careful listener recognizes the primary logical tension as:
- The speaker's credibility on matters of international peace
- The apparent contradiction between the nation's peace-defending identity and the act of going to war (Correct answer)
- The lack of statistical evidence for the nation's historical peacekeeping role
- The ethical implications of the appeal to tradition
Correct answer: The apparent contradiction between the nation's peace-defending identity and the act of going to war
The argument asserts a peace-defending identity as the reason for going to war, creating an internal logical tension that requires resolution.
Question 5: A DLPT passage includes an argument with the following structure: premise 1 is stated, a lengthy digression follows, and then a conclusion is stated. For the listener to evaluate the argument, they must first:
- Memorize the digression to identify hidden premises
- Reconnect the conclusion back to premise 1 to check if the logic holds (Correct answer)
- Determine whether the digression undermines the speaker's credibility
- Accept the conclusion if the digression contains no factual errors
Correct answer: Reconnect the conclusion back to premise 1 to check if the logic holds
In complex arguments, digressions can obscure the logical structure; the listener must trace back the conclusion to the original premises to evaluate validity.
Question 6: In a DLPT passage, a speaker says: 'Nations that developed nuclear programs in the 1950s did so for defensive reasons; therefore, any nation developing nuclear capabilities today is doing so for defense.' What is the primary flaw in this reasoning?
- The speaker does not define what 'defensive reasons' means
- The speaker applies a historical pattern to current situations without accounting for changed context (Correct answer)
- The speaker uses deductive instead of inductive reasoning
- The speaker fails to cite a specific 1950s nation as an example
Correct answer: The speaker applies a historical pattern to current situations without accounting for changed context
Assuming current motivations match historical ones ignores significant changes in geopolitical context, technology, and international norms.
Question 7: A DLPT listening segment features a speaker making an impassioned plea about the human cost of conflict, using vivid personal testimonies. A listener assessing the argument's logical strength should:
- Dismiss the emotional content entirely as irrelevant to the argument
- Recognize the emotional appeal while separately evaluating whether it supports the specific policy conclusion (Correct answer)
- Accept the argument as strong because emotional evidence is the most persuasive type
- Flag the argument as manipulative and invalid without further analysis
Correct answer: Recognize the emotional appeal while separately evaluating whether it supports the specific policy conclusion
Emotional appeals can be legitimate evidence but must be evaluated separately from the logical structure connecting them to the policy conclusion.
DLPT Following Complex Arguments 4
A DLPT passage presents a long policy speech in which the speaker spends most of the time describing the severity of a problem and very little time justifying the proposed solution.
A skilled listener should recognize that: