That the President manages the economy

[eee062010]

Source:Practice Book for the Paper-based GRE® revised General Test
For tests administered beginning in August 2011

That the President manages the economy is an assumption (i)------the prevailing wisdom that dominates politics in the United States. As a result, presidential elections have become referenda on the business cycle, whose fortuitous turnings are (ii) -------the President. Presidents are properly accountable for their executive and legislative performance, and certainly their actions may have profound effects on the economy. But these effects are (iii)--------. Unfortunately, modern political campaigns are fought on the untenable premise that Presidents can deliberately produce precise economic results.
Blank (i)
A peripheral to
B central to
C at odds with
Blank (ii)
D justifiably personified in
E erroneously attributed to
F occasionally
associated with
Blank (iii)
G usually long-lasting
H regrettably unnoticeable
I largely unpredictable

Answer: BEI

Could someone please explain ?

[tommywallach]

Hey EEE,

Woo! This is a complex one. It's actually best to start with the final sentence. We know that the idea ("premise") that Presidents can "deliberately produce precise economic results" is "untenable" (meaning "indefensible" --> effectively it means "incorrect"). So Presidents can't produce precise economic results. We also know from the sentence before the third blank that "their actions may have profound effects on the economy." So Presidents affect the economy, but can't produce precise effects. This supports "largely unpredictable" for the final blank. (We know nothing about how long they last, and the sentence that says "profound effects" contradicts the choice "regrettably unnoticeable."

Now, working backwards, we can see the second blank should be "erroneously attributed to" the President, because we've been told Presidents can't deliberately produce precise results, though elections have become referenda on business (which means that people are using the state of the economy to judge a president, even though the president can't control the economy in any specific ways).

Finally, the first blank. We know it's not "peripheral," because elections "have become referenda on the business cycle," meaning people are really making decisions based on these issues. We also know it's not "at odds with" the prevailing wisdom, because the rest of the passage says that this is the prevailing wisdom (i.e. people are making decisions vis-a-vis the President based on the state of the economy). This leaves "central to" as the best choice.

Phew! That's a rough one! : )

-t

[eee062010]

What a explanation. I have got the explanation from several sources of this question. But to me your explanation is extraordinary. I don't have any confusion about this question.


Thank you. Thank you very much.

[tommywallach]

Glad to help!

-t