To evaluate any given intellectual property policy, we must weigh the

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

Difficulty Level: Hard

Explanation

A. This option suggests that the passage's primary purpose is to argue that intellectual property policies, in general, are often unwarranted. However, the passage does not make a general statement about all intellectual property policies. Instead, it focuses on a specific instance (the extension of copyright terms in 1998) to argue that this particular policy was unwarranted.

B. This option accurately describes the passage's primary purpose. The passage uses a specific criterion (the cost-benefit criterion) to evaluate the extension of copyright terms in 1998.

C. This option suggests that the passage primarily summarizes the general costs and benefits of introducing intellectual property policies. However, the passage focuses on one specific policy change and its consequences rather than providing a general overview of all intellectual property policies.

D. This option suggests that the passage's primary purpose is to approve or endorse the reasoning behind a specific intellectual property policy (the copyright term extension). However, the passage actually challenges the reasoning and argues that the extension was unwarranted.

E. The author did not challenge, they rather state a position.

Answer: B

2. The author mentions “royalties” primarily in order to identify

Difficulty Level: Hard

Explanation

The passage discusses the extension of the term of copyright from 50 years after an author's death to 70 years, and it argues that this extension has negative consequences. One of the negative consequences mentioned is that book buyers are harmed because the price of a book is higher under copyright. The author explains that this is because the publisher continues to owe royalties to the author's heirs, which means that they don't compete with others printing the same book. In other words, the payment of royalties is a contributing factor to the negative effect of copyright on book prices. Therefore, the author mentions "royalties" to highlight a factor that leads to an undesirable outcome of copyright protection, making option C the correct answer.

Answer: C

3. It can be inferred that which of the following assumptions underlies the statement in the highlighted sentence?

Difficulty Level: Hard

Explanation

The statement in the quoted sentence is, "Authors are hardly likely to find motivation in the prospect of earnings that will arrive more than 50 years after their death." This statement implies that authors are not strongly motivated by the prospect of financial gain that occurs long after their death.

Now, let's examine each option:

A. This is the correct assumption. The statement suggests that authors are not motivated by the prospect of earnings arriving more than 50 years after their death, indicating that concern for their heirs (who would receive those earnings) is not a significant motivational factor for authors.

B. This assumption is not directly supported by the statement. While the statement implies that authors are not motivated by delayed financial gain, it doesn't specify what other factors might motivate them.

C. This assumption is unrelated to the statement. The statement primarily discusses author motivation, not the impact of an author's death on book sales.

D. This assumption is not directly related to the statement. The statement discusses author motivation and the impact of copyright extension on book prices, but it doesn't address the actions of publishers.

E. This assumption is not directly supported by the statement. The statement focuses on the lack of author motivation due to delayed earnings, but it doesn't indicate that earnings necessarily decline over time.

Answer: A