Question

Due to wider commercial availability of audio recordings of authors reading their own books, sales of printed books have dropped significantly.

Which one of the following conforms most closely to the principle illustrated above?


(A) Because of the rising cost of farm labor, farmers began to make more extensive use of machines.

(B) Because of the wide variety of new computer games on the market, sales of high-quality computer video screens have improved.

(C) Because a new brand of soft drink entered the market, consumers reduced their consumption of an established brand of soft drink.

(D) Because a child was forbidden to play until homework was completed, that child did much less daydreaming and focused on homework.

(E) Because neither of the two leading word processing programs has all of the features consumers want, neither has been able to dominate the market.

Answer 1

The correct analogy to the situation where audio recordings reduce sales of printed books is when the introduction of a new brand of soft drink leads to reduced consumption of an established brand.

Step-by-step explanation:

The principle illustrated by the statement regarding the decline in sales of printed books due to the wider commercial availability of audio recordings is that when a new product or technology enters the market, it can displace older products or services by offering a more desirable alternative. The option that conforms most closely to this principle is (C) Because a new brand of soft drink entered the market, consumers reduced their consumption of an established brand of soft drink. This alternative directly competes with another product in the market and leads to reduced consumption of the established product, akin to the way audio recordings have impacted sales of printed books.