Q190
ReasoningSyllogism & Logical Deduction
Should the number of holidays of government employees be reduced? Argument: 1. Yes: Our government employees are having the maximum number of holidays among countries of the world. 2. Yes: It is a sign of British legacy which should be carried forward. 3. Yes: It will speed up work and all pending jobs can be completed well in time. 4. No: Employees must be given ample spare time to spend with family.
- a.Only '1' and '3' are strong.
- b.Only '1', '2' and '3' are strong.
- c.Only '2' is strong.
- d.None is strong.
Answer: (A) Only '1' and '3' are strong.
PSC's final key 'A' treats arguments 1 and 3 as strong: argument 1 gives a comparative, fact-based reason (the maximum number of holidays among countries) and argument 3 a direct practical benefit (faster work and clearance of pending jobs). Argument 2 defeats itself - it calls the practice a British legacy that 'should be carried forward', which supports keeping the holidays, not reducing them; argument 4 is treated as weak because 'ample spare time' is vague and employees already have weekly offs and leave. Since options (B) and (C) both include argument 2, they can be eliminated first.