In each question below is given a statement followed by three assumptions…
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In each question below is given a statement followed by three assumptions numbered I, II and III. You have to consider the statement and the following assumptions, decide which of the assumptions is implicit in the statement and choose your answer accordingly.
Statement: An advertisement of Bank X - "Want to open a bank account! Just dial our 'home service' and we will come at your doorsteps."
Assumptions:
i. No other bank makes available service at the doorstep of the customer.
ii. People may choose Bank X for their financial transactions.
iii. Nowadays banking has become very competitive.
- A.
Only I and II are implicit
- B.
Only II and III are implicit
- C.
Only I and III are implicit
- D.
All are implicit
Attempted by 2 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
An assumption is something the speaker takes for granted while making a statement. An assumption is implicit only if the statement's claim, or the course of action it describes, would make no sense without that assumption holding — it is NOT implicit if the statement still stands regardless of it, or if it claims more than the statement actually supports.
Applying this test to each of the three assumptions:
Assumption ii (people may choose Bank X): every advertisement is issued in order to influence behaviour. Running this ad at all takes for granted that at least some of its audience is capable of opening an account with, or switching to, Bank X.
Assumption iii (banking has become very competitive): a bank only needs to dangle an extra incentive such as doorstep service when it must work to attract customers away from other options — so the ad's very existence takes for granted a competitive banking market.
Assumption i (no rival bank already offers doorstep service): the statement only promotes home delivery as a convenience; it never claims exclusivity, comparison, or that this facility is unavailable elsewhere. A feature can be worth advertising simply because it is convenient, without the advertiser needing to believe no competitor offers anything similar. Reading in 'no other bank does this' claims more than the ad actually supports, so this one is NOT implicit.
Checking the near-miss combinations against the same test shows why each is incomplete:
Only I and II — carries the same unsupported exclusivity claim as above, and additionally leaves out the competitive-market precondition (iii) that explains why such an incentive is being offered at all.
Only I and III — again carries the unsupported exclusivity claim, and additionally leaves out the assumption that the ad expects to actually sway some customers (ii), without which running the ad would be pointless.
All are implicit — correctly includes ii and iii but incorrectly also treats the unsupported exclusivity claim (i) as something the statement takes for granted.
Since only assumptions ii and iii pass the test — the exclusivity claim in i goes beyond what the statement supports — the assumptions implicit in the statement are ii and iii.