It is true of both men and women that those who marry as young adults live longer than those who never marry. This does not show that marriage causes people to live longer, since, as compared with other people of the same age, young adults who are about to get married have fewer of the unhealthy habits that can cause a person to have a shorter life, most notably smoking and immoderate drinking of alcohol.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument above?
(A) Marriage tends to cause people to engage less regularly in sports that involve risk of bodily harm.
(B) A married person who has an unhealthy habit is more likely to give up that habit than a person with the same habit who is unmarried.
(C) A person who smokes is much more likely than a nonsmoker to marry a person who smokes at the time of marriage, and the same is true for people who drink alcohol immoderately.
(D) Among people who marry as young adults, most of those who give up an unhealthy habit after marriage do not resume the habit later in life.
(E) Among people who as young adults neither drink alcohol immoderately nor smoke, those who never marry live as long as those who marry.
Solution
Passage Analysis
It is true of both men and women that those who marry as young adults live longer than those who never marry.
This statement says that for both men and women, those who marry as young adults live longer than those who never marry.
This does not show that marriage causes people to live longer, since, as compared with other people of the same age, young adults who are about to get married have fewer of the unhealthy habits that can cause a person to have a shorter life, most notably smoking and immoderate drinking of alcohol.
The first part of this statement says that this does not show that marriage causes people to live longer. The reason for this is that young people who are about to marry have fewer unhealthy habits compared with other young people. The argument identifies smoking and immoderate drinking of alcohol as two such unhealthy habits.
So, the main point of the argument is to say that it is not marriage itself that causes people to live longer, but the fact that young adults who get married have fewer unhealthy habits than those who never get married. So, it is the fact that they have fewer unhealthy habits that causes them to live longer, not the fact that they are married.
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Pre-thinking
The question stem asks us to strengthen the argument. Which part of the argument do we need to strengthen? We need to strengthen the author’s opinion that the fact that young adults who get married live longer than those who don’t does not mean that marriage causes people to live longer. The author says that it is unhealthy habits that shorten people’s lives. So, we need to support the conclusion that it is not marriage that causes people to live longer, but the fact that they have fewer unhealthy habits. This argument can be strengthened by showing that those who never marry can also live as long as those who do marry if they don’t have unhealthy habits.
Analysis of Option Statements
(A) Marriage tends to cause people to engage less regularly in sports that involve risk of bodily harm.
This choice says that married people engage less regularly in harmful sports. This fact does not make it clear if less risk of bodily harm increases the time that one lives. Also, even if it is so, this fact would only support the conclusion that marriage causes people to live longer. The author’s opinion is that it is not marriage in itself that causes people to live longer, but the fact that married people are less likely to have unhealthy habits than unmarried people. So, this choice actually weakens the author’s conclusion.
(B) A married person who has an unhealthy habit is more likely to give up that habit than a person with the same habit who is unmarried.
If a married person with an unhealthy habit is more likely to give it up than an unmarried person, then marriage does increase the length of a person’s life. So, this choice also weakens the author’s argument.
(C) A person who smokes is much more likely than a nonsmoker to marry a person who smokes at the time of marriage, and the same is true for people who drink alcohol immoderately.
This option tells us that people who smoke and drink alcohol are likely to marry people who smoke or drink alcohol. This proves nothing about whether marriage increases the length of their lives.
(D) Among people who marry as young adults, most of those who give up an unhealthy habit after marriage do not resume the habit later in life.
This choice also weakens the author’s argument. It says that married people who give up an unhealthy habit are unlikely to resume the habit later in life. This shows that married people are consequently more likely to live longer. So, it supports the conclusion that marriage increases the length of a person’s life.
(E) Among people who as young adults neither drink alcohol immoderately nor smoke, those who never marry live as long as those who marry.
This choice strengthens the author’s conclusion that having fewer unhealthy habits causes people to live longer. According to this option, unmarried people who don’t have unhealthy habits live as long as married people. So, this shows that it is the unhealthy habits that shorten people’s lives. This is the correct answer.
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