Question

Read the sentences and choose the option that best arranges them in a logical order.
i. All it has to do is to drive up the inflation rate - examples are the damage Lyndon Johnson’s inflationary policies did to the US economy and the damage which consistently pro-inflationary policies have done to the economy of Italy.
ii. It is easy, the record shows, for a government to do harm to its domestic economy.
iii. Contrary to what economists confidently promised forty years ago, business cycles have not been abolished.
iv. They still operate pretty much the way they have been operating for the past 150 years.
v. But there is not the slightest evidence that any government policy to stimulate the economy has impact, whether that policy be Keynesian, monetarist, supply-side or neoclassical.

• A. (iii)-(iv)-(ii)-(i)-(v)
• B. (iii)-(v)-(ii)-(i)-(iv)
• C. (ii)-(iv)-(i)-(v)-(iii)
• D. (ii)-(i)-(iii)-(iv)-(v)
• E. (ii)-(i)-(v)-(iii)-(iv)

Hint:

- Always identify the introductory sentence first (broad statement).
- Look for sentences providing examples—they usually follow general claims.
- Concluding remarks often generalize or summarize historical perspectives.

Answer 1

Answer: (E)

Step 1: Sentence (ii) introduces the general idea: governments can harm domestic economies easily. This sets the context.
Step 2: Sentence (i) provides concrete examples of such harm, citing US and Italian economies. Thus, it follows (ii).
Step 3: Sentence (v) broadens the argument, claiming no government policy has any lasting positive impact, regardless of theory. This logically comes after (i).
Step 4: Sentence (iii) shifts the discussion to economic cycles, contrasting earlier promises with reality, which flows naturally after (v).
Step 5: Sentence (iv) concludes by reinforcing that business cycles have continued unchanged for 150 years, supporting (iii).
Hence, the correct logical sequence is: (ii) → (i) → (v) → (iii) → (iv).
\[ \boxed{\text{Correct Sequence = (ii)-(i)-(v)-(iii)-(iv)}} \]