Question:

In today’s pluralistic society, textbook publishers find themselves in an increasingly uncomfortable position. Since schools are regarded as a repository of society’s moral and cultural values, each group within society wishes to prevent any material that offends its own values from appearing in textbooks. As a result, a stance on an issue is certain to run afoul of one group or another. And since textbook publishers must rely on community goodwill to sell their books, it is inevitable that______

Which of the following best completes the passage below?

(A) fewer and fewer publishers will be willing to enter the financially uncertain textbook industry
(B) the ethical and moral content of textbooks will become increasingly neutral and bland
(C) more and more pressure groups will arise that seek to influence the content of textbooks
(D) the government will be forced to intervene in the increasingly rancorous debate over the content of textbooks
(E) school boards, teachers, and principals will find it nearly impossible to choose among the variety of textbooks being offered

“In today’s pluralistic society, textbook publishers find themselves in an increasingly uncomfortable position” – is a GMAT Critical question. To answer the question, a candidate can by either finding a piece of evidence that would weaken the argument or logical flaws in the argument. GMAT critical reasoning tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidates. This topic requires candidates to find the argument's strengths and weaknesses or the logical flaw in the argument. The GMAT CR section contains 10 -13 GMAT critical reasoning questions out of 36 GMAT verbal questions.

Answer: B
Explanation: GMAT critical reasoning is a section whose primary motive is to test the reasoning skills of the candidate along with logical and analytical thinking abilities. The candidate has to find the correct option by finding the logically appropriate answer.

Let us check the given arguments -

1. Wrong. The argument or assumption are not a concern for new publishers entering the market in the future. Furthermore, there is no mention of financial instability in the argument. The verse says nothing regarding money-related problems.
2. Correct. Because companies rely on public support and choosing one side will enrage another group, publishers must maintain their reputation by taking a neutral position. According to the paragraph, textbook publishers rely on goodwill in the community. The social groupings that make up this community. Therefore, only content that doesn't insult any social groups should be included in textbooks. If it is as bland and neutral as possible, this can be accomplished.
3. The premise or the reasoning make no reference to pressure groups. And if publishers relied on public support, why would they submit to pressure from pressure groups? The quantity of groups doesn't matter.
4. Wrong. The important ideas here are moral uprightness and societal acceptance. The government is not involved in this at all. Instead of focusing on the discussion itself, the section concentrates on the textbook's substance.
5. Wrong. Nothing in this argument mentions the increasing competition between publishers. No increase in the variety of textbooks is anticipated because the publishers rely on the community rather than specific groups.

Hence none of the given options completed the given passage properly except choice B. Option B is the correct answer.

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