Clearly， the greater the similarity between the two things being compared th

　　e stronger the argument will be. Also the less ambitious the conclusion the

　　stronger the argument will be. The argument above would be strengthened by c

　　hanging “probably” to “may.” It can be weakened by pointing out the dissimil

　　arities between pigs and people.

　　Example：

　　Just as the fishing line becomes too taut， so too the trials and tribulation

　　s of life in the city can become so stressful that one's mind can snap.

　　Which one of the following most closely parallels the reasoning used in the

　　argument above？

　　（A） Just as the bow may be drawn too taut， so too may one's life be wasted p

　　ursuing self-gratification.

　　（B） Just as a gambler's fortunes change unpredictably， so too do one's caree

　　r opportunities come unexpectedly.

　　（C） Just as a plant can be killed by over watering it， so too can drinking t

　　oo much water lead to lethargy.

　　（D） Just as the engine may race too quickly， so too may life in the fast lan

　　e lead to an early death.

　　（E） Just as an actor may become stressed before a performance， so too may dw

　　elling on the negative cause depression.

　　The argument compares the tautness in a fishing line to the stress of city l

　　ife； it then concludes that the mind can snap just as the fishing line can.

　　So we are looking for an answer-choice that compares two things and draws a

　　conclusion based on their similarity. Notice that we are looking for an argu

　　ment that uses similar reasoning， but not necessarily similar concepts. In f

　　act， an answer-choice that mentions either tautness or stress will probably

　　be a same-language trap.

　　Choice （A） uses the same-language trap——notice “too taut.” The analogy betwe

　　en a taut bow and self-gratification is weak， if existent. Choice （B） offers

　　a good analogy but no conclusion. Choice （C） offers both a good analogy and

　　a conclusion； however， the conclusion， “leads to lethargy，” understates the

　　scope of what the analogy implies. Choice （D） offers a strong analogy and a

　　conclusion with the same scope found in the original： “the engine blows， th

　　e person dies“； ”the line snaps， the mind snaps.“ This is probably the best

　　answer， but still we should check every choice. The last choice， （E）， uses l

　　anguage from the original， “stressful，” to make its weak analogy more tempti

　　ng. The best answer， therefore， is （D）。