Official Explanation:

Conclusion: Therefore, transportation and food is less likely to be available to a guest at a ski lodge during the off season than they would be during the winter months.

Premise: During the skiing season, ski lodges spend considerably more on transporting and feeding guests than they do during the off season.

Assumption: There’s no other way to interpret the facts. There is no other way to interpret the difference between the on and off season in the cost of transportation and food for guests other than those services will be less likely to be available.

This is a weaken question, as evidenced by the phrase most weakens the conclusion. This argument contains an interpretation of evidence reasoning pattern. Find the conclusion, premise, and assumption for weaken questions. The conclusion is that transportation and food is less likely to be available to a guest at a ski lodge during the off season than they would be during the winter months. The premise of this conclusion that is During the skiing season, ski lodges spend considerably more on transporting and feeding guests than they do during the off season.

The assumption for an interpretation of evidence reasoning pattern is that there’s no other way to interpret the facts. In this case, that there is no other way to interpret the facts that ski lodges spend considerably more on transporting and feeding guests during the skiing season than they do in the off-season other than that those services will be less likely to be available. Because this is a weaken question, the correct answer will attack this assumption by providing another reason why ski lodges spend less on transportation and food in the off season, other than that they make the services less available.

Choice A: No. If a lodge employs fewer full-time staff members in the off-season, then this strengthens the assumption that the lodge makes food and transportation less available during the off-season, as there will be less employees to provide those services.

Choice B: Correct. If it is true that ski lodges spend less per meal during the off-season, then the cost for food and transportation will be less than it is during the skiing season even if the services are available in the same amounts during both seasons.

Choice C: No. This answer choice strengthens the assumption. If guests stay longer during the off-season, then the fact that lodges pay less during the off-season could indicate that the services are not as available.

Choice D: No. Monthly expos of their chef’s best dishes is out of scope. This does not provide another reason why ski lodges spend less on food and transportation in the off-season.

Choice E: No. That some of the vehicles are broken during the off-season and won’t be replaced until the next skiing season strengthens the assumption in the argument that the services are less available.

The correct answer is choice B.