Passage Summary: Joanna says the only way a company survives bankruptcy is by doing exactly what it did before. Ruth disagrees and points to a mining company that became a successful landfill business instead.

Conclusion: Ruth concludes that Joanna is wrong to claim that a company must stick to its original business model to succeed after bankruptcy.

Reasoning: Ruth cites the Kelton Company, which successfully transitioned from a mining operation to a waste-management business following its bankruptcy.

Analysis: Ruth's argumentative technique is a classic use of a counterexample to refute a universal generalization. Joanna uses very strong, absolute language—'the only way' and 'futile'—which makes her argument highly vulnerable to even a single exception. Ruth provides that exception with the Kelton Company example. When looking for the correct answer, identify the choice that describes the use of a specific case to disprove a general claim. It's a very efficient way to win an argument, provided the example is relevant.