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TEST 3
SECTION I
Time 35 minutes 24 Questions
Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages...
1. Rita: The original purpose of government farm subsidy programs was to provide income stability for small family farmers. But most farm-subsidy money goes to a few farmers with large holdings. Payments to farmers whose income, before subsidies, is greater than $100,000 a year should be stopped.
Thomas: It would be impossible to administer such a cutoff point. Subsidies are needed during the planting and growing season, but farmers do not know their income for given calendar year until tax returns are calculated and submitted the following April.
Which one of the following, if true, is the strongest counter Rita can make to Thomas’ objection?
(A) It has become difficult for small farmers to obtain bank loans to be repaid later by money from subsidies.
(B) Having such a cutoff point would cause some farmers whose income would otherwise exceed $100,000 to reduce their plantings.
(C) The income of a farmer varies because weather and market prices are not stable from year to year.
(D) If subsidy payments to large farmers were eliminated the financial condition of the government would improve.（E）
(E) Subsidy cutoffs can be determined on the basis of income for the preceding year.
2. Modern physicians often employ laboratory tests, in addition to physical examinations, in order to diagnose diseases accurately. Insurance company regulations that deny coverage for certain laboratory tests therefore decrease the quality of medical care provided to patients.
Which one of the following is an assumption that would serve to justify the conclusion above?
(A) Physical examinations and the uncovered laboratory tests together provide a more accurate diagnosis of many diseases than do physical examinations alone.
(B) Many physicians generally oppose insurance company regulations that, in order to reduce costs, limit the use of laboratory tests.
(C) Many patients who might benefit from the uncovered laboratory tests do not have any form of health insurance.
(D) There are some illnesses that experienced physicians can diagnose accurately from physicians examination alone.（A）
(E) Laboratory tests are more costly to perform than are physical examinations.
3. Oil analysis predict that if the price of oil fails by half, the consumer’s purchase price for gasoline made from this oil will also fall by half.
Which one of the following, if true, would cast the most serious doubt on the prediction made by the oil analysts?
(A) Improved automobile technology and new kinds of fuel for cars have enabled some drivers to use less gasoline.
(B) Gasoline manufacturers will not expand their profit margins.
(C) There are many different gasoline companies that compete with each other to provide the most attractive price to consumers.
(D) Studies in several countries show that the amount of gasoline purchased by consumers initially rises after the price of gasoline has fallen.（E）
(E) Refining costs, distribution costs, and taxes, none of which varies significantly with oil prices, constitute a large portion of the prices of gasoline.
4. A survey was recently conducted among ferry passengers on the North Sea. Among the results was this: more of those who had taken anti-seasickness medication before their trip reported symptoms of seasickness than those who had not taken such medication. It is clear, then that despite claims by drug companies that clinical tests show the contrary, people would be better off not taking anti-seasickness medications.
Which one of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion above?
(A) Given rough enough weather, most ferry passengers will have some symptoms of seasickness.
(B) The clinical tests reported by the drug companies were conducted by the drug companies’ staffs.
(C) People who do not take anti-seasickness medication are just as likely to respond to a survey on seasickness as people who do.
(D) The seasickness symptoms of the people who took anti-seasickness medication would have been more severe had they not taken the medication.（D）
(E) People who have spent money on anti-seasickness medication are less likely to admit symptoms of seasickness than those who have not.
5. Economic considerations color every aspect of international dealings, and nations are just like individuals in that the lender sets the terms of its dealings with the borrower. That is why a nation that owes money to another nation cannot be world leader.
The reasoning in the passage assumes which one of the following?
(A) A nation that does not lend to any other nation cannot be a world leader.
(B) A nation that can set the terms of its dealings with other nations is certain to be a world leader.
(C) A nation that has the terms of its dealings with another nation set by that nation cannot be a world leader.
(D) A nation that is a world leader can borrow from another nation as long as that other nation does not set the terms of the dealings between the two nations.（C）
(E) A nation that has no dealings with any other nation cannot be world leader.
Questions 6-7
Rotelle: You are too old to address effectively the difficult issues facing the country, such as nuclear power, poverty, and pollution.
Sims: I don’t want to make age an issue in this campaign, so I will not comment on your youth and inexperience.
6. Sims does which one of the following?
(A) demonstrates that Rotelle’s claim is incorrect
(B) avoids mentioning the issue of age
(C) proposes a way to decide which issues are important
(D) shows that Rotelle’s statement is self-contradictory（E）
(E) fails to respond directly to Rotelle’s claim
7. Rotelle is committed to which one of the following?
(A) Many old people cannot effectively address the difficult issues facing the country.
(B) Those at least as old as Sims are the only people who cannot effectively address the difficult issues facing the country.
(C) Some young people can effectively address the difficult issues facing the country.
(D) If anyone can effectively address the difficult issues facing the country, that person must be younger than Sims.（D）
(E) Addressing the difficult issues facing the country requires an understanding of young people’s points of view.
8. Political theorist: The chief foundations of all governments are the legal system and the police force; and as there cannot be a good legal system where the police are not well paid. It follows that where the police are well paid there will be good legal system.
The reasoning in the argument is not sound because it fails to establish that:
(A) many governments with bad legal systems have poorly paid police forces
(B) bad governments with good legal systems must have poorly paid police forces
(C) a well-paid police force cannot be effective without a good legal system
(D) a well-paid police force is sufficient to guarantee a good legal system（D）
(E) some bad governments have good legal systems
9. Court records from medieval France show that in the years 1300 to 1400 the number of people arrested in the French realm for “violent interpersonal crimes” (not committed in wars) increased by 30 percent over the number of people arrested for such crimes in the years 1200 to 1300. If the increase was not the result of false arrests, therefore, medieval France had a higher level of documented interpersonal violence in the years 1300 to 1400 than in the years 1200 to 1300.
Which one of the following statements, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
(A) In the years 1300 to 1400 the French government’s category of violent crimes included an increasing variety of interpersonal crimes that are actually nonviolent.
(B) Historical accounts by monastic chroniclers in the years 1300 to 1400 are filled with descriptions of violent attacks committed by people living in the French realm.
(C) The number of individual agreements between two people in which they swore oaths not to attack each other increased substantially after 1300.
(D) When English armies tried to conquer parts of France in the mid- to late 1300s, violence in the northern province of Normandy and the southwestern province of Gascony increased.（A）
(E) The population of medical France increased substantially during the first five decades of the 1300s, until the deadly bubonic plague decimated the population of France after 1348.
10. Rhizobium bacteria living in the roots of bean plants or other legumes produce fixed nitrogen which is one of the essential plant nutrients and which for non-legume crops, such as wheat, normally must be supplied by applications of nitrogen-based fertilizer. So if biotechnology succeeds in producing wheat strains whose roots will play host to Rhizobium bacteria, the need for artificial fertilizers will be reduced.
The argument above makes which one of the following assumptions?
(A) Biotechnology should be directed toward producing plants that do not require artificial fertilizer.
(B) Fixed nitrogen is currently the only soil nutrient that must be supplied by artificial fertilizer for growing wheat crops.
(C) There are no naturally occurring strains of wheat or other grasses that have Rhizobium bacteria living in their roots.
(D) Legumes are currently the only crops that produce their own supply of fixed nitrogen.（E）
(E) Rhizobium bacteria living in the roots of wheat would produce fixed nitrogen.
11. Current legislation that requires designated sections for smokers and nonsmokers on the premises of privately owned businesses is an intrusion into the privately owned businesses is an intrusion into the private sector that cannot be justified. The fact that studies indicate that nonsmokers might be harmed by inhaling the smoke from others’ cigarettes is not the main issue. Rather, the main issue concerns the government’s violation of the right of private businesses to determine their own policies and rule.
Which one of the following is principle that, if accepted, could enable the conclusion to be properly drawn?
(A) Government intrusion into the policies and rules of private businesses is justified only when individuals might be harmed.
(B) The right of individuals to breathe safe air supersedes the right of businesses to be free from government intrusion.
(C) The right of businesses to self-determination overrides whatever right or duty the government may have to protect the individual.
(D) It is the duty of private businesses to protect employees from harm in the workplace.（C）
(E) Where the rights of businesses and the duty of government conflict, the main issue is finding a successful compromise.
12. Leachate is a solution, frequently highly contaminated, that develops when water permeates a landfill site. If and only if the landfill’s capacity to hold liquids is exceeded does the leachate escape into the environment, generally in unpredictable quantities. A method must be found for disposing of leachate. Most landfill leachate is send directly to sewage treatment plants, but not all sewage plants are capable of handling the highly contaminated water.
Which one of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(A) The ability to predict the volume of escaping landfill leachate would help solve the disposal problem.
(B) If any water permeates a landfill, leachate will escape into the environment.
(C) No sewage treatment plants are capable of handling leachate.
(D) Some landfill leachate is send to sewage treatment plants that are incapable of handling it.（E）
(E) If leachate does not escape from a landfill into the environment, then the landfill’s capacity to hold liquids has not been exceeded.
13. The soaring prices of scholarly and scientific journals have forced academic libraries used only by academic researchers to drastically reduce their list of subscriptions. Some have suggested that in each academic discipline subscription decisions should be determined solely by a journal’s usefulness in that discipline, measured by the frequency with which it is cited in published writings by researchers in the discipline.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the suggestion described above?
(A) The nonacademic readership of a scholarly or scientific journal can be accurately gauged by the number of times articles appearing in it are cited in daily newspapers and popular magazines.
(B) The average length of a journal article in some sciences, such as physics, is less than half the average length of a journal article in some other academic disciplines, such as history.
(C) The increasingly expensive scholarly journals are less and less likely to be available to the general public from nonacademic public libraries.
(D) Researchers often will not cite a journal article that has influenced their work if they think that the journal in which it appears is not highly regarded by the leading researchers in the mainstream of the discipline.（D）
(E) In some academic disciplines, controversies which begin in the pages of one journal spill over into articles in other journals that are widely read by researchers in the discipline.
14. The average level of fat in the blood of people suffering from acute cases of disease W is lower than the average level for the population as a whole. Nevertheless, most doctors believe that reducing blood-fat levels is an effective way of preventing acute W.
Which one of the following, if true, does most to justify this apparently paradoxical belief?
(A) The blood level of fat for patients who have been cured of W is on average the same as that for the population at large.
(B) Several of the symptoms characteristic of acute W have been produced in laboratory animals fed large doses of a synthetic fat substitute, though acute W itself has not been produced in this way.
(C) The progression from latent to acute W can occur only when the agent that causes acute W absorbs large quantities of fat from the patient’s blood.
(D) The levels of fat in the blood of patients who have disease W respond abnormally slowly to changes in dietary intake of fat.（C）
(E) High levels of fat in the blood are indicative of several diseases that are just as serious as W.
15. Baking for winter holidays is tradition that may have a sound medical basis. In midwinter, when days are short, many people suffer from a specific type of seasonal depression caused by lack of sunlight. Carbohydrates, both sugars and starches, boost the brain’s levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that improve the mood. In this respect, carbohydrates act on the brain in the same way as some antidepressants. Thus, eating holiday cookies may provide an effective form of self-prescribed medication.
Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the passage?
(A) Seasonal depression is one of the most easily treated forms of depression.
(B) Lack of sunlight lowers the level of serotonin in the brain.
(C) People are more likely to be depressed in midwinter than at other times of the year.
(D) Some antidepressants act by changing the brain’s level of serotonin.（D）
(E) Raising the level of neurotransmitters in the brain effectively relieves depression.
16. The current proposal to give college students a broader choice in planning their own courses of study should be abandoned. The students who are supporting the proposal will never be satisfied, no matter what requirements are established. Some of these students have reached their third year without declaring a major. One first-year student has failed to complete four required courses. Several others have indicated a serious indifference to grades and intellectual achievement.
A flaw in the argument is that it does which one of the following?
(A) avoids the issue by focusing on supporters of the proposal
(B) argues circularly by assuming the conclusion is true in stating the premises
(C) fails to define the critical term “satisfied”
(D) distorts the proposal advocated by opponents（A）
(E) users the term “student” equivocally
Questions 17-18
The question whether intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is certainly imprecise, because we are not sure how different from us something might be and still count as “intelligent life.” Yet we cannot just decide to define “intelligent life” in some more precise way since it is likely that we will find and recognize intelligent life elsewhere in the universe only if we leave our definitions open to new, unimagined possibilities.
17. The argument can most reasonably be interpreted as an objection to which one of the following claims?
(A) The question whether intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is one that will never be correctly answered.
(B) Whether or not there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, our understanding of intelligent life is limited.
(C) The question about the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe must be made more precise if we hope to answer it correctly.
(D) The question whether there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe is so imprecise as to be meaningless.（C）
(E) The question whether there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe is one we should not spend our time trying to answer.
18. The passage, if seen as an objection to an antecedent claim, challenges that claim by:
(A) showing the claim to be irrelevant to the issue at hand
(B) citing examples that fail to fit proposed definition of “intelligent life”
(C) claiming that “intelligent life” cannot be adequately defined
(D) arguing that the claim, if acted on, would be counterproductive（D）
(E) maintaining that the claim is not supported by the available evidence
19. The efficiency of microwave ovens in destroying the harmful bacteria frequently found in common foods is diminished by the presence of salt in the food being cooked. When heated in a microwave oven, the interior of unsalted food reaches temperatures high enough to kill bacteria that cause food poisoning, but the interior of salted food does not. Scientists theorize that salt effectively blocks the microwaves from heating the interior.
Which one of the following conclusions is most supported by the information above?
(A) The kinds of bacteria that cause food poisoning are more likely to be found on the exterior of food than in the interior of food.
(B) The incidence of serious food poisoning would be significantly reduced if microwave ovens were not used by consumers to cook or reheat food.
(C) The addition of salt to food that has been cooked or reheated in a microwave oven can increase the danger of food poisoning.
(D) The danger of food poisoning can be lessened if salt is not used to prepare foods that are to be cooked in a microwave oven.（D）
(E) Salt is the primary cause of food poisoning resulting from food that is heated in microwave ovens.
20. Pamela: Business has an interest in enabling employees to care for children, because those children will be the customers, employees, and managers of the future. Therefore, businesses should adopt policies, such as day-care benefits that facilitate parenting.
Lee: No individual company, though, will be patronized, staffed, and managed only by its own employees’ children, so it would not be to a company’s advantage to provide such benefits to employees’ children, so it would not be to a company’s advantage to provide such benefits to employees when other companies do not.
In which one of the following pairs consisting of argument and objection does the objection function most similarly to the way Lee’s objection functions in relation to Pamela’s argument?
(A) New roads will not serve to relieve this area’s traffic congestion, because new roads would encourage new construction and generate additional traffic.
Objection: Failure to build new roads would mean that traffic congestion would strangle the area even earlier.
(B) Humanity needs clean air to breathe, so each person should make an effort avoid polluting the air.
Objection: The air one person breathes is affected mainly by pollution caused by others, so it makes no sense to act alone to curb air pollution.
(C) Advertised discounts on products draw customers’ attention to the products， so advertised discounts benefit sales.
Objection: Customers already planning to purchase a product accelerate buying to take advantage of advertised discounts, and those subsequent sales suffer.
(D) If people always told lies, then no one would know what the truth was, so people should always tell the truth.
Objection: If people always told lies, then everyone would know that the truth was the opposite of what was said.（B）
(E) Human social institutions have always changed. So even if we do not know what those changes will be, we do know that the social institutions of the future will differ from those of the past.
Objection: The existence of change in the past does not ensure that there will always be change in the future.
21. Pedro: Unlike cloth diapers, disposable diapers are a threat to the environment. Sixteen billion disposable diapers are discarded annually, filling up landfills at an alarming rate. So people must stop buying disposable diapers and use cloth diapers.
Maria: But you forget that cloth diapers must be washed in hot water, which requires energy. Moreover, the resulting wastewater pollutes our rivers. When families use diaper services, diapers must be delivered by fuel-burning trucks that pollute the air and add to traffic congestion.
Maria objects to Pedro’s argument by
(A) claiming that Pedro overstates the negative evidence about disposable diapers in the course of his argument in favor of cloth diapers
(B) indicating that Pedro draws a hasty conclusion, based on inadequate evidence about cloth diapers
(C) pointing out that there is an ambiguous use of the word “disposable” in Pedro’s argument
(D) demonstrating that cloth diapers are a far more serious threat to the environment than disposable diapers are（B）
(E) suggesting that the economic advantages of cloth diapers outweigh whatever environmental damage they may cause
22. In an experiment, two-year-old boys and their fathers made pie dough together using rolling pins and other utensils. Each father-son pair used a rolling pin that was distinctively different from those used by the other father-son pairs, and each father repeated the phrase “rolling pin” each time his son used it. But when the children were asked to identify all of the rolling pins among a group of kitchen utensils that included several rolling pins, each child picked only the one that he had used.
Which one of the following inferences is most supported by the information above?
(A) The children did not grasp the function of rolling pin.
(B) No two children understood the name “rolling pin” to apply to the same object.
(C) The children understood that all rolling pins have the same general shape.
(D) Each child was able to identify correctly only the utensils that he had used.（B）
(E) The children were not able to distinguish the rolling pins they used from other rolling pins.
23. When 100 people who have not used cocaine are tested for cocaine use, on average only 5 will test positive. By contrast, of every 100 people who have used cocaine 99 will test positive. Thus, when a randomly chosen group of people is tested for cocaine use, the vast majority of those who test positive will be people who have used cocaine.
A reasoning error in the argument is that the argument
(A) attempts to infer a value judgment from purely factual premises
(B) attributes to every member of the population the properties of the average member of the population
(C) fails to take into account what proportion of the population have used cocaine
(D) ignores the fact that some cocaine users do not test positive（C）
(E) advocates testing people for cocaine use when there is no reason to suspect that they have used cocaine
24. If a society encourages freedom of thought and expression, then, during the time when it does so, creativity will flourish in that society. In the United States creativity flourished during the eighteenth century. It is clear, therefore, that freedom of thought was encouraged in the United States during the eighteenth century.
An error of reasoning of the same kind as one contained in the passage is present in each of the following arguments EXCEPT:
(A) According to the airline industry, airfares have to rise if air travel is to be made safer; since airfares were just raised, we can rest assured that air travel will therefore become safer.
(B) We can conclude that the Hillside police department has improved its efficiency, because crime rates are down in Hillside, and it is an established fact that crime rates go down when police departments increase their efficiency.
(C) People who are really interested in the preservation of wildlife obviously do not go hunting for big game; since Gerda has never gone hunting for big game and intends never to do so, it is clear that she is really interested in the preservation of wildlife.
(D) If the contents of a bottle are safe to drink, the bottle will not be marked “poison,” so, since the bottle is not marked “poison,” its contents will be safe to drink.（E）
(E) None of the so-called Western democracies is really democratic, because, for a country to be democratic, the opinion of each of its citizens must have a meaningful effect on government, and in none of these countries does each citizen’s opinion have such an effect.
SECTION IV
Time 35 minutes 25 Questions
Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages...
1. With the passage of the new tax reform law, the annual tax burden on low-income taxpayers will be reduced, on average, by anywhere from $100 to $300. Clearly, tax reform is in the interest of low-income taxpayers.
Which one of the following, if true, most undermines the conclusion above?
(A) Tax reform, by simplifying the tax code, will save many people the expense of having an accountant do their taxes.
(B) Tax reform, by eliminating tax incentives to build rental housing, will push up rents an average of about $40 per month for low-income taxpayers.
(C) Low-income taxpayers have consistently voted for those political candidates who are strong advocates of tax reform.
(D) The new tax reform laws will permit low and middle-income taxpayers to deduct child-care expenses from their taxes.（B）
(E) Under the new tax reform laws, many low-income taxpayers who now pay taxes will no longer be required to do so.
2. If we are to expand the exploration of our solar system, our next manned flight should be to Phobos, one of Mars’s moons, rather than to Mars itself. The flight times to each are the same, but the Phobos expedition would require less than half the fuel load of a Mars expedition and would, therefore, be much less costly. So, it is clear that Phobos should be our next step in Space exploration.
Which one of the following, if true, would most help to explain the difference in fuel requirement?
(A) More equipment would be required to explore Phobos than to explore Mars.
(B) Smaller spaceships require less fuel than larger spaceships.
(C) Information learned during the trip to Phobos can be used during a subsequent trip to Mars.
(D) The shortest distance between Phobos and Mars is less than half the shortest distance Between Earth and Mars.（E）
(E) Lift-off for the return trip from Phobos requires much less fuel than that from Mars because of Phobos weaker gravitational pull.
3. Scientific research that involves international collaboration has produced papers of greater influence. As measured by the number of times a paper is cited in subsequent papers, than has research without any collaboration. Papers that result from international collaboration are cited an average of seven times, whereas papers with single authors are cited only three times on average. This difference shows that research projects conducted by international research teams are of greater importance than those conducted by single researchers.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) Prolific writers can inflate the number of citations they receive by citing themselves in subsequent papers.
(B) It is possible to ascertain whether or not a paper is the product of international collaboration by determining the number of citations it has received.
(C) The number of citations a paper receives is a measure of the importance of the research it reports.
(D) The collaborative efforts of scientists who are citizens of the same country do not produce papers that are as important as papers that are produced by international collaboration.（C）
(E) International research teams tend to be more generously funded than are single researchers.
4. It is more desirable to have some form of socialized medicine than a system of medical care relying on the private sector. Socialized medicine is more broadly accessible than is private-sector system. In addition, since countries with socialized medicine have a lower infant morality rate than do countries with a system relying entirely on the private sector, socialized medicine seems to be technologically superior.
Which one of the following best indicates a flaw in the argument about the technological superiority of socialized medicine?
(A) The lower infant mortality rate might be due to the systems allowing greater access to medical care.
(B) There is no necessary connection between the economic system of socialism and technological achievement.
(C) Infant mortality is a reliable indicator of the quality of medical care for children.
(D) No list is presented of the countries whose infant mortality statistics are summarized under the two categories, “socialized” and “private-sector.”（A）
(E) The argument presupposes the desirability of socialized medicine, which is what the argument seeks to establish.
5. Most parents who are generous are good parents, but some self-centered parents are also good parents. Yet all good parents share one characteristic: they are good listeners.
If all of the statements in the passage are true, which one of the following must also be true?
(A) All parents who are good listeners are good parents.
(B) Some parents who are good listeners are not good parent.
(C) Most parents who are good listeners are generous.
(D) Some parents who are good listeners are self-centered.（D）
(E) Fewer self-centered parents than generous parents are good listeners.
6. Lourdes: Dietary fiber is an important part of a healthful diet. Experts recommend that adults consume 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day.
Kyra: But a daily intake of fiber that is significantly above that recommended level interferes with mineral absorption, especially the absorption of calcium. The public should be told to cut back on fiber intake
Which one of the following, if true, most undermines Kyra’s recommendation?
(A) Among adults, the average consumption of dietary fiber is at present approximately 10 grams a day.
(B) The more a food is processed, the more the fiber is broken down and the lower the fiber content.
(C) Many foodstuffs that are excellent sources of fiber are economical and readily available.
(D) Adequate calcium intake helps prevent the decrease in bone mass known as osteoporosis.（A）
(E) Many foodstuffs that are excellent sources of fiber are popular with consumers.
7. A certain retailer promotes merchandise by using the following policy:
At all times there is either a “manager’s sale” or a “holiday sale” or both going on. All sales are run for exactly one calendar month. In any given month, if a manager wishes to clear out particular line of merchandise, then a managers’ sale is declared. If a holiday falls within the calendar month and there is excess merchandise in the warehouse, then a holiday sale is declared.
However, there is no holiday that falls within the month of August and, in that month, the warehouse never contains excess merchandise.
Which one of the following can be concluded from the passage?
(A) If a holiday falls within a given month and there is no extra merchandise in the warehouse that month, then a holiday sale is declared.
(B) If a holiday sale is not being run, then it is the month of August.
(C) If a manger’s sale is being run in some month, then there is no excess merchandise in the warehouse in that month.
(D) If there is not a manger’s sale being run some month, then there is holiday sale being run in that month.（D）
(E) If there is no excess merchandise in the warehouse, then it is the month of August.
8. Prominent business executives often play active roles in United States presidential campaigns as fundraisers or backroom strategists. But few actually seek to become president themselves. Throughout history the great majority of those who have sought to become president have been Lawyers, military leaders, or full-time politicians. This is understandable, for the personality and skills that make for success in business do not make for success in politics. Business is largely hierarchical, whereas politics is coordinative. As a result, business executives tend to be uncomfortable with compromises and power sharing, which are inherent in polities.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the proposed explanation of why business executives do not run for president?
(A) Many of the most active presidential fundraisers and backroom strategists are themselves politicians.
(B) Military leaders are generally no more comfortable with compromises and power sharing than are business executives.
(C) Some of the skills needed to become a successful lawyer are different from some of those needed to become a successful military leader.
(D) Some former presidents have engaged in business ventures after leaving office.（B）
(E) Some hierarchically structured companies have been major financial supporters of candidates for president.
9. A scientific theory is a good theory if it satisfies two requirements: It must accurately describe a large class of observations in terms of a model that is simple enough to contain only a few elements, and it must make definite predictions about the results of future observations. For example, Aristotle’s cosmological theory, which claimed that everything was made out of four elements—earth, air, fire, and water—satisfied the first requirement, but it did not make any definite prediction. Thus, Aristotle’s cosmological theory was not a good theory.
If all the statements in the passage are true, each of the following must also be true EXCEPT:
(A) Prediction about the results of future observations must be made by any good scientific theory.
(B) Observation of physical phenomena was not a major concern in Aristotle’s cosmological theory.
(C) Four elements can be the basis of a scientific model that is simple enough to meet the simplicity criterion of a good theory.
(D) A scientific model that contains many elements is not a good theory.（B）
(E) Aristotle’s cosmological theory described a large class of observations in terms of only four elements.
10. Millions of irreplaceable exhibits in natural history museums are currently allowed to decay. Yet without analyses of eggs from museums, the studies linking pesticides with the decline of birds of prey would have been impossible. Therefore, funds must be raised to preserve at least those exhibits that will be most valuable to science in the future.
The argument presupposes that
(A) if a museum exhibit is irreplaceable, its preservation is of an importance that overrides economic considerations
(B) the scientific analysis of museum exhibits can be performed in nondestructive way
(C) eggs of extinct species should be analyzed to increase knowledge of genetic relationships among species
(D) it can be known at this time what data will be of most use to scientific investigators in the future（D）
(E) the decay of organic material in natural history exhibits is natural and cannot be prevented
11. Compared to nonprofit hospitals of the same size, investor-owned hospitals require less public investment in the form of tax breaks, use fewer employees, and have higher occupancy levels. It can therefore be concluded that investor-owned hospitals are a better way of delivering medical care than are nonprofit hospitals.
Which one of the following, if true, most undermines the conclusion drawn above?
(A) Nonprofit hospitals charge more per bed than do investor-owned hospitals.
(B) Patients in nonprofit hospitals recover more quickly than don patients with comparable illnesses in investor-owned hospitals.
(C) Nonprofit hospitals do more fundraising than do investor-owned hospitals.
(D) Doctors at nonprofit hospitals earn higher salaries than do similarly qualified doctors at investor-owned hospitals.（B）
(E) Nonprofit hospitals receive more donations than do investor-owned hospitals.
12. The ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten, who had a profound effect during his lifetime on Egyptian art and religion, was well loved and highly respected by his subjects. We know this from the fierce loyalty show to him by his palace guards, as documented in reports written during Akhenaten’s reign.
A questionable technique used in the argument is to
(A) introduce information that actually contradicts the conclusion
(B) rely on evidence that in principle would be impossible to challenge
(C) make a generalization based on a sample that is likely to be unrepresentative
(D) depend on the ambiguity of the term “ancient”（C）
(E) apply present-day standards in an inappropriate way to ancient times
13. Physician: The patient is suffering either from disease X or else from disease Y, but there is no available test for distinguishing X from Y. Therefore, since there is an effective treatment for Y but no treatment for X, we must act on the assumption that the patient has a case of Y.
The physician’s reasoning could be based on which one of the following principles?
(A) In treating a patient who has one or the other of two diseases, it is more important to treat the diseases than to determine which of the two diseases the patient has.
(B) If circumstances beyond a decision maker’s control will affect the outcome of the decision maker’s actions, the decision maker must assume that circumstances are unfavorable.
(C) When the soundness of a strategy depends on the truth of a certain assumption, the first step in putting the strategy into effect must be to test the truth of this assumption.
(D) When success is possible only if a circumstance beyond one’s control is favorable, then one’s strategy must be based on the assumption that this circumstance is in fact favorable.（D）
(E) When only one strategy carries the possibility of success, circumstances must as much as possible be changed to fit this strategy.
14. Consumer advocate: Tropical oils are high in saturated fats, which increase the risk of heart disease. Fortunately, in most prepared food tropical oils can be replaced by healthier alternatives without noticeably affecting taste. Therefore, intensive publicity about the disadvantage of tropical oils will be likely to result in dietary changes that will diminish many people’s risk of developing heart disease.
Nutritionist: The major sources of saturated fat in the average North American diet are meat, poultry, and dairy products, not tropical oils. Thus, focusing attention on the health hazards of tropical oils would be counterproductive, because it would encourage people to believe that more substantial dietary changes are unnecessary.
Which one of the following is a point at issue between the nutritionist and the consumer advocate?
(A) Whether a diet that regularly includes large quantities of tropical oil can increase the risk of heart disease.
(B) Whether intensive publicity campaigns can be effective as means of changing people’s eating habits.
(C) Whether more people in North American would benefit from reducing the amount of meat they consume than would benefit from eliminating tropical oils from their diets.
(D) Whether some people’s diets could be made significantly healthier if they replaced all tropical oils with vegetable oils that are significantly lower in saturated fat.（E）
(E) Whether conducting a publicity campaign that by focusing on the health hazards of tropical oils persuades people to replace such oils with healthier alternatives is a good public-health strategy.
15. People who take what others regard as a ridiculous position should not bother to say, “I mean every word!” For either their position truly is ridiculous, in which case insisting that they are serious about it only exposes them to deeper embarrassment, or else their position has merit, in which case they should meet disbelief with rational argument rather than with assurances of their sincerity.
Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its reasoning to the argument above?
(A) A practice that has been denounced as poor practice should not be defended on the grounds that “this is how we have always done it.” If the practice is a poor one, so much the worse that it has been extensively used; if it is not poor one, there must be a better reason for engaging in it than inertia.
(B) People who are asked why they eat some of the unusual foods they eat should not answer, “because that is what I like.” This sort of answer will sound either naive or evasive and thus will satisfy no one.
(C) People whose taste in clothes is being criticized should not replay, “Every penny I spent on these clothes I earned honestly.” For the issue raise by the critics is not how the money was come by but rather whether it was spent wisely.
(D) Scholars who champion unpopular new theories should not assume that the widespread rejection of their ideas shows that they “must be on the right track.” The truth is that few theories of any consequence are either wholly right or wholly wrong and thus there is no substitute for patient works in ascertaining which parts are right.（A）
(E) People who set themselves goals that others denounce as overly ambitious do little to silence their critics if they say, “I can accomplish this if anyone can.” Rather, those people should either admit that their critics are right or not dignify the criticism with any reply.
16. Concetta: Franchot was a great writer because she was ahead of her time in understanding that industrialization was taking an unconscionable toll on the family structure of the working class.
Alicia: Franchot was not a great writer. The mark of a great writer is the ability to move people with the power of the written word, not the ability to be among the first to grasp a social issue. Besides, the social consequences of industrialization were widely understood in Franchot’s day.
In her disagreement with Concetta, Alicia does which one of the following?
(A) accepts Concetta’s criterion and then adds evidence to Concetta’s case
(B) discredits Concetta’s evidence and then generalizes from new evidence
(C) rejects Concetta’s criterion and then disputes a specific claim
(D) disputes Concetta’s conclusion and then presents facts in support of an alternative criterion（C）
(E) attacks one of Concetta’s claims and then criticizes the structure of her argument
Questions 17-18
Zelda: Dr. Ladlow, a research psychologist, has convincingly demonstrated that his theory about the determinants of rat behavior generates consistently accurate predictions about how rats will perform in a maze. On the basis of this evidence, Dr. Ladlow has claimed that his theory is irrefutably correct.
Anson: Then Dr. Ladlow is not responsible psychologist. Dr. Ladlow’s evidence does not conclusively prove that his theory is correct. Responsible psychologists always accept the possibility that new evidence will show that their theories are incorrect.
17. Which one of the following can be properly inferred from Anson’s argument?
(A) Dr. Ladlow’s evidence that his theory generates consistently accurate predictions about how rates will perform in a maze is inaccurate.
(B) Psychologists who can derive consistently accurate predictions about how rats will perform in a maze from their theories cannot responsibly conclude that those theories cannot be disproved.
(C) No matter how responsible psychologists are, they can never develop correct theoretical explanations.
(D) Responsible psychologists do not make predictions about how rats will perform in a maze.（B）
(E) Psychologists who accept the possibility that new evidence will show that their theories are incorrect are responsible psychologists.
18. Anson bases his conclusion about Dr. Ladlow on which one of the following?
(A) an attack on Dr. Ladlow’s character
(B) the application of a general principle
(C) the use of an ambiguous term
(D) the discrediting of facts（B）
(E) the rejection of a theoretical explanation
19. Smith: Meat in the diet is healthy, despite what some people say. After all, most doctors do eat meat, and who knows more about health than doctors do?
Which one of the following is a flaw in Smith’s reasoning?
(A) attacking the opponents’ motives instead of their argument
(B) generalizing on the basis of a sample consisting of a typical cases
(C) assuming at the outset what the argument claims to establish through reasoning
(D) appealing to authority, even when different authorities give conflicting advice about an issue（E）
(E) taking for granted that experts do not act counter to what, according to their expertise, in their best interest
20. The rise in the prosperity of England subsequent to 1840 can be attributed to the adoption of the policy of free trade, since economic conditions improved only when that policy had been implemented.
The reasoning in the above argument most closely parallels that in which one of the following?
(A) An exhaustive search of the marshes last year revealed no sign of marsh hawks, so it can be assumed that a similar search this year would reveal equally little sign of that kind of bird.
(B) Building a circular bypass road around Plainfield probably helped the flow of local traffic in the town center, since a circular bypass road generally cuts a city’s through traffic markedly.
(C) Before the banks raised their interest rates, people on average incomes could almost afford a mortgage for an amount twice their salary. Hence the rate increase has now put mortgages beyond their reach.
(D) Since the improvement in the company’s profitability began to occur after the vice president’s new morale-building program was put in place, that program can be credited with the improved result.（D）
(E) The extinction of the dinosaurs was brought about by an asteroid colliding with Earth, so their extinction could not have come before the collision.
21. During construction of the Quebec Bridge in 1907, the bridge’s designer, Theodore Cooper, received word that the suspended span being built out from the bridge’s cantilever was deflecting downward by a fraction of an inch. Before he could telegraph to freeze the project, the whole cantilever arm broke off and plunged, along with seven dozens workers, into the St. Lawrence River. It was the worst bridge construction disaster in history. As a direct result of the inquiry that followed, the engineering “rules of thumb” by which thousands of bridges had been built went down with the Quebec Bridge. Twentieth-century bridge engineers would thereafter depend on far more rigorous applications of mathematical analysis.
Which one of the following statements can be properly inferred from the passage?
(A) Bridges built before about 1907 were built without thorough mathematical analysis and, therefore, were unsafe for the public to use.
(B) Cooper’s absence from the Quebec Bridge construction site resulted in the breaking off of the cantilever.
(C) Nineteenth-century bridge engineers relied on their rules of thumb because analytical methods were inadequate to solve their design problems.
(D) Only a more rigorous application of mathematical analysis to the design of the Quebec Bridge could have prevented its collapse（E）.
(E) Prior to 1907 the mathematical analysis incorporated in engineering rules of thumb was insufficient to completely assure the safety of bridges under construction.
22. Most children find it very difficult to explain exactly what the words they use mean when those words do not refer to things that can be seen or touched. Yet since children are able to use these words to convey the feelings and emotions they are obviously experiencing, understanding what a word means clearly does not depend on being able to explain it.
Which one of the following principles, if accepted, would provide the most justification for the conclusion?
(A) The fact that a task is very difficult for most people does not mean that no one can do it.
(B) Anyone who can provide an exact explanation of a word has a clear understanding of what that word means.
(C) Words that refer to emotions invariably have less narrowly circumscribed conventional meanings than do word that refer to physical objects.
(D) When someone appropriately uses a word to convey something that he or she is experiencing, that person understands what that word mean.（D）
(E) Words can be explained satisfactorily only when they refer to things that can be seen or touched.
Questions 23- 24
The brains of identical twins are genetically identical. When only one of a pair of identical twins is a schizophrenic, certain areas of the affected twin’s brain are smaller than corresponding areas in the brain of the unaffected twin. No such differences are found when neither twin is schizophrenic. Therefore, this discovery provides definitive evidence that schizophrenia is caused by damage to the physical structure of the brain.
23. Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?
(A) The brain of person suffering from schizophrenia is smaller than the brain of anyone not suffering from schizophrenia.
(B) The relative smallness of certain parts of the brains of schizophrenics is not the result of schizophrenia or of medications used in its treatment.
(C) The brain of a person with an identical twines is no smaller, on average, than the brain of person who is not a twin.
(D) When a pair of identical twins both suffer from schizophrenia, their brains are the same size.（B）
(E) People who have an identical twin are no more likely to suffer from schizophrenia than those who do not.
24. If the statements on which the conclusion above is based are all true, each of the following could be true EXCEPT:
(A) People who lack a genetic susceptibility for the disease will not develop schizophrenia.
(B) Medications can control most of the symptoms of schizophrenia in most patients but will never be able to cure it.
(C) The brains of schizophrenics share many of the characteristics found in those of people without the disorder.
(D) It will eventually be possible to determine whether or not someone will develop schizophrenia on the basis of genetic information alone.（D）
(E) Brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia are the result of childhood viral infections that inhibit the development of brain cells.
25. Sixty adults were asked to keep a diary of their meals, including what they consumed, when, and in the company of how many people. It was found that at meals with which they drank alcoholic beverages, they consumed about 175 calories more from nonalcoholic source than they did at meals with which they did not drink alcoholic beverages.
Each of the following, if true, contributes to an explanation of the difference in caloric intake EXCEPT:
(A) Diners spent a much longer time at meals served with alcohol than they did at those serve without alcohol.
(B) The meals eaten later in the day tended to be larger than those eaten earlier in the day, and later meals were more likely to include alcohol.
(C) People eat more when there are more people present at the meal, and more people tended to be present at meal served with alcohol than at meals served without alcohol.
(D) The meals that were most carefully prepared and most attractively served tended to be those at which alcoholic beverages were consumed.（E）
(E) At meals that included alcohol, relatively more of the total calories consumed came from carbohydrates and relatively fewer of them came from fats and proteins.
TEST 3
SECTION I
|
1. E |
2. A |
3. E |
4. D |
5. C |
|
6. E |
7. D |
8. D |
9. A |
10. E |
|
11. C |
12. E |
13. D |
14. C |
15. D |
|
16. A |
17. C |
18. D |
19. D |
20. B |
|
21. B |
22. C |
23. E |
24.
|
25.
|
SECTION IV
|
1. B |
2. E |
3. C |
4. A |
5. D |
|
6. A |
7. D |
8. B |
9. B |
10. D |
|
11. B |
12. C |
13. D |
14. E |
15. A |
|
16. C |
17. B |
18. B |
19. E |
20. D |
|
21. E |
22. D |
23. B |
24. D |
25. E |
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