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TEST 5
SECTION II
Time 35 minutes 25 Questions
Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages...
1. If you have a large amount of money in the bank, your spending power is great. If your spending power is great, you are happy. So if you have a large amount of money in the bank, you are happy.
Which one of the following most closely parallels the reasoning in the argument above?
(A) If you have good health, you can earn a lot. If you can earn a lot, you can buy an expensive house. So if you have good health, you can have a comfortable life.
(B) If you drink too much alcohol, you will feel sick. If you drink too much alcohol, you will have no money left. So if you have no money left, you will feel sick.
(C) If you swim energetically, your heart rate increases. If your heart rate increases, you are overexcited. So if you swim energetically, you are overexcited.
(D) If you take a great deal of exercise, you are physically fit. If you take a great deal of exercise, you are exhausted. So if you are physically fit, you are exhausted.（C）
(E) If you have a large amount of money in the bank, you are confident about the future. If you are optimistic by nature, you are confident about the future. So if you have a large amount of money in the bank, you are optimistic by nature.
2. For a television program about astrology, investigators went into the street and found twenty volunteers born under the sign of Gemini who were willing to be interviewed on the program and to take a personality test. The test confirmed the investigators’ personal impressions that each of the volunteers was more sociable and extroverted than people are on average. This modest investigation thus supports the claim that one’s astrological birth sign influence one’s personality.
Which one of the following, if true, indicates the most serious flaw in the method used by the investigators?
(A) The personality test was not administrated or scored personally by the investigators.
(B) People born under astrological signs other than Gemini have been judged by astrologers to be much less sociable than those born under Gemini.
(C) The personal impressions the investigators first formed of other people have tended to be confirmed by the investigators’ later experience of those people.
(D) There is not likely to be a greater proportion of people born under the sign of Gemini on the street than in the population as a whole.（E）
(E) People who are not sociable and extroverted are not likely to agree to participate in such an investigation.
3. In Europe, schoolchildren devote time during each school day to calisthenics. North American schools rarely offer a daily calisthenics program. Tests prove that North American children are weaker, slower, and shorter-winded than European children. We must conclude that North American children can be made physically fit only if they participate in school calisthenics on a daily basis.
Which one of the following is assumed in the passage?
(A) All children can be made physically fit by daily calisthenics.
(B) All children can be made equally physically fit by daily calisthenics.
(C) Superior physical fitness produces superior health.
(D) School calisthenics are an indispensable factor in European children’s superior physical fitness.（D）
(E) North American children can learn to eat a more nutritious diet as well as to exercise daily.
4. A work of architecture, if it is to be both inviting and functional for public use, must be unobtrusive, taking second place to the total environment. Modern architects, plagued by egoism, have violated this precept. They have let their strong personalities take over their work, producing buildings that are not functional for public use.
Which one of the statements below follows logically from the statements in the passage?
(A) Unobtrusive architecture is both inviting and functional.
(B) Modern architects who let their strong personalities take over their work produce buildings that are not unobtrusive.
(C) An architect with a strong personality cannot produce buildings that functional well for the public.
(D) A work of architecture that takes second place to the environment functions well for public use.（B）
(E) A work of architecture cannot simultaneously express its architect’s personality and be functional for public use.
5. Observatory director: Some say that funding the megatelescope will benefit only the astronomers who will work with it. This dangerous point of view, applied to the work of Maxwell, Newton, or Einstein, would have stifled their research and deprived the world of beneficial applications, such as the development of radio, that followed from that research.
If the statements above are put forward as an argument in favor of development of the megatelescope, which one of the following is the strongest criticism of that argument?
(A) It appeals to the authority of experts who cannot have known all the issues involved in construction of the megatelescope.
(B) It does not identify those opposed to development of the megatelescope.
(C) It launches a personal attack on opponents of the megatelescope by accusing them of having a dangerous point of view.
(D) It does not distinguish between the economic and the intellectual sense of “benefit.”（E）
(E) It does not show that the proposed megatelescope research is worthy of comparison with that of eminent scientists in its potential for applications.
6. The Transit Authority’s proposal to increase fares by 40 percent must be implemented. Admittedly, this fare increase will impose a hardship on some bus and subway riders. But if the fare is not increased, service will have to be cut severely and that would result in an unacceptably large loss of ridership.
The passage employs which one of the following argumentative strategies?
(A) It offers evidence that the recommended course of action would have no undesirable consequences.
(B) It shows that a proponent of any alternative position would be force into a contradiction.
(C) It arrives at its conclusion indirectly by providing reasons for rejecting an alternative course of action.
(D) It explains why the recommended course of action would not be subject to the objections raised against the alternative.（C）
(E) It justifies the conclusion by showing that such a course of action has proven effective in the past.
7. Those who participate in local politics include people who are genuinely interested in public service and people who are selfish opportunists. Everyone who participates in local politics has an influence on the community’s values.
If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true?
(A) Some selfish opportunists have an influence on the community’s values.
(B) Some persons who are interested in public service do not have an influence on the community’s values.
(C) All those who have an influence on the community’s values participate in local politics.
(D) Some of those who influence the community’s values neither are interested in public service nor are selfish opportunists.（A）
(E) All those who have an influence on the community’s values are either interested in public service or are selfish opportunists.
Questions 8-9
Although nondairy coffee lighteners made with coconut oil contain 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon, or 7 times more than does whole milk, those lighteners usually contain no cholesterol. Yet one tablespoon of such lighteners causes the consumer’s blood cholesterol to rise to a higher level than does an identical amount of whole milk, which contains 2 milligrams of cholesterol per tablespoon.
8. Which one of the following, if true, contributes most to an explanation of the apparent discrepancy noted above?
(A) Nutritionists recommend that adults consume as little saturated fat as possible and no more than 250 milligrams of cholesterol a day.
(B) One gram of saturated fat in food has roughly the same effect on blood cholesterol as 25 milligrams of cholesterol in food.
(C) Light cream, a dairy product that contains 5 times more cholesterol than does whole milk, is often chosen as a lightener by consumers who normally prefer whole milk.
(D) Certain nondairy coffee lighteners made without coconut oil contain less saturated fat and less cholesterol than does whole milk.（B）
(E) The lower the saturated fat content of dairy products, the less cholesterol they usually contain.
9. Manufacturers of coffee lighteners based on coconut oil claim that their products usually cause the typical consumer’s blood cholesterol to rise to a lower level than does the use of whole milk as a lighteners. Which one of the following, if true, provides the most support for the manufacturers’ claim?
(A) Consumers of lighteners made with coconut oil who avoid other high-cholesterol foods and exercise more than average tend to have lower-than-average blood cholesterol levels.
(B) Coffee is frequently consumed with pastries and other rich desserts that themselves result in high blood cholesterol levels.
(C) One popular nondairy coffee lightener that is not based on coconut oil has reduced its fat content by 20 percent while keeping its cholesterol content at zero.
(D) Consumers typically add to their coffee substantially smaller quantities of coconut-oil-based lighteners than of whole milk.（D）
(E) Most consumers are convinced that whole dairy products increase blood cholesterol and that nondairy coffee lighteners do not.
10. People with serious financial problems are so worried about money that they cannot be happy. Their misery makes everyone close to them—family, friends, colleagues—unhappy as well. Only if their financial problems are solved can they and those around them be happy.
Which one of the following statements can be properly inferred from the passage?
(A) Only serious problems make people unhappy.
(B) People who solve their serious financial problems will be happy.
(C) People who do not have serious financial problems will be happy.
(D) If people are unhappy, they have serious financial problems.（E）
(E) If people are happy, they do not have serious financial problems.
11. It is often said that people should be rewarded for doing a given job in proportion to the effort it costs them to do it. However, a little reflection will show that this is, in fact, a very bad idea, since it would mean that those people with the least skill or natural aptitude for a particular task would be the ones given the most incentive to do it.
Which one of the following argumentative strategies is used above?
(A) stating a general principle and then presenting reasons in favor of adopting it
(B) providing evidence that where the principle under discussion has been adopted, the results usually have been undesirable
(C) demonstrating that a consequence that had been assumed to follow from the principle under consideration need not follow from it
(D) attempting to undermine a general principle by arguing that undesirable consequences would follow from it（D）
(E) showing that, in practice, the principle under consideration could not be uniformly applied
12. Photovoltaic power plants produce electricity from sunlight. As a result of astonishing recent technological advances, the cost of producing electric power at photovoltaic power plants, allowing for both construction and operating costs, is one-tenth of what it was 20 years ago, whereas the corresponding cost for traditional plants, which burn fossil fuels, has increased. Thus, photovoltaic power plants offer a less expensive approach to meeting demand for electricity than do traditional power plants.
The conclusion of the argument is properly drawn if which one of the following is assumed?
(A) The cost of producing electric power at traditional plants has increased over the past 20 years.
(B) Twenty years ago, traditional power plants were producing 10 times more electric power than were photovoltaic plants.
(C) None of the recent technological advances in producing electric power at photovoltaic plants can be applied to producing power at traditional plants.
(D) Twenty years ago, the cost of producing electric power at photovoltaic plants was less than 20 times the cost of producing power at traditional plants.（D）
(E) The cost of producing electric power at photovoltaic plants is expected to decrease further, while the cost of producing power at traditional plants is not expected to decrease.
13. If that insect is a bee, it can only sting once. It only did sting once. So it is a bee.
Which one of the following exhibits a pattern of reasoning most similar to that in the argument above?
(A) Spring is here. It has to be, because when it is spring, I cannot stop sneezing; and I just sneezed.
(B) When the sky is clear, the atmospheric pressure is high. At the moment, it is clearing up, so the atmospheric pressure is bound to be high soon.
(C) Old and brittle paintings are always moved with extreme care. That particular painting is never moved with extreme care. So it must not be old and brittle.
(D) Only one more thunderstorm was needed to ruin that roof. But the roof was still fine a month later. There must not have been any thunderstorm over that month.（A）
(E) To survive in the wild requires physical stamina like Mark’s. All the same, Mark’s fear of spiders would prevent his survival.
14. Pamela: Physicians training for a medical specialty serve as resident staff physicians in hospitals. They work such long hours—up to 36 consecutive hours—that fatigue impairs their ability to make the best medical decisions during the final portion of their shifts.
Quincy: Thousands of physicians now practicing have been trained according to the same regimen, and records show they generally made good medical decisions during their training periods. Why should what has worked in the past be changed now?
Which one of the following, if true, is the most effective counter Pamela might make to Quincy’s argument?
(A) The basic responsibilities of resident staff physicians in hospitals have not changed substantially over the past few decades.
(B) Because medical reimbursement policies now pay for less recuperation time in hospitals, patients in hospitals are, on the average, more seriously ill during their stay than in the past.
(C) It is important that emergency-room patients receive continuity of physician care, insofar as possible, over the critical period after admission, generally 24 hours.
(D) The load of work on resident physicians-in-training varies according to the medical specialty for which each is being trained.（B）
(E) The training of physicians should include observation and recognition of the signs indicating a hospitalized patient’s progress or decline over a period of at least 36 hours.
15. When a group of children who have been watching television programs that include acts of violence is sent to play with a group of children who have been watching programs that do not include acts of violence, the children who have been watching violent programs commit a much greater number of violent acts in their play than do the children who have been watching nonviolent programs. Therefore, children at play can be prevented from committing violent acts by not being allowed to watch violence on television.
The argument in the passage assumes which one of the following?
(A) Television has a harmful effect on society.
(B) Parents are responsible for the acts of their children.
(C) Violent actions and passive observation of violent actions are not related.
(D) There are no other differences between the two groups of children that might account for the difference in violent behavior.（D）
(E) Children who are treated violently will respond with violence.
16. It is repeatedly claimed that the dumping of nuclear waste poses no threat to people living nearby. If this claim could be made with certainty, there would be no reason for not locating sites in areas of dense population. But the policy of dumping nuclear waste only in the more sparsely populated regions indicates, at the very least, some misgiving about safety on the part of those responsible for policy.
Which one of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the argument?
(A) Evaluation plans in the event of an accident could not be guaranteed to work perfectly except where the population is small.
(B) In the event of an accident, it is certain that fewer people would be harmed in a sparsely populated than in a densely populated area.
(C) Dumping of nuclear waste poses fewer economic and bureaucratic problems in sparsely populated than in densely populated areas.
(D) There are dangers associated with chemical waste, and it, too, is dumped away from areas of dense population.（C）
(E) Until there is no shred of doubt that nuclear dumps are safe, it makes sense to situate them where they pose the least threat to the public.
17. A society’s infant mortality rate is an accepted indicator of that society’s general health status. Even though in some localities in the United States the rate is higher than in many developing countries, in the United States overall the rate has been steadily declining. This decline does not necessarily indicate, however, that babies in the United States are now, on the average, healthier at birth than they were in the past.
Which one of the following reasons, if true, most strongly supports the claim made above about the implications of the decline?
(A) The figure for infant mortality is compiled as an overall rate and thus masks deficiencies in particular localities.
(B) Low birth weight is a contributing factor in more than half of the infant deaths in the United States.
(C) The United States has been developing and has achieved extremely sophisticated technology for saving premature and low-birth-weight babies, most of whom require extended hospital stays.
(D) In eleven states of the United States, the infant mortality rate declined last year.（C）
(E) Babies who do not receive adequate attention from a caregiver fail to thrive and so they gain weight slowly.
Questions 18-19
Like a number of other articles, Ian Raghnall’s article relied on a recent survey in which over half the couples applying for divorces listed “money” as a major problem in their marriages. Raghnall’s conclusion from the survey data is that financial problems are the major problem in marriages and an important factor contributing to high divorce rate. Yet couples often express other types of marital frustrations in financial terms. Despite appearances, the survey data do not establish that financial problems are the major problem in contemporary marriages.
18. Which one of the following sentences best expresses the main point of the passage?
(A) Financial problems are not an important factor contributing to the divorce rate.
(B) Marital problems are more easily solved by marriage counselors than by married couples on their own.
(C) The conclusion drawn in Raghnall’s article is inadequately justified.
(D) Over half the couples applying for divorces listed money as a major problem in their marriages.（C）
(E) Many articles wrongly claim that financial problems are the major factor contributing to the divorce rate.
19. In the passage, the author does which one of the following?
(A) undermines a conclusion drawn from statistical data by offering a specific counterexample
(B) undermines a conclusion drawn from statistical data by offering an alternative explanation for some of the data
(C) undermines a conclusion drawn from statistical data by showing that one cannot prove the presence of an emotion by using statistical methods
(D) undermines a conclusion drawn from statistical data by criticizing the survey for which the data was gathered（B）
(E) undermines a conclusion by showing that couples cannot accurately describe their own problems
20. In Brazil, side-by-side comparisons of Africanized honeybees and the native honeybees have shown that the Africanized bees are far superior honey producers. Therefore, there is no reason to fear that domestic commercial honey production will decline in the United States if local honeybees are displaced by Africanized honeybees.
Each of the following, if true, would weaken the argument EXCEPT:
(A) The honeybees native to Brazil are not of the same variety as those most frequently used in the commercial beekeeping industry in the United States.
(B) Commercial honey production is far more complicated and expensive with Africanized honeybees than it is with the more docile honeybees common in the United States.
(C) If Africanized honeybees replace local honeybees, certain types of ornamental trees will be less effectively pollinated.
(D) In the United States a significant proportion of the commercial honey supply comes from hobby beekeepers, many of whom are likely to abandon beekeeping with the influx of Africanized bees.（C）
(E) The area of Brazil where the comparative study was done is far better suited to the foraging habits of the Africanized honeybees than are most areas of the United States.
21. The public is well aware that high blood cholesterol levels raise the risk of stroke caused by blood clots. But a recent report concludes that people with low blood cholesterol levels are at increased risk of the other lethal type of stroke—cerebral hemorrhage, caused when a brain artery bursts. The report suggests that because blood cholesterol plays a vital role in maintaining cell membranes, low blood cholesterol weakens artery walls, making them prone to rupture. The conclusion thus supports a long-standing contention by Japanese researchers that Western diets better protect against cerebral hemorrhage than do non-Western diets.
The argument is based on which one of the following assumptions?
(A) Western diets are healthier than non-Western diets.
(B) Western diets result in higher blood cholesterol levels than do non-Western diets.
(C) High blood cholesterol levels preclude the weakening of artery walls.
(D) Cerebral hemorrhages are more dangerous than strokes caused by blood clots.（B）
(E) People who have low blood pressure are at increased risk of cerebral hemorrhage.
22. Public reports by national commissions, governors’ conference, and leadership groups have stressed the great need for better understanding of international affairs by the citizenry. If the country is to remain a leading nation in an era of international competitiveness, the need is undeniable. If there is such a need for the citizenry to have a better understanding of international affairs, then all of our new teachers must be prepared to teach their subject matter with an international orientation.
If all of the statements in the passage are true, which one of the following must also be true?
(A) If the country is to remain a leading nation in an era of international competitiveness, then new teachers must be prepared to teach their subject matter with an international orientation.
(B) If new teachers are prepared to teach their subject matter with an international orientation, then the country will remain a leading nation in an era of international competitiveness.
(C) If there is better understanding of international affairs by the citizenry, then the country will remain a leading nation in an era of international competitiveness.
(D) If the country is to remain a leading nation in an era of international competitiveness, then there is no need for the citizenry to have a better understanding of international affairs.（A）
(E) Public reports from various groups and commissions have stressed the need for a more international orientation in the education of teachers.
23. “DNA fingerprinting” is a recently-introduced biochemical procedure that uses a pattern derived from a person’s genetic material to match a suspect’s genetic material against that of a specimen from a crime scene. Proponents have claimed astronomically high odds against obtaining a match by chance alone. These odds are based on an assumption that there is independence between the different characteristics represented by a single pattern.
Which one of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the claim of the proponents of DNA fingerprinting?
(A) The large amount of genetic material that people share with all other people and with other animals is not included in the DNA fingerprinting procedure.
(B) There is generally accepted theoretical basis for interpreting the patterns produced by the procedure.
(C) In the whole population there are various different subgroups, within each of which certain sets of genetic characteristics are shared.
(D) The skill required of laboratory technicians performing the DNA fingerprinting procedure is not extraordinary.（C）
(E) In the investigation of certain genetic diseases, the techniques used in DNA fingerprinting have traced the transmission of the diseases among the living members of very large families.
24. Anthropologists assert that cultures advance only when independence replaces dependence—that is, only when imposition by outsiders is replaced by initiative from within. In other words, the natives of a culture are the only ones who can move that culture forward. Non-natives may provide valuable advice, but any imposition of their views threatens independence and thus progress. If one looks at individual schools as separate cultures, therefore, the key to educational progress is obvious______
Which one of the following best completes the passage?
(A) individual schools must be independent of outside imposition
(B) some schools require more independence than others, depending on the initiative of their staffs and students
(C) school system officials must tailor their initiatives for change to each individual school in the system
(D) outsiders must be prevented from participation in schools’ effort to advance（A）
(E) the more independent a school is, the more educational progress it will make
25. The public in the United States has in the past been conditioned to support a substantial defense budget by the threat of confrontation with the Eastern bloc. Now that that threat is dissolving, along with the Eastern bloc itself, it is doubtful whether the public can be persuaded to support an adequate defense budget.
Which one of the following indicates a weakness in the position expressed above?
(A) It presupposes that public opinion can be manipulated indefinitely, without the public’s becoming aware of that manipulation.
(B) It refers to past and present events that do not have a causal connection with public support of the budget.
(C) It assumes as fact what it seeks to establish by reasoning.
(D) It fails to give any reason for the judgment it reaches.（E）
(E) It hinges on the term “adequate,” the precise meaning of which requires reevaluation in the new context.
SECTION VI
Time 35 minutes 25 Questions
Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages...
1. The translator of poetry must realize that word-for-word equivalents do not exist across languages, any more than piano sounds exist in the violin. The violin can, however, play recognizably the same music as the piano, but only if the violinist is guided by the nature and possibilities of the violin as well as by the original composition.
As applied to the act of translating poetry from one language into another, the analogy above can best be understood as saying that
(A) poetry cannot be effectively translated because, unlike music, it is composed of words with specific meanings
(B) some languages are inherently more musical and more suitable to poetic composition than others
(C) the translator should be primarily concerned with reproducing the rhythms and sound patterns of the original, not with transcribing its meaning exactly
(D) the translator must observe the spirit of the original and also the qualities of expression that characterize the language into which the original is translated（D）
(E) poetry is easier to translate if it focuses on philosophical insights or natural descriptions rather than on subjective impressions
2. Behind the hope that computers can replace teachers is the idea that the student’s understanding of the subject being taught consists in knowing facts and rules, the job of a teacher being to make the facts and rules explicit and convey them to the student, either by practice drills or by coaching. If that were indeed the way the mind works, the teacher could transfer facts and rules to the computer, which would replace the teacher as drillmaster and coach. But since understanding does not consist merely of knowing facts and rules, but of the grasp of the general concepts underlying them, the hope that the computer will eventually replace the teacher is fundamentally misguided.
Which one of the following, if true, would most seriously undermine the author’s conclusion that computers will not eventually be able to replace teachers?
(A) Computers are as good as teachers at drilling students on facts and rules.
(B) The job of a teacher is to make students understand the general concepts underlying specific facts and rules.
(C) It is possible to program computers so that they can teach the understanding of general concepts that underlie specific facts and rules.
(D) Because they are not subject to human error, computers are better than teachers at conveying facts and rules.（C）
(E) It is not possible for students to develop an understanding of the concepts underlying facts and rules through practice drills and coaching.
3. If the city council maintains spending at the same level as this year’s, it can be expected to levy a sales tax of 2 percent next year. Thus, if the council levies a higher tax, it will be because the council is increasing its expenditure.
Which one of the following exhibits a pattern of reasoning most closely similar to that of the argument above?
(A) If house-building costs are not now rising, builders cannot be expected to increase the prices of houses. Thus, if they decrease the prices of houses, it will be because that action will enable them to sell a greater number of houses.
(B) If shops wish to reduce shoplifting, they should employ more store detectives. Thus, if shops do not, they will suffer reduced profits because of their loss from stolen goods.
(C) If the companies in the state do not increase their workers’ wages this year, the prices they charge for their goods can be expected to be the same as they were last year. Thus, if the companies do increase prices, it will be because they have increased wages.
(D) If airlines wish to make profits this year that are similar to last year’s, they should not increase their prices this year. Thus, if they charge more, they should be expected to improve their services.（C）
(E) If newspaper publishers wish to publish good papers, they should employ good journalists. Thus, if they employ poor journalists, it will not be surprising if their circulation falls as a result.
4. The mind and the immune system have been shown to be intimately linked, and scientists are consistently finding that doing good deeds benefits one’s immune system. The bone marrow and spleen, which produce the white blood cells needed to fight infection, are both connected by neural pathways to the brain. Recent research has shown that the activity of these white blood cells is stimulated by beneficial chemicals produced by the brain as a result of magnanimous behavior.
The statements above, if true, support the view that
(A) good deeds must be based on unselfish motives
(B) lack of magnanimity is the cause of most serious illnesses
(C) magnanimous behavior can be regulated by the presence or absence of certain chemicals in the brain
(D) magnanimity is beneficial to one’s own interests（D）
(E) the number of white blood cells will increase radically if behavior is consistently magnanimous
5. The high cost of productions is severely limiting which operas are available to the public. These costs necessitate reliance on large corporate sponsors, who in return demand that only the most famous operas be produced. Determining which operas will be produced should rest only with ticket purchasers at the box office, not with large corporate sponsors. If we reduce production budgets so that operas can be supported exclusively by box-office receipts and donations from individuals, then the public will be able to see less famous operas.
Which one of the following, if true, would weaken the argument?
(A) A few ticket purchasers go to the opera for the sake of going to the opera, not to see specific operatic productions.
(B) The reduction of opera production budgets would not reduce the desire of large corporate sponsors to support operas.
(C) Without the support of large corporate sponsors, opera companies could not afford to produce any but the most famous of operas.
(D) Large corporate sponsors will stop supporting opera productions if they are denied control over which operas will be produced.（C）
(E) The combination of individual donations and box-office receipts cannot match the amounts of money obtained through sponsorship by large corporations.
6. When machines are invented and technologies are developed, they alter the range of choices open to us. The clock, for example, made possible the synchronization of human affairs, which resulted in an increase in productivity. At the same time that the clock opened up some avenues, it closed others. It has become harder and harder to live except by the clock, so that now people have no choice in the matter at all.
Which one of the following propositions is best illustrated by the example presented in the passage?
(A) New machines and technologies can enslave as well as liberate us.
(B) People should make a concerted effort to free themselves from the clock.
(C) Some new machines and technologies bring us improvement to our lives.
(D) The increase in productivity was not worth our dependence on the clock.（A）
(E) Most new machines and technologies make our lives synchronized and productive.
7. To become an expert on a musical instrument, a person must practice. If people practice a musical instrument for three hours each day, they will eventually become experts on that instrument. Therefore, if a person is an expert on a musical instrument, that person must have practiced for at least three hours each day.
Which one of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the reasoning above?
(A) The conclusion fails to take into account that people who practice for three hours every day might not yet have reached a degree of proficiency that everyone would consider expert.
(B) The conclusion fails to take into account that practicing for less than three hours each day may be enough for some people to become experts.
(C) The conclusion fails to take into account that if a person has not practiced for at least three hours a day, the person has not become an expert.
(D) The conclusion fails to take into account that three consecutive hours of daily practice is not recommended by all music teachers.（B）
(E) The conclusion fails to take into account that few people have the spare time necessary to devote three hours daily to practice.
8. On the basis of incontestable proof that car safety seats will greatly reduce the number of serious injuries sustained by children in car accidents, laws have been passed mandating the use of these seats. Unexpectedly, it has since been found that a large number of children who are riding in safety seats continue to receive serious injuries that safety seats were specifically designed to avoid, and in the prevention of which they in fact have proven to be effective.
Which one of the following, if true, could by itself adequately explain the unexpected finding reported in the passage?
(A) Many parents are defying the law by not using safety seats for their children.
(B) Children are more likely to make automobile trips now than they were before the introduction of the safety seat.
(C) The high cost of child safety seats has caused many parents to delay purchasing them.
(D) The car safety seat was not designed to prevent all types of injuries, so it is not surprising that some injuries are sustained.（E）
(E) The protection afforded by child safety seats depends on their being used properly, which many parents fail to do.
9. An easy willingness to tell funny stories or jokes about oneself is the surest mark of supreme self-confidence. This willingness, often not acquired until late in life, is even more revealing than is good-natured acquiescence in having others poke fun at one.
Which one of the following inference is most supported by the statements above?
(A) A person who lacks self-confidence will enjoy neither telling nor hearing funny stories about himself or herself.
(B) People with high self-confidence do not tell funny stories or jokes about others.
(C) Highly self-confident people tell funny stories and jokes in order to let their audience know that they are self-confident.
(D) Most people would rather tell a funny story or joke than listen to one being told.（A）
(E) Telling funny stories or jokes about people in their presence is a way of expressing one’s respect for them.
Questions 10-11
Nature constantly adjusts the atmospheric carbon level. An increase in the level causes the atmosphere to hold more heat, which causes more water to evaporate from the oceans, which causes increased rain. Rain washes some carbon from the air into the oceans, where it eventually becomes part of the seabed. A decrease in atmospheric carbon causes the atmosphere to hold less heat, which causes decreased evaporation from the oceans, which causes less rain, and thus less carbon is washed into the oceans. Yet some environmentalists worry that burning fossil fuels may raise atmospheric carbon to a dangerous level. It is true that a sustained increase would threaten human life. But the environmentalists should relax—nature will continually adjust the carbon level.
10. Each of the following can be inferred from the information in the passage EXCEPT:
(A) A decrease in the level of atmospheric heat causes a decrease in the amount of carbon that rain washes into the oceans from the air.
(B) An increase in the level of carbon in the atmosphere causes increased evaporation of ocean water.
(C) An increase in the level of atmospheric heat causes increased rainfall.
(D) A decrease in the level of carbon in the atmosphere causes decreased evaporation of ocean water.（E）
(E) A decrease in the level of atmospheric heat causes a decrease in the level of carbon in the atmosphere.
11. Which one of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument in the passage?
(A) Plant life cannot survive without atmospheric carbon.
(B) It is not clear that breathing excess carbon in the atmosphere will have a negative effect on human life.
(C) Carbon is part of the chemical “blanket” that keeps the Earth warm enough to sustain human life.
(D) Breathing by animals releases almost 30 times as much carbon as does the burning of fossil fuels.（E）
(E) The natural adjustment process, which occurs over millions of years, allows wide fluctuations in the carbon level in the short term.
12. The more television children watch, the less competent they are in mathematical knowledge. More than a third of children in the United States watch television for more than five hours a day; in South Korea the figure is only 7 percent. But whereas less than 15 percent of children in the United States understand advanced measurement and geometric concept, 40 percent of South Korea children are competent in these areas. Therefore, if Untied States children are to do well in mathematics, they must watch less television.
Which one of the following is an assumption upon which the argument depends?
(A) Children in the United States are less interested in advanced measurement and geometric concepts than are South Korea children.
(B) South Korea children are more disciplined about doing schoolwork than are children in the United States.
(C) Children who want to do well in advanced measurement and geometry will watch less than television.
(D) A child’s ability in advanced measurement and geometry increases if he or she watches less than one hour of television a day.（E）
(E) The instruction in advanced measurement and geometric concepts available to children in the United States in not substantially worse than that available to South Korea children.
Questions 13-14
The only way that bookstores can profitably sell books at below-market prices is to get the books at a discount from publishers. Unless bookstores generate a high sales volume, however, they cannot get discounts from publishers. To generate such volume, bookstores must either cater to mass tastes or have exclusive access to a large specialized market, such as medical market, or both.
13. Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the passage?
(A) If a bookstore receives discounts from publishers, it will profitably sell books at below-market prices.
(B) A bookstore that caters to mass tastes or has exclusive access to a large specialized market will have a high sales volume.
(C) A bookstore that profitably sells books at below-market prices gets discounts from publishers.
(D) A bookstore that does not sell books at below-market prices does not get discounts from publishers.（C）
(E) A bookstore that not only caters to mass tastes but also has exclusive access to a large specialized market cannot profitably sell books at below-market prices.
14. If all statements in the passage are true and if it is also true that a bookstore does not cater to mass tastes, which one of the following CANNOT be true?
(A) The bookstore profitably sells some of its books at below-market prices.
(B) The bookstore does not profitably sell any of its books at below-market prices.
(C) Either the bookstore has exclusive access to a large specialized market or else it does not get a discount from any publishers.
(D) The bookstore does not have exclusive access to a large specialized market but profitably sells some of its books at below-market prices.（D）
(E) The bookstore does not have exclusive access to a large specialized market, nor does it get a discount from any publishers.
15. Extinction is the way of nature. Scientists estimate that over half of the species that have ever come into existence on this planet were already extinct before humans developed even the most primitive of tools. This constant natural process of species emergence and extinction, however, is ignored by those who wish to trace the blame for more recent extinctions to humanity’s use of technology, with its consequent effects on the environment. These people must be made to understand that the species that have become extinct in modern times would have become extinct by now even if humans had never acquired technology.
Which one of the following identifies a reasoning error in the passage?
(A) The author mistakenly assumes that technology has not caused any harm to the environment.
(B) The author ignores the fact that some species that are not yet extinct are in danger of extinction.
(C) The author fails to consider that there are probably species in existence that have not yet been identified and studied by scientists.
(D) The author cites scientists who support the theory that over half of all species that ever existed have become extinct, but fails to mention any scientists who do not support that theory.（E）
(E) The author provides no specific evidence that the species that have become extinct in modern times are the same species that would have become extinct in the absence of human technology.
16. The public is aware of the possibility of biases in the mass media and distrusts the media as too powerful. The body of information against which the public evaluates the plausibility of each new media report comes, however, from what the public has heard of through the mass media.
If the view above is correct, it provides a reason for accepting which one of the following conclusions?
(A) If there is a pervasive bias in the presentation of news by the mass media, it would be hard for the public to discern that bias.
(B) The mass media tailor their reports to confirm to a specific political agenda.
(C) The biases that news media impose on reporting tend not to be conscious distortions but rather part of a sense they share about what is interesting and believable.
(D) News reporters and their public hold largely the same views about what is most important in society, because news reporters come out of that society.（A）
(E) When a news event occurs that contradicts a stereotype formerly incorporated into reporting by the mass media, the public is predisposed to believe reports of the event.
17. In a bureaucracy, all decisions are arrived at by a process that involves many people. There is no one person who has the authority to decide whether a project will process or not. As a consequence, in bureaucracies, risky projects are never undertaken.
The conclusion follows logically from the premises if which one of the following is assumed?
(A) All projects in a bureaucracy require risk.
(B) Decisive individuals choose not to work in a bureaucracy.
(C) An individual who has decision-making power will take risks.
(D) The only risky projects undertaken are those for which a single individual has decision-making power.（D）
(E) People sometimes take risks as individuals that they would not take as part of a group.
18. “Physicalists” expect that ultimately all mental functions will be explainable in neurobiological terms. Achieving this goal requires knowledge of how neurons and their basic functions, a knowledge of how neurons interact, and a delineation of the psychological faculties to be explained. At present, there is a substantial amount of fundamental knowledge about the basic functions of neurons, and the scope and character of such psychological capacities as visual perception and memory are well understood. Thus, as the physicalists claim, mental functions are bound to receive explanations in neurobiological terms in the near future.
Which one of the following indicates an error in the reasoning in the passage?
(A) The conclusion contradicts the claim of the physicalists.
(B) The passage fails to describe exactly what is currently known about the basic functions of neurons.
(C) The word “neurobiological” is used as though it had the same meaning as the word “mental.”
(D) The argument does not indicate whether it would be useful to explain mental functions in neurobiological terms.（E）
(E) The passage does not indicate that any knowledge has been achieved about how neurons interact.
19. Because a large disparity in pay between the public and private sectors has developed in recent years, many experienced and extremely capable government administrators have quit their posts and taken positions in private-sector management. Government will be able to recapture these capable administrators by raising salaries to a level comparable to those of the private sector. In that way, the functioning of public agencies will be improved.
The position taken above presupposes which one of the following?
(A) Experience gained from private-sector management will be very valuable in government administration.
(B) The most important factor determining how well government agencies function is the amount of experience the administrators have.
(C) Unless government action is taken, the disparity in pay between government administration and private-sector management will continue to increase.
(D) People who moved from jobs in government administration to private-sector management would choose to change careers again.（D）
(E) If the disparity in pay between government administration and private-sector management increases, administrators will move to the public sector in large numbers.
20. Politician: Homelessness is a serious social problem, but further government spending to provide low-income housing is not the cure for homelessness. The most cursory glance at the real-estate section of any major newspaper is enough to show that there is no lack of housing units available to rent. So the frequent claim that people are homeless because of a lack of available housing is wrong.
That homelessness is a serious social problem figures in the argument in which one of the following ways?
(A) It suggests an alternative prospective to the one adopted in the argument.
(B) It sets out a problem the argument is designed to resolve.
(C) It is compatible either with accepting the conclusion or with denying it.
(D) It summarizes a position the argument as a whole is directed toward discrediting.（C）
(E) It is required in order to establish the conclusion.
21. Leona: If the average consumption of eggs in the United States were cut in half, an estimated 5,000 lives might be saved each year.
Thomas: How can that be? That would mean that if people adopt this single change in diet for ten years, the population ten years from now will be greater by 50,000 people than it otherwise would have been.
Which one of the following is a statement that Leona could offer Thomas to clarify her own claim and to address the point he has made?
(A) It is possible for the population to grow by 5,000 people for every year if the base year chosen for purposes of comparison is one with unusually low population growth.
(B) It is accurate to say that 5,000 lives have been saved as long as 5,000 people who would have died in a given year as a result of not changing their diet, did not do so-even if they died for some other reason.
(C) If egg consumption were reduced by more than half, the estimated number of lives saved each year could be even more than 5,000.
(D) The actual rate of population growth depends not only on the birth rate, but also on changes in life expectancy.（B）
(E) For the average consumption of eggs to be cut by half, many individual consumers would have to cut their own consumption by much more than half.
22. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the introduction of new therapeutic agents into the marketplace. Consequently, it plays a critical role in improving health care in the United States. While it is those in the academic and government research communities who engage in the long process of initial discovery and clinical testing of new therapeutic agents, it is the FDA’s role and responsibility to facilitate the transfer of new discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace. Only after the transfer can important new therapies help patients.
Which one of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?
(A) The FDA is responsible for ensuring that any therapeutic agent that is marketed is then regulated.
(B) Before new therapeutic agents reach the marketplace they do not help patients.
(C) The research community is responsible for the excessively long testing period for new drugs, not the FDA.
(D) The FDA should work more closely with researchers to ensure that the quality of therapeutic agents is maintained.（B）
(E) If a new medical discovery has been transferred from the laboratory to the marketplace, it will help patients.
23. In a new program, automobile owners in some neighborhoods whose cars are not normally driven between 1 A.M. and 5 A.M. can display a special decal in the cars’ windows and authorize police to stop the cars during those hours to check the drivers’ licenses. The theft rate for cars bearing such decals is much lower than had been usual for cars in those neighborhoods.
If it is concluded from the statements above that automobile theft has been reduced by the program, which one of the following would it be most important to answer in evaluating that conclusion?
(A) Are owners who are cautious enough to join the program taking other special measures to protect their cars against theft?
(B) In how many neighborhoods is the police program operating?
(C) Are cars in neighborhoods that are actively participating in the program sometimes stolen during daylight hours?
(D) Will owners who have placed decals on their cars’ windows but who find it necessary to drive between 1 A.M. and 5 A.M. be harassed by police?（A）
(E) Are the neighborhoods in which the program has been put into effect a representative cross section of neighborhoods with respect to the types of automobiles owned by residents?
24. It has been claimed that an action is morally good only if it benefits another person and was performed with that intention; whereas an action that harms another person is morally bad either if such harm was intended or if reasonable forethought would have shown that the action was likely to cause harm.
Which one of the following judgments most closely confirms to the principle cited above?
(A) Pamela wrote a letter attempting to cause trouble between Edward and his friends; this action of Pamela’s was morally bad, even though the letter, in fact, had an effect directly opposite from the one intended.
(B) In order to secure a promotion, Jeffery devoted his own time to resolving a backlog of medical benefits claims; Jeffrey’s action was morally good since it alone enabled Sara’s claim to be processed in time for her to receive much-needed treatment.
(C) Intending to help her elderly neighbor by clearing his walkway after a snowstorm, Teresa inadvertently left ice on his steps; because of this exposed ice, her neighbor had a bad fall, thus showing that morally good actions can have bad consequences.
(D) Marilees, asked by a homeless man for food, gave the man her own sandwich; however, because the man tried to talk while he was eating the sandwich, it caused him to choke, and thus Marilees unintentionally performed a morally bad action.（E）
(E) Jonathan agreed to watch his three-year-old niece while she played but, becoming engrossed in conversion, did not see her run into the street where she was hit by a bicycle; even though he intended no harm, Jonathan’s action was morally bad.
TEST 5
SECTION II
|
1. C |
2. E |
3. D |
4. B |
5. E |
|
6. C |
7. A |
8. B |
9. D |
10. E |
|
11. D |
12. D |
13. A |
14. B |
15. D |
|
16. C |
17. C |
18. C |
19. B |
20. C |
|
21. B |
22. A |
23. C |
24. A |
25. E |
SECTION VI
|
1. D |
2. C |
3. C |
4. D |
5. C |
|
6. A |
7. B |
8. E |
9. A |
10. E |
|
11. E |
12. E |
13. C |
14. D |
15. E |
|
16. A |
17. D |
18. E |
19. D |
20. C |
|
21. B |
22. B |
23. A |
24. E |
25.
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