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TEST 6
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. A law that is not consistently enforced does not serve its purpose. Law without enforcement is not law; it is merely statute—a promise of law. To institute real law is not merely to declare that such and such behavior is forbidden, it is also to punish those who violate that edict. Furthermore, those who enforce law must punish without favor for their friends or malice for their enemies. To punish only those one dislike while forgiving others is not to enforce law but to engage in the arbitrary and unjust exercise of power.
The main point of the passage is that instituting real law consists in
(A) the exercise of power
(B) authorizing the enforcement of punishments
(C) the unbiased punishment of prohibited behavior
(D) understanding the purpose of law（C）
(E) clearly defining unacceptable behavior
2. Physiological research has uncovered disturbing evidence linking a number of structural disorders to jogging. Among the ailments seemingly connected with this now-popular sport are spinal disk displacements, stress fractures of the feet and ankles, knee and hip joint deterioration, and tendonitis. Furthermore, these injuries do not occur exclusively among beginning runners—veteran joggers suffer an equal percentage of injuries. What the accumulating data suggest is that the human anatomy is not able to withstand the stresses of jogging.
Which one of the following is an assumption of the argument?
(A) The link between jogging and certain structural disorders appears to be a causal one.
(B) Jogging causes more serious disorders than other sports.
(C) The jogger’s level of experience is a factor determining the likelihood of a jogging injury.
(D) Some sports are safer for the human body than jogging.（A）
(E) The human species is not very durable.
3. All students at Pitcombe College were asked to label themselves conservative, liberal, or middle-of-the-road politically. Of the students, 25 percent labeled themselves conservative, 24 percent labeled themselves liberal, and 51 percent labeled themselves middle-of-the-road. When asked about a particular set of issues, however, 77 percent of the students endorsed what is generally regarded as a liberal position.
If all of the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true?
(A) All students who labeled themselves liberal endorsed what is generally regarded as a liberal position on that set of issues.
(B) More students who labeled themselves middle-of-the road than students who labeled themselves liberal opposed what is generally regarded as a liberal position on that set of issues.
(C) The majority of students who labeled themselves middle-of-the-road opposed what is generally regarded as a liberal position on that set of issues.
(D) Some students who labeled themselves conservative endorsed what is generally regarded as a liberal position on that set of issues.（D）
(E) Some students who labeled themselves liberal endorsed what is generally regarded as a conservative position on that set of issues.
4. Lenore: It is naive to think that historical explanations can be objective. In evaluating evidence, historians are always influenced by their national, political, and class loyalties.
Victor: Still, the very fact that cases of biased thinking have been detected and sources of bias identified shows that there are people who can maintain objectivity.
Victor’s response does not succeed as a rebuttal of Lenore’s argument because his response
(A) displays the same kind of biased thinking as that against which Lenore’s argument it directed
(B) does not address the special case of historians who purposely distort evidence in order to promote their own political objectives
(C) fails to provide examples of cases in which biased thinking has been detected and the source of that bias identified
(D) does not consider sources of bias in historical explanation other than those that are due to national, political, and class loyalties（E）
(E) overlooks the possibility that those who detect and identify bias are themselves biased in some way
5. The museum’s night security guard maintains that the thieves who stole the portrait did not enter the museum at any point at or above ground level. Therefore, the thieves must have gained access to the museum from below ground level.
The flawed pattern of reasoning in the argument above is most similar to that in which one of the following?
(A) The rules stipulate the participants in the contest be judged on both form and accuracy. The eventual winner was judged highest in neither category, so there must be a third criterion that judges were free to invoke.
(B) The store’s competitors claim that the store in selling off the shirts at those prices, neither made any profit nor broke even. Consequently, the store’s customers must have been able to buy shirts there at less than the store’s cost.
(C) If the census is to be believed, the percentage of men who are married is higher than the percentage of women who are married. Thus, the census must show a higher number of men than of women overall.
(D) The product label establishes that this insecticide is safe for both humans and pet. Therefore, the insecticide must also be safe for such wild mammals as deer and rabbits.（B）
(E) As had generally been expected, not all questionnaires were sent in by the official deadline. It follows that plans must have been made for the processing of questionnaires received late.
Questions 6-7
High-technology medicine is driving up the nation’s health care costs. Recent advances in cataract surgery illustrate why this is occurring. Cataracts are a major cause of blindness, especially in elderly people. Ten years ago, cataract surgery was painful and not always effective. Thanks to the new technology used in cataract surgery, the operation now restores vision dramatically and is less expensive. These two factors have caused the number of cataract operations performed to increase greatly, which has, in turn, drive up the total amount spent on cataract surgery.
6. Which one of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(A) Ten years ago, few people had successful cataract surgery.
(B) In the long run, the advantages of advanced medical technology are likely to be outweighed by the disadvantages.
(C) The total amount spent on cataract surgery has increased because the increased number of people electing to have the surgery more than offsets the decrease in cost per operation.
(D) Huge increases in the nation’s health care costs are due primarily to increased demand for surgery for older people.（C）
(E) Ten years ago, cataract surgery was affordable for more people than it was last year.
7. Each of the following, if true, would support a challenge to the author’s explanation of the increase in the number of cataract operations EXCEPT:
(A) The overall population of the nation has increased from what it was ten years ago.
(B) Any one individual’s chance of developing cataracts is greater than it was ten years ago.
(C) The number of older people has increased during the last ten years.
(D) Today, health insurance covers cataract surgery for more people than it did ten years ago.（E）
(E) People who have had unsuccessful cataract surgery are left with more seriously impaired vision than they had before the surgery.
8. Some companies in fields where skilled employees are hard to find make signing an “agreement not to compete” a condition of employment. In such an agreement the employee promises not to go work for a competing firm for a set period after leaving his or her current employer. Courts are increasingly ruling that these agreements are not binding. Yet paradoxically, for people who signed such agreements when working for competing firms, many firms are unwilling to consider hiring them during the period covered by the agreement.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the paradox?
(A) Many companies will not risk having to become involved in lawsuits, even suits that they expect to have a favorable outcome.
(B) In some industries, for example the broadcast media, companies’ main source of new employees tends to be people who are already employed by competing firms.
(C) Most companies that require their employees to sign agreements not to compete are aware that these documents are not legally binding.
(D) Many people who have signed agreements not to compete are unwilling to renege on a promise by going to work for a competing firm.（A）
(E) Many companied consider their employees established relationships with clients and other people outside the company to be valuable company assets.
9. Many Ann: Our country should, above all, be strong. Strength gains the respect of other countries and makes a country admirable.
Inez: There are many examples in history of countries that were strong but used their strength to commit atrocities. We should judge a country by the morality of its actions, not by its strength. If the actions are morally good, the country is admirable.
Which one of the following is a presupposition that underlies Inez’ argument?
(A) At least one country is admirable.
(B) Countries can not be both strong and moral.
(C) It is possible to assign moral weight to the actions of countries.
(D) The citizens of any country believe that whatever their country does is good.（C）
(E) Countries should impose their standards of morality on other countries by whatever means necessary.
10. All of John’s friends say they know someone who has smoked 40 cigarettes a day for the past 40 years and yet who is really fit and well. John does not know anyone like that and it is quite certain that he is not unique among his friends in this respect.
If the statements in the passage are true, then which one of the following must also be true?
(A) Smokers often lie about how much they smoke.
(B) People often knowingly exaggerate without intending to lie.
(C) All John’s friends know the same lifelong heavy smoker.
(D) Most of John’s friends are not telling the truth.（E）
(E) Some of John’s friends are not telling the truth.
11. For democracy to survive, it is imperative that the average citizen be able to develop informed opinions about important policy issues. In today’s society, this means that citizens must be able to develop informed opinions on many scientific subjects, from ecosystems to defense system. Yet, as scientific knowledge advances, the average citizen is increasingly unable to absorb enough information to develop informed opinions on many important issues.
Of the following, which one follows logically from the passage?
(A) Scientists have a duty to educate the public.
(B) The survival of democracy is threatened by the advance of scientific knowledge.
(C) Every citizen has a duty to and can become scientifically literate.
(D) The most effective democracy is one that is the most scientifically unsophisticated.（B）
(E) Democracy will survive if there are at least some citizens who are capable of developing informed opinions on important scientific issues.
12. By dating fossils of pollen and beetles, which returned after an Ice Age glacier left an area, it is possible to establish an approximate date when a warmer climate developed. In one glacial area, it appears from the insect record that a warm climate developed immediately after the melting of the glacier. From the pollen record, however, it appears that the warm climate did not develop until long after the glacier disappeared.
Each one of the following, if true, helps to explain the apparent discrepancy EXCEPT:
(A) Cold-weather beetle fossils can be mistaken for those of beetles that live in warm climates.
(B) Warm-weather plants cannot establish themselves as quickly as can beetles in a new environment.
(C) Beetles can survive in a relatively barren postglacial area by scavenging.
(D) Since planes spread unevenly in a new climate, researchers can mistake gaps in the pollen record as evidence of no new overall growth.（E）
(E) Beetles are among the oldest insect species and are much older then many warm-weather plants.
13. Using clean-coal technologies to “repower” existing factories promises ultimately a substantial reduction of polluting emissions, and will affect the full range of pollutants implicated in acid rain. The strategy of using these technologies could cut sulfur dioxide emission by more then 80 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 50 percent. The emission of smaller quantity of nitrogen pollutants would in turn reduce the formation of noxious ozone in the troposphere.
Which one of the following statements is an inference that can be drawn from the information given in the passage?
(A) Sulfur dioxide emissions are the most dangerous pollutants implicated in acid rain.
(B) Noxious ozone is formed in factories by chemical reactions involving sulfur dioxide.
(C) Twenty percent of the present level of sulfur dioxide emissions in the atmosphere is not considered a harmful level.
(D) A substantial reduction of polluting emissions will be achieved by the careful design of new factories.（E）
(E) The choice of technologies in factories could reduce the formation of noxious ozone in the troposphere.
14. Joshua Smith’s new novel was criticized by the book editor for The Daily Standard as implausible. That criticism, like so many other criticisms from the same source in the past, is completely unwarranted, as anyone who has actually read the novel would agree. Each one of the incidents in which Smith’s hero gets involved is the kind of incident that could very well have happened to someone or other.
Which one of the following is the most serious error of reasoning in the argument?
(A) It relies on the assumption that a criticism can legitimately by dismissed as unwarranted if it is offended by someone who had previously displayed questionable judgment.
(B) It ignores the fact that people can agree about something even though what they agree about is not the case.
(C) It calls into question the intellectual integrity of the critic in order to avoid having to address the grounds on which the criticism is based.
(D) It takes for granted that a whole story will have a given characteristics if each of its parts has that characteristics.（D）
(E) It attempts to justify its conclusion by citing reasons that most people would find plausible only if they were already convinced that the conclusion was true.
15. J. J. Thomson, the discoverer of the electron and a recipient of the Nobel Price in physics, trained many physicists, among them seven Nobel Price winners, 32 fellows of the Royal Society of London, and 83 professors of physics. This shows that the skills needed for creative research can be taught and learned.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) J. J. Thomson was an internationally known physicist and scientists came from all over the world to work with him.
(B) All the scientists trained by J. J. Thomson were renowned for their creative scientific research.
(C) At least one of the eminent scientists trained by J. J. Thomson was not a creative researcher before coming to study with him.
(D) Creative research in physics requires research habits not necessary for creative research in other fields.（C）
(E) Scientists who go on to be the most successful researchers often receive their scientific education in classes taught by renowned research scientists.
16. The ancient Romans understood the principles of water power very well and in some outlying parts of their empire they made extensive and excellent use of water as an energy sources. This makes it all the more striking that the Romans made do without water power in regions dominated by large cities.
Which one of the following, if true, contributes most to an explanation of the difference described above in the Romans’ use of water power?
(A) The ancient Romans were adept at constructing and maintaining aqueducts that could carry quantities of water sufficient to supply large cities over considerable distances.
(B) In the areas in which water power was not used water flow in rivers and streams was substantial throughout the year but nevertheless exhibited some seasonal variation.
(C) Water power was relatively vulnerable to sabotage but any damage could be quickly and inexpensively repaired.
(D) In most areas to which the use of water power was not extended other more traditional sources of energy continued to be used.（E）
(E) In heavily populated areas the introduction of water power would have been certain to cause social unrest by depriving large numbers of people of their livelihood.
17. From a book review: The authors blithely claim that there are “three basic ways to store energy: as heat, as electricity or as kinetic energy.” However, I cannot call to mind any affective ways to store energy as electricity, whereas any capable student of physics could readily suggest a few more ways to store energy: chemical, gravitational, nuclear.
The reviewer makes which one of the following criticisms of a claim that appears in the book under review?
(A) There is no reason to consider any particular way to store energy any more basic than any other.
(B) The list given of ways to store energy is possibly inaccurate and certainly not exhaustive.
(C) It is overly limiting to treat basic ways to store energy as a question unrelated to the question of effective ways to use energy.
(D) What needs to be considered is not whether various ways to store energy are basic but whether they are effective.（B）
(E) Except possibly for electricity, all ways to store energy are equally effective and therefore equally basic.
18. There is no mystery as to why figurative painting revived in the late 1970s. People want to look at recognizable images. Sorting out art theories reflected in abstract paintings is no substitute for the sense of empathy that comes form looking at a realistic painting of a figure in a landscape. Perhaps members of the art-viewing public resented abstract art because they felt that its lack of realistic subject matter was a rejection of the viewers and their world.
Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?
(A) Abstract paintings often include shapes or forms that are suggestive of real objects or emotions.
(B) The art-viewing public wished to see traditional subjects treated in a nontraditional manner.
(C) Paintings that depict a recognizable physical world rather than the emotional world of the artist’s life require more artistic talent to create.
(D) The general public is unable to understand the theories on which abstract painting is based.（E）
(E) The artistic preferences of the art-viewing public stimulated the revival.
19. Valitania’s long-standing practice of paying high salaries to its elected politicians has had a disastrous effect on the level of integrity among politicians in that country. This is because the prospect of earning a high salary is always attractive to anyone whose primary aim in life is to make money, so that inevitably the wrong people must have been attracted into Valitanian politics: people who are more interested in making money than in serving the needs of the nation
Which one of the following, if true, world weaken the argument?
(A) Many Valitanian candidates for elected office spend some of their own money to finance their campaigns.
(B) Most Valitanian elective offices have four-year terms.
(C) No more people compete for elected office when officeholders are paid well than when they are paid poorly.
(D) Only politicians who rely on their offices for income tend to support policies that advance their own selfish interests.（E）
(E) Most of those who are currently Valitanian politicians could have obtained better-paid work outside politics.
Questions 20-21
Policy Adviser: Freedom of speech is not only a basic human right; it is also the only rational policy for this government to adopt. When ideas are openly aired, good idea flourish, silly proposals are easily recognized as such, and dangerous ideas can be responded to by rational argument. Nothing is ever gained by forcing citizens to disseminate their thoughts in secret.
20. The policy adviser’s method of persuasion, in recommending a policy of free speech to the government, is best described by which one of the following?
(A) a circular justification of the idea of free speech as an idea that flourishes when free speech is allowed
(B) advocating respect for basic rights of citizens for its own sake
(C) a coupling of moral ideals with self-interest
(D) a warning about the difficulty of suppressing the truth（C）
(E) a description of an ideal situation that cannot realistically be achieved
21. Which one of the following, if true, world most strengthen the argument?
(A) Most citizens would tolerate some limits on freedom of speech.
(B) With or without a policy of freedom of speech, governments respond to dangerous ideas irrationally.
(C) Freedom of religion and freedom of assembly are also basic human rights that governments must recognize.
(D) Governments are less likely to be overthrown if they openly adopt a policy allowing freedom of speech.（D）
(E) Great ideas have flourished in societies that repress free speech as often as in those that permit it.
22. The trustees of the Avonbridge summer drama workshop have decided to offer scholarships to the top 10 percent of local applicants and the top 10 percent of nonlocal applicants as judged on the basis of a qualifying audition. They are doing this to ensure that only the applicants with the most highly evaluated auditions are offered scholarships to the program.
Which one of the following points out why the trustees’ plan might not be effective in achieving its goal?
(A) The best actors can also apply for admission to another program and then not enroll in the Avonbridge program.
(B) Audition materials that produce good results for one actor may disadvantage another, resulting in inaccurate assessment.
(C) The top 10 percent of local and nonlocal applicants might not need scholarships to the Avonbridge program.
(D) Some of the applicants who are offered scholarships could have less highly evaluated auditions than some of the applicants who are not offered scholarships.（D）
(E) Dividing applicants into local and nonlocal groups is unfair because it favors nonlocal applicants.
23. Book Review: When I read a novel set in a city I know well, I must see that the writer knows the city as well as I do if I am to take that writer seriously. If the writer is faking, I know immediately and do not trust the writer. When a novelist demonstrates the required knowledge, I trust the story teller, so I trust the tale. This trust increases my enjoyment of a good novel. Peter Lee’s second novel is set in San Francisco, in this novel, as in his first, Lee passes my test with flying colors.
Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the passage?
(A) The book reviewer enjoys virtually any novel written by a novelist whom she trusts.
(B) If the book reviewer trusts the novelist as a storyteller, the novel in question must be set in a city the book reviewer knows well.
(C) Peter Lee’s first novel was set in San Francisco.
(D) The book reviewer does not trust any novel set in a city that she does not know well.（E）
(E) The book reviewer does not believe that she knows San Francisco better than Peter Lee does.
24. Someone’s benefiting from having done harm to another person is morally justifiable only if the person who was harmed knew that what was done could cause that harm but consented to its being done anyway.
Which of the following judgments most closely conforms to the principle above?
(A) Attempting to avoid being kept after school as punishment for breaking a window, Sonia falsely claimed that her brother had broken it; Sonia’s action was morally unjustifiable since it resulted in both children being kept after school for something only Sonia had done.
(B) Since Ned would not have won the prize for best model airplane if Penny’s brother had not inadvertently damaged her entry while playing with it. Ned is morally unjustified in accepting his prize.
(C) Wesley, a doctor, persuade Max to take part in a medical experiment in which a new drug was being tested: since Wesley failed to warn Max about the serious side effects of the drug and the drug proved to have no other effects, Wesley was morally unjustified in using the results obtained from Max in his report.
(D) Because Roger’s mother suffered severe complications as a result of donating a kidney to him for lifesaving kidney transplant, it was morally unjustifiable for Roger to receive the transplant, even though his mother, herself a doctor, had been eager for the transplant to be performed.（C）
(E) For James, who was convicted of having defrauded a large number of people out of their savings and wrote a book about his scheme while in prison, to be denied the profits from his book would be morally unjustifiable since he was already been punished for his crime.
25. Certain governments subsidize certain basic agricultural products in order to guarantee an adequate domestic production of them. But subsidies encourage more intensive farming, which eventually leads to soil exhaustion and drastically reduced yields.
The situation above is most nearly similar to which one of the following situations with respect to the relationship between the declared intent of a government practice and a circumstance relevant to it?
(A) Certain governments subsidize theaters in order to attract foreign tourists. But tourists rarely choose a destination for the theatrical performances it has to offer.
(B) Certain governments restrict imports in order to keep domestic producers in business. But, since domestic producers do not have to face the full force of foreign competition, some domestic producers are able to earn inordinately high profits.
(C) Certain governments build strong armed forces in order to forestall armed conflict, but in order to maintain the sort of discipline and morale that keeps armed forces strong, those forces must be used in actual combat periodically.
(D) Certain governments reduce taxes on business in order to stimulate private investment. But any investment is to some extent a gamble, and new business ventures are not always as successful as their owners hoped.（C）
(E) Certain governments pass traffic laws in order to make travel safer. But the population-driven growth in volumes of traffic often has the effect of making travel less safe despite the passage of new traffic laws.
SECTION III
Time 35 minutes 26 Questions
Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages...
1. Roses always provide a stunning display of color, but only those flowers that smell sweet are worth growing in a garden. Some roses have no scent.
Which one the following conclusions can be properly drawn from the passage?
(A) Some flowers which provide a stunning display of color are not worth growing in a garden.
(B) All flowers with no scent provide a stunning display of color.
(C) Some flowers which are worth growing in a garden have no scent.
(D) Some roses which smell sweet are not worth growing in a garden.（A）
(E) No sweet-smelling flower is worth growing in a garden unless it provides a stunning display of color.
2. The use of money causes a civilization to decline. That this is true is shown by the way the troubles of Western civilization began with the invention of money. While real money (gold and silver) is bad enough, imitation money (paper money) is a horror. The decline of Western civilization exactly parallels the increasing use of money—both real money and worthless paper money—as a substitute for things of intrinsic value.
Which one of the following, if true, could contribute most to a refutation of the argument?
(A) People prefer using money to having a system in which goods are bartered for other goods of equal intrinsic value.
(B) Eastern cultures have used money, and Eastern civilizations have not declined.
(C) The use of paper money encourages disregard for the value of work because the money itself has no intrinsic value.
(D) The rate of exchange between gold and paper money has fluctuated greatly in Western civilization.（B）
(E) Some employers exchange goods for their employees’ services in order to avoid the exchange of money.
3. Fire ants from Brazil now infest the southern United States. Unlike queen fire ants in Brazil, two queens in the United States share a nest. Ants from these nests are more aggressive than those from single-queen nests. By destroying virtually all insects in the nest area, these aggressive ants gain sole access to food sources, and the ant population skyrockets. Since certain predator insects in Brazil limit the fire-ant population there, importing such predator insects into the United States would be of overall benefit to the environment by stopping the increase of the fire-ant population in the United States.
Each of the following is an assumption made in the argument EXCEPT:
(A) The imported insects would not prove more damaging to the environment in the United States than are the fire ants themselves.
(B) The predator insects from Brazil could survive in the ecological environment found in the United States.
(C) The especially aggressive fire ants from the two-queen nests would not be able to destroy the Brazilian predator insects.
(D) The predator insects would stop the increase of the ant population before the ants spread to states that are farther north.（D）
(E) The rate of increase of the fire-ant population would not exceed the rate at which the predator insects could kill the ants.
4. In an attempt to counter complaints that a certain pesticide is potentially hazardous to humans if absorbed into edible plants, the pesticide manufacturer has advertised that “ounce for ounce, the active ingredient in this pesticide is less toxic than the active ingredient in mouthwash.”
Which one of the following, if true, indicates a weakness in the manufacturer’s argument?
(A) The ounce-for-ounce toxicity of the active ingredient in mouthwash is less than that of most products meant for external use by humans, such as nail polish or other cosmetics.
(B) The quantity of toxins humans ingest by consuming plants treated with the pesticide is, on average, much higher than the quantity of toxins humans ingest by using mouthwash.
(C) The container in which the pesticide is packaged clearly identifies the toxic ingredients and carries warnings about their potential danger to humans.
(D) On average, the toxins present in the pesticide take longer than the toxins present in mouthwash to reach harmful levels in the human body.（B）
(E) Since the government began to regulate the pesticide industry over ten years ago, there has been a growing awareness of the dangers of toxins used in pesticides.
Questions 5-6
Four randomly chosen market research companies each produced population estimated for three middle-sized cities; the estimates of each company were then compared with those of the other companies. Two of the cities had relatively stable populations, and for them estimates of current population and of projected population in five years varied little from company to company. However, for the third city, which was growing rapidly, estimates varied greatly from company to company.
5. The passage provides the most support for which one of the following?
(A) It is more difficult to estimate the population of middle-sized cities than of smaller cities.
(B) Population estimates for rapidly growing cities can be accurate enough to be useful for marketing.
(C) The rate of change in population of rapidly growing cities does not fluctuate.
(D) The market research companies are likely to be equally reliable in estimating the population of stable cities.（D）
(E) Estimates of city’s future population are likely to be more accurate than are estimates of that city’s current population.
6. Which one of the following, if true, would best help explain why estimates of the current population of the rapidly growing city varied more than did current population estimates for the two other cities?
(A) Population changes over time are more uniform from one district to another in the rapidly growing city than in the two other cities.
(B) The population of the rapidly growing city is increasing largely as a result of a high birth rate.
(C) The population of the rapidly growing city has a lower average age than the populations of either of the two other cities.
(D) All population estimates of the rapidly growing city were produced first by estimating the current populations of the city’s districts and then by adding those estimates.（E）
(E) Whereas the companies used different methods for estimating the current population of the rapidly growing city, the companies used the same method for the two other cities.
7. Head injury is the most serious type of injury sustained in motorcycle accidents. The average cost to taxpayers for medical care for nonhelmeted motorcycle-accident victims is twice that for their helmeted counterparts. Jurisdictions that have enacted motorcycle-helmet laws have reduced the incidence and severity of accident-related head injuries, thereby reducing the cost to taxpayers. Therefore, to achieve similar cost reductions, other jurisdictions should enact motorcycle-helmet laws. For the same reason jurisdictions should also require helmets for horseback riders, since horseback-riding accidents are even more likely to cause serious head injury than motorcycle accidents are.
Which one of the following is an assumption upon which the author’s conclusion concerning helmets for horseback riders depend?
(A) Medical care for victims of horseback-riding accidents is financial drain on tax funds.
(B) The higher rate of serious head injury suffered by victims of horseback-riding accidents is due to the difference in size between horses and motorcycles.
(C) The medical costs associated with treating head injuries are higher than those for other types of injury.
(D) Most fatalities resulting from horseback-riding and motorcycle accidents could have been prevented if the victims had been wearing helmets.（A）
(E) When deciding whether to enact helmet laws for motorcyclists and horseback riders, the jurisdiction’s primary concerns is the safety of its citizens.
8. The senator has long held to the general principle that no true work of art is obscene, and thus that there is no conflict between the need to encourage free artistic expression and the need to protect the sensibilities of the public from obscenity. When well-known works generally viewed as obscene are cited as possible counterexamples, the senator justifies accepting the principle by saying that if these works really are obscene then they cannot be works of art.
The senator’s reasoning contains which one of the following errors?
(A) It seeks to persuade by emotional rather than intellectual means.
(B) It contains an implicit contradiction.
(C) It relies on an assertion of the senator’s authority.
(D) It assumes what it seeks to establish.（D）
(E) It attempts to justify a position by appeal to an irrelevant consideration.
9. Until he was dismissed amid great controversy, Hastings was considered one of the greatest intelligence agents of all time. It is clear that if his dismissal was justified, then Hastings was either incompetent or else disloyal. Soon after the dismissal, however, it was shown that he had never been incompetent. Thus, one is forced to conclude that Hastings must have been disloyal.
Which one of the following states an assumption upon which the argument depends?
(A) Hastings’s dismissal was justified.
(B) Hastings was a high-ranking intelligence officer.
(C) The dismissal of anyone who was disloyal would be justified.
(D) Anyone whose dismissal was justified was disloyal.（A）
(E) If someone was disloyal or incompetent, then his dismissal was justified.
10. Anyone who fails to answer a patient’s questions cannot be a competent physician. That is why I feel confident about my physician’s competence: she carefully answers every one of my questions, no matter how trivial.
Which one of the following most closely parallels the flawed reasoning in the argument above?
(A) Anyone who grows up in a large family is accustomed to making compromises. Meredith is accustomed to making compromises, so she might have grown up in a large family.
(B) Anyone who is not in favor of this proposal is ill informed on the issue. Jeanne opposes the proposal, so she is ill informed on the issue.
(C) No one who likes music misses a performance of the symphony. Paul likes music, yet last week he missed a performance of the symphony.
(D) Anyone who works two or more jobs is unable to find a balance between professional and personal life. Maggie has only one job, so she can find a balance between her professional and personal life.（D）
(E) No one who is hot-tempered and strong-willed will succeed in this business. Jeremy is strong-willed, so he will not succeed in this business.
11. The annual Journal for Publication, which often solicits articles, publishes only those articles that are both submitted before March 6 and written by certified psychoanalysts, Stevens, who publishes frequently in psychoanalytic literature, submitted an article to the Journal before March 6. This article was accepted for publication in the Journal.
Which one of the following conclusions follows logically from the statement above?
(A) Stevens is a psychoanalyst.
(B) The Journal frequently accepts Stevens’ articles.
(C) Stevens is an authority on a large number of topics in psychoanalysis.
(D) The Journal asked Stevens to write an article.（A）
(E) Stevens’ recently accepted article will be interesting to Journal readers.
Questions 12-13
Arguing that there was no trade between Europe and East Asia in the early Middle Ages because there are no written records of such trade is like arguing that the yeti, an apelike creature supposedly existing in the Himalayas, does not exist because there have been no scientifically confirmed sightings. A verifiable sighting of the yeti would prove that the creature does exist, but the absence of sightings cannot prove that it does not.
12. Which one of the following best expresses the point of the argument?
(A) Evidence for the existence of trade between Europe and East Asia in the early Middle Ages is, like evidence for the existence of the yeti, not scientifically confirmed.
(B) In order to prove that in the early Middle Ages there was trade between Europe and East Asia it is necessary to find both Asian and European evidence that such trade existed.
(C) That trade between Europe and East Asia did not exist in the early Middle Ages cannot be established simply by the absence of a certain sort of evidence that this trade existed.
(D) The view that there was trade between Europe and East Asia in the early Middle Ages can only be disproved by showing that no references to this trade exist in surviving records.（C）
(E) There is no more evidence that trade between Europe and East Asia existed in the early Middle Ages than there is that the yeti exists.
13. Which one of the following considerations, if true, best counters the argument?
(A) Most of the evidence for the existence of trade between Europe and East Asia in the early Middle Ages is archaeological and therefore does not rely on written records.
(B) Although written records of trade in East Asia in the early Middle Ages survived, there are almost no Europe documents from that period that mention trade at all.
(C) Any trade between Europe and East Asia in the early Middle Ages would necessarily have been of very low volume and would have involved high-priced items, such as precious metals and silk.
(D) There have been no confirmed sightings of the yeti, but there is indirect evidence, such as footprints, which if it is accepted as authentic would establish the yeti’s existence.（E）
(E) There are surviving European and East Asian written records from the early Middle Ages that do not mention trade between the two regions but would have been very likely to do so if this trade had existed.
14. When the economy is in a recession, overall demand for goods and services is low. If overall demand for goods and services is low, bank interest rates are also low. Therefore, if bank interest rates are not low, the economy is not in a recession.
The reasoning in which one of the following most closely parallels the reasoning in the argument above?
(A) If the restaurant is full, the parking lot will be full, and if the parking lot is full, the restaurant is full, so if the parking lot is not full, the restaurant is not full.
(B) If the fish is ready, it is cooked all the way through, and if it is cooked through it will be white, so if the fish is not white, it is not ready.
(C) If pterodactyls flew by flapping their wings, they must have been warm-blooded, so if they were cold-blooded, they must have flown only by gliding, if they flew at all.
(D) If you want to put in pleats, you will have to double the amount of material for the skirt, and that means you will have none left for the top, so if you put in pleats you will not be able to make the top.（B）
(E) If economic forecasters are right, there will be inflation, and if there is inflation, the governing party will lose the election, so if it does lose the election, the economic forecasters were right.
15. Twenty years ago the Republic of Rosinia produced nearly 100 million tons of potatoes, but last year the harvest barely reached 60 million tons. Agricultural researchers, who have failed to develop new higher yielding strains of potatoes, are to blame for this decrease, since they have been concerned only with their own research and not with the needs of Rosinia.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) Any current attempts by agricultural researchers to develop higher-yielding potato strains are futile.
(B) Strains of potatoes most commonly grown in Rosinia could not have produced the yields last year that they once did.
(C) Agricultural researchers often find concrete solutions to practical problems when investigating seemingly unrelated questions.
(D) Wide fluctuations in the size of the potato crop over a twenty-year period are not unusual.（B）
(E) Agricultural research in Rosinia is funded by government grants.
16. An ancient Pavonian text describes how an army of one million enemies of Pavonia stopped to drink at a certain lake and drank the lake dry. Recently, archaeologists discovered that water-based life was suddenly absent just after the event was alleged by the text to have occurred. On the basis of reading the text and an account of the archaeological evidence, some students concluded that the events described really took place.
When one of the following is a questionable technique used by the students to reach their conclusion?
(A) making a generalization about historical events on the basis of a single instance of that type of event
(B) ignoring available, potentially useful counterevidence
(C) rejecting a hypothesis because it is seemingly self-contradictory
(D) considering people and locations whose existence cannot be substantiated by modern historians（E）
(E) taking evidence that a text has correctly described an effect to show that the text has correctly described the cause
17. Samples from the floor of a rock shelter in Pennsylvania were dated by analyzing the carbon they contained. The dates assigned to samples associated with human activities formed a consistent series, beginning with the present and going back in time, a series that was correlated with the depth from which the samples came. The oldest and deepest sample was dated at 19,650 years before the present, plus or minus 2,400 years. Skeptic, viewing that date as too early and inconsistent with the accepted date of human migration into North America, suggested that the samples could have been contaminated by dissolved “old carbon” carried by percolating groundwater from nearby coal deposits.
Which one of the following considerations, if true, argues most strongly against the suggestion of the skeptics?
(A) No likely mechanism of contamination involving percolating groundwater would have affected the deeper samples from the site without affecting the uppermost sample.
(B) Not every application of the carbon-dating procedure has led to results that have been generally acceptable to scientists.
(C) There is no evidence that people were using coal for fuel at any time when the deepest layer might have been laid down.
(D) No sample in the series, when retested by the carbon-dating procedure, was assigned an earlier date than that assigned to a sample from a layer above it.（A）
(E) No North American site besides the one in Pennsylvania has ever yielded a sample to which the carbon-dating procedure assigned a date that was comparably ancient.
18. Those influenced by modern Western science take it for granted that a genuine belief in astrology is proof of a credulous and unscientific mind. Yet, in the past, people of indisputable intellectual and scientific brilliance accepted astrology as a fact. Therefore, there is no scientific basis for rejecting astrology.
The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds?
(A) A belief can be consistent with the available evidence and accepted scientific theories at one time but not with the accepted evidence and theories of a later time.
(B) Since it is controversial whether astrology has a scientific basis, any argument that attempts to prove that it has will be specious.
(C) Although the conclusion is intended to hold in all cultures, the evidence advanced in its support is drawn only from those cultures strongly influenced by modern Western science.
(D) The implicit assumption that all practitioners of Western science believe in astrology is false.（A）
(E) The fact that there might be legitimate nonscientific reasons for rejecting astrology has been overlooked.
19. Amy McConnell is considering running for election against the incumbent, Gregory Lutz. If Lutz has a large campaign fund, then he is already far ahead, and McConnell will not run against him. If Lutz does not have a large campaign fund, McConnell will scrutinize Lutz’s record for any hints of scandal that she could use against him. Anything of a scandalous nature would increase McConnell’s chances of winning, and she would campaign for election. If Lutz has a clean record, however, McConnell will not run against him.
Given the information in the passage, which one of the following must be false?
(A) Lutz does not have a large campaign fund, and McConnell does not run against him.
(B) Lutz’s record contains items that would increase McConnell’s chances of winning, and she runs against him.
(C) Lutz’s record contains scandalous items, and McConnell does not run against him.
(D) Lutz’s record contains nothing that would increase McConnell’s chances of winning, and she runs against him.（D）
(E) Lutz has a large campaign fund, and McConnell does not run against him.
20. Psychotherapy has been described as a form of moral coercion. However, when people are coerced, their ability to make choices is restricted, and the goal of psychotherapy is to enhance people’s ability to make choices. Hence, psychotherapy cannot possibly be a form of coercion.
Which one of the following describes a flaw in the argument?
(A) The position being argued against is redefined unfairly in order to make it an easier target.
(B) Psychotherapy is unfairly criticized for having a single goal, rather than having many complex goals.
(C) No allowance is made for the fact that the practice or results of psychotherapy might run counter to its goals.
(D) The goals of psychotherapy are taken to justify any means that are used to achieve those goals.（C）
(E) It offers no argument to show that moral coercion is always undesirable.
21. Joel: A myth is a narrative told to convey a community’s traditional wisdom. Myths are not generally told in the modern world because there are no longer bodies of generally accepted truths that can be conveyed in this way.
Giselle: Of course there are myths in the modern world. For example, there is the myth of the machine: we see the human body as a machine, to be fixed by mending defective parts. This may not be a narrative, but what medically trained specialist can deny the existence of that myth?
Which one of the following most accurately characterizes Giselle’s response to Joel’s statement?
(A) It offers a scientific explanation to a problem of literary theory.
(B) It points out a weakness in Joel’s position by advancing an analogous position.
(C) It is based on an unsupported distinction between traditional societies and the modern world.
(D) It assumes that Joel is medically trained specialist.（E）
(E) It offers a counterexample that calls into question part of Joel’s definition of myth.
22. The true scientific significance of a group of unusual fossils discovered by the paleontologist Charles Walcott is more likely to be reflected in a recent classification than it was in Walcott’s own classification. Walcott was, after all, a prominent member of the scientific establishment. His classifications are thus unlikely to have done anything but confirm what established science had already taken to be true.
Which one of the following most accurately describes a questionable technique used in the argument?
(A) It draws conclusions about the merit of a position and about the content of that position from evidence about the position’s source.
(B) It cites two pieces of evidence, each of which is both questionable and unverifiable, and uses this evidence to support its conclusions.
(C) It bases a conclusion on two premises that contradict each other and minimizes this contradiction by the vagueness of the terms employed.
(D) It attempts to establish the validity of a claim, which is otherwise unsupported, by denying the truth of the opposite of that claim.（A）
(E) It analyzes the past on the basis of social and political categories that properly apply only to the present and uses the results of this analysis to support its conclusion.
23. Anthony: It has been established that over 80 percent of those who use heroin have a history of having used marijuana. Such evidence would seem to prove that smoking marijuana definitely leads to heroin use.
Judith: Maybe smoking marijuana does lead to heroin use, but it is absurd to thinks that citing those statistics proves that it does. After all, 100 percent of the people who take up heroin had a previous history of drinking water.
Judith’s reply to Anthony’s argument relies on which one of the following argumentative strategies?
(A) offering evidence suggesting that the statistics Anthony cites in support of his conclusion are inaccurate
(B) undermining the credibility of his conclusion by showing that it is a statement from which absurd consequences can be derived
(C) providing an example to show that not everything that promotes heroin use is unsafe
(D) demonstrating that Anthony’s line of reasoning is flawed by showing such reasoning can lead to clearly false conclusions（D）
(E) calling into question the possibility of ever establishing causal connections solely on the basis of statistical evidence
24. Rumored declines in automobile-industry revenues are exaggerated. It is true that automobile manufactures’ share of the industry’s revenues fell from 65 percent two years ago to 50 percent today, but over the same period suppliers of automobile parts had their share increase from 15 percent to 20 percent and service companies (for example, distributors, dealers, and repairers) had their share increase from 20 percent to 30 percent.
Which one of the following best indicates why the statistics given above provide by themselves no evidence for the conclusion they are intended to support?
(A) The possibility is left open that the statistics for manufactures’ share of revenues come from a different source than the other statistics.
(B) No matter what changes the automobile industry’s overall revenues undergo, the total of all shares of these revenues must be 100 percent.
(C) No explanation is given for why the revenue shares of different sectors of the industry changed.
(D) Manufactures and parts companies depend for their revenue on dealers’ success in selling cars.（B）
(E) Revenues are an important factor but are not the only factor in determining profits.
Questions 25-26
Proposals for extending the United States school year to bring it more in line with its European and Japanese counterparts are often met with the objection that curtailing the school’s three-month summer vacation would violate an established United States tradition dating from the nineteenth century. However, this objection misses its mark. True, in the nineteenth century, the majority of schools closed for three months every summer, but only because they were in rural areas where successful harvests depended on children labor. If any policy could be justified by those appears to tradition, it would be the policy of determining the length of the school year according to the needs of the economy.
25. Which one of the following principles, if accepted, would provide the strongest justification for the conclusion?
(A) That a given social policy has traditionally been in force justifies maintaining that policy only if doing so does not conflict with more pressing social needs.
(B) Appeals to its own traditions cannot excuse a country from the obligation to bring its practices in line with the legitimate expectations of the rest of the world.
(C) Because appeals to tradition often serve to mask the real interests at issue, such appeals should be disregarded.
(D) Traditional principles should be discarded when they no longer serve the needs of the economy.（E）
(E) The actual tradition embodied in a given practice can be accurately identified only by reference to the reasons that originally prompted that practice.
26. The argument counters the objection by
(A) providing evidence to show that the objection relies on a misunderstanding about the amount of time each year United States schools traditionally have been closed
(B) calling into question the relevance of information about historical practices to current disputes about proposed social change
(C) arguing for an alternative understanding of the nature of the United States tradition regarding the length of the school year
(D) showing that those who oppose extending the school year have no genuine concern for tradition（C）
(E) demonstrating that tradition justifies bringing the United States school year in line with that of the rest of the industrialized world
TEST 6
SECTION II
|
1. C |
2. A |
3. D |
4. E |
5. B |
|
6. C |
7. E |
8. A |
9. C |
10. E |
|
11. B |
12. E |
13. E |
14. D |
15. C |
|
16. E |
17. B |
18. E |
19. E |
20. C |
|
21. D |
22. D |
23. E |
24. C |
25. C |
SECTION III
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1. A |
2. B |
3. D |
4. B |
5. D |
|
6. E |
7. A |
8. D |
9. A |
10. D |
|
11. A |
12. C |
13. E |
14. B |
15. B |
|
16. E |
17. A |
18. A |
19. D |
20. C |
|
21. E |
22. A |
23. D |
24. B |
25. E |
|
26. C |
27.
|
28.
|
29.
|
30.
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Where's My Stuff? |
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