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TEST 12
SECTION II
Time 35 minutes 26 Questions
Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages...
Question 1-2
1. Sea turtles nest only at their own birthplaces. After hatching on the beach, the turtles enter the water to begin their far-ranging migration, only returning to their birthplace to nest some 15 to 30 years later. It has been hypothesized that newborn sea turtles learn the smell of their environment, and it is this smell that stimulates the turtles to return to nest.
Which one of the following, if true, would cast the most serious doubt on the hypothesis in the passage?
(A) Beaches on which sea turtles nest tend to be in secluded locations such as on islands.
(B) Sea turtles exposed to a variety of environments under experimental conditions preferred the environment that contained sand form their own birthplaces.
(C) Electronic tags attached to sea turtles did not alter their nesting patterns.
(D) Unlike other types of turtles, sea turtles have a well-developed sense of smell.（E）
(E) Sea turtles that have their sense of smell destroyed by exposure to petroleum products returned to nest at their own birthplaces.
2. Which one of the following would be most important to know in evaluating the hypothesis in the passages?
(A) how long the expected life span of sea turtles
(B) what the maximum migration range of the sea turtles is
(C) whether many beaches on which sea turtles were hatched have since been destroyed by development
(D) before returning to the nest, sea turtles are outside the area where the smell of their birthplace would be perceptible（D）
(E) whether both sex of sea turtles are actively involved in the nesting process
3. For Juanita to get to the zoo she must take either the number 12 bus or else the subway. Everyone knows that the number 12 bus is not running this week; so although Juanita generally avoids using the subway, she must have used it today, since she was seen at the zoo this afternoon.
The method of the argument is to
(A) assert that if something is true, it will be known to be true
(B) demonstrate that certain possibilities are not exclusive
(C) show that something is the case by ruling out the only alternative
(D) explain why an apparent exception to a general rule is not a real（C）
(E) substitutes a claim about what invariably occurs for a claim about what typically occurs
4. If the regulation of computer networks is to be modeled on past legislation, then its model must be either legislation regulating a telephone system or else legislation regulating a public broadcasting service. If the telephone model is used, computer networks will be held responsible only for ensuring that messages get transmitted. If the public broadcast model is used, computer networks will additionally be responsible for the content of those messages. Yet a computer network serves both these sorts of functions: it can serve as a private message service or as a publicly accessible information service. Thus neither of these models can be appropriate for computer networks.
The passage is structured to lead to which one of the following conclusions?
(A) Regulation of computer networks is required in order to ensure the privacy of the messages transmitted through such networks.
(B) The regulation of computer networks should not be modeled on any single piece of past legislation.
(C) Computer networks were developed by being modeled on both telephone systems and television networks.
(D) Legislators who do not have extensive experience with computers should not attempt to write legislation regulating computer networks.（B）
(E) A computer network merely duplicates the functions of a telephone systems and a television system.
5. The government has proposed a plan requiring young people to perform services to correct various current social ills, especially those in education and housing. Government service, however, should be compelled only in response to a direct threat to the nation’s existence. For that reason, the proposed program should not be implemented.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the government depends?
(A) Government-required service by young people cannot correct all social ills.
(B) The nation’s existence is directly threatened only in times of foreign attack.
(C) Crises in education and housing constitute a threat to the nation’s existence.
(D) The nation’s young people believe that current social ills pose no direct threat to the nation’s existence.（E）
(E) Some of the social ills that currently afflict the nation do not pose a direct threat to the nation’s existence.
6. Cigarette smoking has been shown to be a health hazard; therefore, governments should ban all advertisements that promote smoking.
Which one of the following principles, if established, mast strongly supports the argument?
(A) Advertisements should not be allowed to show people doing things that endanger their health.
(B) Advertisers should not make misleading claims about the healthfulness of their products.
(C) Advertisements should disclose the health hazards associated with the products they promote.
(D) All products should conform to strict government health and safety standards.（E）
(E) Advertisements should promote only healthful products.
7. Every adult male woolly monkey is larger than even the largest female woolly monkey. In colonies of woolly monkeys, any adult male will dominate any female.
If the statements above are true, which one of the following must on the basis of them be true of woolly monkeys in colonies?
(A) Size is the primary determinant of relations of dominance among woolly monkeys.
(B) Some large adolescent male woolly monkeys dominate some smaller females of the species.
(C) If a male woolly monkey is larger than a female of the species, that male will dominate that female.
(D) If a female woolly monkey dominates a male of the species, the dominated male monkey is not an adult.（D）
(E) An adult male woolly monkey can dominate a female of the species only if that female is also an adult.
8. S: Our nation is becoming too averse to risk. We boycott any food reported to contain a toxic chemical, even though the risk, as a mathematical ratio, might be minimal. With this mentality, Columbus would never have sailed west.
T: A risk-taker in one context can be risk-averse in another: the same person can drive recklessly, but refuse to eat food not grown organically.
T responds to S by showing that
(A) a distinction should be made between avoidable and unavoidable risks
(B) aversion to risk cannot be reliably assessed without reference to context
(C) there is confusion about risk in the minds of many members of the public
(D) mathematical odds concerning risk give an unwarranted impression of precision（B）
(E) risk cannot be defined in relation to perceived probable benefit
9. Any announcement authorized by the head of the department is important. However, announcements are sometimes issued, without authorization, by people other than the head of the department, so some announcements will inevitably turn out not to be important.
The reasoning is flawed because the argument
(A) does not specify exactly which communications are to be classified as announcements
(B) overlooks the possibility that people other than the head of the department have the authority to authorize announcements
(C) leaves open the possibility that the head of the department never, in fact, authorizes any announcements
(D) assumes without warrant that just because satisfying a given condition is enough to ensure an announcement’s importance, satisfying that condition is necessary for its importance（D）
(E) fails to distinguish between the importance of the position someone holds and the importance of what that person may actually be announcing on a particular occasion
Questions 10-11
The labeling of otherwise high-calorie foods as “sugar-free,” based on the replacement of all sugar by artificial sweeteners, should be prohibited by law. Such a prohibition is indicated because many consumers who need to lose weight will interpret the label “sugar-free” as synonymous with “low in calories” and harm themselves by building weight-loss diets around foods labeled “sugar-free.” Manufacturers of sugar-free foods are well aware of this tendency on the part of consumers.
10. Which one of the following principles, if established, most helps to justify the conclusion in the passage?
(A) Product labels that are literally incorrect should be prohibited by law, even if reliance on those labels is not likely to cause harm to consumers.
(B) Product labels that are literally incorrect, but in such an obvious manner that no rational consumer would rely on them, should nevertheless be prohibited by law.
(C) Product labels that are literally correct but cannot be interpreted by the average buyer of the product without expert help should be prohibited by law.
(D) Product labels that are literally correct but will predictably be misinterpreted by some buyers of the product to their own harm should be prohibited by law.（D）
(E) Product labels that are literally correct, but only on one of two equally accurate interpretations, should be prohibited by law if buyers tend to interpret the label in the way that does not match the product’s actual properties.
11. Which one of the following, if true, provides the strongest basis for challenging the conclusion in the passage?
(A) Food manufacturers would respond to a ban on the label “sugar-free” by reducing the calories in sugar-free products by enough to be able to promote those products as diet foods.
(B) Individuals who are diabetic need to be able to identify products that contain no sugar by reference to product labels that expressly state that the product contains no sugar.
(C) Consumers are sometimes slow to notice changes in product labels unless those changes are themselves well advertised.
(D) Consumers who have chosen a particular weight-loss diet tend to persist with this diet if they have been warned not to expect very quick results.（B）
(E) Exactly what appears on a product label is less important to consumer behavior than is the relative visual prominence of the different pieces of information that the label contains.
12. In the Centerville Botanical Gardens, all tulip trees are older than any maples. A majority, but not all, of the garden’s sycamores are older than any of its maples. All the garden’s maples are older than any of its dogwoods.
If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true of trees in the Centerville Botanical Gardens?
(A) Some dogwoods are as old as the youngest tulip trees.
(B) Some dogwoods are as old as the youngest sycamores.
(C) Some sycamores are not as old as the oldest dogwoods.
(D) Some tulip trees are not as old as the oldest sycamores.（E）
(E) Some sycamores are not as old as the youngest tulip trees.
13. Emissions from automobiles that burn gasoline and automobiles that burn diesel fuel are threatening the quality of life on our planet, contaminating both urban air and global atmosphere. Therefore, the only effective way to reduce such emissions is to replace the conventional diesel fuel and gasoline used in automobiles with cleaner-burning fuels, such as methanol, that create fewer emissions.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) Reducing the use of automobiles would not be a more effective means to reduce automobile emissions than the use of methanol.
(B) There is no fuel other than methanol that is cleaner-burning than both diesel fuel and gasoline.
(C) If given a choice of automobile fuels, automobile owners would not select gasoline over methanol.
(D) Automobile emissions constitute the most serious threat to the global environment.（A）
(E) At any given time there is a direct correlation between the level of urban air pollution and the level of contamination present in the global atmosphere.
14. Dr. Libokov: Certain islands near New Zealand are home to the tuatara, reptiles that are the sole surviving members of the sphenodontidans. Sphenodontidans were plentiful throughout the world during the age of the dinosaurs. But the survival of sphenodontidans near New Zealand, and their total disappearance elsewhere, is no mystery. New Zealand and nearby islands have no native land mammals. Land mammals, plentiful elsewhere, undoubtedly became major predators of sphenodontidans and their eggs, leading to their extinction.
Dr. Santos: In fact, the tuatara thrive only on a few islands near New Zealand. On all those where land mammals, such as rats, dogs, or cats, have been introduced in recent years, the tuatara are now extinct or nearly so.
Which one of the following most accurately characterizes Dr. Santos’ response to the hypothesis advanced by Dr. Libokov?
(A) It identifies a flaw in Dr. Libokov’s reasoning.
(B) It restates Dr. Libokov’s major hypothesis and thus adds nothing to it.
(C) It contradicts one of Dr. Libokov’s assertions.
(D) It offers a hypothesis that is incompatible with Dr. Libokov’s position.（E）
(E) It provides additional evidence in support of Dr. Libokov’s hypothesis.
15. A standard problem for computer security is that passwords that have to be typed on a computer keyboard are comparatively easy for unauthorized users to steal or guess. A new system that relies on recognizing the voices of authorized users apparently avoids this problem. In a small initial trial, the system never incorrectly accepted someone seeking access to the computer’s data. Clearly, if this result can be repeated in an operational setting, then there will be a way of giving access to those people who are entitled to access and to no one else.
The reasoning above is flawed because it
(A) makes a faulty comparison, in that a security system based on voice recognition would not be expected to suffer from the same problems as one that relied on passwords entered from a keyboard
(B) bases a general conclusion on a small amount of data
(C) fails to recognize that a security system based on voice recognition could easily have applications other than computer security
(D) ignores the possibility that the system sometimes denies access to people who are entitled to access（D）
(E) states its conclusion in a heavily qualified way
16. Body temperature varies over a 24-hour period, with a low point roughly between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. Speed of reaction varies in line with body temperature, such that whenever body temperature is low, speed of reaction is low. If low body temperature caused slow reaction, the speed of reaction should increase if we artificially raised body temperature during the period 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. But the speed of reaction does not increase.
Which one of the following conclusions can properly be drawn from the above statements?
(A) Low speeds of reaction cause low body temperature.
(B) Low speeds of reaction do not cause low body temperature.
(C) Low body temperatures do not cause low speeds of reaction.
(D) Low body temperatures cause low speeds of reaction.（C）
(E) Artificially raising body temperature causes increased speed of reaction.
17. Of the two proposals for solving the traffic problems on Main Street, Chen’s plan is better for the city as a whole, as is clear from the fact that the principal supporter of Ripley’s plan is Smith Stores. Smith Stores, with its highly paid consultants, knows where its own interest lies and, moreover, has supported its own interests in the past, even to the detriment of the city as a whole.
The faulty reasoning in which one of the following is most parallel to that in the argument above?
(A) Surely Centreville should oppose adoption of the regional planning commission’s new plan since it is not in Centreville’s interest, even though it might be in the interest of some towns in the region.
(B) The school board should support the plan for the new high school since this plan was recommended by the well-qualified consultants whom the school board hired at great expense.
(C) Of the two budget proposals, the mayor’s is clearly preferable to the city council’s, since the mayor’s budget addresses the needs of the city as a whole, whereas the city council is protecting special interests.
(D) Nomura is clearly a better candidate for college president than Miller, since Nomura has the support of the three deans who best understand the president’s job and with whom the president will have to work most closely.（E）
(E) The planned light-rail system will clearly serve suburban areas well, since its main opponent is the city government, which has always ignored the needs of the suburbs and sought only to protect the interests of the city.
Questions 18-19
The format of network television news programs generally allows advocates of a point of view only 30 seconds to convey their message. Consequently, regular watchers become accustomed to thinking of issues in terms only of slogans and catch phrases, and so the expectation of careful discussion of public issues gradually disappears from their awareness. The format of newspaper stories, on the other hand, leads readers to pursue details of stories headed by the most important facts and so has the opposite effect on regular readers—that of maintaining the expectation of careful discussion of public issues. Therefore, in contrast to regular newspaper reading, regular watching of network television news programs increases the tendency to think of public issues in oversimplified terms.
18. The argument assumes which one of the following?
(A) Viewers of network television news programs would be interested in seeing advocates of opposing views present their positions at length.
(B) Since it is not possible to present striking images that would symbolize events for viewers, and since images hold sway over words in television, television must oversimplify.
(C) It is not possible for television to present public issues in a way that allows for the nuanced presentation of diverse views and a good-faith interchange between advocates of opposing views.
(D) In network television news reports, it is not usual for a reporter to offer additional factual evidence and background information to develop a story in which opposing views are presented briefly by their advocates.（D）
(E) Television news reporters introduce more of their own biases into news stories than do newspaper reporters.
19. Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
(A) Regular watchers of network television news programs are much more likely than other people to be habitual readers of newspapers.
(B) Including any 30-second quotations from proponents of diverse views, the total amount of time devoted to a single topic on regular network television news programs averages less than one and a half minutes.
(C) The format of network television news programs does not include roundtable discussion of issues among informed proponents of diverse views.
(D) Television news reports tend to devote equal time to discussion of opposing views.（A）
(E) People who watch the most television, measured in average number of hours of watching per week, tend not to be regular readers of newspapers.
Questions 20-21
A recent report on an environmental improvement program was criticized for focusing solely on pragmatic solutions to the large number of significant problems that plague the program instead of seriously trying to produce a coherent vision for the future of the program. In response the report’s authors granted that the critics had raised a valid point but explained that, to do anything at all, the program needed continued government funding, and that to get such funding the program first needed to regain a reputation for competence.
20. The basic position taken by the report’s authors on the criticism leveled against the report is that
(A) addressing the critics’ concern now would be premature
(B) the critics’ motives are self-serving
(C) the notion of a coherent vision would be inappropriate to a program of the sort at issue
(D) the authors of the report are more knowledgeable than its critics（A）
(E) giving the report a single focus is less desirable than the critics claim
21. Which one of the following, if true, would best serve the critics of the report in their attempt to undermine the position taken by the report’s authors?
(A) The government does not actually provide a full l00 percent of the program’s funding.
(B) The program will continue to have numerous serious problems precisely because it lacks a coherent vision for its future.
(C) The program had a coherent vision at its inception, but that vision has proved impossible to sustain.
(D) The government has threatened to cut off funding for the program but has not acted yet on this threat.（B）
(E) The program has acquired a worse reputation for incompetence than it deserves.
22. Oil company representative: We spent more money on cleaning the otters affected by our recent oil spill than has been spent on any previous marine mammal rescue project. This shows our concern for the environment.
Environmentalist: You have no such concern. Your real concern is evident in your admission to the press that news photographs of oil-covered otters would be particularly damaging to your public image, which plays an important role in your level of sales.
The
environmentalist’s conclusion would be properly drawn if it were true that
the
(A) oil company cannot have more than one motive for cleaning the otters affected by the oil spill
(B) otter population in the area of the oil spill could not have survived without the cleaning project
(C) oil company has always shown a high regard for its profits in choosing its courses of action
(D) government would have spent the money to clean the otters if the oil company had not agreed to do it（A）
(E) oil company’s efforts toward cleaning the affected otters have been more successful than have such efforts in previous projects to clean up oil spills
23. A group of scientists studying calcium metabolism in laboratory rats discovered that removing the rats’ parathyroid glands resulted in the rats’ having substantially lower than normal levels of calcium in their blood. This discovery led the scientists to hypothesize that the function of the parathyroid gland is to regulate the level of calcium in the blood by raising that level when it falls below the normal range. In a further experiment, the scientists removed not only the parathyroid gland but also the adrenal gland from rats. They made the surprising discovery that the level of calcium in the rats’ blood decreased much less sharply than when the parathyroid gland alone was removed.
Which one of the following, if true, explains the surprising discovery in a way most consistent with the scientists’ hypothesis?
(A) The adrenal gland acts to lower the level of calcium in the blood.
(B) The adrenal gland and the parathyroid gland play the same role in regulating calcium blood levels.
(C) The absence of a parathyroid gland causes the adrenal gland to increase the level of calcium in the blood.
(D) If the adrenal gland, and no other gland, of a rat were removed, the rat’s calcium level would remain stable.（A）
(E) The only function of the parathyroid gland is to regulate the level of calcium in the blood.
24. Since Mayor Drabble always repays her political debts as soon as possible, she will almost certainly appoint Lee to be the new head of the arts commission. Lee has wanted that job for a long time, and Drabble owes Lee a lot for his support in the last election.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) Mayor Drabble has no political debt that is both of longer standing than the one she owes to Lee and could as suitably be repaid by an appointment to be the new head of the arts commission.
(B) There is no one to whom Mayor Drabble owes a greater political debt for support in the last election than the political debt she owes to Lee.
(C) Lee is the only person to whom Mayor Drabble owes a political debt who would be willing to accept an appointment from her as the new head of the arts commission.
(D) Whether Lee is qualified to head the arts commission is irrelevant to Mayor Drabble’s decision.（A）
(E) The only way that Mayor Drabble can adequately repay her political debt to Lee is by appointing him to head the arts commission.
25. The fact that tobacco smoke inhaled by smokers harms the smokers does not prove that the much smaller amount of tobacco smoke inhaled by nonsmokers who share living space with smokers harms the nonsmokers to some degree. Many substances, such as vitamin A, are toxic in large quantities but beneficial in small quantities.
In which one of the following is the pattern of reasoning most similar to that in the argument above?
(A) The fact that a large concentration of bleach will make fabric very white does not prove that a small concentration of bleach will make fabric somewhat white. The effect of a small concentration of bleach may be too slight to change the color of the fabric.
(B) Although a healthful diet should include a certain amount of fiber, it does not follow that a diet that includes large amounts of fiber is more healthful than one that includes smaller amounts of fiber. Too much fiber can interfere with proper digestion.
(C) The fact that large amounts of chemical fertilizers can kill plants does not prove that chemical fertilizers are generally harmful to plants. It proves only that the quantity of chemical fertilizer used should be adjusted according to the needs of the plants and the nutrients already in the soil.
(D) From the fact that five professional taste testers found a new cereal product tasty, it does not follow that everyone will like it. Many people find broccoli a tasty food, but other people have a strong dislike for the taste of broccoli.（E）
(E) Although watching television for half of every day would be a waste of time, watching television briefly every day is not necessarily even a small waste of time. After all, it would be a waste to sleep half of every day, but some sleep every day is necessary.
26. Why should the government, rather than industry or universities, provide the money to put a network of supercomputers in place? Because there is a range of problems that can be attacked only with the massive data-managing capacity of a supercomputer network. No business or university has the resources to purchase by itself enough machines for a whole network, and no business or university wants to invest in a part of a network if no mechanism exists for coordinating establishment of the network as a whole.
Which one of the following indicates a weakness in the argument?
(A) It does not furnish a way in which the dilemma concerning the establishment of the network can be resolved.
(B) It does not establish the impossibility of creating a supercomputer network as an international network.
(C) It fails to address the question of who would maintain the network if the government, rather than industry or universities, provides the money for establishing it.
(D) It takes for granted and without justification that it would enhance national preeminence in science for the government to provide the network.（E）
(E) It overlooks the possibility that businesses or universities, or both, could cooperate to build the network.
SECTION IV
Time 35 minutes 24 Questions
Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages...
1. Megatrash Co., the country’s largest waste-disposal company, has been sued by environmental groups who have accused the firm of negligent handling of hazardous waste. The fines and legal fees that have resulted from the legal attacks against Megatrash have cost the company substantial amounts of money. Surprisingly, as successful lawsuits against the company have increased in number, the company has grown stronger and more profitable.
Which one of the following, if true, does the most to resolve the apparent paradox?
(A) Although waste-disposal firms merely handle but do not generate toxic waste, these firms have been held legally responsible for environmental damage caused by this waste.
(B) Megatrash has made substantial contributions to environmental causes, as have other large waste-disposal companies.
(C) Some of the judgments against Megatrash have legally barred it from entering the more profitable areas of the waste-management business.
(D) The example of Megatrash’s legal entanglements has driven most of the company’s competitors from the field and deterred potential rivals from entering it.（D）
(E) In cases in which Megatrash has been acquitted of charges of negligence, the company has paid more in legal fees than it would have been likely to pay in fines.
2. Lewis: Those who do not learn from past mistakes—their own and those of others—are condemned to repeat them. In order to benefit from the lessons of history, however, we first have to know history. That is why the acquisition of broad historical knowledge is so important.
Morris: The trouble is that the past is infinitely various. From its inexhaustible storehouse of events it is possible to prove anything or its contrary.
The issue that Morris raises in objecting to Lewis’ view is whether
(A) there are any uncontested historical facts
(B) historical knowledge can be too narrow to be useful
(C) history teaches any unequivocal lessons
(D) there are conventional criteria for calling a past action a mistake（C）
(E) events in the present are influenced by past events
3. A group of scientists who have done research on the health effects of food irradiation has discovered no evidence challenging its safety. Supporters of food irradiation have cited this research as certain proof that food irradiation is a safe practice.
A flaw in the reasoning of the supporters of food irradiation is that they
(A) assume that the scientists doing the research set out to prove that food irradiation is an unsafe practice
(B) are motivated by a biased interest in proving the practice to be safe
(C) overlook the possibility that objections about safety are not the only possible objections to the practice
(D) neglect to provide detailed information about the evidence used to support the conclusion（E）
(E) use the lack of evidence contradicting a claim as conclusive evidence for that claim
4. Cooking teacher: Lima beans generally need about an hour of boiling to reach the proper degree of doneness. The precise amount of time it takes depends on size: larger beans require a longer cooking time than smaller beans do. It is important that lima beans not be overcooked since overcooking robs beans of many of their nutrients. Undercooking should also be avoided, since undercooked beans cannot be completely digested.
If the statements above are true, they most strongly support which one of the following?
(A) Lima beans that are completely digestible have lost many of their nutrients in cooking.
(B) The nutrients that are lost when lima beans are overcooked are the same as those that the body fails to assimilate when lima beans are not completely digested.
(C) Large lima beans, even when fully cooked, are more difficult to digest than small lima beans.
(D) Lima beans that are added to the pot together should be as close to the same size as possible if they are to yield their full nutritional value.（D）
(E) From the standpoint of good nutrition, it is better to overcook than to undercook lima beans.
Questions 5-6
Large quantities of lead dust can be released during renovations in houses with walls painted with lead-based paint. Because the dust puts occupants at high risk of lead poisoning, such renovations should be done only in unoccupied houses by contractors who are experienced in removing all traces of lead from houses and who have the equipment to protect themselves from lead dust. Even when warned, however, many people will not pay to have someone else do renovations they believe they could do less expensively themselves. Therefore, Homeowners’ Journal should run an article giving information to homeowners on how to reduce the risk of lead poisoning associated with do-it-yourself renovation.
5. Which one of the following, if true, argues most strongly against the passage’s recommendation about an article?
(A) Most homeowners know whether or not the walls of their houses are painted with lead-based paint, even if the walls were painted by previous owners.
(B) Most people who undertake do-it-yourself renovation projects do so for the satisfaction of doing the work themselves and so are unlikely to hire a professional to do that sort of work.
(C) Whenever information on do-it-yourself home renovation is published, many people who would otherwise hire professionals decide to perform the renovations themselves, even when there are risks involved.
(D) In many areas, it is difficult to find professional renovators who have the equipment and qualifications to perform safely renovations involving lead dust.（C）
(E) When professionally done home renovations are no more expensive than do-it-yourself renovations, most people choose to have their homes renovated by professionals.
6. Which one of the following principles most helps to justify the passage’s recommendation about an article?
(A) Potentially dangerous jobs should always be left to those who have the training and experience to perform them safely, even if additional expense results.
(B) If people refuse to change their behavior even when warned that they are jeopardizing their health, information that enables them to minimize the risks of that behavior should be made available to them.
(C) A journal for homeowners should provide its readers with information on do-it-yourself projects only if such projects do not entail substantial risks.
(D) No one should be encouraged to perform a potentially dangerous procedure if doing so could place any other people at risk.（B）
(E) People who are willing to do work themselves and who are competent to do so should not be discouraged from doing that work.
7. The scientific theory of evolution has challenged the view of human origin as divine creation and sees us as simply descended from the same ancestors as the apes. While science and technology have provided brilliant insights into our world and eased our everyday life, they have simultaneously deprived us of a view in which our importance is assured. Thus, while science has given us many things, it has taken away much that is also greatly valued.
Which one of the following is assumed in the passage?
(A) Science and technology are of less value than religion.
(B) People have resisted the advances of science and technology.
(C) The assurance that people are important is highly valued.
(D) The world was a better place before the advent of science and technology.（C）
(E) The need of people to feel important is now met by science and technology.
Questions 8-9
That long-term cigarette smoking can lead to health problems including cancer and lung disease is a scientifically well-established fact. Contrary to what many people seem to believe, however, it is not necessary to deny this fact in order to reject the view that tobacco companies should be held either morally or legally responsible for the poor health of smokers. After all, excessive consumption of candy undeniably leads to such health problems as tooth decay, but no one seriously believes that candy eaters who get cavities should be able to sue candy manufacturers.
8. The main point of the argument is that
(A) no one should feel it necessary to deny the scientifically well-established fact that long-term cigarette smoking can lead to health problems
(B) people who get cavities should not be able to sue candy manufacturers
(C) the fact that smokers’ health problems can be caused by their smoking is not enough to justify holding tobacco companies either legally or morally responsible for those problems
(D) excessive consumption of candy will lead to health problems just as surely as long-term cigarette smoking will（C）
(E) if candy manufacturers were held responsible for tooth decay among candy eaters then tobacco companies should also be held responsible for health problems suffered by smokers
9. The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it
(A) fails to establish that the connection between tooth decay and candy eating is as scientifically well documented as that between smoking and the health problems suffered by smokers
(B) depends on the obviously false assumption that everyone who gets cavities does so only as a result of eating too much candy
(C) leaves undefined such critical qualifying terms as “excessive” and “long-term”
(D) attributes certain beliefs to “many people” without identifying the people who allegedly hold those beliefs（E）
(E) fails to address the striking differences in the nature of the threat to health posed by tooth decay on the one hand and cancer and lung disease on the other
10. Lydia: Each year, thousands of seabirds are injured when they become entangled in equipment owned by fishing companies. Therefore, the fishing companies should assume responsibility for funding veterinary treatment for the injured birds.
Jonathan: Your feelings for the birds are admirable. Your proposal, however, should not be adopted because treatment of the most seriously injured birds would inhumanely prolong the lives of animals no longer able to live in the wild, as all wildlife should.
Jonathan uses which one of the following techniques in his response to Lydia?
(A) He directs a personal attack against her rather than addressing the argument she advances.
(B) He suggests that her proposal is based on self-interest rather than on real sympathy for the injured birds.
(C) He questions the appropriateness of interfering with wildlife in any way, even if the goal of the interference is to help.
(D) He attempts to discredit her proposal by discussing its implications for only those birds that it serves least well.（D）
(E) He evades discussion of her proposal by raising the issue of whether her feelings about the birds are justified.
11. Logging industry official: Harvesting trees from old-growth forests for use in manufacture can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, since when large old trees die in the forest they decompose, releasing their stored carbon dioxide. Harvesting old-growth forests would, moreover, make room for rapidly growing young trees, which absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than do trees in old-growth forests.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the official’s argument?
(A) Many old-growth forests are the home of thousands of animal species that would be endangered if the forests were to be destroyed.
(B) Much of the organic matter from old-growth trees, unusable as lumber, is made into products that decompose rapidly.
(C) A young tree contains less than half the amount of carbon dioxide that is stored in an old tree of the same species.
(D) Much of the carbon dioxide present in forests is eventually released when wood and other organic debris found on the forest floor decompose.（B）
(E) It can take many years for the trees of a newly planted forest to reach the size of those found in existing old-growth forests.
12. A survey of a group of people between the ages of 75 and 80 found that those who regularly played the card game bridge tended to have better short-term memory than those who did not play bridge. It was originally concluded from this that playing bridge can help older people to retain and develop their memory. However, it may well be that bridge is simply a more enjoyable game for people who already have good short-term memory and who are thus more inclined to play.
In countering the original conclusion the reasoning above uses which one of the following techniques?
(A) challenging the representativeness of the sample surveyed
(B) conceding the suggested relationship between playing bridge and short-term memory, but questioning whether any conclusion about appropriate therapy can be drawn
(C) arguing that the original conclusion relied on an inaccurate understanding of the motives that the people surveyed have for playing bridge
(D) providing an alternative hypothesis to explain the data on which the original conclusion was based（D）
(E) describing a flaw in the reasoning on which the original conclusion was based
13. There are tests to detect some of the rare genetic flaws that increase the likelihood of certain diseases. If these tests are performed, then a person with a rare genetic flaw that is detected can receive the appropriate preventive treatment. Since it costs the health-care system less to prevent a disease than to treat it after it has occurred, widespread genetic screening will reduce the overall cost of health care.
The argument assumes which one of the following?
(A) The cost of treating patients who would, in the absence of screening, develop diseases that are linked to rare genetic flaws would be more than the combined costs of widespread screening and preventive treatment.
(B) Most diseases linked to rare genetic flaws are preventable.
(C) The resources allocated by hospitals to the treatment of persons with diseases linked to genetic flaws will increase once screening is widely available.
(D) Even if the genetic tests are performed, many people whose rare genetic flaws are detected will develop diseases linked to the flaws as a consequence of not receiving the appropriate preventive treatment.（A）
(E) If preventive treatment is given to patients with rare genetic flaws, additional funds will be available for treating the more common diseases.
14. In the 1960s paranoia was viewed by social scientists as ungrounded fear of powerlessness, and the theme of paranoia as it relates to feelings of powerlessness was dominant in films of that period. In the 1970s paranoia instead was viewed by social scientists as a response to real threats from society. Films of this period portray paranoia as a legitimate response to a world gone mad.
Which one of the following is a conclusion that the statements above, if true, most strongly support?
(A) Images of paranoia presented in films made in a period reflect trends in social science of that period.
(B) Responses to real threats can, and often do, degenerate into groundless fears.
(C) The world is becoming more and more threatening.
(D) Paranoia is a condition that keeps changing along with changes in society.（A）
(E) The shift in perception by social scientists from the 1960s to the 1970s resulted from an inability to find a successful cure for paranoia.
15. A certain experimental fungicide causes no harm to garden plants, though only if it is diluted at least to ten parts water to one part fungicide. Moreover, this fungicide is known to be so effective against powdery mildew that it has the capacity to eliminate it completely from rose plants. Thus this fungicide, as long as it is sufficiently diluted, provides a means of eliminating powdery mildew from rose plants that involves no risk of harming the plants.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) There is not an alternative method, besides application of this fungicide, for eliminating powdery mildew from rose plants without harming the plants.
(B) When the fungicide is sufficiently diluted, it does not present any risk of harm to people, animals, or beneficial insects.
(C) Powdery mildew is the only fungal infection that affects rose plants.
(D) If a fungicide is to be effective against powdery mildew on rose plants, it must eliminate the powdery mildew completely.（E）
(E) The effectiveness of the fungicide does not depend on its being more concentrated than one part in ten parts of water.
16. When glass products are made from recycled glass, the resulting products can be equal in quality to glass products made from quartz sand, the usual raw material. When plastics are recycled, however, the result is inevitably a plastic of a lower grade than the plastic from which it is derived. Moreover, no applications have been found for grades of plastic that are lower than the currently lowest commercial grade.
Which one of the following is a conclusion that can be properly drawn from the statements above?
(A) Products cannot presently be made out of plastic recycled entirely from the currently lowest commercial grade.
(B) It is impossible to make glass products from recycled glass that are equal in quality to the best glass products made from the usual raw material.
(C) Glass products made from recycled glass are less expensive than comparable products made from quartz sand.
(D) Unless recycled plastic bears some symbol revealing its origin, not even materials scientists can distinguish it from virgin plastic.（A）
(E) The difference in quality between different grades of glass is not as great as that between different grades of plastic.
Questions 17-18
Teacher: Journalists who conceal the identity of the sources they quote stake their professional reputations on what may be called the logic of anecdotes. This is so because the statements reported by such journalists are dissociated from the precise circumstances in which they were made and thus will be accepted for publication only if the statements are high in plausibility or originality or interest to a given audience—precisely the properties of a good anecdote.
Student: But what you are saying, then, is that the journalist need not bother with sources in the first place. Surely, any reasonably resourceful journalist can invent plausible, original, or interesting stories faster than they can be obtained from unidentified sources.
17. The student’s response contains which one of the following reasoning flaws?
(A) confusing a marginal journalistic practice with the primary work done by journalists
(B) ignoring the possibility that the teacher regards as a prerequisite for the publication of an unattributed statement that the statement have actually been made
(C) confusing the characteristics of reported statements with the characteristics of the situations in which the statements were made
(D) judging the merits of the teacher’s position solely by the most extreme case to which the position applies（B）
(E) falsely concluding that if three criteria, met jointly, assure an outcome, then each criterion, met individually, also assures that outcome
18. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the teacher’s argument?
(A) A journalist undermines his or her own professional standing by submitting for publication statements that, not being attributed to a named source, are rejected for being implausible, unoriginal, or dull.
(B) Statements that are attributed to a fully identified source make up the majority of reported statements included by journalists in stories submitted for publication.
(C) Reported statements that are highly original will often seem implausible unless submitted by a journalist who is known for solid, reliable work.
(D) Reputable journalists sometimes do not conceal the identity of their sources from their publishers but insist that the identity of those sources be concealed from the public.（A）
(E) Journalists who have special access to sources whose identity they must conceal are greatly valued by their publishers.
19. The proposal to extend clinical trials, which are routinely used as systematic tests of pharmaceutical innovations, to new surgical procedures should not be implemented. The point is that surgical procedures differ in one important respect from medicinal drugs: a correctly prescribed drug depends for its effectiveness only on the drug’s composition, whereas the effectiveness of even the most appropriate surgical procedure is transparently related to the skills of the surgeon who uses it.
The
reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument
(A) does not consider that new surgical procedures might be found to be intrinsically more harmful than the best treatment previously available
(B) ignores the possibility that the challenged proposal is deliberately crude in a way designed to elicit criticism to be used in refining the proposal
(C) assumes that a surgeon’s skills remain unchanged throughout the surgeon’s professional life
(D) describes a dissimilarity without citing any scientific evidence for the existence of that dissimilarity（A）
(E) rejects a proposal presumably advanced in good faith without acknowledging any such good faith
20. If the majority of the residents of the apartment complex complain that their apartments are infested with ants, then the management of the complex will have to engage the services of an exterminator. But the majority of the residents of the complex indicate that their apartments are virtually free of ants. Therefore, the management of the complex will not have to engage the services of an exterminator.
Which one of the following arguments contains a flawed pattern of reasoning parallel to that contained in the argument above?
(A) A theater will be constructed in the fall if funds collected are at least sufficient to cover its cost. To date, the funds collected exceed the theater’s cost, so the theater will be constructed in the fall.
(B) The number of flights operated by the airlines cannot be reduced unless the airlines can collect higher airfares. But people will not pay higher airfares, so it is not the case that the number of flights will be reduced.
(C) In order for the company to start the proposed building project, both the town council and the mayor must approve. Since the mayor has already approved, the building project will be started soon.
(D) Most employees will attend the company picnic if the entertainment committee is successful in getting a certain band to play at the picnic. But that band will be out of the country on the day of the picnic, so it is not true that most employees will attend.（D）
(E) Either the school’s principal or two-thirds of the parent council must approve a change in the school dress code in order for the code to be changed. Since the principal will not approve a change in the dress code, the code will not be changed.
21. When the supply of a given resource dwindles, alternative technologies allowing the use of different resources develop, and demand for the resource that was in short supply naturally declines. Then the existing supplies of that resource satisfy whatever demand remains. Among the once-dwindling resources that are now in more than adequate supply are flint for arrowheads, trees usable for schooner masts, and good mules. Because new technologies constantly replace old ones, we can never run out of important natural resources.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the conclusion?
(A) The masts and hulls of some sailing ships built today are still made of wood.
(B) There are considerably fewer mules today than there were 100 years ago.
(C) The cost of some new technologies is often so high that the companies developing them might actually lose money at first.
(D) Dwindling supplies of a natural resource often result in that resource’s costing more to use.（E）
(E) The biological requirements for substances like clean air and clean water are unaffected by technological change.
22. Paulsville and Longtown cannot both be included in the candidate’s itinerary of campaign stops. The candidate will make a stop in Paulsville unless Salisbury is made part of the itinerary. Unfortunately, a stop in Salisbury is out of the question. Clearly, then, a stop in Longtown can be ruled out.
The reasoning in the argument above most closely parallels that in which one of the following arguments?
(A) The chef never has both fresh radishes and fresh green peppers available for the chief’s salad at the same time. If she uses fresh radishes, she also uses spinach. But currently there is no spinach to be had. It can be inferred, then, that she will not be using fresh green peppers.
(B) Tom will definitely support Parker if Mendoza does not apply; and Tom will not support both Parker and Chung. Since, as it turns out, Mendoza will not apply, it follows that Chung will not get Tom’s support.
(C) The program committee never selects two plays by Shaw for a single season. But when they select a play by Coward, they do not select any play by Shaw at all. For this season, the committee has just selected a play by Shaw, so they will not select any play by Coward.
(D) In agricultural pest control, either pesticides or the introduction of natural enemies of the pest, but not both, will work. Of course, neither will be needed if pest-resistant crops are planted. So if pesticides are in fact needed, it must be that there are no natural enemies of the pest.（B）
(E) The city cannot afford to build both a new stadium and the new road that would be needed to get there. But neither of the two projects is worth doing without the other. Since the city will not undertake any but worthwhile projects, the new stadium will not be constructed at this time.
23. A study of adults who suffer from migraine headaches revealed that a significant proportion of the study participants suffer from a complex syndrome characterized by a set of three symptoms. Those who suffer from the syndrome experienced excessive anxiety during early childhood. As adolescents, these people began experiencing migraine headaches. As these people approached the age of 20, they also began to experience recurring bouts of depression. Since this pattern is invariant, always with excessive anxiety at its beginning, it follows that excessive anxiety in childhood is one of the causes of migraine headaches and depression in later life.
The reasoning m the argument is vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds?
(A) It does not specify the proportion of those in the general population who suffer from the syndrome.
(B) It fails to rule out the possibility that all of the characteristic symptoms of the syndrome have a common cause.
(C) It makes a generalization that is inconsistent with the evidence.
(D) It fails to demonstrate that the people who participated in the study are representative of migraine sufferers.（B）
(E) It does not establish why the study of migraine sufferers was restricted to adult participants.
24. Mainstream economic theory holds that manufacturers, in deciding what kinds of products to manufacture and what form those products should have, simply respond to the needs and desires of consumers. However, most major manufacturers manipulate and even create consumer demand, as anyone who watches television knows. Since even mainstream economic theorists watch television, their motive in advancing this theory must be something other than disinterested concern for scientific truth.
The claim that manufacturers manipulate and create consumer demand plays which one of the following roles in the argument?
(A) It is one of the claims on which the conclusion is based.
(B) It is the conclusion of the argument.
(C) It states the position argued against.
(D) It states a possible objection to the argument’s conclusion.（A）
(E) It provides supplementary background information.
TEST 12
SECTION II
|
1. E |
2. D |
3. C |
4. B |
5. E |
|
6. E |
7. D |
8. B |
9. D |
10. D |
|
11. B |
12. E |
13. A |
14. E |
15. D |
|
16. C |
17. E |
18. D |
19. A |
20. A |
|
21. B |
22. A |
23. A |
24. A |
25. E |
|
26. E |
27.
|
28.
|
29.
|
30.
|
SECTION IV
|
1. D |
2. C |
3. E |
4. D |
5. C |
|
6. B |
7. C |
8. C |
9. E |
10. D |
|
11. B |
12. D |
13. A |
14. A |
15. E |
|
16. A |
17. B |
18. A |
19. A |
20. D |
|
21. E |
22. B |
23. B |
24. A |
25.
|
Where's My Stuff? |
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