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TEST 17
SECTION III
Time 35 minutes 25 Questions
Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages...
1. It is difficult to keep deep wounds free of bacteria. Even strong antibiotics fail to kill the bacteria that live in such wounds. However, many physicians have succeeded in eliminating bacteria from deep wounds by packing the wound with a sweet substance like sugar.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain why treating deep wounds with sugar as described above is successful?
(A) Bacteria that live in deep wounds thrive in a moist environment, and sugar has a dehydrating effect.
(B) Sugar that is nearly pure is readily available for use in medical treatments.
(C) Many kinds of bacteria can use sugar as a nutrient and will reproduce rapidly when sugar is available to them.
(D) Some foods that contain sugar can weaken the effects of certain antibiotics.（A）
(E) Strong antibiotics were developed only recently, but the use of sugar as a treatment for wounds dates back to ancient times.
2. People who are red/green color-blind cannot distinguish between green and brown, Gerald cannot distinguish between green and brown. Therefore Gerald is red/green color-blind.
Which one of the following most closely parallels the reasoning in the argument presented in the passage?
(A) People who are fair-skinned suffer from sunburn. William is fair-skinned. Therefore William suffers from sunburn.
(B) People who are suffering from sinusitis lose their sense of smell. Mary has lost her sense of smell. Therefore Mary is suffering from sinusitis.
(C) People who have suffered from jaundice cannot become blood donors, Jean is a blood donor. Therefore Jean has not suffered from jaundice.
(D) People who are color-blind cannot become airline pilots. Arthur is color-blind. Therefore Arthur cannot become an airline pilot.（B）
(E) People who are diabetic cannot eat large amounts of sugar. Freda is diabetic. Therefore Freda is on a special diet.
3. Early in this century, Alfred Wegener developed the concept of continental drift. His ideas were rejected vehemently because he postulated no identifiable force strong enough to make the continents move. We have come to accept Wegener’s theory, not because we have pinpointed such a force, but because new instruments have finally allowed continental movement to be confirmed by observation.
The passage best illustrates which one of the following statements about science?
(A) The aim of science is to define the manifold of nature within the terms of a single harmonious theory.
(B) In a accepting a mathematical description of nature, science has become far more accurate at identifying underlying forces.
(C) The paradox of science is that every improvement in its measuring instruments seems to make adequate theories harder to work out.
(D) Science, employing statistics and the laws of probability, is concerned not with the single event but with mass behavior.（E）
(E) When the events a theory postulates are detected, the theory is accepted even without an explanation of how those events are brought about.
4. The theory of military deterrence was based on a simple psychological truth, that fear of retaliation makes a would-be aggressor nation hesitate before attacking and is often sufficient to deter it altogether from attacking. Clearly, then to maintain military deterrence, a nation would have to believed to have retaliatory power so great that a potential aggressor nation would have reason to think that it could not defend itself against such retaliation.
If the statements above are true, which one of the following can be properly inferred?
(A) A would-be aggressor nation can be deterred from attacking only if it has certain knowledge that it would be destroyed in retaliation by the country it attacks.
(B) A nation will not attack another nation if it believes that its own retaliatory power surpasses that of the other nation.
(C) One nation’s failing to attack another establishes that the nation that fails to attack believes that it could not withstand a retaliatory attack from the other nation.
(D) It is in the interests of a nation that seeks deterrence and has unsurpassed military power to let potential aggressors against it become aware of its power of retaliatory attack.（D）
(E) Maintaining maximum deterrence from aggression by other nations requires that a nation maintain a retaliatory force greater than that of any other nation.
5. To the editor:
In 1960, an astronomer proposed a mathematical model for determining whether extraterrestrial life exists. It was based on the assumptions that life as we know it could exist only on a planet and that many stars are, like our Sun, orbited by planets, On the basis that there are nine planets in our solar system and one of them has life as we know it, the astronomer predicted that there are as many as one million extraterrestrial civilizations across all solar systems. Yet astronomers to date have not detected even one planet outside our solar system. This indicates that the astronomer’s model is wrong, and life as we know it exists only on the plant Earth.
Clay Moltz
Which one of the following, if accepted by Clay Moltz, would require him to reconsider his conclusion?
(A) Forms of life other than life as we know it exist on other planets.
(B) There are many stars that are not orbited by planets.
(C) Detecting planets outside our solar system requires more sophisticated instruments than are currently available.
(D) The soundness of the conclusion reached by applying a mathematical model depends on the soundness of the assumptions on which the model is based.（C）
(E) Due to sheer distances and expanses of space involved, any extraterrestrial civilization would have great difficulty communicating with ours.
6. If Max were guilty, he would not ask the police to investigate. Therefore, his asking the police to investigate shows that he is not guilty.
The logical structure of the argument above is most similar to which one of the following?
(A) If Lucille were in the next room, I would not be able to see her. Therefore, the fact that I can see her shows that she is not in the next room.
(B) If Sam were rich, he would not spend his vacation in Alaska. Therefore, his spending his vacation in the Bahamas shows that he is rich.
(C) If Joe were over 40 he would not want to learn to ski. Therefore, the fact that he does not want to learn to ski shows that he is over 40.
(D) If Mark were a good cook, he would not put cinnamon in the chili. Therefore, the fact that he is not a good cook shows that he put cinnamon in the chili.（A）
(E) If Sally were sociable, she would not avoid her friends. Therefore, the fact that she is sociable shows that she does not avoid her friends.
7. A population of game ducks at a western lake contains 55 males to every 45 females, while a population of game ducks at an eastern lake contains 65 males for every 35 females. Among those ducks that have not yet bred there are only slightly more males than females, but among older ducks the number of males greatly exceeds the number of females. Because there are appreciably more males among adult ducks than among young ducks, we can infer that the greater the disparity in overall sex ratios, the greater the percentage of older male ducks in the population.
Which one of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(A) The population of game duck at the western lake contains a lower percentage of adult males than the population at the eastern lake contains.
(B) The population of game duck at the eastern lake contains a higher percentage of nonadult game ducks than the population at the western lake contains.
(C) The total number of male game ducks is higher in the eastern lake’s population than in the western lake population.
(D) The number of nonadult ducks hatched in a breeding season is higher in the eastern lake’s population than in the western lake’s population.（A）
(E) Adult female game ducks outnumber nonadult female game ducks in the eastern lake’s population.
8. The common procedure for determining whether a food additive should be banned from use is to compare its health-related benefits with its potential risks. Yellow Dye No. 5, an additive used to color lemon soda, might cause allergic reactions in a few consumers. For most consumers of lemon soda, however, the coloring enhances their enjoyment of the beverage. This particular additive should not be banned, therefore, because its benefits greatly outweigh its risks.
A flaw in the argument is that the author
(A) implies that the dye entail no health-related risks
(B) treats enjoyment of a beverage as a health-related benefit
(C) ignores the possibility that some food additives are harmful to most people
(D) bases the argument on an unproven claim regarding a danger in using Yellow Dye No. 5（B）
(E) presumes that most consumers heed the warning labels on beverage containers
9. Fines levied against those responsible for certain environmentally damaging accidents are now so high that it costs a company responsible for such an accident more to pay the fine than it would have cost to adopt measures that would have prevented the accident. Therefore, since businesses value their profits, those that might have such accidents will now install adequate environmental safeguards.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
(A) Businesses generally greatly underestimate the risk of future accidents.
(B) Businesses are as concerned with long-term as they are with short-term strategies for maximizing profits.
(C) Businesses generally do the environmentally “right” thing only if doing so makes good business sense.
(D) Businesses treat fines that are levied against them as an ordinary business expense.（A）
(E) Businesses are learning to exploit the public’s environmental awareness in promoting themselves.
10. Even in a democracy, it is necessary to restrict the dissemination of advanced technological knowledge that is of commercial or national-security value. Dissemination to certain countries, those that are or will be competitors or enemies, should be selectively prohibited. There must, however, be free exchange of scientific information.
In order to act in accordance with the position above, it would be necessary to be able to rely on each of the following EXCEPT:
(A) It is possible to distinguish with confidence, despite any changes in the international environment, friendly or noncompetitive from hostile or competitive nations.
(B) In a democracy, it is not necessary that the public have detailed knowledge of the country’s advanced technology in order, for example, to make informed decisions about the direction public policy should take.
(C) In most fields of science, basic scientific research is further advanced in countries that are democracies than in countries that are not democracies.
(D) In each field of science, it is possible to distinguish scientific information from advanced technological knowledge that is of commercial or national-security value.（C）
(E) In cases where a company that use advanced technology is a multinational organization, it is possible to keep information about the technology from being passed across designated national boundaries.
11. Water vapor evaporated from the ocean contains a greater proportion of oxygen-16 and a smaller proportion of the heavier oxygen-18 than does seawater. Normally, this phenomenon has no effect on the overall composition of the ocean, because evaporated seawater returns to the ocean through precipitation. During an ice age, however, a large amount of precipitation falls on ice caps, where it is trapped as ice.
Which one of the following conclusions about a typical ice age is most strongly supported by the statements above?
(A) The proportions of oxygen-16 and oxygen-18 are the same in vapor from seawater as in the seawater itself.
(B) The concentration of oxygen-18 in seawater is increased.
(C) Rain and snow contain relatively more oxygen-16 than they do in interglacial periods.
(D) During the ice age, more of the Earth’s precipitation falls over land than falls over the ocean.（B）
(E) The composition of seawater changes more slowly than it does in interglacial periods.
12. Some of the most prosperous nations in the world have experienced a pronounced drop in national savings rates—the percentage of after-tax income an average household saves. This trend will undoubtedly continue if the average age of these nations’ populations continues to rise, since older people have fewer reasons to save than do younger people.
Which one
of the following indicates an error in the reasoning leading to the prediction
above?
(A) It fail to specify the many reasons younger people have for saving money, and it fails to identify which of those reasons is the strongest.
(B) It assumes that a negative savings rate—the result of the average household’s spending all of its after-tax income as well as some of its existing savings—cannot ever come about in any nation.
(C) It fails to cite statistics showing that the average age of the population of certain nations is rising.
(D) It only takes into account the comparative number of reasons older and younger people, respectively, have for saving, and not the comparative strength of those reasons.（D）
(E) It uses after-tax income as the base for computing the national savings rate without establishing by argument that after-tax income is a more appropriate base than before-tax income.
13. The term “pit bull” does not designate a breed of dog, as do the terms “German shepherd” and “poodle.” It is like the terms “Seeing-Eye dog” and “police dog,” which designate dogs according to what they do. If you take two German shepherds and place them side by side, you cannot tell by appearance alone which is the police dog and which is the Seeing-Eye dog.
Which one of the following is the main point of the passage?
(A) German shepherds can be pit bulls.
(B) Pit bulls can be distinguished from other kinds of dogs by appearance alone.
(C) A dog is a pit bull because of what it does, not because of its breed.
(D) German shepherds can function both as police dogs and as Seeing-Eye dogs.（C）
(E) Some breeds of dogs cannot be distinguished from other breeds of dogs by appearance alone.
14. Historically, monetary systems have developed only in population centers with marketplaces. Through the fourth century B.C. Mesopotamian cities engaged in trade, but had never had marketplaces. By that period, however, Greek cities all had marketplaces, or agorae. The Greek cities’ agorae were centrally located and goods were traded there either for money or for commodities.
If all of the statements in the passage are true, then which one of the following must also be true?
(A) In the fourth century B.C. Greek cities were the only population centers with monetary systems.
(B) The development of monetary systems has historically led to the development of marketplaces.
(C) In the fourth century B.C. the Greeks and the Mesopotamians traded with each other.
(D) After the fourth century B.C. Mesopotamian cities had marketplaces and monetary systems.（E）
(E) The Mesopotamian cities of the fourth century B.C. did not have monetary systems.
Questions 15-16
Computer operating system software has become increasingly standardized. But when a large business with multiple, linked computer systems uses identical operating system software on all of its computers, a computer vandal who gains access to one computer automatically has access to the data on all the computers. Using a program known as a “virus,” the vandal can then destroy much of the data on all the computers. If such a business introduced minor variations into its operating system software, unauthorized access to all the computers at the same time could be virtually eliminated. Furthermore variations in operating system software can be created without any lose of computer compatibility to the business. Therefore, it is advisable for businesses to implement such variations.
15. Which one of the following, if true, supports the conclusion in the passage?
(A) Standardization of computer operating system software has increased computer compatibility among different businesses.
(B) Correcting any damage resulting from an invasion by a computer virus program is more expensive than preventing the damage.
(C) It is not costly for a business to maintain incompatible computer operating systems.
(D) There are other kinds of destructive computer programs that do not depend on intercomputer links.（B）
(E) Not all businesses need to share date among their internal computer systems.
16. Which one of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(A) If a business does not introduce variety into its computer operating systems, it will lose data on its computers because of damage from virus programs.
(B) If a computer virus program is introduced into a business computer, all of the data on that computer will be destroyed.
(C) If a business introduces variety into its linked computer operating systems, it will have increased overall protection for its systems, but will not have protected every computer from viral invasion.
(D) If a business does not have multiple, linked computer systems, its computers cannot be protected from computer viruses.（C）
(E) If minor variations are created in computer operating system software, it will be easier to access the data on the computers that use that software.
17. It is the mark of a superior conductor that he or she has the authority to insist, even with a top orchestra, that rehearsal work must be intensified. This authority cannot simply be claimed, the conductor must earn it by winning the orchestra’s respect for the artistic interpretations he or she is currently pursuing.
In taking the position outlined, the author presupposes which one of the following?
(A) Superior conductors devise different interpretations of composition for each orchestra with which they perform it.
(B) Superior conductors are perfectionists who are never satisfied with any performance even by a top orchestra.
(C) Top orchestras are always ready to put in additional work on rehearsals if the conductor considers additional rehearsing necessary.
(D) Top orchestras can appreciate the merits of an interpretation even before they have brought it to full realization.（D）
(E) Even top orchestras are not always led by superior conductors.
18. In the United States proven oil reserves—the amount of oil considered extractable from known fields—are at the same level as they were ten years ago. Yet over this same period no new oil fields of any consequence have been discovered, and the annual consumption of domestically produced oil has increased.
Which one of the following, if true, best reconciles the discrepancy described above?
(A) Over the past decade the annual consumption of imported oil has increased more rapidly than that of domestic oil in the United States.
(B) Conservation measures have lowered the rate of growth of domestic oil consumption from what it was a decade ago.
(C) Oil exploration in the United States has slowed due to increased concern over the environmental impact of such exploration.
(D) The price of domestically produced oil has fallen substantially over the past decade.（E）
(E) Due to technological advances over the last decade, much oil previously considered unextractable is now considered extractable.
19. Train service suffers when a railroad combines commuter and freight service. By dividing its attention between its freight and commuter customers, a railroad serves neither particularly well. Therefore, if a railroad is going to be a successful business, then it must concentrate exclusively on one of these two markets.
For the argument to be logically correct, it must make which one of the following assumptions?
(A) Commuter and freight service have little in common with each other.
(B) The first priority of a railroad is to be a successful business.
(C) Unless a railroad serves its customers well, it will not be a successful business.
(D) If a railroad concentrates on commuter service, it will be a successful business.（C）
(E) Railroad commuters rarely want freight service as well.
20. Most people in the United States view neither big nor small business as particularly efficient or dynamic and regard both as providing consumers with fairly priced goods and services. However, most people consistently perceive small business as a force for good in society, whereas big business is perceived as socially responsible only in times of prosperity.
The statements above, if true, would provide the strongest support for which one of the following hypotheses?
(A) Most people in the United States give little thought to the value of business to society.
(B) If big business were more efficient, it would be perceived more favorably by the public generally.
(C) If small business were regarded as being more dynamic, it, too, would receive strongly favorable ratings only in times of general prosperity.
(D) Even if people did not regard big business as providing consumers with value for their money, they would still regard it as socially responsible in times of general prosperity.（E）
(E) Many people in the United States regard the social responsibility of big business as extending beyond providing consumers with fairly priced goods and services.
21. The energy an animal must expend to move uphill is proportional to its body weight, whereas the animal’s energy output available to perform this task is proportional to its surface area. This is the reason that small animals, like squirrel, can run up a tree trunk almost as fast as they can move on level ground, whereas large animals tend to slow down when they are moving uphill.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the explanation above depends?
(A) The amount of energy needed to move uphill is no greater for large animals that it is for small animals.
(B) Small animals can move more rapidly than large animals can.
(C) The ratio of surface area to body weight is smaller in large animals than it is in small animals.
(D) There is little variation in the ratio of energy output to body weight among animals.（C）
(E) The amount of energy needed to run at a given speed is proportional to the surface area of the running animal.
22. The 1980’s have been characterized as a period of selfish individualism that threatens the cohesion of society. But this characterization is true of any time. Throughout history all human actions have been motivated by selfishness. When the deeper implications are considered, even the simplest “unselfish” acts prove to be instances of selfish concern for the human species.
Which one of the following is a flaw in the argument?
(A) The claim that selfishness has been present throughout history is not actually relevant to the argument.
(B) No statistical evidence is provided to show that humans act selfishly more often than act unselfishly.
(C) The argument assumes that selfishness is unique to the present age.
(D) The argument mentions only humans and does not consider the behavior of other species.（E）
(E) The argument relies on two different uses of the term selfish.
23. A medical journal used a questionnaire survey to determine whether a particular change in its format would increase its readership. Sixty-two percent of those who returned the questionnaire supported that change. On the basis of this outcome, the decision was made to introduce the new format.
Which one
of the following, if it were determined to be true, would provide the best
evidence that the journal’s decision will have the desired effect?
(A) Of the readers who received questionnaires, 90 percent returned them.
(B) Other journals have based format changes on survey results.
(C) The percentage of surveyed readers who like the format change was almost the same as the percentage of the entire potential readership who would like format change.
(D) It was determined that the new format would be less costly than the old format.（C）
(E) Ninety percent of the readers who were dissatisfied with the old format and only 50 percent of the readers who like the old format returned their questionnaires.
Questions 24-25
Shanna: Owners of any work of art, simply by virtue of ownership, ethically have the right to destroy that artwork if they find morally or aesthetically distasteful, or if caring for it becomes inconvenient.
Jorge: Ownership of unique artworks, unlike ownership of other kinds of objects, carries the moral right to possess but not to destroy. A unique work of art with aesthetic or historical value belongs to posterity and so must be preserved, whatever the personal wishes of its legal owner.
24. Which one of the following principles, if accepted, would contribute most to Shanna’s defense of her position against that of Jorge?
(A) Truly great works of art are never morally or aesthetically distasteful to any serious student of the history of art.
(B) The right of future generations to have their artistic heritage preserved is of greater importance than the rights of any presently living individual.
(C) It would be imprudent to allow the present stock of artworks to be destroyed without some guarantee that the artists of the future will produce works as great as those produced in the past.
(D) There are certain entities over which no one would be ethically justified in claiming absolute rights to ownership.（E）
(E) The autonomy of individuals to do what they wish with what is theirs must not be compromised, in the absence of a threat to anyone’s health or safety.
25. On the basis of their statements, Shanna and Jorge are committed to disagreeing about the truth of which one of the following statements?
(A) Anyone who owns a portrait presenting his or her father in an unflattering light would for that reason alone be ethically justified in destroying it.
(B) People who own aesthetically valuable works of art have no moral obligation to make them available for public viewing.
(C) Valuable paintings by well-known artists are seldom intentionally damaged or destroyed by their owners.
(D) If a piece of sculpture is not unique, its owner has no ethical obligation to preserve it if doing so proves burdensome.（A）
(E) It is legally permissible for a unique and historically valuable mural to be destroyed by its owner if he or she tires of it.
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. Radioactive waste from nuclear power plants has been temporarily stored on-site, but this is not a satisfactory kind of place for long-range storage. Since no suitable plan of safe permanent storage of such waste from the nation’s existing and planned nuclear plants has been devised, some people propose that we should stop trying to develop such a plan and instead should shut down all present nuclear plants and build no new nuclear plants.
The proposal mentioned above falls short of offering a complete solution to the problem it addresses because
(A) it would prevent the development of safe technologies for the producing electric power
(B) it does not distinguish between nuclear plants that have, and plants that do not have, a reputation for operating safely
(C) it does not provide for the permanent storage of already existing waste
(D) the generation of electric power from fossil fuels is relatively safe（C）
(E) the risks of unsafe disposal of waste from nuclear power plants lie in the future, but the benefits from such plants are in the present
2. Only 1,000 to 2,000 species of fruit flies exist worldwide. Nowhere in the world are fruit flies more taxonomically diverse than in the Hawaiian islands, which host some 500 species, A subset of fruit flies called the picture-winged drosophilids is represented in Hawaii by 106 species. All of the fruit fly species now present in the Hawaiian archipelago are thought to be the descendants of the same one or two ancestral females.
Which one of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(A) All of the picture-winged drosophilids in Hawaii are believed to be the descendants of the same one or two ancestral female fruit flies.
(B) Picture-winged drosophilids are found only in the Hawaiian Islands.
(C) All of the 1,000 to 2,000 species of fruit flies worldwide are believed to be the descendants of one or two females.
(D) If 500 new species of fruit flies were discovered, then Hawaiian fruit flies would no longer be the most taxonomically diverse population.（A）
(E) Some fruit flies originated in Hawaii and spread from there to other parts of the world.
3. In 1860 Bavarian quarry workers discovered the impression of a feather in a limestone slab dating to the Mesozoic era. It had previously been assumed that birds developed only after the close of the Mesozoic era and after the disappearance of pterosaurs, a species characteristic of that era. But there in limestone lay the imprint of a fully aerodynamic, three-inch-long feather. This, therefore, must have been the earliest bird—certainly the earliest found to the date.
The argument assumes which one of the following?
(A) The creature to which the feather belonged was a descendant of the pterosaurs.
(B) Birds with such feathers were preceded by species of birds with less-developed feathers.
(C) In the Mesozoic era, no creatures other than birds had such feathers.
(D) The feather belonged to a Mesozoic creature that was neither a pterosaur nor a bird, but intermediate between them.（C）
(E) The earliest bird flew in an awkward manner.
4. State researchers have found that since the oil price increases of the 1970s, there has been a decline in home energy consumption. They concluded that almost all of the decline has been achieved through reduced standards of living and changes in the way people spend their time.
Each of the following, if true, would support the conclusion above EXCEPT:
(A) Sales of portable heaters rose as families concentrated their winter activities in a limited number of rooms.
(B) During the winter months, more people frequented public places such as libraries and community centers and, on the average, spent considerably longer periods in them than they had previously.
(C) More than 39 percent of households were able to decrease energy costs substantially by having relatively inexpensive work done to improve the efficiency of their existing heating systems.
(D) At least 59 percent of households maintained a lower indoor temperature than they had been accustomed to maintain on very cold days.（C）
(E) Members of at least 60 percent of households showered for shorter periods of time than they had previously.
5. Senator Strongwood reported that, contrary to a study cited by the administration, a thorough study by his own party concluded that a reduction in the capital gains tax would lead to an increase in the federal deficit. “Hooray for common sense,” he said. “Everyone knows that when you cut taxes you lose revenue.” He concluded that the administration’s plan for reducing the capital gains tax was now dead, because he could not imagine any senator voting to increase the deficit.
Which one of the following accurately describes something Senator Strongwood does in advancing his argument?
(A) He implies that increasing the capital gains tax would decrease the federal deficit.
(B) He assumes senators will believe his party’s report instead of the administration’s.
(C) He resorts to name-calling by expressly stating that his opponents lack common sense.
(D) He assumes that senators will rarely vote for unpopular legislation.（B）
(E) He assumes that a study commissioned by his party must be more objective than one commissioned by the administration.
6. The most successful economies have been, and will continue to be, those that train as many people as possible in the human skills required to research, to develop, and to apply new technology. Japan is a model for this sort of training effort. Europe as a whole is in a weaker position: there is a shortage of skilled labor trained to use the new technologies and there are not enough scientists able to develop and apply the technology. However, even in Japan there is a shortage of technically qualified people, and, like most European countries, Japan has far too many workers qualified to perform only menial tasks.
Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the passage?
(A) There is a greater worldwide shortage of research scientists than there is of engineers.
(B) Japan is not the best country against which to measure a country’s economic success.
(C) Japan’s successful economy depends upon an uncommonly narrow base of highly skilled labor.
(D) To be economically more successful, Europe needs to train more people in the new technologies.（D）
(E) European countries have economies that are more successful than those of most other countries.
7. When Cortez arrived in Mexico in A.D. 1519, he observed the inhabitants playing a ceremonial game with a rubber ball. The pre-Columbian inhabitants of Mexico began to use rubber around A.D. 1000. Thus we can be sure that the game must have originated sometime between approximately A.D. 1000 and Cortez arrival.
The conclusion reached above depends on which one of the following assumptions?
(A) The pre-Columbian inhabitants of Mexico played games on all ceremonial occasions.
(B) The making of rubber balls was one of the earliest uses of rubber by the inhabitants of Mexico.
(C) The ceremonial game referred to was popular throughout Mexico.
(D) The game had been played since its inception with a rubber ball.（D）
(E) The dating of the first use of rubber in Mexico was due to Cortez.
8. The Baysville Chamber of Commerce recently met to discuss a proposal to beautify the Baysville area’s freeways by relocating power lines, adding landscaping and removing billboards. At the meeting Mary Simms, who was representing an outdoor advertising company, declared, “Billboards are the basis of our business. If they are torn down, our ability to earn a living will be severely damaged.” “I don’t agree,” said Jack Jordan, a local merchant, “The basis of our business is an attractive community. People who might shop in Baysville don’t want to see ugly billboards on their way into town. Billboards are hurting our ability to earn a living.”
Jack Jordan a remarks suggest that he is misinterpreting which one of the following words used by Mary Simms?
(A) billboards
(B) basis
(C) our
(D) ability（C）
(E) damaged
9. Some people are Montagues and some people are Capulets.
No Montague can be crossed in love.
All Capulets can be crossed in love.
Therefore, Capulets are not Montagues.
Anyone who is not a Montague is intemperate.
Assume that all of the statements in the passage are true. If it is also true that no Montague is intemperate, then which one of the following must be true?
(A) The only people who can be crossed in live are intemperate Capulets.
(B) Anyone who is not a Capulet is a Montagues.
(C) All intemperate people can be crossed in love.
(D) All intemperate people are Capulets.（E）
(E) All Capulets are intemperate.
10. The formation of hurricanes that threaten the Unite States mainland is triggered by high atmospheric winds off the western coast Africa. When abundant rain falls in sub-Saharan Africa, hurricanes afterward hit the United States mainland with particular frequency. Therefore, the abundant rains must somehow promote the ability of the winds to form hurricanes.
Which one of the following arguments contains a flaw that is most similar to one in the argument above?
(A) People who exercise vigorously tend to sleep well. Therefore, people who exercise vigorously tend to be healthy.
(B) Cars drive faster on long city blocks than on short city blocks. Long blocks are thus more dangerous for pedestrians than short blocks.
(C) Many people who later become successful entrepreneurs played competitive sports in college. Therefore, playing competitive sports must enhance a person’s entrepreneur ability.
(D) The blossoms of the chicory plant close up in full sun. Therefore the chicory plant’s blossoms must open up in the dark.（C）
(E) Events in Eastern Europe can affect the political mood in Central America. Therefore liberalization in Eastern Europe will lead to liberalization in Central America.
11. It is even more important that we criticize democracies that have committed human rights violations than that we criticize dictatorships that have committed more violent human rights offenses. Human rights violations are always inexcusable, but those committed by governments that represent the will of the people are even more reprehensible than those committed by dictators. Further, our criticism is more likely to have an effect on the former than on the later.
Which one of the following is a proper inference from the passage?
(A) All governments commit same inexcusable and reprehensible acts.
(B) Some human rights violations are more reprehensible than other, more violent human rights violations.
(C) Criticism of human rights violations is certain to have no effect on a dictatorship.
(D) Human rights violations are more likely to occur in democracies than in dictatorship.（B）
(E) Those who do represent the will of the people are less likely to be moved by criticism than are those who merely claim to represent the will of the people.
12. A recent study found that snoring, though not common in either group, is more common among smokers than among nonsmokers. On the basis of this evidence, the author hypothesized that smoking by itself can induce snoring.
Which one of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the author’s hypothesis?
(A) Stress induces both snoring and smoking in certain individuals.
(B) Obesity induces many individuals to smoke.
(C) Most snorers do not smoke.
(D) Most smokers do not snore.（A）
(E) Both smoking and snoring cause throat problems.
Questions 13-14
The press reports on political campaigns these days as if they were chess games. One candidate’s campaign advisor makes a move; the other candidate’s advisor makes a countermove. The press then reports on the campaign advisors and not on the candidates. The losers in the chess game are the voters. They are deprived of the information they need to make informed decisions because the press is ignoring substantive policy issues and reporting only on the process of the campaign. It is clear that the campaign advisors should stay out of the limelight and let the press report on the most revealing positions on substantive issues the candidates have taken.
13. Which one of the following is an assumption upon which the argument in the passage depends?
(A) Chess is the most appropriate analogy to reporting on political campaign.
(B) The candidates in the election are taking positions on substantive policy issues.
(C) How the press reports politics determines the substantive issues in the campaign.
(D) The voters are not paying enough attention to the election to be able to make informed decisions.（B）
(E) There is no difference between reporting on the political process and reporting on substantive issues.
14. Which one of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(A) The candidates prefer that the press report on substantive policy issues.
(B) The press enjoys being in the limelight during political campaigns.
(C) The candidates believe political campaigning is analogous to a chess game.
(D) The reporters find it easier to report on the processes and personalities of a campaign than on substantive policy issues.（E）
(E) Reporting on the campaign advisors is not providing all of the information the voters need in order to make informed decisions.
15. Studies of brain lateralization in animals have purported to show that, whereas most human beings are right-handed, about half of any given group of animals will be “left-handed” (i.e. showing a preference for their left limbs) and half will be “right-handed.” This finding is suspect, however; it has long been noted that dogs will almost always “shake hands” with the right paw.
Which one of the following, if true, is the strongest defense against the counterexample of dogs that “shake hands”?
(A) Dogs are observed to scratch themselves with the left leg as well as with the right leg.
(B) People who observe dog “shaking hands” are observing a behavior that dogs perform only with a front paw.
(C) Left-handed people sometimes feel inconvenienced or even stigmatized in a “right-handed world,” but dogs face no analogous difficulties.
(D) Dogs that have lost a limb are able to compensate for the loss, regardless of whether the limb was lost from the right or left side.（E）
(E) In learning to perform tricks, dogs are influenced by the behavior of their trainers.
16. Professor: If both parents have type O blood then their children can only have type O blood. This is a genetic law.
Student: But that’s not true; my father has type B blood and I have type O blood.
The student has most likely misinterpreted the professor’s remark to imply that
(A) only people with type O blood can have children with type O blood
(B) people with type O blood cannot have children with type B blood
(C) people with type B blood invariably have children with type O blood
(D) what is true of one child in the family must also be true of all children that family（A）
(E) if both parents have type B blood, then their child will have type B blood
17. A recent survey of brand preferences showed that R-Bar Beans are considered the best of all brands among all age groups, leading both Texas T Beans and Aunt Sally’s Beans by a wide margin. However, the national sales figures show that Texas T and Aunt Sally’s each sold many more cans of beans last year than did R-Bar.
Each of the following would, by itself, help to resolve the apparent paradox described in the passage EXCEPT:
(A) Texas T Beans and Aunt Sally’s Beans are each much less expensive than R-Bar Beans.
(B) Some of the surveyed age groups showed more of a preference for R-Bar Beans than did others.
(C) The survey was carried out only in the small geographic area where R-Bar distributes its beans, not nationwide.
(D) Most food stores refuse to carry R-Bar Beans because the manufacturer demands that R-Bar Beans be carried exclusively.（B）
(E) R-Bar Beans were only introduced to the market three months prior to the calculation of sales figures, while Texas T Beans and Aunt Sally’s Beans had been available for years.
18. Several cosmetics firms are committed to the active development, validation, and adoption of new product-safety tests that use cultures of human cells. They argue that the new tests serve to reduce the need for tests on live animals.
The statements above most strongly support which one of the following conclusions?
(A) The pressure on cosmetics firms to cease conducting experiments that use live animals was initiated by groups of social activists.
(B) Consumers are no more likely to buy products whose safety was tested on cultures of human cells than they to buy products whose safety was tested on animals.
(C) Financial consultants for the cosmetics firms believe that using human cell cultures rather than live animals to test product safety will cost the firm less in actual product-development costs.
(D) Researchers in the cosmetics firms believe that fewer tests of products will be needed if cell cultures rather than live animals are used.（E）
(E) Managers of the cosmetics firms believe that it is better for their firms not to perform tests on live animals if there is an acceptable alternative way of determining product safety.
Questions 19-20
Can any research be found to validate the contention that those who spend time plucking out their gray hairs have more negative attitudes toward the elderly than those who shrug their shoulders about their gray hairs? Unless a person’s psychopathology leads him or her to overgeneralize, there is no necessary connection. Certainly it is reasonable to like the elderly yet dislike the idea of impaired eyesight and hearing. Furthermore, holding negative attitudes toward older people merely because they are old is immoral, according to nearly universally accepted ethical standards. But there is nothing immoral about disliking some concomitants of the aging process.
19. Which one of the following best expresses the main point of the passage?
(A) It cannot be assumed that people who dislike some of the physical concomitants of growing old necessarily have negative feelings toward the elderly.
(B) To dislike some of the physical concomitants of growing old is reasonable, while to dislike the elderly is immoral.
(C) Since no one likes the physical concomitants of growing old, it is wrong to dislike the elderly merely because of their physical characteristics.
(D) Being elderly is fine, but the process of becoming elderly is not, and people need to understand this distinction between the two.（A）
(E) To dislike the elderly is immoral, and to do so just because one dislikes some of the physical concomitants of growing old is unreasonable.
20. In order to advance her point of view, the author does all of the following EXCEPT:
(A) dismiss an assertion as unfounded
(B) appeal to reason
(C) appeal to a general principle
(D) discredit a common stereotype about the elderly（D）
(E) make a distinction about attitudes
21. A society in which there are many crimes, such as thefts and murders, should not be called “lawless.” That is an abuse of the meaning of words. As a suffix, “-less” means “without,” so “lawless” means “without laws.” However, a society that has no laws has no crimes, because no laws can be broken. A lawless society would, therefore, be a crimeless society. So what some have termed a lawless society should actually be called “crimeful.”
If the statements in the passage are true, which one of the following must also be true?
(A) A society that has laws has crimes.
(B) A society that has no crimes has no laws.
(C) A society that has many laws has many crimes.
(D) A society that has some crimes has some laws.（D）
(E) A society that has many crimes has many laws.
22. A fourteen-year study of finches on the Galapagos islands concluded that there is a definite relationship between climate and the population size of finch species that thrive at various times. During droughts, more members of large finch species survive because their bills are large enough to crack large, hard seeds, giving them a food supply unavailable to smaller birds. In rainy years, fewer members of the large finch species survive because the additional moisture fosters the growth of plants that produce small seeds. The larger finch varieties have to consume enormous numbers of small seeds to meet their energy demands, and some just cannot eat them fast enough.
Which one of the following must be assumed in order to justify the conclusion that climatic variations cause a major difference in survival rates of small and large finches?
(A) During drought conditions, the weather promotes the growth of plants that produce small, hard seeds.
(B) A lengthy period of rainy weather results in fewer large, hard seeds being produced.
(C) In rainy periods, the small finches gather enough food to grow much larger and heavier, but their ultimate size is limited by their inability to eat small seeds fast.
(D) The Galapagos climate during this fourteen year period had about as much dry weather as it had wet weather.（B）
(E) Small seeds do not have to be cracked open in order to be digested by any of the finch varieties.
23. Mr. Blatt: Expert consultants are sought after by management because they help executives make better decisions. That is why they are worth the substantial fees they charge.
Ms. Fring: Nonsense. Expert consultants are hired in order to enable executives to avoid responsibility. The more the experts cost, the more they can be blamed when things go wrong.
Which one of the following, if it occurred, would be the strongest evidence favoring Ms. Fring’s position over Mr. Blatt’s position?
(A) A company that is trying to decide whether to move its manufacturing plant hires an expensive expert to conduct a cost/benefit analysis.
(B) Two competing companies faced with very similar problems adopt different solutions.
(C) A successful firm of expert consultants seeks to increase its volume of business by reducing its fees, but its volume of business drops.
(D) An expert consultant builds up a successful business by charging clients a substantial percentage of the amount an independent assessor judges that the consultant saved the company.（C）
(E) A company follows a consultant’s advice to open two new stores, but both stores are only marginally profitable at first.
24. Although all contemporary advertising tries to persuade, only a small portion of contemporary advertising can be considered morally reprehensible. It nevertheless follows that some attempts at persuasion can be regarded as morally reprehensible.
Which one
of the following, in its logical features, most closely parallels the reasoning
used in passage?
(A) None of the chemicals used for cleaning the Sistine Chapel will affect the original dyes. Hence, the colors used by Michelangelo will be fully restored.
(B) Not all operational tracking studies are conducted to illustrate exact corporate returns on investment. Hence, some of these studies are not reliable.
(C) A good manager always makes important decisions on the basis of adequate data, although of course some managers fail to do this. It follows that some managers are not good managers.
(D) There is a direct correlation between the number of times you repeat something and the degree to which you retain it. Therefore, repetition is always a critical factor in remembering.（E）
(E) Some short poems are thematically pluralistic, since some sonnets are characterized by such pluralism, and all sonnets are short poems.
TEST 17
SECTION III
|
1. A |
2. B |
3. E |
4. D |
5. C |
|
6. A |
7. A |
8. B |
9. A |
10. C |
|
11. B |
12. D |
13. C |
14. E |
15. B |
|
16. C |
17. D |
18. E |
19. C |
20. E |
|
21. C |
22. E |
23. C |
24. E |
25. A |
SECTION IV
|
1. C |
2. A |
3. C |
4. C |
5. B |
|
6. D |
7. D |
8. C |
9. E |
10. C |
|
11. B |
12. A |
13. B |
14. E |
15. E |
|
16. A |
17. B |
18. E |
19. A |
20. D |
|
21. D |
22. B |
23. C |
24. E |
25.
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Where's My Stuff? |
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