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TEST 18
SECTION II
Time 35 minutes 26 Questions
Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages...
1. An office building at State University contains a concrete stairway, the carpet on which has become worn and frayed. Despite numerous warnings by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the university has not replaced a burned-out light in the stairway. Fred, a student, recently caught his heel in the torn carpet, tripped, and fell down the stairway. He was hospitalized for a severe concussion and other injuries. After his release from the hospital, he required much more medical attention and medication and had to withdraw from the university for a semester. He brings suit against the university.
Which one of the following is the best line of causal analysis for Fred’s attorney to pursue in the personal injury case?
(A) The concrete steps, because they were hard, worsened Fred’s injuries.
(B) The university is responsible for the condition of the carpet.
(C) The burned-out light constitutes negligence.
(D) The distance Fred fell worsened his injuries.（B）
(E) The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has no jurisdiction over the university.
2. Research shows that exercise has a beneficial effect on health. After much testing with many different types of persons, it has been shown that, in most cases, exercise definitely helps to prevent illnesses caused by viruses. The common cold is caused by a virus. Therefore______
Which one of the following is the best completion of the argument above?
(A) exercise alone will not prevent the common cold
(B) exercise is no more effective than antibiotics in preventing the common cold
(C) exercise is probably not effective in preventing colds caused by bacteria
(D) exercise helps the body to destroy invading viruses（E）
(E) exercise may help to prevent the common cold
3. Just a few years ago salmon could not survive in the oxygen-starved and polluted Thames. Nor could many other species. But now, after years of determined effort, the salmon have returned, and that is a sure sign that the river is pollution-free.
Each of the following indicates a possible flaw in the reasoning in the passage above EXCEPT:
(A) The salmon that have returned may be of a strain that is unaffected by the pollutants.
(B) The pollution may have been reduced to a level at which the salmon can survive.
(C) Oxygen starvation is often a consequence of pollution, and this may have killed the salmon.
(D) The salmon may have been killed by one particular pollutant, which has now been removed while others remain.（C）
(E) There may still be pollution, but its nature may have changed to a form that salmon can tolerate.
4. The state’s licensing procedures for day-care providers are inadequate. I used to leave my son with a wonderful woman who kept a group of neighborhood children, but she quit rather than put up with the licensing paperwork. And a friend of mine tells me that he cannot recommend the day-care center that he uses, even though it is licensed, because the care providers are not interested in doing anything beyond meeting the minimum requirements of health and safety.
The author of the passage argues by
(A) providing examples to support two opposing positions
(B) basing a conclusion on specific cases
(C) disputing evidence cited by those with an opposing point of view
(D) predicting personal experience from a general principle（B）
(E) using a generalization based on observation to undermine a theoretical principle
5. All 250 of the city’s Democratic ward leaders were polled about the number of registered Republicans who became registered Democrats during the year. From the reports of the 20 leaders who replied to the questionnaire, we know that altogether they received a total of 500 former Republicans into the Democratic party within the year. Projecting from this sample, we conclude that at least 6,000 Republicans became Democrats during the year.
Which one of the following statements, if true, most clearly undermines the conclusion?
(A) Several years ago, 5,000 members of the Republican party registered as Democrats.
(B) The more than 90 percent of ward leaders not replying had no former Republicans registering as Democrats.
(C) Because they were too busy, more than 90 percent of the ward leaders did not reply.
(D) A number of the newly registered Democrats returned to the Republican party at a later date.（B）
(E) Similar figures can be produced from past years for registration changes from the Democratic party to the Republican party.
6. A linguist recently argued that all human languages must have a common origin because some concepts are universal; that is, they appear in all languages. For example, all languages are capable of describing lightness and darkness.
Which one of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the argument?
(A) The Burmese language does not contain basic nouns like automobile and airplane.
(B) No one linguist could possibly speak all known languages.
(C) All speakers, regardless of their languages, are confronted with similar stimuli like lightness and darkness.
(D) The similarity between human language and dolphin language has not been attributed to a common origin.（C）
(E) Some languages include concepts of which speakers of other languages are not even aware.
7. All psychiatrists are doctors. Only psychiatrists were invited to the conference. All who were invited to the conference stayed at the Hefford Hotel. Therefore, only psychiatrists stayed at the Hefford Hotel.
Which one of the following statements, if added as a premise to the argument, would make the conclusion valid?
(A) Only those who were invited to the conference stayed at the Hefford Hotel.
(B) All who were invited to the conference were psychiatrists.
(C) All psychiatrists were invited to the conference.
(D) No one who was invited to the conference failed to stay at the Hefford Hotel.（A）
(E) Only doctors stayed at the Hefford Hotel.
Questions 8-9
A thing is “nauseous” if it makes one sick to the stomach; the unfortunate victim of this malaise is “nauseated.” The common misuse of “nauseous” can be illustrated with the following sentence: “When he sits too long, turns his head too abruptly, or walks any distance, he gets dizzy, loses balance, and becomes nauseous.” He doesn’t become nauseous unless he turns other people’s stomachs; he becomes nauseated. A person who is nauseated is no more nauseous than a person who has been poisoned is poisonous.
8. Based on the passage above, which phrase does NOT provide a logical completion to the following sentence?
A person who is nauseated is no more nauseous than a person who has been______
(A) murdered is murderous
(B) corrupted is corruptible
(C) awed is awesome
(D) irritated is irritating（B）
(E) scared is scary
9. The author’s approach in the passage includes all of the following EXCEPT:
(A) explaining how a word is misused
(B) drawing an analogy
(C) providing an example
(D) relying on a word’s ambiguous meaning（D）
(E) defining key terms
10. Therapy, whether physical or social, is a counterirritant that aids in that equilibrium of the physical organs that protects the central nervous system. Whereas pleasure is a counterirritant (for example, sports, entertainment, and alcohol), comfort is the removal of irritants. Both pleasure and comfort are strategies of equilibrium for the central nervous system.
It can be concluded from the statements above that the exile of a deviant member of a group can be
(A) therapeutic for the rest of the group
(B) irritating for the rest of the group
(C) pleasurable for the rest of the group
(D) comforting for the rest of the group（D）
(E) counter irritating for the rest of the group
11. The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But she will not go if I stay. So we will both have to go.
What is the flaw in the reasoning above?
(A) The first claim, that the situation has gotten worse, is irrelevant.
(B) A possible course of action is overlooked.
(C) It is assumed that staying is the same as not going.
(D) The conclusion refers to a possibility that is not explicitly referred to in any of the premises.（B）
(E) Insufficient information is given about the circumstances.
12. Student X: I’m worried about failing the course.
Student Y: Don’t worry. As the professor said, any student who fails to submit a term paper will fail the course. So just make sure that you submit a term paper, and you will not fail the course.
Which one of the following exhibits the same logical flaw as that exhibited in student Y’s remark?
(A) Any restaurant that serves paella without saffron is not authentic. So if the restaurant serves paella with turmeric instead of saffron, it is authentic.
(B) Any native fishers who earn their livings by fishing the local rivers and lakes are worth hiring as guides. So a person who is a native fisher is worth hiring as a guide.
(C) Anyone who can consistently bowl over 200 points per game should become a professional bowler. If you can consistently bowl over 200 points per game, you should become a professional bowler.
(D) Any engineer who cannot solve the equation in a reasonable amount of time will not get a license. So if you are an engineer who can solve the equation in a reasonable amount of time, you will get a license.（D）
(E) Any cook who is in a hot kitchen will leave the kitchen. If you are a cook in a kitchen that is hot, you will be forced to leave the kitchen.
13. Trade protection is bad policy. Take the case of the microcomputer industry. The United States government attempted to restore the computer chip market to United States manufacturers, who had ceased production in the face of an abundant supply of cheap chips from foreign manufacturers. Under trade protection, it was expected that, as government-imposed quotas and excise taxes forced the price of foreign chips to rise, United States manufactures would reenter the market. They did, but at only slightly lower prices than the now-high prices of foreign firms. The lesson has been simple: trade protection means that United States manufactures gain while United States consumers lose.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the author’s argument relies?
(A) It is unreasonable to expect that government-imposed quotas and excise taxes will reduce prices for United States consumers.
(B) United States manufacturers of computer chips are more concerned with high profits that are foreign manufacturers.
(C) The United States government’s primary purpose in trade protection is to restore markets and profits to United States manufacturers.
(D) With respect to trade protection, the microcomputer industry is representative of United States industry in general.（D）
(E) The quality of the chips produced by United States manufacturers is better than the quality of the chips produced by foreign manufacturers.
Questions 14-15
Until now, this painting was believed to be a self portrait of the artist, but it probably is not. True, the heavy gold chain worn by the gentleman in the picture is similar to one presented to the artist by the Queen of England after he had painted her portrait. But the sword hanging at the gentleman’s hip suggests that he was a knight, a rank higher than any the artist ever attained.
14. The argument above depends on assuming that the self-portrait would
(A) include objects that are important to the artist
(B) not exaggerate the rank achieved by the artist
(C) be similar to portraits of others whom the artist had painted
(D) be verifiable only through the examination of objects in the painting（B）
(E) not portray the artist engaged in the activity of painting
15. Which one of the following, if true, would most strengthen the author’s argument?
(A) Historians cannot determine whether the artist was ever knighted.
(B) The artist painted only one self-portrait in his entire life.
(C) Several gentlemen of the artist’s day wore heavy gold chains like the one in the painting.
(D) The gentleman in the painting resembles portraits of the artist painted by other artists.（C）
(E) The artist was the only gentleman of his day who received a heavy gold chain from the Queen of England.
16. Colleges boast about the great sizes of their libraries. They quote figures in the hundreds of thousands of volumes, but how many books can a student read in four years—a thousand? What good, then, are all the rest?
Which one
of the following statements most accurately expresses the author’s main
point?
(A) College librarians do not have anything about which they can boast.
(B) No student can read more than a thousand books in four years.
(C) It is silly to boast about a library’s size, regardless of whether the library is large or small.
(D) Unused books are a waste of taxpayers’ money.（E）
(E) College libraries are unnecessarily large.
17. Eli: According to many scientists the widespread production and use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)—e.g., to provide coolant for air conditioners—inevitably leads to their escape into the atmosphere where they destroy the vital ozone layer. In my opinion, the continued use of CFCs by humans is like a harmful habit, which, if unchecked, could have disastrous effects on the user, namely self-destruction. The obvious and necessary cure, therefore, is a complete ban on CFC production and use.
Mark: The cure you propose would kill, not save, the user. A ban on CFC production and use would cause the destruction of the air conditioning industry.
The source of Mark, and Eli’s dispute is their lack of agreement on which one of the following terms?
(A) cure
(B) user
(C) ban
(D) production（B）
(E) destruction
18. If there is a decrease in the number of homeless families, then either the number of available jobs has increased or else the cost of renting or purchasing housing has decreased. If the cost of renting or purchasing housing has decreased, then the supply of housing must be greater than the demand.
Assume that there is a decrease in the number of homeless families. According to the passage, which one of the following statements CANNOT be true?
(A) The number of jobs has been decreasing.
(B) The cost of renting or purchasing housing has been decreasing, and housing supply exceeds demand.
(C) The number of jobs has been increasing, and the cost of renting or purchasing housing has been stable.
(D) The number of jobs has been decreasing, the cost of renting or purchasing housing has been decreasing, and housing demand exceeds supply.（D）
(E) The number of jobs has been increasing, the cost of renting or purchasing housing has been increasing, and housing supply exceeds demand.
19. Everyone knew that if the team’s star player were too badly injured to play in Saturday’s game, the team would lose. Since the team won, the star player must have played.
Which one of the following is most similar in logic to the argument above?
(A) Red spots on the feet are a symptom of a disease called borosis. This patient has green spots on his feet; therefore, he does not have borosis.
(B) If the frost comes late, the farmer has a good crop. Because the frost was late, the farmer must have a good crop.
(C) The instructor in a course ruled that if a student received an A on either the term paper or the final exam, then the student would receive an A for the course. Anne received an A on the term paper and a C on the final exam. Therefore, Anne received an A for the course.
(D) People in driving school realized that if Pete had another auto accident, he would be expelled from the driving school. Pete was not expelled from the driving school. Therefore, he must not have had another auto accident.（D）
(E) If Swenson pays a $100 fine, he will not be expelled from the country club. Because Swenson has not been expelled, he must have paid the fine.
20. An examination of corruption provides the basis for rejecting the view that an exact science of society can ever be constructed. As with all other social phenomena that involve deliberate secrecy, it is intrinsically impossible to measure corruption, and this is not merely due to the fact that social science has not yet reached its goal, achievable to be sure, of developing adequate quantifying techniques. If people were ready to answer question about their embezzlements and bribes, it would mean that these practices had acquired the character of legitimate, taxable activities and had ceased to be corrupt. In other words, corruption must disappear if it is to be measurable.
Which one of the following most accurately states a hidden assumption that the author must make in order to advance the argument above?
(A) Some people believe that an exact science of society can be constructed.
(B) The primary purpose of an exact science to quantify and measure phenomena.
(C) An intrinsic characteristic of social phenomena that involve deliberate secrecy is that they cannot be measured.
(D) An exact science of social phenomena that involve deliberate secrecy cannot be constructed.（E）
(E) An exact science can be constructed only when the phenomena it studies can be measured.
Questions 21-22
This country does not need any more restrictions on pollution. In fact, we should abolish those that are currently on the books. In spite of various restrictions, pollution levels have actually increased over the past 40 years. Most importantly, dramatic statistics show that, as pollution levels have increased over this period, the general health of the population has improved rather than deteriorated.
21. Which one of the following assertions, if true, provides the most effective challenge to the author’s conclusion?
(A) The general health of this country’s population has improved over the past 40 years primarily because of new advances in medicine and nutrition, not because of pollution.
(B) There are several countries in the world in which there have been no restrictions on pollution over the past 40 years, and pollution levels have actually increased.
(C) Similar statistics show that, in several countries, the general health of the population has improved over the past 40 years, while pollution levels have actually decreased.
(D) Pollution levels would have increased even more than they have and the general health of the population would not have improved as much as it has without the restrictions that have been on the books.（D）
(E) In the period prior to the past 40 years, pollution restrictions were nonexistent in this country and the general health of the population improved at a far slower rate than it did during the past 40 years.
22. The author concludes that there should be no restrictions on pollution partly because
(A) they are no longer needed to improve the general health of the population
(B) they reduce the positive effect that pollution has on the general health of the population
(C) statistics show that as pollution restrictions have increased so have pollution levels
(D) pollution has not yet reached levels that are detrimental to the health of the general population（E）
(E) they are ineffective in lowering pollution levels
23. In metropolitan areas, almost 60 percent of all fires are set by children, while in rural areas about 40 percent are. A psychological survey discovered that all children who play with fire believe that there will be no consequences if their parents catch them doing it.
Which one of the following inferences can be most reliably drawn from the passage above?
(A) Most children who believe there will no consequences if they are discovered playing with fire do play with fire.
(B) Parents who discover their children playing with fire will prevent those children from playing with fire in the future.
(C) If parents have successfully instilled in their children the belief that there will be consequences if they are caught playing with fire, these children have not been among those playing with fire.
(D) Children who play with fire attach no sense of right or wrong to this action.（C）
(E) Most children who do not play with fire believe there will be consequences if their parents discover them playing with fire.
24. Somewhere, somehow, what was once a perfectly good rule by which to live was twisted into the false and sinister idea that “Money is the root of all evil.” To the contrary, the proper use of money provides us with the food, clothes, health care, and shelter that we all need to sustain our lives.
The author’s argument is logically flawed in that it
(A) uses examples that do not refute the generalization that all evil is rooted in money
(B) uses inappropriate examples to demonstrate the proper use of money
(C) ignores some of the evil things that money can buy
(D) fails to acknowledge that food, clothes, health care, and shelter can sometimes lead to evil（A）
(E) fails to recognize that money can be used for a lot of other good things besides sustenance
25. In a recent experiment, a high school English teacher interspersed real, commonly used proverbs with several nonsensical proverbial-sounding statements that he had made up. He then asked his students to evaluate all of the statements on the list. In general, the students found the bogus proverbs and the real proverbs to be equally full of wisdom and meaning. The teacher concluded that proverbs attain their status as proverbs more through frequent usage than through their inherent wisdom.
Which one of the following, if true, would most effectively challenge the teacher’s conclusion?
(A) Some proverbs are used more frequently than others.
(B) There were more real proverbs than bogus proverbs in the list of statements.
(C) There are stylistic differences between proverbial and proverbial-sounding statements.
(D) Some students view a statement in one way and other students view the same statement in a very different way.（E）
(E) The students selected as evaluators were too inexperienced to judge the wisdom of the statements.
26. It is commonly accepted that we should be concerned about our own physical health. The desire to take responsibility for all aspects of our physical condition, however, produces a number of negative consequences. By focusing exclusively on our physical health, we tend to ignore out mental health. Therefore, although we can derive physical benefits from our preoccupation with physical health, we often do so at the expense of our mental health.
The author establishes her position in the passage by doing which one of the following?
(A) She defends her position and then extends it into a second area.
(B) She reveals a contradiction in a position commonly held to be correct.
(C) She supports a commonly held point of view by providing additional evidence.
(D) She first states her position and then qualifies it with a number of concessions（E）.
(E) She argues that a popular position can lead to problems if taken to an extreme.
SECTION IV
Time 35 minutes 26 Questions
Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages...
1. The recent increases in health insurance premiums are unnecessary and excessive. While the inflation rate is and has been stable at 5 percent for the past five years, during the same period the average cost of health insurance has increased annually by 10 to 20 percent. Recent studies show that the population is healthier now than ever before, and thus indicate that the insurance companies’ claims of higher health-care costs are unfounded and merely reflect the quest for higher profits.
Which one of the following statements, if true, undermines the conclusion in the passage?
(A) The incidence of lung cancer among men who smoke has decreased in recent years.
(B) Improvements in health have occurred because of a dramatic increase in the use of expensive medical equipment, tests, and drugs.
(C) Increased health insurance premiums will force some people to drop their medical coverage, thus adversely affecting their future health.
(D) Health insurance currently covers fewer health problems than it did in the past.（B）
(E) Though there are fewer health insurance companies today, their earnings are higher than they have ever been.
2. In the open ocean, a shark will catch almost any small fish it decides to attack. The best chance a small fish has, once it is spotted by a hungry shark, it that the shark will promptly find something else to attack. Therefore, one of the benefits gained by small fish that swim in large groups known as schools is a reduced chance of being attacked by a shark.
Which one of the following statements is an assumption on which the author’s argument depends?
(A) Sharks live primarily on a diet of small fish.
(B) Sharks do not eat an entire school of fish at one time.
(C) The sheer number of fish in a school prevents sharks from attacking.
(D) Sharks are the main danger to small fish in the open ocean.（B）
(E) Small fish are able to sense when they are being spotted by sharks.
Questions 3-4
Publicly owned resources will always be abused. Take the example of cattle grazing. Where the individual has free access to publicly owned rangeland, he or she always has an incentive to graze more and more cattle regardless of the consequences, because the benefits are captured by the individual grazer while the costs of reduced range quality are borne by all taxpayers. Private landowners are less likely to abuse their own land, however, because they must pay the entire cost.
3. Which one of the following, if true, would most tend to weaken the author’s argument for the conclusion that publicly owned resources will always be abused?
(A) Many people who privately own resources abuse them in spite of the personal consequences.
(B) Some publicly owned resources are so extensive that it would take widespread abuse before their quality is affected.
(C) Some individuals have no choice but to rely on public resources in the pursuit or their livelihood.
(D) People do not want to lose access to public resources, yet they realize that they will if those resources are ruined through abuse.（D）
(E) Resources are always devalued when everyone has access to them because they are no longer a rare commodity in high demand.
4. Which one of the following could be best supported by the same type of reasoning as that exhibited in the passage?
(A) The supply of beverages at the annual office picnic will last longer if people pay for them on a per-beverage basis rather than everyone in the office being charged a flat fee.
(B) A math teacher provides his students with after-school tutoring on several days because no single day is good for everyone.
(C) A tennis club starts charging flat annual membership fees instead of pay-as-you-play court fees in order to ensure a regular club income.
(D) A social service agency varies its charges for services because some people are able to pay more than others.（A）
(E) A tobacco tax is instituted in order to fund improvements in public education.
5. The city is vigorously enforcing the ordinance against allowing individuals to sleep in the bus depot. The mayor argues that such vigorous enforcement is fair, evenhanded, and administered in the best traditions of equal treatment for all. “No one can sleep in the bus depot,” the mayor has said, “whether you’re homeless or the chief executive of a major corporation.” This brings to mind a remark once made by a political commentator. “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.” It’s time for the mayor to come to his senses.
The
passage as a whole is structured to lead which one of the following
conclusions?
(A) People should not be treated equally with respect to enforcing the ordinance vigorously.
(B) Everyone should be treated equally with respect to enforcing the ordinance vigorously.
(C) The vigorous enforcement of the ordinance does not qualify as equal treatment for all.
(D) The law holds poor people to stricter standards than it does rich people.（C）
(E) In a truly equal legal system, no one would sleep in bus depots.
6. Although physicians are alleged to hide their colleagues’ medical incompetence, today that practice could be professional suicide. Because so many medical advances are well-known by all doctors, obscuring someone’s incompetent procedure is almost impossible when a claimant choose to pursue a case. Thus, in malpractice suits, physicians risk their own reputations if they testify falsely to protect their friends.
Which one of the following is an assumption supporting the conclusion in the passage?
(A) Physicians’ professional success depends upon their good reputations.
(B) Incompetent physicians should be exposed before they commit malpractice.
(C) False testimony is morally wrong regardless of one’s profession.
(D) Physicians should do everything possible to protect themselves from malpractice claims.（A）
(E) Times have changed and physicians today must keep up on all medical advances.
Questions 7-8
The economy is in a dismal state, universities are suffering from cutbacks, and many students must turn to any source of funds available if they are to make ends meet. Faced with this situation, the university has terminated the employment of some of its more productive departmental workers. Why? University regulations prohibit a student’s receiving financial aid and then working for an auxiliary income that exceeds a specified limit. Employees whose incomes had reached that limit were terminated. Now, the university must find other employees. Unfortunately, though, the university’s choice of students to fill the positions will not be based upon their abilities to perform, or even upon their financial need, but upon how much money they have made.
7. It may be concluded from information in the passage that the university
(A) has fired some student-employees and is looking for other student-employees to replace them
(B) has lost some full-time employees and will replace them with part-time student-employees
(C) is looking for new employees to replace some who have quit
(D) anticipates losing some employees and has already begun to seek replacements（A）
(E) anticipates paying new employees lower wages than the former employees received
8. Which one of the following is the best statement or the primary point of the passage?
(A) Good student-employees should be able to obtain financial aid and, at the same time, earn auxiliary incomes without limits.
(B) In the face of a declining economy, universities need to be more lenient in their financial aid policies.
(C) University departments must adhere to the university’s regulations.
(D) Decisions about student employment should be based entirely upon each student’s financial need.（A）
(E) Due to the problems created by a dismal economy, some student-workers have lost their jobs.
Questions 9-10
Any person who drops out of high school will be unemployed unless he or she finds a low-paying job or has relative with good business connections.
9. Which one of the following conclusions CANNOT be validly drawn from the statement above?
(A) Any person who drops out of high school will be unemployed, have a low-paying job, or have relatives with good business connections.
(B) Any high school dropout who has neither a low-paying job nor relatives with good business connections will be unemployed.
(C) Any employed person who has neither a low-paying job nor relatives with good business connections is not a high school dropout.
(D) Any high school dropout who has a job that is not low-paying must have relatives with good business connections.（E）
(E) Any person who has relatives with good business connections and who is not a high school dropout must be employed at a job that is not low-paying.
10. Assume that Tom is employed and does not have a low-paying job. Which one of the following statements, when added to this assumption, contradicts the original statement made in the statement above?
(A) Tom is a high school dropout.
(B) Tom does not have relatives with good business connections.
(C) Tom is a high school dropout and does not have any relatives.
(D) Tom is completed high school and has relatives with good business connections.（C）
(E) Tom has relatives with good business connections.
11. A man who survived a recent train wreck in which several lives were lost was asked whether he was now afraid of taking the train. He reasoned, “I’ve read that the likelihood of a train wreck is about one in every 100,000 times a train leaves a station. So I’ll start fearing for my safety after the trains have logged another 95,000 or so trips.”
The source of the man’s erroneous reasoning is his
(A) misunderstanding of “likelihood” in relation to train wrecks
(B) assumption that all train wrecks are alike
(C) belief that his behavior can prevent train wrecks
(D) failure to recognize that there may be fewer future train trips as a result of the recent wreck（A）
(E) assumption that personal fear and the occurrence of train wrecks are unrelated
Questions 12-13
Chris: Murderers should be sentenced to life in prison, not subjected to the death penalty. A life sentence is enough to deter any convicted murderer from killing again. Moreover, even the worst offenders may subsequently undergo a miraculous rehabilitation—a possibility that is eliminated by the death penalty. The Bird Man of Alcatraz, a notorious convicted murderer, is a case in point. He raised canaries while in prison and ultimately became an acknowledged authority on the subject.
Dana: But the Bird Man of Alcatraz killed another inmate while in prison. What would you do to deter him from committing yet another murder—take away his birds?
12. Each of the following can be inferred from Chris’s argument EXCEPT:
(A) All convicted murderers will be deterred from killing again if given life sentences.
(B) Any convicted murderer could undergo a miraculous rehabilitation.
(C) The Bird Man of Alcatraz is an example of miraculous rehabilitation.
(D) The threat of life imprisonment is adequate to deter potential murderers.（D）
(E) Becoming an acknowledged authority on canaries is evidence of one person’s rehabilitation.
13. Dana most seriously weakens Chris’s argument by doing which one of the following?
(A) making a personal attack on the Bird Man of Alcatraz
(B) giving a counterexample to the principle offered by Chris that life imprisonment is from killing again
(C) showing that it is unlikely that any convicted murderer could undergo a significant rehabilitation
(D) suggesting that Chris’s argument is based on an atypical case（B）
(E) demonstrating that it is impossible to prevent a convicted murderer from committing another murder while in prison
14. Common patterns of fallacious reasoning are endemic to everyday life and once adopted cannot be corrected. Poor reasoning skills waste public and private money, make people less efficient and productive, and diminish our national capacity to compete abroad. But within the past few years, a “thinking skills” movement has arisen. The teaching of reasoning skills is part of this larger movement to make students think more critically. Increasingly, as part of the teaching of decision-making, college students are successfully learning to avoid common patterns of fallacious reasoning that they habitually commit, and, in the process, to acquire sound reasoning skills.
Which one of the following identifies the most serious logical flaw that this passage contains?
(A) The passage fails to establish a connection between the teaching of decision-making and the teaching of reasoning skills.
(B) The passage contradicts itself by both affirming and denying that patterns of fallacious reasoning can be corrected.
(C) The passage uses circular reasoning by first stating that patterns of fallacious reasoning diminish our capacity for competition and then asserting that lack of competition leads to a lessening of skills.
(D) The passage makes an unwarranted inference from improving thinking skills to teaching reasoning skills.（B）
(E) The passage fails to link the teaching of decision-making to the larger movement to make students think more critically.
Questions 15-16
Our society overestimates the contributions of science to the quest for knowledge. Independent of whether great strides have been made in the ability to predict natural events, knowledge at any deeper level, knowledge of things we cannot experience directly, is as illusory as ever. Such knowledge is illusory because incompatible theories may always be postulated to explain observations. How can we “know” which one is correct? Further observations may narrow the possibilities, but there are always alternatives, at least in principle. Who is to say that today’s theories will fare any better than those which, though once accepted, were replaced by wholly different conceptions of nature? It is the height of gullibility or presumption to invest special credence in the current scientific fashion.
15. Which one of the following best expresses the author’s conclusion in the passage?
(A) Science is considerably less valuable than other approaches to producing knowledge.
(B) Changes in and differences among scientific theories do not result in genuine progress.
(C) Scientists should develop more accurate approaches to recording and explaining observations about nature.
(D) The ability of science to produce knowledge is overrated.（D）
(E) Currently accepted scientific theories, however well accepted, are probably self-contradictory.
16. Which one of the following claims is central to the author’s argument?
(A) Alternative explanations are possible for any set of observations about nature.
(B) Science has made substantial progress in the ability to predict natural events.
(C) Science has developed so many theories that it is impossible to know which ones to believe.
(D) It is important that scientists distinguish between prediction and explanation.（A）
(E) The judgment of scientists as to which theories to accept is suspect, as they tend to follow the latest scientific fashion.
17. The recent dramatic increase in commuter airline crashes is caused in large part by pilot inexperience. As a major growth industry, the commuter airlines have recently had a great increase in the demand for experienced pilots. It is impossible to define and assess pilot experience, however. For example, someone with 1000 hours of flight experience as an instructor in Arizona, where the weather is good, cannot be compared to someone with 1000 hours’ experience as a night cargo pilot in the stormy northeastern United States.
The author’s conclusion that the dramatic increase in commuter airline crashes is caused by pilot inexperience is most weakened by the fact that the author has
(A) argued that it is impossible to measure “pilot experience”
(B) used an example that does not relate logically to the point being illustrated
(C) provided only a partial explanation for the increase in commuter airline crashes
(D) made an unfair comparison between experience as a flight instructor and experience as a night cargo pilot（A）
(E) not specified how much of the recent increase in commuter airline crashes is due to pilot inexperience
18. Brand X laundry detergent sells for $2.00 a box. Brand Y sells for $4.00 a box. Therefore, you will save money if you use Brand X laundry detergent instead of Brand Y.
Which one of the following, if true, would make the conclusion in the passage a logical conclusion?
(A) It takes only one cup of Brand X to do the work of one and one-half cups of Brand Y.
(B) A box of Brand X contains the same amount of laundry detergent as a box of Brand Y.
(C) A box of Brand X will clean just as many loads of laundry as a box of Brand Y.
(D) More than twice as many people use Brand X as use Brand Y.（C）
(E) Brand X and Brand Y normally sell for $3.00 a box, but Brand X is on sale and Brand Y has been marked up.
19. In a recent advertisement, a major cereal company contended that the better educated people are, the more likely it is that as children they regularly ate oatmeal. As evidence, the company cited a national random survey of college graduates in which four-fifths of all those surveyed reported having eaten oatmeal at least once a week when they were young.
Which one of the following is an additional piece of information that would support the cereal company’s conclusion?
(A) Four-fifths of all current college graduates eat oatmeal regularly.
(B) Fewer than four-fifths of those without a college degree ate oatmeal regularly when they were children.
(C) Among people who have additional education beyond college, four-fifths ate oatmeal regularly when they were children.
(D) More than four-fifths of the population at large—college graduates and nongraduates combined—ate oatmeal regularly when they were children.（B）
(E) Those college graduates who did not eat oatmeal regularly when they were children did eat oatmeal on an occasional basis.
20. Of the ten professional tennis players who are generally considered the greatest of all time, six had no brothers or sisters. However, only a small portion of the general population is made up of such “only children.” Clearly, if you are a professional tennis player, you have a better chance of being considered among the greatest if you are an only child.
Which one of the following, if true, would undermine the argument in the passage?
(A) Some great tennis players never play professionally.
(B) Ascribing “greatness” to tennis players is necessarily subjective.
(C) Among all professional tennis players, seven out of ten have no brothers or sisters.
(D) An only child tends to be better at individual sports than at team sports.（C）
(E) Parents who have only one child have more time to invest in the child’s tennis career than do other parents.
21. The West does not escape the effects of its relationship with the non-Western world. Even as an individual fails to develop fully without constant interaction with an equal, a tradition of thought loses vitality and lacks the capacity for rigorous self-criticism without the probing presence of an authentic “other.” In the absence of constant and critical dialogue with other traditions, Western thought remains parochial, commonplace, and narrow.
Which one of the following techniques of argument does the author use in the passage?
(A) identifying a point of similarity between two different states of affairs
(B) reconciling two opposed sets of circumstances with each other
(C) identifying a conclusion that has no supporting argument
(D) deriving a conclusion from a set of conflicting assumptions（A）
(E) taking advantage of inconsistencies in the definition of a critical term
22. George: The economics taught in college is very confusing—and that’s because it’s all wrong.
Harold: If it’s all wrong, why is college economics still force-fed to students? George: It’s very difficult to learn something that’s all wrong, and if, by chance, someone does waste all that time and learn it, he or she will be inclined to defend it ferociously and pass it on to others.
Which one of the following, if true, would most directly challenge George’s reasoning?
(A) Many college graduates who have taken economics go on to successful careers in a variety of other fields.
(B) College students who major in economics tend to earn higher grades in economics than in their other subjects.
(C) “Right” and “wrong” are relative terms in the field of economics.
(D) Many economics professors agree with journal articles that strongly criticize college economics.（D）
(E) Interviews five years after graduation show that economics majors are just as likely to say that their college experience was enjoyable as are those who did not major in economics.
23. The existentialists are right about one thing: we are alone, radically alone. The proof is obvious. Suppose you were born with a physiology that permitted you to perceive only negative images, that is, you saw black where everyone else saw white and white where everyone else saw black. Nevertheless, you would learn to call what you saw as black by the name “white” because this is what you would be taught, and there would be no way that you could discover your error.
Which one of the following can be validly inferred from the statements in the argument above?
(A) Some people are born with reversed perceptions of black and white, and they cannot discover this.
(B) People with reversed perceptions of black and white would not choose their words any differently from anyone else.
(C) Existentialism is a sound philosophy, as is amply demonstrated by the physiology of color perception.
(D) The existentialists claim that some people are born with reversed perceptions of black and white.（B）
(E) The existentialists claim that people mean different things when they use the words “black” and “white.”
24. Odysseus answered well when the priests showed him a picture of those who had honored the gods and then escaped shipwreck, and asked him whether he did not now acknowledge the power of the gods—“Yes,” he asked, “but where are those pictured who were drowned after their prayers?” And such is the way of all superstitions; wherein humans, having a delight in such vanities, mark the events where they are fulfilled, but where they fail, though this happens much oftener, neglect and pass them by.
Which one of the following contains the error of reasoning described by the author in the passage?
(A) I have discovered that Friday the 13th really is a day of misfortune. Just this past Friday, the 13th, I locked myself out of the house.
(B) Although Napoleon and Alexander the Great were short, Abraham Lincoln and Charles de Gaulle were tall. So short people seek leadership in order to overcome feelings of inferiority.
(C) Every semester for the past 15 years, an average of 10 percent of Ms. Elliot’s history students have dropped her course before the exam. So, it seems likely that we can expect 10 percent to drop out this year.
(D) No reliable observer has ever actually seen a yeti. The strongest evidence seems to be some suspicious tracks. So I think this search for a yeti is probably a wild-goose chase.（A）
(E) I cannot trust my lucky shirt any longer. I wore it to the game today and our team lost.
25. A well-known former quarterback is probably very adept at analyzing the relative strengths of football teams. However, efforts by television advertisers to suggest that the quarterback is an expert on pantyhose or popcorn poppers should arouse skepticism among viewers. The same response should result when a popular television actor, who is frequently cast in the role of a doctor, appears in a commercial to endorse a brand of decaffeinated coffee. His views on television acting would deserve attention since he has had considerable experience in that field, but viewers have every right to doubt his authority in coffee advertisements.
Which one of the following is a presupposition essential to the reasoning in the passage above?
(A) The strength of authoritative evidence as legitimate proof is closely related to the authority’s degree of expertness in the area in question.
(B) Practical experience counts for more than academic training in assessing the competence of authorities.
(C) The only kind of evidence being used in many television commercials is appeal to authority.
(D) The viewing audience is not sufficiently capable of evaluating authoritative appeals in advertisements.（A）
(E) Television viewers will somehow mentally transfer the credibility of celebrities in one area of expertise to another represented by the product being advertised.
26. Judging by the box office receipts, film audiences have had a surfeit of spectacular special effects and are more interested in good drama comedy, or engaging action than in seeing yet another spaceship explode. Film producers are getting the message, so in the coming year expect______
Which one of the following best concludes the author s statement?
(A) more science fiction in an effort to increase box office receipts
(B) fewer spaceships exploding, but no change in the amount of the other spectacular special effects used in science fiction
(C) the pendulum to swing away from science fiction, providing science fiction films continue to use spectacular special effects
(D) more spectacular effects along with increasing levels of difficult stunt work（C）
(E) more films combining good drama with spectacular special effects
TEST 18
SECTION II
|
1. B |
2. E |
3. C |
4. B |
5. B |
|
6. C |
7. A |
8. B |
9. D |
10. D |
|
11. B |
12. D |
13. D |
14. B |
15. C |
|
16. E |
17. B |
18. D |
19. D |
20. E |
|
21. D |
22. E |
23. C |
24. A |
25. E |
|
26. E |
27.
|
28.
|
29.
|
30.
|
SECTION IV
|
1. B |
2. B |
3. D |
4. A |
5. C |
|
6. A |
7. A |
8. A |
9. E |
10. C |
|
11. A |
12. D |
13. B |
14. B |
15. D |
|
16. A |
17. A |
18. C |
19. B |
20. C |
|
21. A |
22. D |
23. B |
24. A |
25. A |
|
26. C |
27.
|
28.
|
29.
|
30.
|
Where's My Stuff? |
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