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TEST 28
SECTION
II
Time 35 minutes 25
Questions
Directions: The questions in
this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or
passages...
1. Insurance that was to become effective at 9 A.M. on a certain date was taken out on the life of a flight attendant. He died on that date at 10 A.M. local time, which was two hours before 9 A.M. in the time zone where the policy had been purchased. The insurance company contended that the policy had not become effective; a representative of the flight attendant’s beneficiary, his mother, countered by arguing that the policy amount should be paid because the attendant had been his mother’s sole support, and she was ill.
The representative’s argument is flawed as a counter to the insurance company’s contention because
(A) the conclusion is no more than a paraphrase of evidence offered in support of it
(B) it appeals to the emotion of pity rather than addressing the issue raised
(C) it makes an unwarranted distinction between family obligations and business obligations
(D) it substitutes an attack on a person for the giving of reasons（B）
(E) a cause and its effect are mistaken for each other
2. Once a child’s imagination becomes developed, a host of imaginary creatures may torment the child. But this newly developed cognitive capacity may also be used to render these creatures harmless. For instance, a child’s new toy may be imagined as an ally, powerful enough to ward off any imaginary threats.
The type of situation described above most closely conforms to which one of the following propositions?
(A) Some newly developed capacities only give rise to problems.
(B) Sometimes the cause of a problem may also provide its solution.
(C) Children are not able to distinguish between real and imaginary threats.
(D) The most effective way for children to address their fears is to acknowledge them.（B）
(E) Most problems associated with child-rearing can be solved with a little imagination.
3. Trisha: Today’s family is declining in its ability to carry out its functions of child-rearing and providing stability for adult life. There must be a return to the traditional values of commitment and responsibility.
Jerod: We ought to leave what is good enough alone. Contemporary families may be less stable than traditionally, but most people do not find that to be bad. Contemporary criticisms of the family are overblown and destructive.
Trisha and Jerod disagree over whether the institution of the family is
(A) adequate as it is
(B) changing over time
(C) valued by most people
(D) not going to survive（A）
(E) no longer traditional
4. Politician P: My opponent claims that the government is obligated to raise taxes to increase funding for schools and health care. Because raising taxes to increase funding for schools and health care would make taxpayers upset over their loss of buying power, my opponent is simply mistaken.
Politician P’s reasoning is questionable because it involves
(A) presupposing that a claim is mistaken on the grounds that the person defending it advocates other unpopular views
(B) assuming that a claim is false on the grounds that the person defending it is of questionable character
(C) concluding that a view is false on the grounds that its implementation would lead to unhappiness
(D) appealing to wholly irrelevant issues to deflect attention away from the real issue（C）
(E) insisting that an obligation exists without offering any evidence that exists
5. In defending the Hyperion School of Journalism from charges that its program is of little or no value to its students, the dean of the school pointed to this recent success in placing students: 65 percent of its graduates went on to internships or jobs in print or broadcast journalism.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the defense offered by the dean?
(A) More than half of the school’s students came from jobs in journalism to improve their skills.
(B) Some newspaper editors do not regard journalism school as a necessary part of the training of a journalist.
(C) The number of cities with more than one major newspaper has declined sharply over the last 25 years.
(D) The program offered by the Hyperion School of Journalism is similar in quality and content to those offered by its peer institutions.（A）
(E) The proportion of applicants to the Hyperion School of Journalism that are admitted is lower than it was the years ago.
6. The largest volcano on Mars rises 26 Kilometers above the surrounding plain and covers an area roughly the size of Romania. Even if the Earth’s gravity were as low as the gravity of Mars, no volcano of such size could exist on Earth, for the Earth’s crust, although of essentially the same composition as that of the Mars, is too thin to support even a small fraction of that mass and would buckle under it, causing the mountain to sink.
If the statements above are true, which of following must also be true on the basis of them?
(A) The surface of Mars is less subject to forces of erosion than is the surface of the Earth.
(B) The highest volcanoes on Mars occur where its crust is thickest.
(C) On average, volcanoes on Mars are higher than those on Earth.
(D) The crust of Mars, at least at certain points on the planet, is thicker than the crust of the Earth.（D）
(E) At least some of Earth’s volcanoes would be larger than they actually are if the Earth’s crust were thicker than it is.
7. Speakers of the Caronian language constitute a minority of the population in several large countries. An international body has recommended that the regions where Caronian-speakers live be granted autonomy as an independent nation in which Caronian-speakers would form a majority. But Caronian-speakers live in several, wildly scattered areas that cannot be united within a single continuous boundary while at the same time allowing Caronian-speakers to be the majority population. Hence, the recommendation cannot be satisfied.
The argument relies on which one of the following assumptions?
(A) A nation once existed in which Caronian-speakers formed the majority of the population.
(B) Caronian-speakers tend to perceive themselves as constituting a single community.
(C) The recommendation would not be satisfied by the creation of a nation formed of disconnected regions.
(D) The new Caronian nation will not include as citizens anyone who does not speak Caronian.（C）
(E) In most nations several different languages are spoken.
8. Sociologist: The welfare state cannot be successfully implemented because it rests on the assumption that human beings are unselfish—a seemingly false assumption. The welfare state is feasible only if wage earners are prepared to have their hard-earned funds used to help others in greater need, and that requires an unselfish attitude. But people innately seek their own well-being, especially when the interests of others threaten it.
Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of the sociologist’s argument?
(A) The welfare state will not work.
(B) The welfare state unfairly asks those who work hard to help those in greater need.
(C) The assumption that human beings are unselfish is false.
(D) The interests of the less fortunate impinge on the interests of others.（A）
(E) The welfare state relies on the generosity of wage earners.
9. Early pencil leads were made of solid graphite mined in Cumberland, in Britain. Modern methods of manufacturing pencil leads from powdered graphite are the result of research sponsored by the government of France in the 1790s, when France was at war with Britain and thus had no access to Cumberland graphite.
The information above most strongly supports which one of the following?
(A) The world’s only deposit of graphite suitable for manufacture of pencils is in Cumberland, in Britain.
(B) In the 1790s, France’s government did not know of any accessible source of solid graphite appropriate to meet France’s need for pencils.
(C) One of the causes of war between France and Britain in the 1790s was the British government’s attempt to limit the amount of Cumberland graphite being exported to France.
(D) Government-sponsored research frequently gives rise to inventions that are of great benefit to society.（B）
(E) Even today, all pencil leads contain Cumberland graphite.
Questions 10-11
Commercial passenger airplanes can be equipped with a collision-avoidance radar system that provide with information about the proximity of other airplanes. Because the system warns pilots to take evasive action when it indicates a possible collision, passengers are safer on airplanes equipped with the system than on comparable airplanes not so equipped, even though the system frequently warms pilots to evade phantom airplanes.
10. Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) Passengers feel no safer on airplanes equipped with the radar system than on comparable airplanes not so equipped.
(B) Warnings given by a collision-avoidance system about phantom airplanes are not caused by distorted radar signals.
(C) The frequency of invalid warnings will not cause pilots routinely to disregard the system’s warnings.
(D) Commercial passenger airplanes are not the only planes that can be equipped with collision-avoidance system.（C）
(E) The greatest safety risk for passengers traveling on commercial passenger airplanes is that of a midair collision.
11. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
(A) Evasive action taken in response to the system’s warning poses no risk to the passengers.
(B) Commercial passenger airplanes are in greater danger of colliding with other airplanes while on the ground than they are while on flight.
(C) Commercial passenger airplanes are rarely involved in collisions while in flight.
(D) A study by ground-based air traffic controllers found than 63 percent of the warnings by the system were invalid.（A）
(E) The collision-avoidance radar system is run by a computerized device on the plane that scans the sky and calculates the distances between planes.
12. The higher the average fat intake among the residents of a country, the higher the incidence of cancer in that country; the lower the average fat intake, the lower the incidence of cancer. So individuals who want to reduce their risk of cancer should reduce their fat intake.
Which one of the following, if true, most weaken the argument?
(A) The differences in average fat intake between countries are often due to the varying makeup of traditional diets.
(B) The countries with a high average fat intake tend to be among the wealthiest in the world.
(C) Cancer is a prominent cause of death in countries with a low average fat intake.
(D) The countries with high average fat intake are also the countries with highest levels of environmental pollution.（D）
(E) An individual resident of a country whose population has a high average fat intake may have a diet with a low fat intake.
13. A local television station is considering a plan to create a panel of child psychologists to review programs in advance of their airing and rate the level of violence. A program that portrays a high level of violence would be listed in newspapers with four guns after the title. On the other hand, if a show has little violence, one gun would appear after its listing. The station believes that this remedy would forewarn parents about the level of violence in any given program.
Which one of the following must the television station assume in order to conclude that the plan will meet its stated purpose?
(A) Parents would read and pay attention to the ratings listed in the newspapers.
(B) There would be fewer shows rated with one gun than with four guns.
(C) The rating system described in the passage is the most effective system available.
(D) The local television station has an obligation to forewarn parents of the level of violence in television shows.（A）
(E) Television producers of programs rated as having high levels of violence would make an effort to reduce those levels.
14. The common ancestors of Australian land- and tree-dwelling kangaroos had prehensile (grasping) tails and long opposable thumbs, attributes that are well-adapted to tree-dwelling but offer kangaroos few advantages on land. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that land-dwelling kangaroos eventually lost these attributes; what is puzzling is the fact that all modern tree-dwelling kangaroos now lack them as well.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps explain the puzzling fact cited above?
(A) Modern tree-dwelling kangaroos must back down tree trunks slowly and carefully, but the common ancestors of modern tree- and land-dwelling kangaroos used their opposable thumbs to descend trees quickly headfirst.
(B) Modern tree-dwelling kangaroos are smaller than most modern land-dwelling kangaroos but larger than their common ancestors.
(C) Modern tree-dwelling kangaroos’ tails cannot grasp branches, but they are somewhat longer and more flexible than those of modern land-dwelling kangaroos.
(D) Modern tree-dwelling kangaroos are descended from species of land-dwelling kangaroos that had been land-dwellers for many generations before modern tree-dwelling kangaroos started to develop.（D）
(E) Modern tree-dwelling kangaroos have smaller and weaker hind legs than modern land-dwelling kangaroos, and they move more slowly on land than do modern land-dwelling kangaroos.
15. Editorialist: Society is obliged to bestow the privileges of adulthood upon its members once they are mature enough to accept the corresponding responsibilities. But science has established that physiological development is completed in most persons by age seventeen. Since this maturing process has been completed by most seventeen-year-olds, there is no reason not to grant these citizens all of privileges of adulthood.
The editorialist’s argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the ground that it
(A) assumes that it is trying to prove
(B) too hastily reaches a general conclusion on the basis of a few examples
(C) equivocates with respect to a central concept
(D) too readily accepts acclaim by appeal to inappropriate authority（C）
(E) ignores the fact that some people are mature at age sixteen
16. Every new play that runs for more than three months is either a commercial or a critical success. Last year, all new plays that were critical successes were also commercial successes. Therefore, every new play that ran for more than three months last year was commercial success.
The pattern of reasoning in which one of the following arguments is most similar to that in the argument above?
(A) Most new restaurants are either good publicity or a good location in order to succeed. But most restaurants with a good location also receive good publicity. Hence, a restaurant that has a good location is guaranteed to succeed.
(B) Every best-selling cookbook published last year is both well written and contains beautiful photographs. The cookbook Cynthia Cleveland published last year is well written and contains beautiful photographs. Therefore, Cleveland’ cookbook is a best seller.
(C) All students at the Freeman School of Cooking study either desserts or soups in their second year. This year, all Freeman students studying soups are also studying desserts. Therefore, every second-year students at Freeman is studying desserts this year.
(D) Chefs who become celebrities either open their own restaurants or write books about their craft, but not both. John Endicott is a celebrated chef who opened his own restaurant. Therefore, Endicott does not write books about his craft.（C）
(E) Every catering service in Woodside Township will accept both residential and business catering assignments. Peggy’s Fine Foods is a catering service that will not accept business catering assignments. Hence, Peggy’s Fine Foods is not in Woodside Townships.
17. Commissioner: I have been incorrectly criticized for having made my decision on the power plant issue prematurely. I based my decision on the report prepared by the neighborhood association and although I have not studied it thoroughly, I am sure that the information it contains is accurate. Moreover, you may recall that when I received input from the neighborhood association on jail relocation, I agreed with its recommendation.
The commissioner’s argument is LEAST vulnerable to which one of the following criticism?
(A) It takes for granted that the association’s information is not distorted by bias.
(B) It draws a conclusion about the recommendations of the association from incomplete recollections.
(C) It takes for granted that the association’s report is the only direct evidence that needed to be considered.
(D) It hastily concludes that the association’s report is accurate without having studied it in detail.（B）
(E) It takes for granted that agreeing with the association’s past recommendation helps justify agreeing with its current recommendation.
18. Each child in a group of young children read aloud both a short paragraph and a list of randomly ordered words from the paragraph. The more experienced readers among them made fewer pronunciation errors in whichever task they performed second, whether it was the list or the paragraph. The order in which the two tasks were performed, however, had no effect on the performance of beginning readers, who always made fewer pronunciation errors when reading the paragraph than when reading the list.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain why the order in which the tasks were performed was not significant for the beginning readers?
(A) Because several words were used more than once in the paragraph but only once in the list, the list was shorter than the paragraph.
(B) In reading the paragraph, the more experienced readers were better at using context to guess at difficult words than were the beginning readers.
(C) The more experienced readers sounded out difficult words, while the beginning readers relied solely on context to guess at difficult words.
(D) Both tasks used the same words, so that the words the children read in whichever task was performed first would be recognized in the second task.（C）
(E) The beginning readers made more pronunciation errors than the more experienced readers did in reading both the paragraph and the list.
19. Anthropologist: Violence is an extreme form of aggression, and is distinct from the self-expression sufficient for survival under normal conditions. Human beings in certain situations react to unpleasant stimuli with violence—but only because they are conditioned by their culture to react in this manner.
Each of the following can be logically inferred from the anthropologist’s statements EXCEPT:
(A) Not all aggression is violent.
(B) The self-expression required for survival is generally nonaggressive.
(C) Some behaviors are influenced by the cultures in which human beings live.
(D) In normal circumstance, human beings can survive by responding nonviolently.（B）
(E) Violent behavior is a product of one’s cultural environment.
20. Martha’s friend, who is very knowledgeable about edible flowers, told Martha that there are no edible daisies, at least not any that are palatable. Martha, however, reasons that since there are daisies that are a kind of chrysanthemum and since there are edible chrysanthemums that are quite palatable, what her friend told her must be incorrect.
Which one of the following has a flawed pattern of reasoning most like that in Martha’s reasoning?
(A) Jeanne is a member of the city chorus, and the city chorus is renowned. So Jeanne is an excellent singer.
(B) Rolfe belongs to the library reading group, and all members of that group are avid readers. So Rolfe is an avid reader.
(C) Some of Noriko’s sisters are on the debate team, and some members of the debate team are poor students. So at least one of Noriko’s sisters must be a poor student.
(D) Most of Leo’s friends are good swimmers, and quite strong. So it is likely that at least some of Leon’s friends are quite strong.（C）
(E) Many of Teresa’s colleagues have written books. Most of the books they have written are on good writing. So some of Teresa’s colleagues are good writers.
21. Attorney for Ziegler: My client continued to do consulting work between the time of his arrest for attempted murder and the start of this trial. But I contend that Ziegler was insane at the time that he fired the shot. This is the only reasonable conclusion to draw from the fact that the accusers have submitted no evidence that he was sane at the time he pulled the trigger, only that he was sane some time after he did so.
Which one
of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the reasoning of Ziegler’s
attorney?
(A) It presumes that being a well-educated professional is relevant to being guilty or innocent.
(B) It concludes on the basis of evidence against Ziegler’s being sane that there is a lack of evidence for Ziegler’s being sane.
(C) It fails to consider that Ziegler might have been insane when he worked as a consultant.
(D) It presumes that whether one is sane is relevant to whether one is morally responsible for one’s actions.（E）
(E) It fails to consider the possibility that Ziegler’s being sane after the shooting is an indication that he was sane at the time of the shooting.
22. Most students are bored by history courses as they are usually taught, primarily because a large amount of time is spent teaching dates and statistic. The best way to teach history, therefore, is to spend most class time recounting the lives of historical figures and very little on dates and statistics.
Each of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends EXCEPT:
(A) One should avoid boring one’s students when teaching a history course.
(B) It is not incompatible with the attainable goals of teaching history to spend very little class time on dates and statistics.
(C) It is possible to recount the lives of historical figures without referring to dates and statistics.
(D) It is compatible with the attainable goals of teaching history to spend most class time recounting the lives of historical figures.（C）
(E) Students are more bored by history courses as they are usually taught than they would be by courses that spend most class time recounting the lives of historical figures.
23. In a certain municipality, a judge overturned a suspect’s conviction for possession of an illegal weapon. The suspect had fled upon seeing police and subsequently discarded the illegal weapon after the police gave chase. The judge reasoned as follows: the only cause for the police giving chase was the suspect’s flight; by itself, flight from the police does not create a reasonable suspicion of a criminal act; evidence collected during an illegal chase is inadmissible; therefore, the evidence in this case was inadmissible.
Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the judge’s decision that the evidence was inadmissible?
(A) Flight from the police could create a reasonable suspicion of a criminal act as long as other significant factors are involved.
(B) People can legally flee from the police only when those people are not involved in a criminal act at the time.
(C) Police can legally give chase to a person only when the person’s actions have created a reasonable suspicion of a criminal act.
(D) Flight from the police should not itself be considered a criminal act.（C）
(E) In all cases in which a person’s actions have created a reasonable suspicion of a criminal act, police can legally give chase to that person.
Questions 24-25
Monica: The sculpture commissioned for our town plaza has been scorned by the public ever since it went up. But since the people in our town do not know very much about contemporary art, the unpopularity of the work says nothing about its artistic merit and thus gives no reason for removing it.
Hector: You may be right about what the sculpture’s popularity means about its artistic merit. However, a work of art that was commissioned for a public space ought to benefit the public, and popular opinion is ultimately the only way of determining what the public feels is to its benefit. Thus, if public opinion of this sculpture is what you say, then it certainly ought to be removed.
24. Monica’s and Hector’s statements commit them to disagreeing about which one of the following principles?
(A) Public opinion of a work of art is an important consideration in determining the work’s artistic merit.
(B) Works of art commissioned for public spaces ought at least to have sufficient artistic merit to benefit the public.
(C) The only reason for removing a work of art commissioned for a public space would be that the balance of public opinion is against the work.
(D) The sculpture cannot benefit the public by remaining in the town plaza unless the sculpture has artistic merit.（E）
(E) In determining whether the sculpture should remain in the town plaza, the artistic merit of the sculpture should be central consideration.
25. The argument Hector makes in responding to Monica depends on the assumption that
(A) no matter what the public’s opinion is on an issue affecting the public good, that public opinion ought to be acted on, even though the opinion may not be a knowledgeable one
(B) Monica’s assessment of the public’s opinion of the sculpture is accurate
(C) if the sculpture had artistic merit, then even a public that was not knowledgeable about modern art would not scorn the sculpture
(D) works of art commissioned for public spaces ought not to be expected to have artistic merit（E）
(E) if the public feels that it does not benefit from the sculpture, this shows that the public does not in fact benefit from the sculpture
SECTION
III
Time 35 minutes 25
Questions
Directions: The questions in
this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or
passages...
Questions 1-2
From the tenth century until around the year 1500, there were Norse settlers living in Greenland. During that time, average yearly temperatures fell slightly worldwide, and some people claim that this temperature drop wiped out the Norse settlements by rendering Greenland too cold for human habitation. But this explanation cannot be correct, because Inuit settlers from North America, who were living in Greenland during the time the Norse settlers were there, continued to thrive long after 1500.
1. Which one of the following, if true, most helps explain why the Norse settlements in Greenland disappeared while the Inuit settlements survived?
(A) The drop in average yearly temperature was smaller in Greenland than it was in the world as a whole.
(B) The Norse settlers’ diet, unlike that of the Inuit, was based primarily on livestock and crops that were unable to survive the temperature drop.
(C) There were settlements in North America during the fifteenth century that were most likely founded by Norse settlers who had come from Greenland.
(D) The Inuit and the Norse settlements were typically established in coastal areas.（B）
(E) The Norse community in Norway continued to thrive long after 1500.
2. Which one of the following is a technique of reasoning used in the statement?
(A) denying the relevance of an analogy
(B) producing evidence that is inconsistent with the claim being opposed
(C) presenting an alternative explanation that purports to account for more of the known facts
(D) citing a general rule that undermines the claim being opposed（B）
(E) redefining a term in a way that is favorable to the argument’s conclusion
3. Even though trading in ivory has been outlawed by international agreement, some piano makers still use ivory, often obtained illegally, to cover piano keys. Recently, experts have devised a synthetic ivory that, unlike earlier ivory substitutes, has found favor with concert pianists throughout the world. But because piano makers have never been major consumers of ivory, the development of the synthetic ivory will therefore probably do little to help curb the killing of elephants, from whose tusks most natural ivory is obtained.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to strengthen the argument?
(A) Most people who play the piano but are not concert pianists can nonetheless easily distinguish between the new synthetic ivory and inferior ivory substitutes.
(B) The new synthetic ivory can be manufactured to resemble in color and surface texture any of the various types of natural ivory that have commercial uses.
(C) Other natural products such as bone or tortoise shell have not proven to be acceptable substitutes for natural ivory in piano keys.
(D) The most common use for natural ivory is in ornamental carvings, which are prized not only for the quality of their workmanship but also for the authenticity of their materials.（D）
(E) It costs significantly less to produce the new synthetic ivory than it does to produce any of the ivory substitutes that scientists had developed previously.
4. The government has spent heavily to clean ground water contaminated by toxic chemical spills. Yet not even one spill site has been completely cleaned, and industrial accidents are spilling more toxic chemicals annually than are being cleaned up. More of the government’s budget should be redirected to preventing spills. Since prevention is far more effective than cleanup, it makes little sense that the entire annual budget for prevention is less than the amount spent annually on one typical cleanup site.
The proposal about how the government’s budget should be redirected plays which one of the following roles in the argument?
(A) It represents an unsupported speculation.
(B) It both supports another claim in the argument and is supported by others.
(C) It is the claim that the argument as a whole is structured to support.
(D) It is a presupposition on which the argument is explicitly based.（C）
(E) It presents an objection to another proposal mentioned in the argument.
5. Consumer: I would like to have the features contained in the latest upgrade to your computer software package, but I am leery of installing the upgrade because a friend has told me he had a problem with it.
Company representative: We have distributed nearly 3,000 copies of the upgrade and we have received fewer than 100 calls saying that it has caused problems. So it is very unlikely that you will experience any problems with the upgrade.
The reasoning in the company representative’s argument is most vulnerable to criticism because it fails to consider the possibility that
(A) the company will issue another upgrade that correct the problems with the current upgrade
(B) some of the problems people have experienced with the upgrade have been quite serious
(C) a significant number of people have experienced problems with the upgrade but have not reported them
(D) the consumer will experience software problems if the upgrade is not installed（C）
(E) some of the reported problems were a result of users failing to follow instructions
6. First legislator: Medical research is predominantly done on groups of patients that include only men. For example, the effects of coffee drinking on health are evaluated only for men, and studies are lacking on hormone treatments for older women. Government-sponsored medical research should be required to include studies of women.
Second legislator: Considerations of male/female balance such as this are inappropriate with respect to research; they have no place in science.
Which one of the following rejoinders, if true, most directly counters the second legislator’s objection?
(A) Government-sponsored research is supported by all taxpayers, both male and female.
(B) Serving as a subject for medical research can provide a patient access to new treatments but also can subject the patient to risks.
(C) Government-sponsored medical research is often done in military hospitals or prisons that hold only male residents.
(D) The training of male and female scientists does not differ according to their sex.（E）
(E) Restriction to males of the patient base on which data are collected results in inadequate science.
7. Lack of exercise produces the same or similar bodily effects as aging. In fact, the physical changes that accompany aging can often be slowed down by appropriate exercise. No drug, however, holds any promise for slowing down the changes associated with aging. Therefore, ______
Which one of the following provides a logical completion to the passage above?
(A) taking drugs has the same effect on aging as does a lack of exercise
(B) people who do not exercise are likely to need drugs to sustain their health
(C) appropriate exercise can prevent the physical changes associated with aging
(D) people who do not exercise when they are young will gain few benefits from beginning to exercise at a late age（E）
(E) if the physical changes of aging are to be slowed, it is more practical to rely on exercise than on drugs
8. Grasses and woody plants are planted on dirt embankments to keep the embankments from eroding. The embankments are mowed to keep the grasses from growing too tall; as a result, clippings pile up. These piles of clippings smother the woody plants, causing their roots, which serve to keep the embankments from eroding, to rot; they also attract rodents that burrow into the dirt and damage the woody plant’s roots. Therefore, bringing in predators to eradicate the rodents will prevent erosion of the embankments.
Which one of the following is an error of reasoning in the argument?
(A) Two events that merely co-occur are treated as if one caused the other.
(B) A highly general proposal is based only on an unrepresentative set of facts.
(C) The conclusion is no more than a restatement of one of the pieces of evidence provided to support it.
(D) One possible solution to a problem is claimed to be the only possible solution to that problem.（E）
(E) An action that would eliminate one cause of a problem is treated as if it would solve the entire problem.
9. Scientific and technological discoveries have considerable effects on the development of any society. It follows that predictions of the future condition of societies in which scientific and technological discovery is particularly frequent are particularly untrustworthy.
The argument depends on assuming which one of the following?
(A) Predictions of scientific and technological discoveries, or predictions of their effects, have harmful consequences in some societies.
(B) The development of a society requires scientific and technological discoveries.
(C) Forecasts of scientific and technological discoveries, or forecasts of their effects, are not entirely reliable.
(D) An advanced scientific and technological society frequently benefits from new discoveries.（C）
(E) It is not as difficult to predict scientific and technological discoveries in a technologically more advanced society as it is in a technologically less advanced society.
10. Tires maybe either underinflated, overinflated, or neither. We are pretty safe in assuming that underinflation or overinflation of tires harms their tread. After all, no one has been able to show that these do not harm tire tread.
Which one of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the argument’s reasoning?
(A) The argument assumes what it attempting to demonstrate.
(B) The argument overlooks that what is not in principle susceptible to proof might be false.
(C) The argument fails to specify how it is that underinflation or overinflation harms tire tread.
(D) The argument rejects the possibility that what has not been proven is nevertheless true.（D）
(E) The argument fails to precisely define the terms “underinflation” and “overinflation.”
11. Linsey has been judged to be a bad songwriter simply because her lyrics typically are disjointed and subjective. This judgment is ill founded, however, since the writings of many modern novelists typically are disjointed and subjective and yet these novelists are widely held to be good writers.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) Disjointed and subjective writing has a comparable effect in modern novels and in songs.
(B) Some readers do not appreciate the subtleties of the disjointed and subjective style adopted by modern novelists.
(C) Song lyrics that are disjointed and subjective have at least as much narrative structure as any other song lyrics do.
(D) A disjointed and subjective style of writing is usually more suitable for novels and song lyrics than it is for any other written works.（A）
(E) The quality of Linsey’s songs is better judged by quality of their lyrics than by the quality of their musical form.
12. The Levant—the area that borders the eastern Mediterranean—was heavily populated in prehistoric times. The southern Levant was abandoned about 6,000 years ago, although the northern Levant, which shared the same climate, remained heavily populated. Recently archaeologists have hypothesized that the sudden depopulation in the southern Levant was due to an economic collapse resulting from deforestation.
If the statements above are true and the archaeologists’ hypothesis is correct, which one of the following CANNOT be true?
(A) The sheep and goats herded by the peoples of the southern Levant until 6,000 years ago grazed extensively on the seedlings and saplings of indigenous tress species.
(B) Trees were used in the production of lime plasters, a building material used extensively throughout the southern Levant until 6,000 years ago.
(C) Organic remains from the northern Levant reliably indicate that tree species flourished there without interruption during the period when the southern Levant was being abandoned.
(D) Carbon dating of organic remains from the southern Levant reliably demonstrates that there were no forests present in that area prior to 6,000 years ago.（D）
(E) Since there are few traces of either quarried stone or of mud brick in buildings excavated in the southern Levant, it is likely that the buildings built there prior to 6,000 years ago were made almost entirely of timber.
13. Using rational argument in advertisements does not persuade people to buy the products being advertised. Therefore, advertisers who replace rational argument with nonrational appeals to emotion in advertisements will persuade people to buy the products being advertised.
Which one of the following contains flawed reasoning most similar to the flawed reasoning in the argument above?
(A) People who ask others for favors are refused. Therefore, anyone who has not had the experience of being refused has never asked for a favor.
(B) In the past, people who have tried to solve their problems by discussing them have often failed. Therefore, in the future, people who try to solve their problems by discussing them will often fail.
(C) Using a computer has not improved students’ writing skills. Thus, students should not try to improve their writing skills by using a computer.
(D) A person who does not have positive letters of reference cannot get a good job. Therefore, the better the letters of reference a person has, the better the job that person will get.（E）
(E) People never learn to program a computer by reading poorly written directions. Therefore, if people read well-written directions, they will learn to program a computer.
14. A commercial insect trap consists of a small box containing pesticide mixed with glucose, a sweet substance known to attract insect pests. Yet in households where this type of trap has been used regularly for the past several years, recently installed traps are far less effective in eliminating insect pests than were traps of that type installed several years ago. Research scientists have hypothesized that traps in those households decreased in effectiveness because successive generations of the pests developed a resistance to the pesticide in the traps.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the hypothesis?
(A) In households where the traps have been used regularly, the proportion of insect pests that have a natural aversion to eating glucose has increased with each successive generation.
(B) Even when only a few individuals out an entire generation of insects survive the effects of a pesticide, the offspring of those individuals are usually resistant to that pesticide.
(C) After eating glucose mixed with the pesticide, insects that live in households that do not use the trap tend to die in greater numbers than do insects from households where the traps have been used regularly.
(D) After the manufacturer of the traps increased the concentration of the pesticide used in the traps, the traps were no more effective in eliminating household insect pests than were the original traps.（A）
(E) The kind of glucose used to bait the traps is one of several different kinds of glucose that occur naturally.
15. A person’s dietary consumption of cholesterol and fat is one of the most important factors determining the level of cholesterol in the person’s blood (serum cholesterol). Serum cholesterol levels rise proportionally to increased cholesterol and fat consumption until that consumption reaches a threshold, but once consumption of these substances exceeds that threshold, serum cholesterol levels rise only gradually, even with dramatic increases in consumption. The threshold is one fourth the consumption level of cholesterol and fat in today’s average North American diet.
The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following?
(A) The threshold can be lowered by lowering the dietary consumption of cholesterol and fat.
(B) People who consume an average North American diet cannot increase their consumption of cholesterol and fat without dramatically increasing their serum cholesterol levels.
(C) People who consume half as much cholesterol and fat as in the average North American diet will not necessarily have half the average serum cholesterol level.
(D) Serum cholesterol levels cannot be affected by nondietary modifications in behavior by nondietary modifications in behavior, such as exercising more or smoking less.（C）
(E) People who consume less cholesterol and fat than the threshold cannot reduce their serum cholesterol levels.
16. The recently negotiated North American Free Trade Agreement among Canada, Mexico, and the United States is misnamed, because it would not result in truly free trade. Adam Smith, the economist who first articulated the principles of free trade, held that any obstacle placed in the way of the free movement of goods, investment, or labor would defeat free trade. So since under the agreement workers would be restricted by national boundaries from seeking the best conditions they could find, the resulting obstruction of the flow of trade would, from a free-trade perspective, be harmful.
The
argument proceeds by
(A) ruling out alternatives
(B) using a term in two different senses
(C) citing a nonrepresentative instance
(D) appealing to a relevant authority（D）
(E) responding to a different issue from the one posed
17. Parents who wish to provide a strong foundation for the musical ability of their children should provide them with a good musical education. Since formal instruction is often a part a good musical education, parents who wish to provide this strong foundation need to ensure that their children receive formal instruction.
The reasoning is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it fails to consider that
(A) parents might not be the only source of a child’s musical education
(B) some children might not be interested in receiving a strong foundation for their musical ability
(C) there are many examples of people with formal instruction whose musical ability is poor
(D) formal instruction might not always be a part of a good musical education（D）
(E) some children might become good musicians even if they have not had good musical educations
18. A stingray without parasites is healthier than it would be if it had parasites. Nevertheless, the lack of parasites in stingrays is an indicator that the ecosystem in which the stingrays live is under environmental stress such as pollution.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to reconcile the discrepancy indicated above?
(A) During part of their life cycles, the parasites of stingrays require as hosts shrimp or oysters, which are environmentally vulnerable organisms.
(B) A stingray is a free-ranging predator that feeds on smaller organisms but has few predators itself.
(C) A parasite drains part of the vitality of its host by drawing nourishment from the host.
(D) An ecosystem can be considered stressed if only a few species of very simple organisms can live there.（A）
(E) Since the life of parasites depends on that of their host, they need to live without killing their host or else to reproduce and infect other individuals before their own host dies.
19. Over the past 20 years, skiing has become a relatively safe sport due to improvement in ski equipment. There has been a 50 percent drop in the number of ski injuries over the last 20 years. Clearly, however, there have not been decreases in the number of injuries in all categories, as statistical data readily show, for although broken legs and ankle injuries have decreased by an astounding 90 percent, knee injuries now represent 16 percent of all ski injuries, up significantly from the 11 percent of 20 years ago.
The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument does which one of the following?
(A) It fails to allow for there being ski injuries other than broken legs, ankle injuries, and knee injuries.
(B) It infers disparate effects from the same single cause.
(C) It ignores the possibility that the number of skiers has increased over the past 20 years.
(D) It assumes that an increase in the proportion of knee injuries rules out a decrease in the number of knee injuries.（D）
(E) It proceeds as though there could be a greater decease in injuries in each category of injury than there is in injuries overall.
20. Only poetry cannot be translated well, and therefore it is poets who preserve languages, for we would not bother to learn a language if we could get everything written in it from translation. So, since we cannot witness the beauty of poetry except in the language in which it is composed, we have motivation to learn the language.
The information above provides the LEAST support for which one of the following?
(A) All nonpoetic literature can be translated well.
(B) One purpose of writing poetry is to preserve the language in which it is written.
(C) Some translations do not capture all that was expressed in the original language.
(D) The beauty of poetry is not immediately accessible to people who do not understand the language in which the poetry was written.（B）
(E) Perfect translation from one language to another is sometimes impossible.
21. The companies that are the prime purchasers of computer software will not buy a software package if the costs of training staff to use it are high, and we know that it is expensive to teach people a software package that demands the memorization of unfamiliar commands. As a result, to be successful, commercial computer software cannot require users to memorize unfamiliar commands.
The conclusion above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?
(A) If more prime purchasers of computer software buy a software product, that product will successful.
(B) Commercial computers software that does not require users to memorize unfamiliar commands is no more expensive than software that does.
(C) Commercial computer software will not be successful unless prime purchasers buy it.
(D) If the initial cost of computer software is high, but the cost of training users is low, prime purchases will still buy that software.（C）
(E) The more difficult it is to learn how to use a piece of software, the more expensive it is to teach a person to use that software.
Questions 22-23
Whenever she considers voting in an election to select one candidate for a position and there is at least one issue important to her, Kay uses the following principle in choosing which course of action to take: it is acceptable for me to vote for a candidate whose opinions differ from mine on at least one issue important to me whenever I disagree with each of the other candidates on even more such issues; it is otherwise unacceptable to vote for that candidate. In the upcoming mayoral election, the three candidates are Legrand, Medina, and Norton. There is only one issue important to Kay, and only Medina shares her opinion on that issue.
22. If the statements in the passage are true, which one of the following must also be true about Kay’s course of action in any election to select one candidate for a position?
(A) If there are no issues important to her, it is unacceptable for to vote for any candidate in the election.
(B) If she agrees with each of the candidates on most of the issues important to her, it is unacceptable for her to vote for any candidate in the election.
(C) If she agrees with a particular candidate on only one issue important to her, it is unacceptable for her to vote for that candidate.
(D) If she disagrees with each of the candidates on exactly three issues important to her, it is unacceptable for her to vote for any candidate in the election.（D）
(E) If there are more issues important to her on which she disagrees with a particular candidate than there are such issues on which she agrees with that candidate, it is unacceptable for to vote for that candidate.
23. According to the principle stated
in the passage, in the upcoming mayoral election
(A) it is acceptable for Kay to vote for either Medina or Legrand, but it is unacceptable for her to vote for Norton
(B) the only unacceptable courses of action are for Kay to vote for Norton and for her to vote for Legrand
(C) it is unacceptable for Kay to vote for any of the candidates
(D) the only unacceptable course of action is for Kay to vote for Medina（B）
(E) it is acceptable for Kay to vote for any of the candidates
24. Over the last 25 years, the average price paid for a new car has steadily increased in relation to average individual income. This increase indicates that individuals who buy new cars today spend, on average, a larger amount relative to their incomes buying a car than their counterparts did 25 years ago.
Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?
(A) There has been a significant increase over the last 25 years in the proportion of individuals in households with more than one wage earner.
(B) The number of used cars sold annually is the same as it was 25 years ago.
(C) Allowing for inflation, average individual income has significantly declined over the last 25 years.
(D) During the last 25 years, annual new-car sales and population have both increased, but new-car sales have increased by a greater percentage.（E）
(E) Sales to individuals make up a smaller proportion of all new-car sales they did 25 years ago.
25. Credit card companies justify charging cardholders additional fees for late payments by asserting the principle that those who expose other individuals, companies, or institutions to financial risk should pay for that risk, and by pointing out that late-paying cardholders present a greater risk of default than other cardholders. Without late fees, the companies argue, they would have spread the cost of the risk over all cardholders.
The principle invoked by the credit card companies would, if established, be most usefully invoked in which one of the following arguments?
(A) School authorities should use student activity funds to pay for student-caused damages to school property since, even though only a few students cause any significant damage, authorities cannot in most instances determine which students caused the damage.
(B) Insurance companies should demand higher insurance rates of drivers of sports cars than of other drivers, since sports car drivers are more likely to cause accidents and thus are more likely to requite the companies pay money in claims.
(C) Libraries should charge high fines for overdue books, since if they did not do so some people would keep books out indefinitely, risking inconvenience to other library users who want to use the books.
(D) Cities should impose high fines for littering. The risk of being caught littering is quite low, so the fine for those who are caught must be correspondingly high in order to deter people form littering.（B）
(E) Municipalities should use tax money to pay for the maintenance of municipal roads, since if individuals paid for only those roads they used, some important roads in remote areas would be inadequately maintained.
TEST 28
SECTION II
|
1. B |
2. B |
3. A |
4. C |
5. A |
|
6. D |
7. C |
8. A |
9. B |
10. C |
|
11. A |
12. D |
13. A |
14. D |
15. C |
|
16. C |
17. B |
18. C |
19. B |
20. C |
|
21. E |
22. C |
23. C |
24. E |
25. E |
SECTION III
|
1. B |
2. B |
3. D |
4. C |
5. C |
|
6. E |
7. E |
8. E |
9. C |
10. D |
|
11. A |
12. D |
13. E |
14. A |
15. C |
|
16. D |
17. D |
18. A |
19. D |
20. B |
|
21. C |
22. D |
23. B |
24. E |
25. B |
Where's My Stuff? |
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