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The purpose of a general theory of art is to explain every aesthetic feature that is found in any of the arts. Premodern general theories of art, however, focused primarily on painting and sculpture. Every premodern general theory of art, even those that succeed as theories of painting and sculpture, fails to explain some aesthetic feature of music. | 200112_3-LR2_16_17 | [
"Any general theory of art that explains the aesthetic features of painting also explains those of sculpture.",
"A general theory of art that explains every aesthetic feature of music will achieve its purpose.",
"Any theory of art that focuses primarily on sculpture and painting cannot explain every aesthetic feature of music.",
"No premodern general theory of art achieves its purpose unless music is not art.",
"No premodern general theory of art explains any aesthetic features of music that are not shared with painting and sculpture."
]
| 3 | The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following? |
It is said that people should accept themselves as they are instead of being dissatisfied with their own abilities. But this is clearly a bad principle if the goal is a society whose citizens are genuinely happy, for no one can be genuinely happy if he or she is not pursuing personal excellence and is unwilling to undergo personal change of any kind. | 200112_3-LR2_17_18 | [
"Those who are willing to change will probably find genuine happiness.",
"People who are not dissatisfied with themselves are less likely than others to pursue personal excellence.",
"Personal excellence cannot be acquired by those who lack genuine confidence in their own abilities.",
"People are justified in feeling content with themselves when they have achieved some degree of personal excellence.",
"Happiness is not genuine unless it is based on something that is painful to obtain."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument? |
My father likes turnips, but not potatoes, which he says are tasteless. So it is not true that whoever likes potatoes likes turnips. | 200112_3-LR2_18_19 | [
"This book is not a paperback, but it is expensive. So it is not true that some paperbacks are expensive.",
"Although this recently published work of fiction has more than 75 pages, it is not a novel. Thus, it is not the case that all novels have more than 75 pages.",
"All ornate buildings were constructed before the twentieth century. This house is ornate, so it must be true that it was built before the twentieth century.",
"Erica enjoys studying physics, but not pure mathematics, which she says is boring. So it is not true that whoever enjoys studying physics enjoys studying pure mathematics.",
"People who do their own oil changes are car fanatics. My next-door neighbors are car fanatics, so it follows that they do their own oil changes."
]
| 1 | The flawed reasoning in the argument above most closely resembles that in which one of the following? |
Critic: Although some people claim it is inconsistent to support freedom of speech and also support legislation limiting the amount of violence in TV programs, it is not. We can limit TV program content because the damage done by violent programs is more harmful than the decrease in freedom of speech that would result from the limitations envisioned by the legislation. | 200112_3-LR2_19_20 | [
"In evaluating legislation that would impinge on a basic freedom, we should consider the consequences of not passing the legislation.",
"One can support freedom of speech while at the same time recognizing that it can sometimes be overridden by other interests.",
"When facing a choice between restricting freedom of speech or not, we must decide based on what would make the greatest number of people the happiest.",
"If the exercise of a basic freedom leads to some harm, then the exercise of that freedom should be restricted.",
"In some circumstances, we should tolerate regulations that impinge on a basic freedom."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the critic's reasoning? |
Sandy: I play the Bigbucks lottery—that's the one where you pick five numbers and all the players who have picked the five numbers drawn at the end of the week share the money pot. But it's best to play only after there have been a few weeks with no winners, because the money pot increases each week that there is no winner. Alex: No, you're more likely to win the lottery when the money pot is small, because that's when the fewest other people are playing. | 200112_3-LR2_20_21 | [
"Sandy holds that the chances of anyone's winning are unaffected by the number of times that person plays.",
"Alex holds that the chances of Sandy's winning are affected by the number of other people playing.",
"Sandy holds that the chances of anyone's winning are unaffected by the size of the pot.",
"Alex holds that the chances of Sandy's winning in a given week are unaffected by whether anyone has won the week before.",
"Sandy holds that the chances of there being a winner go up if no one has won the lottery for quite a while."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following most accurately describes a mistake in the reasoning of one of the two speakers? |
The retail price of decaffeinated coffee is considerably higher than that of regular coffee. However, the process by which coffee beans are decaffeinated is fairly simple and not very costly. Therefore, the price difference cannot be accounted for by the greater cost of providing decaffeinated coffee to the consumer. | 200112_3-LR2_21_22 | [
"Processing regular coffee costs more than processing decaffeinated coffee.",
"Price differences between products can generally be accounted for by such factors as supply and demand, not by differences in production costs.",
"There is little competition among companies that process decaffeinated coffee.",
"Retail coffee-sellers do not expect that consumers are content to pay more for decaffeinated coffee than for regular coffee.",
"The beans used for producing decaffeinated coffee do not cost much more before processing than the beans used for producing regular coffee."
]
| 4 | The argument relies on assuming which one of the following? |
A newspaper article on Britain's unions argued that their strength was declining. The article's evidence was the decreasing number and size of strikes, as if the reason for the unions' existence was to organize strikes. Surely, in a modern industrial society, the calling of a strike is evidence that the negotiating position of the union was too weak. Strong unions do not need to call strikes. They can concentrate their efforts on working with others in the labor market to achieve common goals, such as profitable and humane working conditions. | 200112_3-LR2_22_23 | [
"The negotiating position of a union is weak if the only means it has of achieving its end is a strike or the threat of a strike.",
"Although unions represent the interests of their members, that does not preclude them from having interests in common with other participants in the labor market.",
"There is no reason to believe, on the basis of what the newspaper article said, that union strength in Britain is declining.",
"The reason for unions' existence is to work for goals such as profitable and humane working conditions by organizing strikes.",
"With strong unions it is possible for a modern industrial society to achieve profitable and humane working conditions, but without them it would be impossible."
]
| 2 | The argument criticizing the newspaper article is directed toward establishing which one of the following as its main conclusion? |
A newspaper article on Britain's unions argued that their strength was declining. The article's evidence was the decreasing number and size of strikes, as if the reason for the unions' existence was to organize strikes. Surely, in a modern industrial society, the calling of a strike is evidence that the negotiating position of the union was too weak. Strong unions do not need to call strikes. They can concentrate their efforts on working with others in the labor market to achieve common goals, such as profitable and humane working conditions. | 200112_3-LR2_22_24 | [
"questioning the accuracy of the statistical evidence that the newspaper article uses",
"detailing historical changes that make the newspaper article's analysis outdated",
"reinterpreting evidence that the newspaper article uses as indicating the opposite of what the newspaper concludes",
"arguing that the newspaper article's conclusion is motivated by a desire to change the role of unions",
"pointing to common interests among unions and management which the newspaper article ignores"
]
| 2 | The argument criticizing the newspaper article employs which one of the following strategies? |
Anthropologist: All music is based on a few main systems of scale building. Clearly, if the popularity of a musical scale were a result of social conditioning, we would expect, given the diversity of social systems, a diverse mixture of diatonic and nondiatonic scales in the world's music. Yet diatonic scales have always dominated the music of most of the world. Therefore, the popularity of diatonic music can be attributed only to innate dispositions of the human mind. | 200112_3-LR2_23_25 | [
"consider the possibility that some people appreciate nondiatonic music more than they do diatonic music",
"explain how innate dispositions increase appreciation of nondiatonic music",
"explain the existence of diatonic scales as well as the existence of nondiatonic scales",
"consider that innate dispositions and social conditioning could jointly affect the popularity of a type of music",
"consider whether any appreciation of nondiatonic music is demonstrated by some nonhuman species of animals"
]
| 3 | The anthropologist's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it fails to |
Before 1986 physicists believed they could describe the universe in terms of four universal forces. Experiments then suggested, however, a fifth universal force of mutual repulsion between particles of matter. This fifth force would explain the occurrence in the experiments of a smaller measurement of the gravitational attraction between bodies than the established theory predicted. | 200112_3-LR2_24_26 | [
"The extremely sophisticated equipment used for the experiments was not available to physicists before the 1970s.",
"No previously established scientific results are incompatible with the notion of a fifth universal force.",
"Some scientists have suggested that the alleged fifth universal force is an aspect of gravity rather than being fundamental in itself.",
"The experiments were conducted by physicists in remote geological settings in which factors affecting the force of gravity could not be measured with any degree of precision.",
"The fifth universal force was postulated at a time in which many other exciting and productive ideas in theoretical physics were developed."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument that there is a fifth universal force? |
Company president: Grievance procedures should allow the grievant and the respondent to select a mediator who will attempt to work out a resolution. Grievances are costly and mediation could help to resolve many of them. However, beginning mediation fairly late in the process, as our human resources department proposes, would be relatively ineffective. | 200206_2-LR1_1_1 | [
"People who file grievances are unreasonable and would resist listening to a mediator.",
"Many disagreements are already being solved without the intervention of a mediator.",
"Adversaries' positions tend to harden as a dispute wears on, making compromise less likely.",
"Respondents tend to be supervisors who cannot give in to employees without losing authority.",
"The mediation process itself is likely to cost as much in time and money as the present grievance procedures."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to justify the company president's criticism of the human resources department's proposal? |
The solidity of bridge piers built on pilings depends largely on how deep the pilings are driven. Prior to 1700, pilings were driven to "refusal," that is, to the point at which they refused to go any deeper. In a 1588 inquiry into the solidity of piers for Venice's Rialto Bridge, it was determined that the bridge's builder, Antonio Da Ponte, had met the contemporary standard for refusal: he had caused the pilings to be driven until additional penetration into the ground was no greater than two inches after twenty-four hammer blows. | 200206_2-LR1_2_2 | [
"The Rialto Bridge was built on unsafe pilings.",
"The standard of refusal was not sufficient to ensure the safety of a bridge.",
"Da Ponte's standard of refusal was less strict than that of other bridge builders of his day.",
"After 1588, no bridges were built on pilings that were driven to the point of refusal.",
"It is possible that the pilings of the Rialto Bridge could have been driven deeper even after the standard of refusal had been met."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following can properly be inferred from the passage? |
Joan got A's on all her homework assignments, so if she had gotten an A on her term paper, she could pass the course even without doing the class presentation. Unfortunately, she did not get an A on her term paper, so it is obvious that she will have to do the class presentation to pass the course. | 200206_2-LR1_3_3 | [
"ignores the possibility that Joan must either have an A on her term paper or do the class presentation to pass the course",
"presupposes without justification that Joan's not getting an A on her term paper prevents her from passing the course without doing the class presentation",
"overlooks the importance of class presentations to a student's overall course grade",
"ignores the possibility that if Joan has to do the class presentation to pass the course, then she did not get an A on her term paper",
"fails to take into account the possibility that some students get A's on their term papers but do not pass the course"
]
| 1 | The argument's reasoning is questionable because the argument |
Compared to us, people who lived a century ago had very few diversions to amuse them. Therefore, they likely read much more than we do today. | 200206_2-LR1_4_4 | [
"Many of the books published a century ago were of low literary quality.",
"On average, people who lived a century ago had considerably less leisure time than we do today.",
"The number of books sold today is larger than it was a century ago.",
"On the average, books today cost slightly less in relation to other goods than they did a century ago.",
"One of the popular diversions of a century ago was horse racing."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following statements, if true, most weakens the argument? |
Although consciousness seems to arise from physical processes, physical theories can explain only why physical systems have certain physical structures and how these systems perform various physical functions. Thus, no strictly physical theory can explain consciousness. | 200206_2-LR1_5_5 | [
"Physical theories can explain only physical phenomena.",
"An explanation of consciousness must encompass more than an explanation of physical structures and functions.",
"The physical structures and functions of consciousness are currently unknown.",
"Consciousness arises from processes that are entirely explainable by physical theories.",
"An explanation of physical structures and functions must be formulated in strictly physical terms."
]
| 1 | The conclusion of the argument follows logically if which one of the following is assumed? |
Advertisement: At most jewelry stores, the person assessing the diamond is the person selling it, so you can see why an assessor might say that a diamond is of higher quality than it really is. But because all diamonds sold at Gem World are certified in writing, you're assured of a fair price when purchasing a diamond from Gem World. | 200206_2-LR1_6_6 | [
"Many jewelry stores other than Gem World also provide written certification of the quality of their diamonds.",
"The certifications of diamonds at Gem World are written by people with years of experience in appraising gems.",
"The diamonds sold at Gem World are generally of higher quality than those sold at other jewelry stores.",
"The diamond market is so volatile that prices of the most expensive diamonds can change by hundreds of dollars from one day to the next.",
"The written certifications of diamonds at Gem World are provided by an independent company of gem specialists."
]
| 4 | The reasoning in the advertisement would be most strengthened if which one of the following were true? |
Newtonian physics dominated science for over two centuries. It found consistently successful application, becoming one of the most highly substantiated and accepted theories in the history of science. Nevertheless, Einstein's theories came to show the fundamental limits of Newtonian physics and to surpass the Newtonian view in the early 1900s, giving rise once again to a physics that has so far enjoyed wide success. | 200206_2-LR1_7_7 | [
"The history of physics is characterized by a pattern of one successful theory subsequently surpassed by another.",
"Long-standing success of substantiation of a theory of physics is no guarantee that the theory will continue to be dominant indefinitely.",
"Every theory of physics, no matter how successful, is eventually surpassed by one that is more successful.",
"Once a theory of physics is accepted, it will remain dominant for centuries.",
"If a long-accepted theory of physics is surpassed, it must be surpassed by a theory that is equally successful."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following logically follows from the statements above? |
Conscientiousness is high on most firms' list of traits they want in employees. Yet a recent study found that laid-off conscientious individuals are less likely to find jobs within five months than are their peers who shirked their workplace responsibilities. | 200206_2-LR1_8_8 | [
"People who shirk their workplace responsibilities are less likely to keep the jobs they have, so there are more of them looking for jobs.",
"Conscientious people tend to have a greater than average concern with finding the job most suited to their interests and abilities.",
"Resentment about having been laid off in spite of their conscientiousness leads some people to perform poorly in interviews.",
"People who are inclined to shirk their workplace responsibilities are more likely to exaggerate their credentials, leading prospective employers to believe them to be highly qualified.",
"Finding a job is less urgent for the conscientious, because they tend to have larger savings."
]
| 0 | Each of the following, if true, helps to resolve the apparent paradox above EXCEPT: |
Psychologist: Although studies of young children have revealed important facts about the influence of the environment on language acquisition, it is clear that one cannot attribute such acquisition solely to environmental influences: innate mechanisms also play a role. So, the most reasonable question that ought to be studied is whether ____. | 200206_2-LR1_9_9 | [
"language acquisition can ever be fully explained",
"innate mechanisms are a contributing factor in language learning",
"language acquisition is solely the product of innate mechanisms",
"parents and peers are the most important influence on a child's learning of a language",
"innate mechanisms play a more important role in language acquisition than a child's immediate environment"
]
| 4 | Which one of the following most logically completes the passage? |
Mark: To convey an understanding of past events,a historian should try to capture what it was like to experience those events. For instance, a foot soldier in the Battle of Waterloo knew through direct experience what the battle was like,and it is this kind of knowledge that the historian must capture. Carla:But how do you go about choosing whose perspective is the valid one? Is the foot soldier's perspective more valid than that of a general? Should it be a French or an English soldier? Your approach would generate a biased version of history,and to avoid that, historians must stick to general and objective characterizations of the past. | 200206_2-LR1_10_10 | [
"contests Mark's understanding of historical events",
"questions Mark's presupposition that one person can understand another's feelings",
"argues that the selection involved in carrying out Mark's proposal would distort the result",
"questions whether Mark accurately describes the kind of historical writing he deplores",
"gives reason to believe that Mark's recommendation is motivated by his professional self-interest"
]
| 2 | Carla does which one of the following in disputing Mark's position? |
Mark: To convey an understanding of past events,a historian should try to capture what it was like to experience those events. For instance, a foot soldier in the Battle of Waterloo knew through direct experience what the battle was like,and it is this kind of knowledge that the historian must capture. Carla:But how do you go about choosing whose perspective is the valid one? Is the foot soldier's perspective more valid than that of a general? Should it be a French or an English soldier? Your approach would generate a biased version of history,and to avoid that, historians must stick to general and objective characterizations of the past. | 200206_2-LR1_10_11 | [
"The purpose of writing history is to convey an understanding of past events.",
"The participants in a battle are capable of having an objective understanding of the ramifications of the events in which they are participating.",
"Historians can succeed in conveying a sense of the way events in the distant past seemed to someone who lived in a past time.",
"Historians should aim to convey past events from the perspective of participants in those events.",
"Historians should use fictional episodes to supplement their accounts of past events if the documented record of those events is incomplete."
]
| 3 | Mark's and Carla's positions indicate that they disagree about the truth of which one of the following? |
Rosen: One cannot prepare a good meal from bad food, produce good food from bad soil, maintain good soil without good farming, or have good farming without a culture that places value on the proper maintenance of all its natural resources so that needed supplies are always available. | 200206_2-LR1_11_12 | [
"The creation of good meals depends on both natural and cultural conditions.",
"Natural resources cannot be maintained properly without good farming practices.",
"Good soil is a prerequisite of good farming.",
"Any society with good cultural values will have a good cuisine.",
"When food is bad, it is because of poor soil and, ultimately, bad farming practices."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following can be properly inferred from Rosen's statement? |
Adam: Marking road edges with reflecting posts gives drivers a clear view of the edges, thereby enabling them to drive more safely. Therefore, marking road edges with reflecting posts will decrease the annual number of road accidents. Aiesha: You seem to forget that drivers exceed the speed limit more frequently and drive close to the road edge more frequently on roads that are marked with reflecting posts than on similar roads without posts, and those are driving behaviors that cause road accidents. | 200206_2-LR1_12_13 | [
"questioning Adam's assertion that reflecting posts give drivers a clear view of road edges",
"presenting a possible alternative method for decreasing road accidents",
"raising a consideration that challenges the argument's assumption that facilitating safe driving will result in safer driving",
"denying that the drivers' view of the road is relevant to the number of road accidents",
"providing additional evidence to undermine the claim that safer driving does not necessarily reduce the number of road accidents"
]
| 2 | Aiesha responds to Adam's argument by |
In response to office workers' worries about the health risks associated with using video display terminals (VDTs), researchers asked office workers to estimate both the amount of time they had spent using VDTs and how often they had suffered headaches over the previous year. According to the survey, frequent VDT users suffered from headaches more often than other office workers did, leading researchers to conclude that VDTs cause headaches. | 200206_2-LR1_13_14 | [
"Few of the office workers surveyed participated in regular health programs during the year in question.",
"In their study the researchers failed to ask the workers to distinguish between severe migraine headaches and mild headaches.",
"Previous studies have shown that the glare from VDT screens causes some users to suffer eyestrain.",
"Office workers who experienced frequent headaches were more likely than other workers to overestimate how much time they spent using VDTs.",
"Office workers who regularly used VDTs experienced the same amount of job-related stress as workers who did not use VDTs."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most undermines the researchers' conclusion? |
Literary critic: The meaning of a literary work is not fixed but fluid, and therefore a number of equally valid interpretations of it may be offered. Interpretations primarily involve imposing meaning on a literary work rather than discovering meaning in it, so interpretations need not consider the writer's intentions. Thus, any interpretation of a literary work tells more about the critic than about the writer. | 200206_2-LR1_14_15 | [
"There are no criteria by which to distinguish the validity of different interpretations of literary works.",
"A meaning imposed on a literary work reflects facts about the interpreter.",
"A writer's intentions are relevant to a valid interpretation of the writer's work.",
"The true intentions of the writer of a work of literature can never be known to a critic of that work.",
"The deepest understanding of a literary work requires that one know the writer's history."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following is an assumption required by the literary critic's argument? |
Media consultant: Electronic media are bound to bring an end to the institution of the traditional school in our culture. This is because the emergence of the traditional school, characterized by a group of students gathered with a teacher in a classroom, was facilitated by the availability of relatively inexpensive printed books. Currently, however, the function of books in communicating information is gradually being taken over by electronic media. So, it is inevitable that the traditional school will not survive in our culture. | 200206_2-LR1_15_16 | [
"presupposes as a premise what it is trying to establish",
"relies inappropriately on expert testimony",
"presupposes that just because something can happen it will happen",
"mistakes something that enables an institution to arise for something necessary to the institution",
"confuses the value of an institution with the medium by which it operates"
]
| 3 | The reasoning in the consultant's argument is flawed because it |
A safety report indicates that, on average, traffic fatalities decline by about 7 percent in those areas in which strict laws requiring drivers and passengers to wear seat belts have been passed. In a certain city, seat belt laws have been in effect for two years, but the city's public safety records show that the number of traffic deaths per year has remained the same. | 200206_2-LR1_16_17 | [
"Two years ago speed limits in the city were increased by as much as 15 kph (9 mph).",
"The city now includes pedestrian fatalities in its yearly total of traffic deaths, whereas two years ago it did not.",
"In the time since the seat belt laws were passed, the city has experienced a higher than average increase in automobile traffic.",
"Because the city's seat belt laws have been so rarely enforced, few drivers in the city have complied with them.",
"In the last two years, most of the people killed in car accidents in the city were not wearing seat belts."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if true, does NOT help resolve the apparent discrepancy between the safety report and the city's public safety records? |
Some critics of space exploration programs claim that they are too costly to be justified. Moreover, there is the very real risk of a debilitating explosion—most experts say something like a 1-in-70 chance per flight. Budgetary pressures to make the programs cheaper only serve to undermine safety: one program's managers uncovered a series of manufacturing flaws that critics contend are a direct consequence of the pressure to produce results as quickly and cheaply as possible. | 200206_2-LR1_17_18 | [
"Attempts to solve one problem can lead to the exacerbation of another problem.",
"Safety risks are sometimes ignored in the name of scientific progress.",
"Safety is often sacrificed in order to reach a goal as quickly as possible.",
"Bureaucratic mistakes can lead to quality reduction and inefficiency.",
"Space exploration is too dangerous to be continued."
]
| 0 | The passage conforms most closely to which one of the following propositions? |
Physician: Hatha yoga is a powerful tool for helping people quit smoking. In a clinical trial, those who practiced hatha yoga for 75 minutes once a week and received individual counseling reduced their smoking and cravings for tobacco as much as did those who went to traditional self-help groups once a week and had individual counseling. | 200206_2-LR1_18_19 | [
"The individual counseling received by the smokers in the clinical trial who practiced hatha yoga did not help them quit smoking.",
"Most smokers are able to practice hatha yoga more than once a week.",
"Traditional self-help groups are powerful tools for helping people quit smoking.",
"People who practice hatha yoga for 75 minutes once a week are not damaging themselves physically.",
"Other forms of yoga are less effective than hatha yoga in helping people quit smoking."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the physician's argument relies? |
Antarctic seals dive to great depths and stay submerged for hours. They do not rely solely on oxygen held in their lungs, but also store extra oxygen in their blood. Indeed, some researchers hypothesize that for long dives these seals also store oxygenated blood in their spleens. | 200206_2-LR1_19_20 | [
"Horses are known to store oxygenated blood in their spleens for use during exertion.",
"Many species of seal can store oxygen directly in their muscle tissue.",
"The oxygen contained in the seals' lungs and bloodstream alone would be inadequate to support the seals during their dives.",
"The spleen is much larger in the Antarctic seal than in aquatic mammals that do not make long dives.",
"The spleens of Antarctic seals contain greater concentrations of blood vessels than are contained in most of their other organs."
]
| 1 | Each of the following, if true, provides some support for the researchers' hypothesis EXCEPT: |
The studies showing that increased consumption of fruits and vegetables may help decrease the incidence of some types of cancer do not distinguish between organically grown and nonorganically grown produce; they were conducted with produce at least some of which contained pesticide residues. The studies may also be taken as showing, therefore, that there is no increased health risk associated with eating fruits and vegetables containing pesticide residues. | 200206_2-LR1_20_21 | [
"Research shows that the incidence of certain major illnesses, including heart disease and cancer, is decreased in communities that have a modern power plant. The fact that this tendency is present whether the power plant is nuclear or not shows that there is no increased health risk associated with living next to a nuclear power plant.",
"Research has shown that there is no long-term health risk associated with a diet consisting largely of foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol if such a diet is consumed by someone with a physically active lifestyle. So, exercise is a more useful strategy for achieving cardiological health than is dietary restriction.",
"Research has shown that young people who drive motorcycles and receive one full year of extensive driving instruction are in fact less likely to become involved in accidents than those who simply pass a driving test and drive cars. This shows that there is not an inherently greater risk associated with driving a motorcycle than with driving a car.",
"Research has shown that kitchen cutting boards retain significant numbers of microbes even after careful washing, but that after washing fewer microbes are found on wooden boards than on plastic boards. There is, therefore, no greater risk of contracting microbial illnesses associated with using wooden cutting boards than with using plastic cutting boards.",
"Research shows that there is no greater long-term health benefit associated with taking vitamin supplements than with a moderate increase in the intake of fruits and vegetables. Clearly, then, there is no long-term health risk associated with the failure to take vitamin supplements, so long as enough fruits and vegetables are consumed."
]
| 0 | The pattern of flawed reasoning in which one of the following is most similar to the pattern of flawed reasoning in the argument above? |
Political theorist: Many people believe that the punishment of those who commit even the most heinous crimes should be mitigated to some extent if the crime was motivated by a sincere desire to achieve some larger good. Granted, some criminals with admirable motives deserve mitigated punishments. Nonetheless, judges should never mitigate punishment on the basis of motives, since motives are essentially a matter of conjecture and even vicious motives can easily be presented as altruistic. | 200206_2-LR1_21_22 | [
"Laws that prohibit or permit actions solely on the basis of psychological states should not be part of a legal system.",
"It is better to err on the side of overly severe punishment than to err on the side of overly lenient punishment.",
"The legal permissibility of actions should depend on the perceivable consequences of those actions.",
"No law that cannot be enforced should be enacted.",
"A legal system that, if adopted, would have disastrous consequences ought not be adopted."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the political theorist's reasoning? |
Roxanne: To protect declining elephant herds from poachers seeking to obtain ivory, people concerned about such endangered species should buy no new ivory. The new ivory and old ivory markets are entirely independent, however, so purchasing antique ivory provides no incentive to poachers to obtain more new ivory. Therefore, only antique ivory—that which is at least 75 years old—can be bought in good conscience. Salvador: Since current demand for antique ivory exceeds the supply, many people who are unconcerned about endangered species but would prefer to buy antique ivory are buying new ivory instead. People sharing your concern about endangered species, therefore, should refrain from buying any ivory at all—thereby ensuring that demand for new ivory will drop. | 200206_2-LR1_22_23 | [
"there are substances that can serve as satisfactory substitutes for ivory in its current uses",
"decreased demand for antique ivory would cause a decrease in demand for new ivory",
"people should take steps to avert a threat to the continued existence of elephant herds",
"a widespread refusal to buy new ivory will have a substantial effect on the survival of elephants",
"people concerned about endangered species should refuse to buy ivory objects that are less than 75 years old"
]
| 1 | A point on which Roxanne's and Salvador's views differ is whether |
Roxanne: To protect declining elephant herds from poachers seeking to obtain ivory, people concerned about such endangered species should buy no new ivory. The new ivory and old ivory markets are entirely independent, however, so purchasing antique ivory provides no incentive to poachers to obtain more new ivory. Therefore, only antique ivory—that which is at least 75 years old—can be bought in good conscience. Salvador: Since current demand for antique ivory exceeds the supply, many people who are unconcerned about endangered species but would prefer to buy antique ivory are buying new ivory instead. People sharing your concern about endangered species, therefore, should refrain from buying any ivory at all—thereby ensuring that demand for new ivory will drop. | 200206_2-LR1_22_24 | [
"People concerned about endangered species should disseminate knowledge concerning potential threats to those species in order to convince others to protect the species.",
"People concerned about endangered species should refrain from buying any products whose purchase could result in harm to those species, but only if acceptable substitutes for those products are available.",
"People concerned about endangered species should refrain from the purchase of all manufactured objects produced from those species, except for those objects already in existence at the time the species became endangered.",
"People concerned about endangered species should refrain from participating in trade in products produced from those species, but only if workers engaged in that trade also agree to such restraint.",
"People concerned about endangered species should act in ways that there is reason to believe will help reduce the undesirable results of the actions performed by people who do not share that concern."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following principles, if established, would most help to justify Salvador's position? |
In a car accident, air bags greatly reduce the risk of serious injury. However, statistics show that cars without air bags are less likely to be involved in accidents than are cars with air bags. Thus, cars with air bags are no safer than cars without air bags. | 200206_2-LR1_23_25 | [
"assumes, without providing justification, that any car with air bags will probably become involved in an accident",
"denies the possibility that cars without air bags have other safety features that reduce the risk of serious injury at least as much as do air bags",
"overlooks the possibility that some accidents involve both cars with air bags and cars without air bags",
"assumes, without providing justification, that the likelihood of an accident's occurring should weigh at least as heavily as the seriousness of any resulting injury in estimates of relative safety",
"takes for granted that all accidents would cause air bags to be deployed"
]
| 3 | The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it |
All known deposits of the mineral tanzanite are in Tanzania. Therefore, because Ashley collects only tanzanite stones, she is unlikely ever to collect a stone not originally from Tanzania. | 200206_2-LR1_24_26 | [
"The lagoon on Scrag Island is home to many frogs. Since the owls on Scrag Island eat nothing but frogs from the island, the owls will probably never eat many frogs that live outside the lagoon.",
"Every frog ever seen on Scrag Island lives in the lagoon. The frogs on the island are eaten only by the owls on the island, and hence the owls may never eat an animal that lives outside the lagoon.",
"Frogs are the only animals known to live in the lagoon on Scrag Island. The diet of the owls on Scrag Island consists of nothing but frogs from the island. Therefore, the owls are unlikely ever to eat an animal that lives outside the lagoon.",
"The only frogs yet discovered on Scrag Island live in the lagoon. The diet of all the owls on Scrag Island consists entirely of frogs on the island, so the owls will probably never eat an animal that lives outside the lagoon.",
"Each frog on Scrag Island lives in the lagoon. No owl on Scrag Island is known to eat anything but frogs on the island. It follows that no owl on Scrag Island will eat anything that lives outside the lagoon."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following is most similar in its reasoning to the argument above? |
Criminals often have an unusual self-image. Embezzlers often think of their actions as "only borrowing money." Many people convicted of violent crimes rationalize their actions by some sort of denial; either the victim "deserved it" and so the action was justified, or "it simply wasn't my fault." Thus, in many cases, by criminals' characterization of their situations, . | 200206_4-LR2_1_1 | [
"they ought to be rewarded for their actions",
"they are perceived to be the victim of some other criminal",
"their actions are not truly criminal",
"the criminal justice system is inherently unfair",
"they deserve only a light sentence for their crimes"
]
| 2 | Which one of the following most logically completes the passage? |
The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is found inside the noses of various animals. While its structural development and function are clearer in other animals, most humans have a VNO that is detectable, though only microscopically. When researchers have been able to stimulate VNO cells in humans, the subjects have reported experiencing subtle smell sensations. It seems, then, that the VNO, though not completely understood, is a functioning sensory organ in most humans. | 200206_4-LR2_2_2 | [
"It is not known whether the researchers succeeded in stimulating only VNO cells in the human subjects' noses.",
"Relative to its occurrence in certain other animals, the human VNO appears to be anatomically rudimentary and underdeveloped.",
"Certain chemicals that play a leading role in the way the VNO functions in animals in which it is highly developed do not appear to play a role in its functioning in humans.",
"Secondary anatomical structures associated with the VNO in other animals seem to be absent in humans.",
"For many animal species, the VNO is thought to subtly enhance the sense of smell."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the argument? |
An instructor presented two paintings to a class. She said that the first had hung in prestigious museums but the second was produced by an unknown amateur. Each student was asked which painting was better. Everyone selected the first. The instructor later presented the same two paintings in the same order to a different class. This time she said that the first was produced by an unknown amateur but the second had hung in prestigious museums. In this class, everyone said that the second painting was better. | 200206_4-LR2_3_3 | [
"Most of the students would not like any work of art that they believed to have been produced by an unknown amateur.",
"None of the claims that the instructor made about the paintings was true.",
"Each of the students would like most of the paintings hanging in any prestigious museum.",
"In judging the paintings, some of the students were affected by what they had been told about the history of the paintings.",
"Had the instructor presented the paintings without telling the students anything about them, almost all of the students would have judged them to be roughly equal in artistic worth."
]
| 3 | The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following? |
An overwhelming number of industry's chief executive officers who earn over $250,000 annually attended prestigious business schools. Therefore Greta Harris, who attended a prestigious business school, must be a chief executive officer who earns over $250,000 annually. | 200206_4-LR2_4_4 | [
"Many opera singers are high-strung. Consequently it must be true that Fred, a high-strung opera singer, will develop the health problems associated with being high-strung.",
"The most famous opera singers practiced constantly in order to improve their voices. Therefore Franz will be more famous than will his rival Otto, who rarely practices.",
"Many of the most popular opera singers are Italian. Thus it must be true that opera is greatly enjoyed by many Italians.",
"Quite a few opera singers carry a bent nail onstage for good luck. Therefore George, an opera singer, must owe his good luck to the bent nail that he always carries.",
"A great many successful opera singers studied more than one language. Hence Eileen must be a successful opera singer, since she studied more than one language."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following exhibits flawed reasoning most nearly parallel to that exhibited in the argument above? |
After 1950, in response to record growth in worldwide food demand, farmers worldwide sharply increased fertilizer use. As a result, the productivity of farmland more than doubled by 1985. Since 1985, farmers have sought to increase farmland productivity even further. Nevertheless, worldwide fertilizer use has declined by 6 percent between 1985 and the present. | 200206_4-LR2_5_5 | [
"Since 1985 the rate at which the world's population has increased has exceeded the rate at which new arable land has been created through irrigation and other methods.",
"Several varieties of crop plants that have become popular recently, such as soybeans, are as responsive to fertilizer as are traditional grain crops.",
"Between 1950 and 1985 farmers were able to increase the yield of many varieties of crop plants.",
"After fertilizer has been added to soil for several years, adding fertilizer to the soil in subsequent years does not significantly improve crop production.",
"Between 1975 and 1980 fertilizer prices temporarily increased because of labor disputes in several fertilizer-exporting nations, and these disputes disrupted worldwide fertilizer production."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above? |
In a study, infant monkeys given a choice between two surrogate mothers—a bare wire structure equipped with a milk bottle, or a soft, suede-covered wire structure equipped with a milk bottle— unhesitatingly chose the latter. When given a choice between a bare wire structure equipped with a milk bottle and a soft, suede-covered wire structure lacking a milk bottle, they unhesitatingly chose the former. | 200206_4-LR2_6_6 | [
"Infant monkeys' desire for warmth and comfort is nearly as strong as their desire for food.",
"For infant monkeys, suede is a less convincing substitute for their mother's touch than animal fur would be.",
"For infant monkeys, a milk bottle is a less convincing substitute for their mother's teat than suede is for their mother's touch.",
"For infant monkeys, a milk bottle is an equally convincing substitute for their mother's teat as suede is for their mother's touch.",
"Infant monkeys' desire for food is stronger than their desire for warmth and comfort."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following is most supported by the information above? |
Hazel: Faster and more accurate order processing would help our business. To increase profits, we should process orders electronically rather than manually, because customers' orders will then go directly to all relevant parties. Max: We would lose money if we started processing orders electronically. Most people prefer to interact with human beings when placing orders. If we switch to electronic order processing, our business will appear cold and inhuman, and we will attract fewer customers. | 200206_4-LR2_7_7 | [
"electronic order processing is faster and more accurate than is manual order processing",
"faster and more accurate order processing would be financially beneficial to their business",
"switching to electronic order processing would be financially beneficial to their business",
"their business has an obligation to be as profitable as possible",
"electronic order processing would appear cold and inhuman to most of their customers"
]
| 2 | Hazel and Max disagree over whether |
Commentator: In the new century, only nations with all the latest electronic technology will experience great economic prosperity. The people in these nations will be constantly bombarded with images of how people in other countries live. This will increase their tendency to question their own customs and traditions, leading to a dissolution of those customs and traditions. Hence, in the new century, the stability of a nation's cultural identity will likely ____. | 200206_4-LR2_8_8 | [
"depend on a just distribution of electronic technology among all nations",
"decrease if that nation comes to have a high level of economic wealth",
"be ensured by laws that protect the customs and traditions of that culture",
"be threatened only if the people of that culture fail to acquire the latest technical skills",
"be best maintained by ensuring gradual assimilation of new technical knowledge and skills"
]
| 1 | Which one of the following most logically completes the commentator's argument? |
Cultural historian: Universal acceptance of scientific theories that regard human beings only as natural objects subject to natural forces outside the individual's control will inevitably lead to a general decline in morality. After all, if people do not believe that they are responsible for their actions, they will feel unashamed when they act immorally, and a widespread failure of individuals to feel ashamed of their immoral actions is bound to lead to a general moral decline. | 200206_4-LR2_9_9 | [
"Science does not enable human beings to control natural forces.",
"Human beings who regard themselves only as natural objects will as a result lose their sense of responsibility for their actions.",
"People who have a sense of shame for their moral transgressions will feel responsible for their actions.",
"Some scientific theories hold that human beings are not responsible for their actions.",
"Scientific explanations that regard human beings as in some respects independent of the laws of nature will not lead to a general decline in morality."
]
| 1 | The conclusion drawn by the cultural historian follows logically if which one of the following is assumed? |
Lydia: Red squirrels are known to make holes in the bark of sugar maple trees and to consume the trees' sap. Since sugar maple sap is essentially water with a small concentration of sugar, the squirrels almost certainly are after either water or sugar. Water is easily available from other sources in places where maple trees grow, so the squirrels would not go to the trouble of chewing holes in trees just to get water. Therefore, they are probably after the sugar. Galina: It must be something other than sugar, because the concentration of sugar in the maple sap is so low that a squirrel would need to drink an enormous amount of sap to get any significant amount of sugar. | 200206_4-LR2_10_10 | [
"dismissing potentially disconfirming data",
"citing a general rule of which the conclusion is a specific instance",
"presenting an observed action as part of a larger pattern of behavior",
"drawing an analogy between well-understood phenomena and an unexplained phenomenon",
"rejecting a possible alternative explanation for an observed phenomenon"
]
| 4 | Lydia's argument proceeds by |
Lydia: Red squirrels are known to make holes in the bark of sugar maple trees and to consume the trees' sap. Since sugar maple sap is essentially water with a small concentration of sugar, the squirrels almost certainly are after either water or sugar. Water is easily available from other sources in places where maple trees grow, so the squirrels would not go to the trouble of chewing holes in trees just to get water. Therefore, they are probably after the sugar. Galina: It must be something other than sugar, because the concentration of sugar in the maple sap is so low that a squirrel would need to drink an enormous amount of sap to get any significant amount of sugar. | 200206_4-LR2_10_11 | [
"Squirrels are known to like foods that have a high concentration of sugar.",
"Once a hole in a sugar maple trunk has provided one red squirrel with sap, other red squirrels will make additional holes in its trunk.",
"Trees other than sugar maples, whose sap contains a lower concentration of sugar than does sugar maple sap, are less frequently tapped by red squirrels.",
"Red squirrels leave the sugar maple sap that slowly oozes out of the holes in the tree's trunk until much of the water in the sap has evaporated.",
"During the season when sap can be obtained from sugar maple trees, the weather often becomes cold enough to prevent sap from oozing out of the trees."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most undermines the force of Galina's attempted rebuttal of Lydia's argument? |
Pundit: People complain about how ineffectual their legislative representatives are, but this apparent ineffectuality is simply the manifestation of compromises these representatives must make when they do what they were elected to do: compete for the government's scarce funds. So, when people express dissatisfaction with their legislative representatives, we can be assured that these representatives are simply doing what they were elected to do. | 200206_4-LR2_11_12 | [
"the apparent ineffectuality of legislative representatives is the only source of popular dissatisfaction with those representatives",
"governmental resources that are currently scarce cannot become more abundant except by the actions of politicians",
"constituents would continue to be dissatisfied with the effectuality of their legislative representatives if constituents were aware of the cause of this apparent ineffectuality",
"legislative compromise inevitably results in popular dissatisfaction with politicians",
"only elected public servants tend to elicit dissatisfaction among the public"
]
| 0 | The pundit's argument is flawed because it takes for granted that |
When several of a dermatologist's patients complained of a rash on just one side of their faces, the dermatologist suspected that the cause was some kind of external contact. In each case it turned out that the rash occurred on the side of the face to which the telephone was held. The dermatologist concluded that the rash was caused by prolonged contact with telephones. | 200206_4-LR2_12_13 | [
"Many telephones are now manufactured using a kind of plastic to which some people are mildly allergic.",
"Contact between other devices and the patients' faces occurred equally on both sides of their faces.",
"Most of the patients had occupations that required them to use their telephones extensively.",
"Telephones are used by most people in the industrialized world.",
"The complaints occurred after an increase in the patients' use of the telephone."
]
| 3 | Each of the following, if true, provides additional support for the dermatologist's diagnosis EXCEPT: |
The fact that politicians in a certain country are trying to reduce government spending does not by itself explain why they have voted to eliminate all government-supported scholarship programs. Government spending could have been reduced even more if instead they had cut back on military spending. | 200206_4-LR2_13_14 | [
"The fact that Phyllis does not make much money at her new job does not by itself explain why she refuses to buy expensive clothing. Phyllis has always bought only inexpensive clothing even though she used to make a lot of money.",
"The fact that Brooks has a part-time job does not by itself explain why he is doing poorly in school. Many students with part-time jobs are able to set aside enough time for study and thus maintain high grades.",
"The fact that Sallie and Jim have different work styles does not by itself explain why they could not work together. Sallie and Jim could have resolved their differences if they had communicated more with one another when they began to work together.",
"The fact that Roger wanted more companionship does not by itself explain why he adopted ten cats last year. He would not have adopted them all if anyone else had been willing to adopt some of them.",
"The fact that Thelma's goal is to become famous does not by itself explain why she took up theatrical acting. It is easier to become famous through writing or directing plays than through theatrical acting."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its reasoning to the argument above? |
Editorial: The threat of harsh punishment for a transgression usually decreases one's tendency to feel guilt or shame for committing that transgression, and the tendency to feel guilt or shame for committing a transgression reduces a person's tendency to commit transgressions. Thus, increasing the severity of the legal penalties for transgressions may amplify people's tendency to ignore the welfare of others. | 200206_4-LR2_14_15 | [
"Legal penalties do not determine the morality of an action.",
"At least some actions that involve ignoring the welfare of others are transgressions.",
"People who are concerned about threats to their own well-being tend to be less concerned about the welfare of others.",
"The threat of harsh punishment deters people from committing transgressions only if this threat is at least sometimes carried out.",
"Everyone has at least some tendency to feel guilt or shame for committing extremely severe transgressions."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following is an assumption required by the editorial's argument? |
In determining the authenticity of a painting, connoisseurs claim to be guided by the emotional impact the work has on them. For example, if a painting purportedly by Rembrandt is expressive and emotionally moving in a certain way, then this is supposedly evidence that the work was created by Rembrandt himself, and not by one of his students. But the degree to which an artwork has an emotional impact differs wildly from person to person. So a connoisseur's assessment cannot be given credence. | 200206_4-LR2_15_16 | [
"ignores the fact that anybody, not just a connoisseur, can give an assessment of the emotional impact of a painting",
"is based on the consideration of the nature of just one painter's works, even though the conclusion is about paintings in general",
"neglects the possibility that there may be widespread agreement among connoisseurs about emotional impact even when the public's assessment varies wildly",
"presumes, without giving justification, that a painting's emotional impact is irrelevant to the determination of that painting's authenticity",
"presumes, without offering evidence, that Rembrandt was better at conveying emotions in painting than were other painters"
]
| 2 | The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument |
A year ago the government reduced the highway speed limit, and in the year since, there have been significantly fewer highway fatalities than there were in the previous year. Therefore, speed limit reduction can reduce traffic fatalities. | 200206_4-LR2_16_17 | [
"highway traffic has not increased over the past year",
"the majority of drivers obeyed the new speed limit",
"there is a relation between driving speed and the number of automobile accidents",
"the new speed limit was more strictly enforced than the old",
"the number of traffic fatalities the year before the new speed limit was introduced was not abnormally high"
]
| 4 | The argument is most vulnerable to the criticism that it takes for granted that |
A plausible explanation of the disappearance of the dinosaurs is what is known as the comet theory. A large enough comet colliding with Earth could have caused a cloud of dust that enshrouded the planet and cooled the climate long enough to result in the dinosaurs' demise. | 200206_4-LR2_17_18 | [
"One of the various schools of paleontology adheres to an explanation for the disappearance of the dinosaurs that is significantly different from the comet theory.",
"Various species of animals from the same era as the dinosaurs and similar to them in physiology and habitat did not become extinct when the dinosaurs did.",
"It cannot be determined from a study of dinosaur skeletons whether the animals died from the effects of a dust cloud.",
"Many other animal species from the era of the dinosaurs did not become extinct at the same time the dinosaurs did.",
"The consequences for vegetation and animals of a comet colliding with Earth are not fully understood."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following statements, if true, most seriously weakens the argument? |
Large-scale government projects designed to benefit everyone—such as roads, schools, and bridges— usually benefit some small segments of society, initially at least, more than others. The more equally and widely political power is distributed among the citizenry, the less likely such projects are to receive funding. Hence, government by referendum rather than by means of elected representatives tends to diminish, not enhance, the welfare of a society. | 200206_4-LR2_18_19 | [
"Large-scale government projects sometimes enhance the welfare of society.",
"Large-scale projects are more likely to fulfill their intended purposes if they are not executed by the government.",
"Government by referendum actually undermines the democratic process.",
"The primary purpose of an equal distribution of political power is to enhance the welfare of society.",
"Government by referendum is the only way to distribute political power equally and widely."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
The desire for praise is the desire to obtain, as a sign that one is good, the favorable opinions of others. But because people merit praise only for those actions motivated by a desire to help others, it follows that one who aids others primarily out of a desire for praise does not deserve praise for that aid. | 200206_4-LR2_19_20 | [
"An action that is motivated by a desire for the favorable opinion of others cannot also be motivated by a desire to help others.",
"No action is worthy of praise if it is motivated solely by a desire for praise.",
"People who are indifferent to the welfare of others do not deserve praise.",
"One deserves praise for advancing one's own interests only if one also advances the interests of others.",
"It is the motives rather than the consequences of one's actions that determine whether one deserves praise for them."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if assumed, enables the conclusion of the argument to be properly drawn? |
Political theorist: Newly enacted laws need a period of immunity during which they can be repealed only if circumstances are dire. This is because the short-term consequences of any statutory change are likely to be painful, since people are not accustomed to it, while its long-term benefits are initially obscure, because people require time to learn how to take advantage of it. | 200206_4-LR2_20_21 | [
"Whether a law should be retained is independent of what the voters think its consequences will be.",
"Whether a law should be retained depends primarily on the long-term consequences of its enactment.",
"The repeal of a law should be at least as difficult as the passage of a law.",
"The short-term consequences of a law's repeal should be considered more carefully than the short-term consequences of its passage.",
"The long-term consequences of the enactment of a law should be more beneficial than its short-term consequences."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the political theorist's argument? |
The druid stones discovered in Ireland are very, very old. But this particular druid stone was discovered in Scotland; hence, it must be of more recent vintage. | 200206_4-LR2_21_22 | [
"allows a key term to shift in meaning from one use to the next",
"takes the fact that most members of a group have a certain property to constitute evidence that all members of the group have that property",
"takes for granted the very claim that it sets out to establish",
"presumes without justification that what was true of the members of a group in the past will continue to be true of them in the future",
"takes the fact that all members of a group have a certain property to constitute evidence that the members of the group are the only things with that property"
]
| 4 | The argument is flawed because it |
Robert: Speed limits on residential streets in Crownsbury are routinely ignored by drivers. People crossing those streets are endangered by speeding drivers, yet the city does not have enough police officers to patrol every street. So the city should install speed bumps and signs warning of their presence on residential streets to slow down traffic. Sheila: That is a bad idea. People who are driving too fast can easily lose control of their vehicles when they hit a speed bump. | 200206_4-LR2_22_23 | [
"problems of the kind that Robert describes are worse in Crownsbury than they are in other cities",
"Robert's proposal is intended to address a problem that Robert does not in fact intend it to address",
"with speed bumps and warning signs in place, there would still be drivers who would not slow down to a safe speed",
"most of the people who are affected by the problem Robert describes would be harmed by the installation of speed bumps and warning signs",
"problems of the kind that Robert describes do not occur on any nonresidential streets in Crownsbury"
]
| 2 | Sheila's response depends on the presupposition that |
Robert: Speed limits on residential streets in Crownsbury are routinely ignored by drivers. People crossing those streets are endangered by speeding drivers, yet the city does not have enough police officers to patrol every street. So the city should install speed bumps and signs warning of their presence on residential streets to slow down traffic. Sheila: That is a bad idea. People who are driving too fast can easily lose control of their vehicles when they hit a speed bump. | 200206_4-LR2_22_24 | [
"raises the objection that the problem with which Robert is concerned may not be as serious as he takes it to be",
"argues that the solution Robert advocates is likely to have undesirable side effects of its own",
"defends an alternative course of action as more desirable than the one advocated by Robert",
"concedes that the solution advocated by Robert would be effective, but insists that the reasons for this are not those given by Robert",
"charges that Robert's proposal would have no net effect on the problem he describes"
]
| 1 | The relationship of Sheila's statement to Robert's argument is that Sheila's statement |
In ancient Mesopotamia, prior to 2900 B.C., wheat was cultivated in considerable quantities, but after 2900 B.C. production of that grain began to decline as the production of barley increased sharply. Some historians who study ancient Mesopotamia contend that the decline in wheat production was due to excessive irrigation, lack of drainage, and the consequent accumulation of salt residues in the soil. | 200206_4-LR2_23_25 | [
"The cultivation of barley requires considerably less water than does the cultivation of wheat.",
"Barley has much greater resistance to the presence of salt in soil than does wheat.",
"Prior to 2900 B.C., barley was cultivated along with wheat, but the amount of barley produced was far less than the amount of wheat produced.",
"Around 2900 B.C., a series of wheat blights occurred, destroying much of the wheat crop year after year.",
"Literary and archaeological evidence indicates that in the period following 2900 B.C., barley became the principal grain in the diet of most of the inhabitants of Mesopotamia."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to support the historians' contention concerning the reasons for the decline in wheat production in ancient Mesopotamia? |
Physician: In itself, exercise does not cause heart attacks; rather, a sudden increase in an exercise regimen can be a cause. When people of any physical condition suddenly increase their amount of exercise, they also increase their risk of heart attack. As a result, there will be an increased risk of heart attack among employees of this company due to the new health program. | 200210_1-LR1_1_1 | [
"Employees will abruptly increase their amount of exercise as a result of the new health program.",
"The exercises involved in the new health program are more strenuous than those in the previous health program.",
"The new health program will force employees of all levels of health to exercise regularly.",
"The new health program constitutes a sudden change in the company's policy.",
"All employees, no matter what their physical condition, will participate in the new health program."
]
| 0 | The conclusion drawn by the physician follows logically if which one of the following is assumed? |
Last month OCF, Inc., announced what it described as a unique new product: an adjustable computer workstation. Three days later ErgoTech unveiled an almost identical product. The two companies claim that the similarities are coincidental and occurred because the designers independently reached the same solution to the same problem. The similarities are too fundamental to be mere coincidence, however. The two products not only look alike, but they also work alike. Both are oddly shaped with identically placed control panels with the same types of controls. Both allow the same types of adjustments and the same types of optional enhancements. | 200210_1-LR1_2_2 | [
"the two products have many characteristics in common",
"ErgoTech must have copied the design of its new product from OCF's design",
"the similarities between the two products are not coincidental",
"product designers sometimes reach the same solution to a given problem without consulting each other",
"new products that at first appear to be unique are sometimes simply variations of other products"
]
| 2 | The main point of the argument is that |
An anthropologist hypothesized that a certain medicinal powder contained a significant amount of the deadly toxin T. When the test she performed for the presence of toxin T was negative, the anthropologist did not report the results. A chemist who nevertheless learned about the test results charged the anthropologist with fraud. The anthropologist, however, countered that those results were invalid because the powder had inadvertently been tested in an acidic solution. | 200210_1-LR1_3_3 | [
"Reporting results for an experiment that was not conducted and reporting a false result for an actual experiment are both instances of scientific fraud.",
"Scientists can commit fraud and yet report some disconfirmations of their hypotheses.",
"Scientists can neglect to report some disconfirmations of their hypotheses and yet be innocent of fraud.",
"Scientists commit fraud whenever they report as valid any test result they know to be invalid.",
"Scientists who neglect to report any experiment that could be interpreted as disconfirming their hypotheses have thereby committed fraud."
]
| 4 | In the absence of the anthropologist's reply, which one of the following principles, if established, would most support the chemist's charge? |
An anthropologist hypothesized that a certain medicinal powder contained a significant amount of the deadly toxin T. When the test she performed for the presence of toxin T was negative, the anthropologist did not report the results. A chemist who nevertheless learned about the test results charged the anthropologist with fraud. The anthropologist, however, countered that those results were invalid because the powder had inadvertently been tested in an acidic solution. | 200210_1-LR1_3_4 | [
"The anthropologist had evidence from field work that the medicinal powder was typically prepared using toxin T.",
"The activity level of toxin T tends to decline if the powder is stored for a long time.",
"When it is put into an acidic solution, toxin T becomes undetectable.",
"A fresh batch of powder for a repeat analysis was available at the time of the test.",
"The type of analysis used was insensitive to very small amounts of toxin T."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the anthropologist's counterargument? |
Naima: The proposed new computer system, once we fully implemented it, would operate more smoothly and efficiently than the current system. So we should devote the resources necessary to accomplish the conversion as soon as possible. Nakai: We should keep the current system for as long as we can. The cost in time and money of converting to the new system would be greater than any predicted benefits. | 200210_1-LR1_4_5 | [
"the predicted benefits of the new computer system will be realized",
"it is essential to have the best computer system available",
"accomplishing the conversion is technically impossible",
"the current computer system does not work well enough to do what it is supposed to do",
"the conversion to a new computer system should be delayed"
]
| 4 | Naima and Nakai disagree with each other over whether |
Every year, new reports appear concerning the health risks posed by certain substances, such as coffee and sugar. One year an article claimed that coffee is dangerous to one's health. The next year, another article argued that coffee has some benefits for one's health. From these contradictory opinions, we see that experts are useless for guiding one's decisions about one's health. | 200210_1-LR1_5_6 | [
"The argument takes for granted that coffee is dangerous to one's health.",
"The argument presumes, without providing warrant, that one always wants expert guidance in making decisions about one's health.",
"The argument fails to consider the nature of expert opinion in areas other than health.",
"The argument presumes, without providing justification, that because expert opinion is trustworthy in one case, it must therefore be trustworthy in all cases.",
"The argument fails to consider that coffee may be harmful to one's health in some respects and beneficial in others."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the argument above? |
Because people are generally better at detecting mistakes in others' work than in their own, a prudent principle is that one should always have one's own work checked by someone else. | 200210_1-LR1_6_7 | [
"The best elementary school math teachers are not those for whom math was always easy. Teachers who had to struggle through math themselves are better able to explain math to students.",
"One must make a special effort to clearly explain one's views to someone else; people normally find it easier to understand their own views than to understand others' views.",
"Juries composed of legal novices, rather than panels of lawyers, should be the final arbiters in legal proceedings. People who are not legal experts are in a better position to detect good legal arguments by lawyers than are other lawyers.",
"People should always have their writing proofread by someone else. Someone who does not know in advance what is meant to be said is in a better position to spot typographical errors.",
"Two people going out for dinner will have a more enjoyable meal if they order for each other. By allowing someone else to choose, one opens oneself up to new and exciting dining experiences."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following provides the best illustration of the principle above? |
Pundit: The only airline providing service for our town announced that because the service is unprofitable it will discontinue this service next year. Town officials have urged the community to use the airline's service more frequently so that the airline will change its decision. There is no reason to comply with their recommendation, however, for just last week these same officials drove to an out-of-town conference instead of flying. | 200210_1-LR1_7_8 | [
"increasing the number of tickets sold without increasing ticket prices will be sufficient to make continued air service economically feasible",
"suspending service and losing money by continuing service are the airline's only options",
"the town officials paid for their trip with taxpayers' money rather than their own money",
"ground transportation is usually no less expensive than airplane transportation",
"if the town officials did not follow their own advice then that advice is not worth following"
]
| 4 | The pundit's reasoning is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it presumes, without providing justification, that |
Some scientists believe that 65 million years ago an asteroid struck what is now the Yucatán Peninsula, thereby causing extinction of the dinosaurs. These scientists have established that such a strike could have hurled enough debris into the atmosphere to block sunlight and cool the atmosphere. Without adequate sunlight, food sources for herbivorous dinosaurs would have disappeared, and no dinosaurs could have survived a prolonged period of low temperatures. These same scientists, however, have also established that most debris launched by the asteroid would have settled to the ground within six months, too soon for the plants to disappear or the dinosaurs to freeze. | 200210_1-LR1_8_9 | [
"Loss of the herbivorous dinosaurs would have deprived the carnivorous dinosaurs of their food source.",
"Dinosaurs inhabited most landmasses on the planet but were not especially abundant in the area of the asteroid strike.",
"A cloud of debris capable of diminishing sunlight by 20 percent would have cooled the earth's surface by 7 to 10 degrees Celsius.",
"The asteroid was at least 9.6 km in diameter, large enough for many dinosaurs to be killed by the strike itself and by subsequent tidal waves.",
"Dinosaurs were susceptible to fatal respiratory problems caused by contamination of the air by asteroid debris."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy between the scientists' beliefs and the scientists' results, as described above? |
Bernard: For which language, and thus which frequency distribution of letters and letter sequences, was the standard typewriter keyboard designed? Cora: To ask this question, you must be making a mistaken assumption: that typing speed was to be maximized. The real danger with early typewriters was that operators would hit successive keys too quickly, thereby crashing typebars into each other, bending connecting wires, and so on. So the idea was to slow the operator down by making the most common letter sequences awkward to type.Bernard: This is surely not right! These technological limitations have long since vanished, yet the keyboard is still as it was then. | 200210_1-LR1_9_10 | [
"Typewriters and word-processing equipment are typically sold to people who have learned to use the standard keyboard and who, therefore, demand it in equipment they buy.",
"Typewriters have been superseded in most offices by word-processing equipment, which has inherited the standard keyboard from typewriters.",
"The standard keyboard allows skilled operators to achieve considerable typing speeds, though it makes acquiring such skills relatively difficult.",
"A person who has learned one keyboard layout can readily learn to use a second one in place of the first, but only with difficulty learn to use a second one alongside the first.",
"It is now possible to construct typewriters and word-processing equipment in which a single keyboard can accommodate two or even more different keyboard layouts, each accessible to the operator at will."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, could be used by Cora to counter Bernard's rejection of her explanation? |
Some teachers claim that students would not learn curricular content without the incentive of grades. But students with intense interest in the material would learn it without this incentive, while the behavior of students lacking all interest in the material is unaffected by such an incentive. The incentive of grades, therefore, serves no essential academic purpose. | 200210_1-LR1_10_11 | [
"takes for granted that the only purpose of school is to convey a fixed body of information to students",
"takes for granted that students who are indifferent to the grades they receive are genuinely interested in the curricular material",
"fails to consider that the incentive of grades may serve some useful nonacademic purpose",
"ignores the possibility that students who lack interest in the curricular material would be quite interested in it if allowed to choose their own curricular material",
"fails to consider that some students may be neither fascinated by nor completely indifferent to the subject being taught"
]
| 4 | The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument |
Economist: Technology now changes so rapidly that workers need periodic retraining. Such retraining can be efficient only if it allows individual companies to meet their own short-term needs. Hence, large governmental job retraining programs are no longer a viable option in the effort to retrain workers efficiently. | 200210_1-LR1_11_12 | [
"Workers did not need to be retrained when the pace of technological change was slower than it is currently.",
"Large job retraining programs will be less efficient than smaller programs if the pace of technological change slows.",
"No single type of retraining program is most efficient at retraining technological workers.",
"Large governmental job retraining programs do not meet the short-term needs of individual companies.",
"Technological workers are more likely now than in the past to move in order to find work for which they are already trained."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following is an assumption required by the economist's argument? |
Recent research indicates that increased consumption of fruits and vegetables by middle-aged people reduces their susceptibility to stroke in later years. The researchers speculate that this may be because fruits and vegetables are rich in folic acid. Low levels of folic acid are associated with high levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that contributes to blocked arteries. | 200210_1-LR1_12_13 | [
"An increased risk of stroke is correlated with low levels of homocysteine.",
"A decreased risk of stroke is correlated with increased levels of folic acid.",
"An increased propensity for blocked arteries is correlated with decreased levels of homocysteine.",
"A decreased propensity for blocked arteries is correlated with low levels of folic acid.",
"Stroke is prevented by ingestion of folic acid in quantities sufficient to prevent a decline in the levels of homocysteine."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following statements is most strongly supported by the information above? |
Thirty years ago, the percentage of the British people who vacationed in foreign countries was very small compared with the large percentage of the British population who travel abroad for vacations now. Foreign travel is, and always has been, expensive from Britain. Therefore, British people must have, on average, more money to spend on vacations now than they did 30 years ago. | 200210_1-LR1_13_14 | [
"If foreign travel had been less expensive 30 years ago, British people would still not have had enough money to take vacations abroad.",
"If travel to Britain were less expensive, more people of other countries would travel to Britain for their vacations.",
"If the percentage of British people vacationing abroad was lower 30 years ago, then the British people of 30 years ago must have spent more money on domestic vacations.",
"If more of the British people of 30 years ago had had enough money to vacation abroad, more would have done so.",
"If British people are now wealthier than they were 30 years ago, then they must have more money to spend on vacations now than they did 30 years ago."
]
| 3 | The argument requires assuming which one of the following? |
Mystery stories often feature a brilliant detective and the detective's dull companion. Clues are presented in the story, and the companion wrongly infers an inaccurate solution to the mystery using the same clues that the detective uses to deduce the correct solution. Thus, the author's strategy of including the dull companion gives readers a chance to solve the mystery while also diverting them from the correct solution. | 200210_1-LR1_14_15 | [
"Most mystery stories feature a brilliant detective who solves the mystery presented in the story.",
"Mystery readers often solve the mystery in a story simply by spotting the mistakes in the reasoning of the detective's dull companion in that story.",
"Some mystery stories give readers enough clues to infer the correct solution to the mystery.",
"The actions of the brilliant detective in a mystery story rarely divert readers from the actions of the detective's dull companion.",
"The detective's dull companion in a mystery story generally uncovers the misleading clues that divert readers from the mystery's correct solution."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above? |
Policy analyst: Increasing the size of a police force is only a stopgap method of crime prevention; it does not get at the root causes of crime. Therefore, city officials should not respond to rising crime rates by increasing the size of their city's police force. | 200210_1-LR1_15_16 | [
"Some people think that rules with higher standards than people can live up to, such as those enjoining total honesty, prevent some immoral behavior by giving people a guide to self-improvement. But such rules actually worsen behavior by making people cynical about rules. Thus, societies should not institute overly demanding rules.",
"Swamps play an important role in allaying the harsh effects of floods because they absorb a great deal of water. Although dams prevent many floods, they worsen the effects of the greatest floods by drying up swamps. Thus dams should not be built.",
"Although less effective in preventing theft than security guards, burglar alarm systems are more affordable to maintain. Because the greater loss from theft when alarms are used is outweighed by their lower cost, companies are advised always to use burglar alarm systems.",
"Because taking this drug does not cure the disease for which it is prescribed, but only reduces the disease's most harmful effects, doctors should not continue to prescribe this drug.",
"We will never fully understand what causes people to engage in criminal activity. Therefore, we should investigate other ways to improve society's ability to combat crime."
]
| 3 | The flawed reasoning in which one of the following arguments most closely resembles the flawed reasoning in the policy analyst's argument? |
In order to determine automobile insurance premiums for a driver, insurance companies calculate various risk factors; as the risk factors increase, so does the premium. Certain factors, such as the driver's age and past accident history, play an important role in these calculations. Yet these premiums should also increase with the frequency with which a person drives. After all, a person's chance of being involved in a mishap increases in proportion to the number of times that person drives. | 200210_1-LR1_16_17 | [
"People who drive infrequently are more likely to be involved in accidents that occur on small roads than in highway accidents.",
"People who drive infrequently are less likely to follow rules for safe driving than are people who drive frequently.",
"People who drive infrequently are less likely to violate local speed limits than are people who drive frequently.",
"People who drive frequently are more likely to make long-distance trips in the course of a year than are people who drive infrequently.",
"People who drive frequently are more likely to become distracted while driving than are people who drive infrequently."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following, if true, most undermines the argument? |
In order to determine automobile insurance premiums for a driver, insurance companies calculate various risk factors; as the risk factors increase, so does the premium. Certain factors, such as the driver's age and past accident history, play an important role in these calculations. Yet these premiums should also increase with the frequency with which a person drives. After all, a person's chance of being involved in a mishap increases in proportion to the number of times that person drives. | 200210_1-LR1_16_18 | [
"a premise of the argument",
"the conclusion of the argument",
"evidence offered in support of one of the premises",
"an assertion phrased to preclude an anticipated objection",
"a clarification of a key term in the argument"
]
| 1 | The claim that insurance premiums should increase as the frequency with which a driver drives increases plays which one of the following roles in the argument? |
Essayist: Only happiness is intrinsically valuable; other things are valuable only insofar as they contribute to happiness. Some philosophers argue that the fact that we do not approve of a bad person's being happy shows that we value happiness only when it is deserved. This supposedly shows that we find something besides happiness to be intrinsically valuable. But the happiness people deserve is determined by the amount of happiness they bring to others. Therefore, ____. | 200210_1-LR1_17_19 | [
"the notion that people can be deserving of happiness is ultimately incoherent",
"people do not actually value happiness as much as they think they do",
"the judgment that a person deserves to be happy is itself to be understood in terms of happiness",
"the only way to be assured of happiness is to bring happiness to those who have done something to deserve it",
"a truly bad person cannot actually be very happy"
]
| 2 | Which one of the following most logically completes the final sentence of the essayist's argument? |
Sociologist: Climate and geology determine where human industry can be established. Drastic shifts in climate always result in migrations, and migrations bring about the intermingling of ideas necessary for rapid advances in civilization. | 200210_1-LR1_18_20 | [
"Climate is the primary cause of migration.",
"All shifts in climate produce a net gain in human progress.",
"A population remains settled only where the climate is fairly stable.",
"Populations settle in every place where human industry can be established.",
"Every migration is accompanied by rapid advances in civilization."
]
| 2 | The sociologist's statements, if true, most strongly support which one of the following? |
Some educators claim that it is best that school courses cover only basic subject matter, but cover it in depth. These educators argue that if students achieve a solid grasp of the basic concepts and investigatory techniques in a subject, they will be able to explore the breadth of that subject on their own after the course is over. But if they simply learn a lot of factual information, without truly understanding its significance, they will not be well equipped for further study on their own. | 200210_1-LR1_19_21 | [
"It is easier to understand how plants and animals are classified after learning how plants and animals can be useful.",
"It is more difficult to recall the details of a dull and complicated lecture than of a lively and interesting one.",
"It is easier to remember new ideas explained personally by a teacher than ideas that one explores independently.",
"It is easier to understand any Greek tragedy after one has analyzed a few of them in detail.",
"It is easier to learn many simple ideas well than to learn a few complicated ideas well."
]
| 3 | The educators' reasoning provides grounds for accepting which one of the following statements? |
Damming the Merv River would provide irrigation for the dry land in its upstream areas; unfortunately, a dam would reduce agricultural productivity in the fertile land downstream by reducing the availability and quality of the water there. The productivity loss in the downstream area would be greater than the productivity gain upstream, so building a dam would yield no overall gain in agricultural productivity in the region as a whole. | 200210_1-LR1_20_22 | [
"Disease-causing bacteria in eggs can be destroyed by overcooking the eggs, but the eggs then become much less appetizing; health is more important than taste, however, so it is better to overcook eggs than not to do so.",
"Increasing the price of transatlantic telephone calls will discourage many private individuals from making them. But since most transatlantic telephone calls are made by businesses, not by private individuals, a rate increase will not reduce telephone company profits.",
"A new highway will allow suburban commuters to reach the city more quickly, but not without causing increased delays within the city that will more than offset any time saved on the highway. Therefore, the highway will not reduce suburban commuters' overall commuting time.",
"Doctors can prescribe antibiotics for many minor illnesses, but antibiotics are expensive, and these illnesses can often be cured by rest alone. Therefore, it is better to rest at home than to see a doctor for these illnesses.",
"A certain chemical will kill garden pests that damage tomatoes, but that chemical will damage certain other plants more severely than the pests damage the tomatoes, so the only gardens that will benefit from the use of the chemical are those in which only tomatoes are grown."
]
| 2 | The reasoning in the argument above most closely parallels that in which one of the following? |
Activist: Food producers irradiate food in order to prolong its shelf life. Five animal studies were recently conducted to investigate whether this process alters food in a way that could be dangerous to people who eat it. The studies concluded that irradiated food is safe for humans to eat. However, because these studies were subsequently found by a panel of independent scientists to be seriously flawed in their methodology, it follows that irradiated food is not safe for human consumption. | 200210_1-LR1_21_23 | [
"treats a failure to prove a claim as constituting proof of the denial of that claim",
"treats methodological flaws in past studies as proof that it is currently not possible to devise methodologically adequate alternatives",
"fails to consider the possibility that even a study whose methodology has no serious flaws nonetheless might provide only weak support for its conclusion",
"fails to consider the possibility that what is safe for animals might not always be safe for human beings",
"fails to establish that the independent scientists know more about food irradiation than do the people who produced the five studies"
]
| 0 | The reasoning in the activist's argument is flawed because that argument |
One-year-olds ordinarily prefer the taste of sweet food to that of salty food. Yet if one feeds a one-year-old salty food rather than sweet food, then over a period of about a year he or she will develop a taste for the salty flavor and choose to eat salty food rather than sweet food. Thus, a young child's taste preferences can be affected by the type of food he or she has been exposed to. | 200210_1-LR1_22_24 | [
"Two-year-olds do not naturally prefer salty food to sweet food.",
"A child's taste preferences usually change between age one and age two.",
"Two-year-olds do not naturally dislike salty food so much that they would not choose it over some other foods.",
"The salty food fed to infants in order to change their taste preferences must taste pleasant.",
"Sweet food is better for infant development than is salty food."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument? |
Ms. Smith: I am upset that my son's entire class lost two days of recess because some of the children were throwing raisins in the cafeteria. He was not throwing raisins, and it was clear to everyone just who the culprits were. Principal: I'm sorry you're upset, Ms. Smith, but your son's situation is like being caught in a traffic jam caused by an accident. People who aren't involved in the accident nevertheless have to suffer by sitting there in the middle of it. | 200210_4-LR2_1_1 | [
"many children were throwing raisins in the cafeteria",
"Ms. Smith's son might not have thrown raisins in the cafeteria",
"after an accident the resulting traffic jams are generally caused by police activity",
"Ms. Smith's son knows who it was that threw raisins in the cafeteria",
"losing two days of recess will deter future disruptions"
]
| 1 | If the principal is speaking sincerely, then it can be inferred from what the principal says that the principal believes that |
Ms. Smith: I am upset that my son's entire class lost two days of recess because some of the children were throwing raisins in the cafeteria. He was not throwing raisins, and it was clear to everyone just who the culprits were. Principal: I'm sorry you're upset, Ms. Smith, but your son's situation is like being caught in a traffic jam caused by an accident. People who aren't involved in the accident nevertheless have to suffer by sitting there in the middle of it. | 200210_4-LR2_1_2 | [
"It makes a generalization about all the children in the class which is not justified by the facts.",
"It suggests that throwing raisins in the cafeteria produces as much inconvenience as does being caught in a traffic jam.",
"It does not acknowledge the fact that a traffic jam following an accident is unavoidable while the mass punishment was avoidable.",
"It assumes that Ms. Smith's son is guilty when there is evidence to the contrary which the principal has disregarded.",
"It attempts to confuse the point at issue by introducing irrelevant facts about the incident."
]
| 2 | The principal's response to Ms. Smith's complaint is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds? |
Journalist: Obviously, though some animals are purely carnivorous, none would survive without plants. But the dependence is mutual. Many plant species would never have come to be had there been no animals to pollinate, fertilize, and broadcast their seeds. Also, plants' photosynthetic activity would deplete the carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere were it not constantly being replenished by the exhalation of animals, engine fumes, and smoke from fires, many set by human beings. | 200210_4-LR2_2_3 | [
"The photosynthetic activity of plants is necessary for animal life, but animal life is also necessary for the occurrence of photosynthesis in plants.",
"Some purely carnivorous animals would not survive without plants.",
"The chemical composition of Earth and its atmosphere depends, at least to some extent, on the existence and activities of the animals that populate Earth.",
"Human activity is part of what prevents plants from depleting the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere on which plants and animals alike depend.",
"Just as animals are dependent on plants for their survival, plants are dependent on animals for theirs."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of the journalist's argument? |
The government-owned gas company has begun selling stoves and other gas appliances to create a larger market for its gas. Merchants who sell such products complain that the competition will hurt their businesses. That may well be; however, the government-owned gas company is within its rights. After all, the owner of a private gas company might well decide to sell such appliances and surely there would be nothing wrong with that. | 200210_4-LR2_3_4 | [
"Government-owned companies have the right to do whatever private businesses have the right to do.",
"A government should always take seriously the complaints of merchants.",
"Private businesses have no right to compete with government monopolies.",
"There is nothing wrong with a government-owned company selling products so long as owners of private companies do not complain.",
"There is nothing wrong with private companies competing against each other."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the reasoning above? |
Toxicologist: A survey of oil-refinery workers who work with MBTE, an ingredient currently used in some smog-reducing gasolines, found an alarming incidence of complaints about headaches, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Since gasoline containing MBTE will soon be widely used, we can expect an increased incidence of headaches, fatigue, and shortness of breath. | 200210_4-LR2_4_5 | [
"Most oil-refinery workers who do not work with MBTE do not have serious health problems involving headaches, fatigue, and shortness of breath.",
"Headaches, fatigue, and shortness of breath are among the symptoms of several medical conditions that are potentially serious threats to public health.",
"Since the time when gasoline containing MBTE was first introduced in a few metropolitan areas, those areas reported an increase in the number of complaints about headaches, fatigue, and shortness of breath.",
"Regions in which only gasoline containing MBTE is used have a much greater incidence of headaches, fatigue, and shortness of breath than do similar regions in which only MBTE-free gasoline is used.",
"The oil-refinery workers surveyed were carefully selected to be representative of the broader population in their medical histories prior to exposure to MBTE, as well as in other relevant respects."
]
| 1 | Each of the following, if true, strengthens the toxicologist's argument EXCEPT: |
In any field, experience is required for a proficient person to become an expert. Through experience, a proficient person gradually develops a repertory of model situations that allows an immediate, intuitive response to each new situation. This is the hallmark of expertise, and for this reason computerized "expert systems" cannot be as good as human experts. Although computers have the ability to store millions of bits of information, the knowledge of human experts, who benefit from the experience of thousands of situations, is not stored within their brains in the form of rules and facts. | 200210_4-LR2_5_6 | [
"Computers can show no more originality in responding to a situation than that built into them by their designers.",
"The knowledge of human experts cannot be adequately rendered into the type of information that a computer can store.",
"Human experts rely on information that can be expressed by rules and facts when they respond to new situations.",
"Future advances in computer technology will not render computers capable of sorting through greater amounts of information.",
"Human experts rely heavily on intuition while they are developing a repertory of model situations."
]
| 1 | The argument requires the assumption of which one of the following? |
When drivers are deprived of sleep there are definite behavioral changes, such as slower responses to stimuli and a reduced ability to concentrate, but people's self-awareness of these changes is poor. Most drivers think they can tell when they are about to fall asleep, but they cannot. | 200210_4-LR2_6_7 | [
"People who have been drinking alcohol are not good judges of whether they are too drunk to drive.",
"Elementary school students who dislike arithmetic are not good judges of whether multiplication tables should be included in the school's curriculum.",
"Industrial workers who have just been exposed to noxious fumes are not good judges of whether they should keep working.",
"People who have just donated blood and have become faint are not good judges of whether they are ready to walk out of the facility.",
"People who are being treated for schizophrenia are not good judges of whether they should continue their medical treatments."
]
| 1 | Each of the following illustrates the principle that the passage illustrates EXCEPT: |
Politician: My opponent says our zoning laws too strongly promote suburban single-family dwellings and should be changed to encourage other forms of housing like apartment buildings. Yet he lives in a house in the country. His lifestyle contradicts his own argument, which should therefore not be taken seriously. | 200210_4-LR2_7_8 | [
"its characterization of the opponent's lifestyle reveals the politician's own prejudice against constructing apartment buildings",
"it neglects the fact that apartment buildings can be built in the suburbs just as easily as in the center of the city",
"it fails to mention the politician's own living situation",
"its discussion of the opponent's lifestyle is irrelevant to the merits of the opponent's argument",
"it ignores the possibility that the opponent may have previously lived in an apartment building"
]
| 3 | The politician's reasoning is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that |
Consumers are deeply concerned about the quantity of plastic packaging on the market and have spurred manufacturers to find ways to recycle plastic materials. Despite their efforts, however, only 6.5 percent of plastic is now being recycled, as compared to 33 percent of container glass. | 200210_4-LR2_8_9 | [
"Many factories are set up to accept and make economical use of recycled glass, whereas there are few factories that make products out of recycled plastic.",
"Many plastic products are incompatible and cannot be recycled together, whereas most containers made of glass are compatible.",
"The manufacture of new plastic depletes oil reserves, whereas the manufacture of new glass uses renewable resources.",
"Unlike glass, which can be heated to thousands of degrees during the recycling process to burn off contaminants, recycled plastic cannot be heated enough to sterilize it.",
"Plastic polymers tend to break down during the recycling process and weaken the resulting product, whereas glass does not break down."
]
| 2 | Each of the following, if true, helps to explain the relatively low rate of plastic recycling EXCEPT: |
Technological progress makes economic growth and widespread prosperity possible; it also makes a worker's particular skills less crucial to production. Yet workers' satisfaction in their work depends on their believing that their work is difficult and requires uncommon skills. Clearly, then, technological progress ____. | 200210_4-LR2_9_10 | [
"decreases the quality of most products",
"provides benefits only to those whose work is not directly affected by it",
"is generally opposed by the workers whose work will be directly affected by it",
"causes workers to feel less satisfaction in their work",
"eliminates many workers' jobs"
]
| 3 | Which one of the following most logically completes the argument? |
Environmentalist: The complex ecosystem of the North American prairie has largely been destroyed to produce cattle feed. But the prairie ecosystem once supported 30 to 70 million bison, whereas North American agriculture now supports about 50 million cattle. Since bison yield as much meat as cattle, and the natural prairie required neither pesticides, machinery, nor government subsidies, returning as much land as possible to an uncultivated state could restore biodiversity without a major decrease in meat production. | 200210_4-LR2_10_11 | [
"If earlier North American agricultural techniques were reintroduced, meat production would decrease only slightly.",
"Protecting the habitat of wild animals so that we can utilize these animals as a food source is more cost effective than raising domesticated animals.",
"The biodiversity of the North American prairie ecosystem should not be restored if doing so will have intolerable economic consequences.",
"Preservation of the remaining North American bison would be a sensible policy.",
"The devastation of the North American prairie ecosystem could be largely reversed without significantly decreasing meat production."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following most accurately expresses the environmentalist's main conclusion? |
A recent study reveals that television advertising does not significantly affect children's preferences for breakfast cereals. The study compared two groups of children. One group had watched no television, and the other group had watched average amounts of television and its advertising. Both groups strongly preferred the sugary cereals heavily advertised on television. | 200210_4-LR2_11_12 | [
"The preferences of children who do not watch television advertising are influenced by the preferences of children who watch the advertising.",
"The preference for sweets is not a universal trait in humans, and can be influenced by environmental factors such as television advertising.",
"Most of the children in the group that had watched television were already familiar with the advertisements for these cereals.",
"Both groups rejected cereals low in sugar even when these cereals were heavily advertised on television.",
"Cereal preferences of adults who watch television are known to be significantly different from the cereal preferences of adults who do not watch television."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following statements, if true, most weakens the argument? |
Reducing speed limits neither saves lives nor protects the environment. This is because the more slowly a car is driven, the more time it spends on the road spewing exhaust into the air and running the risk of colliding with other vehicles. | 200210_4-LR2_12_13 | [
"neglects the fact that some motorists completely ignore speed limits",
"ignores the possibility of benefits from lowering speed limits other than environmental and safety benefits",
"fails to consider that if speed limits are reduced, increased driving times will increase the number of cars on the road at any given time",
"presumes, without providing justification, that total emissions for a given automobile trip are determined primarily by the amount of time the trip takes",
"presumes, without providing justification, that drivers run a significant risk of collision only if they spend a lot of time on the road"
]
| 3 | The argument's reasoning is flawed because the argument |
Loggerhead turtles live and breed in distinct groups, of which some are in the Pacific Ocean and some are in the Atlantic. New evidence suggests that juvenile Pacific loggerheads that feed near the Baja peninsula hatch in Japanese waters 10,000 kilometers away. Ninety-five percent of the DNA samples taken from the Baja turtles match those taken from turtles at the Japanese nesting sites. | 200210_4-LR2_13_14 | [
"Nesting sites of loggerhead turtles have been found off the Pacific coast of North America several thousand kilometers north of the Baja peninsula.",
"The distance between nesting sites and feeding sites of Atlantic loggerhead turtles is less than 5,000 kilometers.",
"Loggerhead hatchlings in Japanese waters have been declining in number for the last decade while the number of nesting sites near the Baja peninsula has remained constant.",
"Ninety-five percent of the DNA samples taken from the Baja turtles match those taken from Atlantic loggerhead turtles.",
"Commercial aquariums have been successfully breeding Atlantic loggerheads with Pacific loggerheads for the last five years."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the reasoning above? |
People who do not believe that others distrust them are confident in their own abilities, so people who tend to trust others think of a difficult task as a challenge rather than a threat, since this is precisely how people who are confident in their own abilities regard such tasks. | 200210_4-LR2_14_15 | [
"People who believe that others distrust them tend to trust others.",
"Confidence in one's own abilities gives one confidence in the trustworthiness of others.",
"People who tend to trust others do not believe that others distrust them.",
"People who are not threatened by difficult tasks tend to find such tasks challenging.",
"People tend to distrust those who they believe lack self-confidence."
]
| 2 | The conclusion above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed? |
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