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The average literate person today spends significantly less time reading than the average literate person did 50 years ago, yet many more books are sold per year now than were sold 50 years ago. | 199502_2-LR1_5_5 | [
"The population of literate people is significantly larger today than it was 50 years ago.",
"People who read books 50 years ago were more likely to read books borrowed from libraries than are people who read books today.",
"The average scholar or other person who uses books professionally today owns and consults many more different books than did the average scholar or similar professional 50 years ago.",
"People of 50 years ago were more likely than people are today to display large collections of books as a sign of education and good taste.",
"Books sold now tend to be shorter and easier to read than were books sold 50 years ago."
]
| 3 | Each of the following, if true, helps resolve the apparent discrepancy above EXCEPT: |
Some scientists believe that the relationship between mice and humans has, over time, diminished the ability of mice to survive in nature, so that now they must depend upon human civilization for their continued existence. This opinion, however, ignores significant facts. Despite numerous predators and humanity's enmity, mice have distributed themselves more widely across the planet than any other mammal except humans. Mice reproduce rapidly and, more important to their survival, they have the ability to adapt to an extraordinary range of habitats. Should the environment ever become too extreme to support human life, naturalists predict that mice would be able to adapt and survive. | 199502_2-LR1_6_6 | [
"The size of the mouse population is limited by the availability of food.",
"Under optimum conditions, mice reproduce every four weeks, with five to seven pups per litter.",
"Fossil remains prove that mice inhabited North America prior to the arrival of humans.",
"Mice have colonized an island near Antarctica which is too bleak and harsh to support human life.",
"A significant percentage of the world's mouse population lives in urban areas."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, would most support the naturalists' prediction? |
All zebras have stripes, and the most widespread subspecies has the best-defined stripes. The stripes must therefore be of importance to the species. Since among these grassland grazers the stripes can hardly function as camouflage, they must serve as some sort of signal for other zebras. | 199502_2-LR1_7_7 | [
"The subspecies of zebras with the best-defined stripes is also characterized by exceptional size and vigor.",
"In certain tall grasses zebras can be harder to spot than grazing animals with a coat of uniform color.",
"A visual signal transmitted among the members of a species can consist of a temporary change of color perceptible to other members of the species.",
"Zebras react much faster to moving shapes that have stripes than they do to moving shapes that are otherwise identical but lack stripes.",
"Zebras have a richer repertoire of vocal signals than do similar species such as horses."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most strongly supports the conclusion regarding a signaling function? |
Some years ago, an editorial defended United States government restrictions on academic freedom, arguing that scientists who receive public funding cannot rightly "detach themselves from the government's policies on national security." Yet the same editorial criticized the Soviet government for not allowing scientists to "detach themselves from politics." If there is a significant difference between the principles involved in each case, the editorial should have explained what that difference is. | 199502_2-LR1_8_8 | [
"disputing certain factual claims made in the editorial",
"pointing out an apparent inconsistency in the editorial",
"describing an alleged exception to a general claim made in the editorial",
"refuting an assumption on which the argument of the editorial appears to have been based",
"drawing a conclusion from the editorial different from the conclusion drawn by the writer of the editorial"
]
| 1 | The author of the passage criticizes the editorial by |
Ph.D. programs are valuable only if they inculcate good scholarship and expedite the student's full participation in the field. Hence, doctoral dissertations should not be required in the humanities. Undertaking a quality book-length dissertation demands an accumulation of knowledge virtually impossible for those relatively new to their disciplines. The student consequently either seeks to compensate for poor quality with quantity or ends up spending years producing a work of quality. Either way, the dissertation is counterproductive and frustrates the appropriate goals of the doctoral program. | 199502_2-LR1_9_9 | [
"It provides essential support for the conclusion.",
"It is an example illustrative of a general principle concerning the goals of Ph.D. programs.",
"It is what the argument is attempting to establish.",
"It provides evidence for the assumption that requirements for degrees in the humanities differ from requirements for degrees in other disciplines.",
"It confirms the observation that the requirement for a dissertation can frustrate the goals of a doctoral program."
]
| 2 | The claim that doctoral dissertations should not be required in the humanities plays which one of the following roles in the argument? |
The government of Penglai, an isolated island, proposed eliminating outdoor advertising except for small signs of standard shape that identify places of business. Some island merchants protested that the law would reduce the overall volume of business in Penglai, pointing to a report done by the government indicating that in every industry the Penglai businesses that used outdoor advertising had a larger market share than those that did not. | 199502_2-LR1_10_10 | [
"presupposing that there are no good reasons for restricting the use of outdoor advertising in Penglai",
"assuming without giving justification that the outdoor advertising increased market share by some means other than by diverting trade from competing businesses",
"ignoring the question of whether the government's survey of the island could be objective",
"failing to establish whether the market-share advantage enjoyed by businesses employing outdoor advertising was precisely proportionate to the amount of advertising",
"disregarding the possibility that the government's proposed restrictions are unconstitutional"
]
| 1 | Which one of the following describes an error of reasoning in the merchants' argument? |
Unless they are used as strictly temporary measures, rent-control ordinances (municipal regulations placing limits on rent increases) have several negative effects for renters. One of these is that the controls will bring about a shortage of rental units. This disadvantage for renters occurs over the long run, but the advantage—smaller rent increases—occurs immediately. In many municipalities, specifically in all those where tenants of rent-control units have a secure hold on political power and can get rent-control ordinances enacted or repealed, it is invariably the desire for short-term gain that guides those tenants in the exercise of that power. | 199502_2-LR1_11_11 | [
"It is impossible for landlords to raise rents when rent controls are in effect.",
"In many municipalities rent-control ordinances are repealed as soon as shortages of rental units arise.",
"The only negative effect of rent control for renters is that it brings about a shortage of rental units.",
"In many municipalities there is now, or eventually will be, a shortage of rental units.",
"In the long term, a shortage of rental units will raise rents substantially."
]
| 3 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following can be properly inferred from them? |
In many languages other than English there is a word for "mother's brother" which is different from the word for "father's brother," whereas English uses the word "uncle" for both. Thus, speakers of these languages evidence a more finely discriminated kinship system than English speakers do. The number of basic words for colors also varies widely from language to language. Therefore, speakers of languages that have fewer basic words for colors than English has must be perceptually unable to distinguish as many colors as speakers of English can distinguish. | 199502_2-LR1_12_12 | [
"Speakers of English are able to distinguish between lighter and darker shades of the color they call \"blue,\" for which Russian has two different basic words.",
"Almost every language distinguishes red from the other colors",
"Khmer uses a basic word corresponding to English \"blue\" for most leaves, but uses its basic word corresponding to English \"green\" for unripe bananas",
"The word \"orange\" in English has the same origin as the equivalent word in Spanish.",
"Most languages do not have a basic word that distinguishes gray from other colors, although gray is commonly found in nature."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, undermines the conclusion concerning words for colors? |
In many languages other than English there is a word for "mother's brother" which is different from the word for "father's brother," whereas English uses the word "uncle" for both. Thus, speakers of these languages evidence a more finely discriminated kinship system than English speakers do. The number of basic words for colors also varies widely from language to language. Therefore, speakers of languages that have fewer basic words for colors than English has must be perceptually unable to distinguish as many colors as speakers of English can distinguish. | 199502_2-LR1_12_13 | [
"Most languages have distinct words for \"sister\" and \"brother.\"",
"Each language has a different basic word for each sensory quality that its speakers can perceptually distinguish.",
"Every language makes some category distinctions that no other language makes.",
"In any language short, frequently used words express categories that are important for its speakers to distinguish perceptually from each other.",
"Speakers of languages with relatively few basic words for colors live in geographical regions where flora and fauna do not vary greatly in color."
]
| 1 | The conclusion concerning words for colors would be properly drawn if which one of the following were assumed? |
Zachary: One would have to be blind to the reality of moral obligation to deny that people who believe a course of action to be morally obligatory for them have both the right and the duty to pursue that action, and that no one else has any right to stop them from doing so. Cynthia: But imagine an artist who feels morally obliged to do whatever she can to prevent works of art from being destroyed confronting a morally committed antipornography demonstrator engaged in destroying artworks he deems pornographic. According to your principle that artist has, simultaneously, both the right and the duty to stop the destruction and no right whatsoever to stop it. | 199502_2-LR1_13_14 | [
"the concept of moral obligation is incoherent",
"the ideas of right and duty should not be taken seriously since doing so leads to morally undesirable consequences",
"Zachary's principle is untenable on its own terms",
"because the term \"moral obligation\" is understood differently by different people, it is impossible to find a principle concerning moral rights and duties that applies to everyone",
"Zachary's principle is based on an understanding of moral obligation that is too narrow to encompass the kind of moral obligation artists feel toward works of art"
]
| 2 | Cynthia's response to Zachary's claim is structured to demonstrate that |
Zachary: One would have to be blind to the reality of moral obligation to deny that people who believe a course of action to be morally obligatory for them have both the right and the duty to pursue that action, and that no one else has any right to stop them from doing so. Cynthia: But imagine an artist who feels morally obliged to do whatever she can to prevent works of art from being destroyed confronting a morally committed antipornography demonstrator engaged in destroying artworks he deems pornographic. According to your principle that artist has, simultaneously, both the right and the duty to stop the destruction and no right whatsoever to stop it. | 199502_2-LR1_13_15 | [
"a medical researcher who feels a moral obligation not to claim sole credit for work that was performed in part by someone else confronting another researcher who feels no such moral obligation",
"a manufacturer who feels a moral obligation to recall potentially dangerous products confronting a consumer advocate who feels morally obliged to expose product defects",
"an investment banker who believes that governments are morally obliged to regulate major industries confronting an investment banker who holds that governments have a moral obligation not to interfere with market forces",
"an architect who feels a moral obligation to design only energy-efficient buildings confronting, as a potential client, a corporation that believes its primary moral obligation is to maximize shareholder profits",
"a health inspector who feels morally obliged to enforce restrictions on the number of cats a householder may keep confronting a householder who, feeling morally obliged to keep every stray that comes along, has over twice that number of cats"
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if substituted for the scenario invoked by Cynthia, would preserve the force of her argument? |
A county airport, designed to serve the needs of private aircraft owners, planned to cover its operating expenses in part by charging user fees to private aircraft using the airport. The airport was unable to pay its operating expenses because the revenue from user fees was lower than expected. | 199502_2-LR1_14_16 | [
"Most of the county's citizens live a convenient distance from one or another airport now offering commercial airline services.",
"Private aircraft owners were unwilling to pay the user fees charged at the airport.",
"The airport's construction was financed exclusively by private funds.",
"The airport's operating expenses were greater than the revenue raised from sources other than the airport user fees for private planes.",
"The number of owners of private aircraft who use the county's airport facilities will not change appreciably in the future."
]
| 3 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true? |
Consumer activist: By allowing major airlines to abandon, as they promptly did, all but their most profitable routes, the government's decision to cease regulation of the airline industry has worked to the disadvantage of everyone who lacks access to a large metropolitan airport. Industry representative: On the contrary, where major airlines moved out, regional airlines have moved in and, as a consequence, there are more flights into and out of most small airports now than before the change in regulatory policy. | 199502_2-LR1_15_17 | [
"No small airport has fewer flights now than it did before the change in policy regarding regulation of the airline industry.",
"When permitted to do so by changes in regulatory policy, each major airline abandoned all but large metropolitan airports.",
"Policies that result in an increase in the number of flights to which consumers have easy access do not generally work to the disadvantage of consumers.",
"Regional airlines charge less to fly a given route now than the major airlines charged when they flew the same route.",
"Any policy that leads to an increase in the number of competitors in a given field works to the long-term advantage of consumers."
]
| 2 | The industry representative's argument will not provide an effective answer to the consumer activist's claim unless which one of the following is true? |
Consumer activist: By allowing major airlines to abandon, as they promptly did, all but their most profitable routes, the government's decision to cease regulation of the airline industry has worked to the disadvantage of everyone who lacks access to a large metropolitan airport. Industry representative: On the contrary, where major airlines moved out, regional airlines have moved in and, as a consequence, there are more flights into and out of most small airports now than before the change in regulatory policy. | 199502_2-LR1_15_18 | [
"Before the recent change in regulatory policy, there was no advantage in having easy access to a large metropolitan airport.",
"When any sizable group of consumers is seriously disadvantaged by a change in government policy, that change should be reversed.",
"Government regulation of industry almost always works to the advantage of consumers.",
"At the time of the regulatory change, the major airlines were maintaining their less profitable routes at least in part because of government requirements.",
"Regional airlines lack the resources to provide consumers with service of the same quality as that provided by the major airlines."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the consumer activist's argument depends? |
A report on the likely effects of current levels of air pollution on forest growth in North America concluded that, since nitrogen is a necessary nutrient for optimal plant growth, the nitrogen deposited on forest soil as a result of air pollution probably benefits eastern forests. However, European soil scientists have found that in forests saturated with sulfate and nitrate, trees begin to die when the nitrogen deposited exceeds the amount of nitrogen absorbed by the forest system. Since this finding is likely to apply to forests everywhere, large areas of eastern forests of North America are, undoubtedly, already being affected adversely. | 199502_2-LR1_16_19 | [
"The implication of the report cited is that the amount of nitrogen reaching eastern forests by way of polluted air is approximately what those forests need for optimal growth.",
"If large areas of eastern forests were increasingly saturated with sulfate and nitrate, the capacity of those forest systems for absorbing nitrogen would also increase.",
"The type of analysis used by European soil scientists does not necessarily apply to eastern forests of North America.",
"The eastern forests are the only forests of North America currently affected by polluted air.",
"Contrary to the report cited, the nitrogen pollution now in the air is more likely to cause trees to die in eastern forests than to benefit them."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage? |
Railroad spokesperson: Of course it is a difficult task to maintain quality of service at the same time that the amount of subsidy the taxpayers give the railroad network is reduced. Over recent years, however, the number of passengers has increased in spite of subsidy reductions. This fact leads to the conclusion that our quality of service has been satisfactory. | 199502_2-LR1_17_20 | [
"Taxpayers do not wish to have their taxes raised to subsidize the railroads.",
"Some people refuse to travel by train if they are dissatisfied with the quality of service.",
"The quality of service on the trains must have improved in spite of subsidy reductions.",
"It is impossible to reduce subsidies to the railroad network without some effect on the quality of service.",
"The increase in the number of passengers will increase revenue sufficiently to offset the subsidy reductions."
]
| 1 | The spokesperson's argument is based on which one of the following assumptions? |
In response to high mortality in area hospitals, surgery was restricted to emergency procedures during a five-week period. Mortality in these hospitals was found to have fallen by nearly one-third during the period. The number of deaths rose again when elective surgery (surgery that can be postponed) was resumed. It can be concluded that, before the five-week period, the risks of elective surgery had been incurred unnecessarily often in the area. | 199502_2-LR1_18_21 | [
"The conditions for which elective surgery was performed would in the long run have been life-threatening, and surgery for them would have become riskier with time.",
"The physicians planning elective surgery performed before the five-week period had fully informed the patients who would undergo it of the possible risks of the procedures.",
"Before the suspension of elective surgery, surgical operations were performed in area hospitals at a higher rate, per thousand residents of the area, than was usual elsewhere.",
"Elective surgery is, in general, less risky than is emergency surgery because the conditions requiring or indicating surgery are often less severe.",
"Even if a surgical procedure is successful, the patient can die of a hospital-contracted infection with a bacterium that is resistant to antibiotic treatment."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the conclusion above? |
Gallery owner: Because this painting appears in no catalog of van Gogh's work, we cannot guarantee that he painted it. But consider: the subject is one he painted often, and experts agree that in his later paintings van Gogh invariably used just such broad brushstrokes and distinctive combinations of colors as we find here. Internal evidence, therefore, makes it virtually certain that this is a previously uncataloged, late van Gogh, and as such, a bargain at its price. | 199502_2-LR1_19_22 | [
"ignores the fact that there can be general agreement that something is the case without its being the case",
"neglects to cite expert authority to substantiate the claim about the subject matter of the painting",
"assumes without sufficient warrant that the only reason anyone would want to acquire a painting is to make a profit",
"provides no evidence that the painting is more likely to be an uncataloged van Gogh than to be a painting by someone else who painted that particular subject in van Gogh's style",
"attempts to establish a particular conclusion because doing so is in the reasoner's self-interest rather than because of any genuine concern for the truth of the matter"
]
| 3 | The reasoning used by the gallery owner is flawed because it |
Government-subsidized insurance available to homeowners makes it feasible for anyone to build a house on a section of coastline regularly struck by hurricanes. Each major storm causes billions of dollars worth of damage in such coastal areas, after which owners who have insurance are able to collect an amount of money sufficient to recoup a high percentage of their losses. | 199502_2-LR1_20_23 | [
"that power companies be required to bury power lines in areas of the coastline regularly struck by hurricanes",
"an increase in funding of weather service programs that provide a hurricane watch and warning system for coastal areas",
"renewal of federal funding for emergency life-support programs in hurricane-stricken areas",
"establishment of an agency committed to managing coastal lands in ecologically responsible ways",
"establishment of a contingency fund protecting owners of uninsured houses in the coastal areas from catastrophic losses due to the hurricane damage"
]
| 4 | The passage provides the most support for an argument against a government bill proposing |
Between 1951 and 1963, it was illegal in the country of Geronia to manufacture, sell, or transport any alcoholic beverages. Despite this prohibition, however, the death rate from diseases related to excessive alcohol consumption was higher during the first five years of the period than it was during the five years prior to 1951. Therefore, the attempt to prevent alcohol use merely made people want and use alcohol more than they would have if it had not been forbidden. | 199502_2-LR1_21_24 | [
"Death from an alcohol-related disease generally does not occur until five to ten years after the onset of excessive alcohol consumption.",
"The diseases that can be caused by excessive alcohol consumption can also be caused by other kinds of behavior that increased between 1951 and 1963.",
"The death rate resulting from alcohol-related diseases increased just as sharply during the ten years before and the ten years after the prohibition of alcohol as it did during the years of prohibition.",
"Many who died of alcohol-related diseases between 1951 and 1963 consumed illegally imported alcoholic beverages produced by the same methods as those used within Geronia.",
"Between 1951 and 1963, among the people with preexisting alcohol-related diseases, the percentage who obtained lifesaving medical attention declined because of a social stigma attached to excessive alcohol consumption."
]
| 3 | Each of the following, if true, weakens the argument EXCEPT: |
A letter submitted to the editor of a national newsmagazine was written and signed by a Dr. Shirley Martin who, in the text of the letter, mentions being a professor at a major North American medical school. Knowing that fewer than 5 percent of the professors at such schools are women, the editor reasons that the chances are better than 19 to 1 that the letter was written by a man. | 199502_2-LR1_22_25 | [
"Since 19 out of 20 home computers are purchased primarily for use with computer games, and the first computer sold today was purchased solely for word processing, the next 19 computers sold will almost certainly be used primarily for computer games.",
"Fewer than 1 in 20 of the manuscripts submitted to Argon Publishing Co. are accepted for publication. Since only 15 manuscripts were submitted last week, there is almost no chance that any of them will be accepted for publication.",
"Fewer than 5 percent of last year's graduating class took Latin in secondary school. Howard took Latin in secondary school, so if he had graduated last year, it is likely that one of the other Latin scholars would not have graduated.",
"More than 95 percent of the planes built by UBC last year met government standards for large airliners. Since small planes account for just under 5 percent of UBC's output last year, it is almost certain that all their large planes met government standards.",
"Since more than 19 out of every 20 animals in the wildlife preserve are mammals and fewer than 1 out of 20 are birds, there is a greater than 95 percent chance that the animal Emily saw flying between two trees in the wildlife refuge yesterday morning was a mammal."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following involves flawed reasoning most like that used by the editor? |
In a yearlong study, half of the participants were given a simple kit to use at home for measuring the cholesterol level of their blood. They reduced their cholesterol levels on average 15 percent more than did participants without the kit. Participants were selected at random from among people with dangerously high cholesterol levels. | 199502_4-LR2_1_1 | [
"The lower a blood-cholesterol level is, the less accurate are measurements made by the kit.",
"Participants with the kit were more likely to avoid foods that lower cholesterol level.",
"Participants with the kit used it more frequently during the first two months of the study.",
"All the participants in the study showed some lowering of cholesterol levels, the most striking decreases having been achieved in the first three months.",
"Participants using the kit reported that each reading reinforced their efforts to reduce their cholesterol levels."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the study's finding? |
You should not praise an act of apparent generosity unless you believe it is actually performed out of selfless motives, and you should not condemn an act of apparent selfishness unless you believe it is actually performed out of self-centered motives. | 199502_4-LR2_2_2 | [
"Caroline rightly blamed her coworker Monica for failing to assist her in doing a time-consuming project, even though she knew that Monica had offered to help in the project earlier but that her offer had been vetoed by their supervisor.",
"It was correct for Sarah not to praise Michael for being charitable when he told her that he donates a tenth of his income to charity, since she guessed that he only told that fact in order to impress her.",
"Enrich justifiably excused his friend William for failing to write or phone after William moved out of town because he realized that William never makes an effort to keep in contact with any of his friends.",
"Daniel was right not to praise Margaret for offering to share her house with a visiting French family, since he believed that she made the offer only because she hoped it would be reciprocated by an invitation to use the family's apartment in Paris.",
"Albert correctly criticized Louise for adopting an abandoned dog because he believed that, although she felt sorry for the dog, she did not have sufficient time or space to care for it adequately."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following judgments conforms to the principle stated above? |
The government recently released a study of drinking water, in which it was reported that consumers who bought bottled water were in many cases getting water that was less safe than what they could obtain much more cheaply from the public water supply. In spite of the enormous publicity that the study received, sales of bottled water have continued to rise. | 199502_4-LR2_3_3 | [
"Bottled water might contain levels of potentially harmful contaminants that are not allowed in drinking water.",
"Most consumers who habitually drink the bottled water discussed in the study cannot differentiate between the taste of their usual brand of bottled water and that of water from public sources.",
"Increased consumption of the five best-selling brands of bottled water, which the report said were safer than both public water and most other brands of bottled water, accounted for the increase in sales.",
"The rate of increase in the sales of bottled water has slowed since the publication of the government study.",
"Government health warnings concerning food have become so frequent that consumers have begun to doubt the safety of many everyday foods."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following, if true, is most helpful in resolving the apparent paradox? |
Many economically useful raw materials are nonrenewable and in limited supply on Earth. Therefore, unless those materials can be obtained somewhere other than Earth, people will eventually be unable to accomplish what they now accomplish using those materials. | 199502_4-LR2_4_4 | [
"Some economically useful resources are renewable.",
"It is extremely difficult to get raw materials from outer space.",
"Functionally equivalent renewable substitutes could be found for nonrenewable resources that are in limited supply.",
"What is accomplished now using nonrenewable resources is sometimes not worth accomplishing",
"It will be a few hundred years before the Earth is depleted of certain nonrenewable resources that are in limited supply."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument? |
Only some strains of the tobacco plant are naturally resistant to tobacco mosaic virus, never becoming diseased even when infected. When resistant strains were experimentally infected with the virus, levels of naturally occurring salicylic acid in these plants increased fivefold; no such increase occurred in the nonresistant plants. In a second experiment, 50 nonresistant tobacco plants were exposed to tobacco mosaic virus, and 25 of them were injected with salicylic acid. None of these 25 plants showed signs of infection; however, the other 25 plants succumbed to the disease. | 199502_4-LR2_5_5 | [
"Tobacco plants that have become diseased by infection with tobacco mosaic virus can be cured by injecting them with salicylic acid.",
"Producing salicylic acid is at least part of the mechanism by which some tobacco plants naturally resist the disease caused by tobacco mosaic virus.",
"Salicylic acid is not produced in strains of tobacco plants that are not resistant to tobacco mosaic virus.",
"It is possible to test an uninfected tobacco plant for resistance to tobacco mosaic virus by measuring the level of salicylic acid it contains.",
"The production of salicylic acid in certain strains of tobacco plants can be increased and thus the strains made resistant to tobacco mosaic virus."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following conclusions is most strongly supported by the results of the experiments? |
The number of hospital emergency room visits by heroin users grew by more than 25 percent during the 1980s. Clearly, then, the use of heroin rose in that decade. | 199502_4-LR2_6_6 | [
"Widespread use of automatic weapons in the drug trade during the 1980s raised the incidence of physical injury to heroin users.",
"The introduction of a smokable type of heroin during the 1980s removed the need for heroin to be injected intravenously and thus reduced the users' risk of infection.",
"Many hospital emergency rooms were barely able to accommodate the dramatic increase in the number of medical emergencies related to drug abuse during the 1980s.",
"Heroin use increased much more than is reflected in the rate of heroin-linked hospital emergency room visits.",
"Viral and bacterial infections, malnourishment, and overdoses account for most hospital emergency room visits linked to heroin."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, would account for the statistic above without supporting the author's conclusion? |
The number of hospital emergency room visits by heroin users grew by more than 25 percent during the 1980s. Clearly, then, the use of heroin rose in that decade. | 199502_4-LR2_6_7 | [
"Those who seek medical care because of heroin use usually do so in the later stages of addiction.",
"Many heroin users visit hospital emergency rooms repeatedly.",
"The number of visits to hospital emergency rooms by heroin users is proportional to the incidence of heroin usage.",
"The methods of using heroin have changed since 1980, and the new methods are less hazardous.",
"Users of heroin identify themselves as such when they come to hospital emergency rooms."
]
| 2 | The author's conclusion is properly drawn if which one of the following is assumed? |
The years 1917, 1937, 1956, 1968, 1979, and 1990 are all notable for the occurrence of both popular uprisings and near-maximum sunspot activity. During heavy sunspot activity, there is a sharp rise in positively charged ions in the air people breathe, and positively charged ions are known to make people anxious and irritable. Therefore, it is likely that sunspot activity has actually been a factor in triggering popular uprisings. | 199502_4-LR2_7_8 | [
"The ancient Greeks sometimes attempted to predict the outcome of future events by watching the flight patterns of birds. Since the events themselves often matched the predictions, the birds were probably responding to some factor that also influenced the events.",
"Martha, Sidney, and Hilary are the city's three most powerful politicians, and all three graduated from Ridgeview High School. Although Ridgeview never had a reputation for excellence, it must have been a good school to have produced three such successful graduates.",
"Unusually cold weather last December coincided with a rise in fuel prices. When it is cold, people use more fuel to keep warm; and when more fuel is used, prices rise. Therefore if prices are high next winter, it will be the result of cold weather.",
"The thirty healthiest people in a long-term medical study turned out to be the same thirty whose regular diets included the most vegetables. Since specific substances in vegetables are known to help the body fight disease, vegetables should be part of everyone's diet.",
"Acme's most productive managers are consistently those who occupy the corner offices, which have more windows than other offices at Acme. Since people are more alert when they are exposed to abundant natural light, the greater productivity of these managers is probably at least in part a result of their working in the corner offices."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following exhibits a pattern of reasoning most similar to that in the passage? |
Since anyone who supports the new tax plan has no chance of being elected, and anyone who truly understands economics would not support the tax plan, only someone who truly understands economics would have any chance of being elected. | 199502_4-LR2_8_9 | [
"truly understand economics do not support the tax plan",
"truly understand economics have no chance of being elected",
"do not support the tax plan have no chance of being elected",
"do not support the tax plan do not truly understand economics",
"have no chance of being elected do not truly understand economics"
]
| 3 | The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument ignores the possibility that some people who |
Interviewer: You have shown that biofeedback, dietary changes, and adoption of proper sleep habits all succeed in curing insomnia. You go so far as to claim that, with rigorous adherence to the proper treatment, any case of insomnia is curable. Yet in fact some patients suffering from insomnia do not respond to treatment. Therapist: If patients do not respond to treatment, this just shows that they are not rigorous in adhering to their treatment. | 199502_4-LR2_9_10 | [
"It precludes the possibility of disconfirming evidence.",
"It depends on the ambiguous use of the term \"treatment.\"",
"It fails to acknowledge that there may be different causes for different cases of insomnia.",
"It does not provide statistical evidence to back up its claim.",
"It overlooks the possibility that some cases of insomnia might improve without any treatment."
]
| 0 | The therapist's reply to the interviewer is most vulnerable to which one of the following criticisms? |
Conservative: Socialists begin their arguments with an analysis of history, from which they claim to derive certain trends leading inevitably to a socialist future. But in the day-to-day progress of history there are never such discernible trends. Only in retrospect does inevitability appear, for history occurs through accident, contingency, and individual struggle. Socialist: If we thought the outcome of history were inevitable, we would not work so hard to transform the institutions of capitalist society. But to transform them we must first understand them, and we can only understand them by an analysis of their history. This is why historical analysis is important in socialist argument. | 199502_4-LR2_10_11 | [
"a socialist society is the inevitable consequence of historical trends that can be identified by an analysis of history",
"the institutions of capitalist society stand in need of transformation",
"socialists' arguments for the inevitability of socialism are justified",
"it is possible for people by their own efforts to affect the course of history",
"socialists analyze history in order to support the view that socialism is inevitable"
]
| 4 | In the dispute the issue between the socialist and the conservative can most accurately be described as whether |
Conservative: Socialists begin their arguments with an analysis of history, from which they claim to derive certain trends leading inevitably to a socialist future. But in the day-to-day progress of history there are never such discernible trends. Only in retrospect does inevitability appear, for history occurs through accident, contingency, and individual struggle. Socialist: If we thought the outcome of history were inevitable, we would not work so hard to transform the institutions of capitalist society. But to transform them we must first understand them, and we can only understand them by an analysis of their history. This is why historical analysis is important in socialist argument. | 199502_4-LR2_10_12 | [
"it would have been impossible for anyone to predict a significant period beforehand that the institutions of capitalist society would take the form that they actually took",
"the apparent inevitability of historical change is deceptive; all historical events could have occurred otherwise than they actually did",
"in the past, radical changes in social structures have mostly resulted in a deterioration of social conditions",
"since socialism cannot arise by accident or contingency, it can only arise as a result of individual struggle",
"because historical changes are mostly accidental, it is impossible for people to direct their efforts sensibly toward achieving large-scale changes in social conditions"
]
| 4 | The socialist's statements imply a conflict with the conservative's view of history if the conservative also holds that |
"Addiction" has been defined as "dependence on and abuse of a psychoactive substance." Dependence and abuse do not always go hand in hand, however. For example, cancer patients can become dependent on morphine to relieve their pain, but this is not abusing the drug. Correspondingly, a person can abuse a drug without being dependent on it. Therefore, the definition of "addiction" is incorrect. | 199502_4-LR2_11_13 | [
"cancer patients never abuse morphine",
"cancer patients often become dependent on morphine",
"cancer patients who are dependent on morphine are addicted to it",
"cancer patients who abuse a drug are dependent on it",
"cancer patients cannot depend on morphine without abusing it"
]
| 2 | The relevance of the example of cancer patients to the argument depends on the assumption that |
The commissioner has announced that Judge Khalid, who was on the seven-member panel appointed to resolve the Amlec labor dispute, will have sole responsibility for resolving the Simdon labor dispute. Since in its decision the Amlec panel showed itself both reasonable and fair, the two sides in the Simdon dispute are undoubtedly justified in the confidence they have expressed in the reasonableness and fairness of the arbitrator assigned to their case. | 199502_4-LR2_12_14 | [
"Representing the school board, Marcia Barthes presented to the school's principal a list of recently elected school board members. Since only an elected member of the school board can act as its representative, Ms. Barthes's name undoubtedly appears on that list.",
"Alan Caldalf, who likes being around young children, has decided to become a pediatrician. Since the one characteristic common to all good pediatricians is that they like young children, Mr. Caldalf will undoubtedly be a very good pediatrician.",
"Jorge Diaz is a teacher at a music school nationally known for the excellence of its conducting faculty. Since Mr. Diaz has recently been commended for the excellence of his teaching, he is undoubtedly a member of the school's conducting faculty.",
"Ula Borg, who has sold real estate for Arcande Realty for many years, undoubtedly sold fewer houses last year than she had the year before since the number of houses sold last year by Arcande Realty is far lower than the number sold the previous year.",
"The members of the local historical society unanimously support designating the First National Bank building a historical landmark. Since Evelyn George is a member of that society, she undoubtedly favors according landmark status to the city hall as well."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following contains flawed reasoning most parallel to that contained in the passage? |
Magazine article: The Environmental Commissioner's new proposals are called "Fresh Thinking on the Environment," and a nationwide debate on them has been announced. Well, "fresh thinking" from such an unlikely source as the commissioner does deserve closer inspection. Unfortunately we discovered that these proposals are virtually identical to those issued three months ago by Tsarque Inc. under the heading "New Environmentalism" (Tsarque Inc.'s chief is a close friend of the commissioner). Since Tsarque Inc.'s polluting has marked it as an environmental nightmare, in our opinion the "nationwide debate" can end here. | 199502_4-LR2_13_15 | [
"assumes without any justification that since two texts are similar one of them must be influenced by the other",
"gives a distorted version of the commissioner's proposals and then attacks this distorted version",
"dismisses the proposals because of their source rather than because of their substance",
"uses emotive language in labeling the proposals",
"appeals to the authority of Tsarque Inc.'s chief without giving evidence that this person's opinion should carry special weight"
]
| 2 | A flaw in the magazine article's reasoning is that it |
It is not reasonable to search out "organic" foods— those grown without the application of synthetic chemicals—as the only natural foods. A plant will take up the molecules it needs from the soil and turn them into the same natural compounds, whether or not those molecules come from chemicals applied to the soil. All compounds made by plants are part of nature, so all are equally natural. | 199502_4-LR2_14_16 | [
"redefining a term in a way that is favorable to the argument",
"giving a reason why a recommended course of action would be beneficial",
"appealing to the authority of scientific methods",
"showing that a necessary condition for correctly applying the term \"organic\" is not satisfied",
"reinterpreting evidence presented as supporting the position being rejected"
]
| 0 | The argument proceeds by |
On completing both the course in experimental design and the developmental psychology course, Angela will have earned a degree in psychology. Since experimental design, which must be completed before taking developmental psychology, will not be offered until next term, it will be at least two terms before Angela gets her psychology degree. | 199502_4-LR2_15_17 | [
"The developmental psychology course Angela needs to take requires two terms to complete.",
"The course in experimental design is an easier course than the course in developmental psychology.",
"There are no prerequisites for the course in experimental design.",
"Anyone who earns a degree in psychology from the university Angela attends will have completed the course in experimental design.",
"Once Angela completes the developmental psychology course, she will have earned a degree in psychology."
]
| 4 | If the statements above are all true, which one of the following must also be true? |
According to a government official involved in overseeing airplane safety during the last year, over 75 percent of the voice-recorder tapes taken from small airplanes involved in relatively minor accidents record the whistling of the pilot during the fifteen minutes immediately preceding the accident. Even such minor accidents pose some safety risk. Therefore, if passengers hear the pilot start to whistle they should take safety precautions, whether instructed by the pilot to do so or not. | 199502_4-LR2_16_18 | [
"accepts the reliability of the cited statistics on the authority of an unidentified government of official",
"ignores the fact that in nearly one-quarter of these accidents following the recommendation would not have improved passengers' safety",
"does not indicate the criteria by which an accident is classified as \"relatively minor\"",
"provides no information about the percentage of all small airplane flights during which the pilot whistles at some time during that flight",
"fails to specify the percentage of all small airplane flights that involve relatively minor accidents"
]
| 3 | The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it |
When permits for the discharge of chemicals into a waterway are issued, they are issued in terms of the number of pounds of each chemical that can be discharged into the waterway per day. These figures, calculated separately for each chemical for which a permit is issued, are based on an estimate of the effect of the dilution of the chemical by the amount of water flowing through the waterway. The waterway is therefore protected against being adversely affected by chemicals discharged under the permits. | 199502_4-LR2_17_19 | [
"relatively harmless chemicals do not interact with each other in the water to form harmful compounds",
"there is a swift flow of water in the waterway that ensures rapid dispersion of chemicals discharged",
"there are no chemicals for which discharge into waterways is entirely prohibited",
"those who receive the permits do not always discharge the entire quantity of chemicals that the permits allow",
"the danger of chemical pollution of waterways is to be evaluated in terms of human health only and not in terms of the health of both human beings and wildlife"
]
| 0 | The argument depends on the assumption that |
Monroe, despite his generally poor appetite thoroughly enjoyed the three meals he ate at the Tip-Top Restaurant, but, unfortunately, after each meal he became ill. The first time he ate an extra-large sausage pizza with a side order of hot peppers; the second time he took full advantage of the all-you-can-eat fried shrimp and hot peppers special; and the third time he had two of Tip-Top's giant meatball sandwiches with hot peppers. Since the only food all three meals had in common was the hot peppers, Monroe concludes that it is solely due to Tip-Top's hot peppers that he became ill. | 199502_4-LR2_18_20 | [
"He draws his conclusion on the basis of too few meals that were consumed at Tip-Top and that included hot peppers.",
"He posits a causal relationship without ascertaining that the presumed cause preceded the presumed effect.",
"He allows his desire to continue dining at Tip-Top to bias his conclusion.",
"He fails to establish that everyone who ate Tip-Top's hot peppers became ill.",
"He overlooks the fact that at all three meals he consumed what was, for him, an unusually large quantity of food."
]
| 4 | Monroe's reasoning is most vulnerable to which one of the following criticisms? |
Monroe, despite his generally poor appetite thoroughly enjoyed the three meals he ate at the Tip-Top Restaurant, but, unfortunately, after each meal he became ill. The first time he ate an extra-large sausage pizza with a side order of hot peppers; the second time he took full advantage of the all-you-can-eat fried shrimp and hot peppers special; and the third time he had two of Tip-Top's giant meatball sandwiches with hot peppers. Since the only food all three meals had in common was the hot peppers, Monroe concludes that it is solely due to Tip-Top's hot peppers that he became ill. | 199502_4-LR2_18_21 | [
"Monroe can eat any of Tip-Top's daily all-you-can-eat specials without becoming ill as long as the special does not include the hot peppers.",
"If, at his third meal at Tip-Top, Monroe had chosen to eat the baked chicken with hot peppers, he would have become ill after that meal.",
"If the next time Monroe eats one of Tip-Top's extra-large sausage pizzas he does not have a side order of hot peppers, he will not become ill after his meal.",
"Before eating Tip-Top's fried shrimp with hot peppers special, Monroe had eaten fried shrimp without suffering any ill effects.",
"The only place Monroe has eaten hot peppers has been at Tip-Top."
]
| 1 | If both Monroe's conclusion and the evidence on which he bases it are correct, they would provide the strongest support for which one of the following? |
"This company will not be training any more pilots in the foreseeable future, since we have 400 trained pilots on our waiting list who are seeking employment. The other five major companies each have roughly the same number of trained pilots on their waiting lists, and since the projected requirement of each company is for not many more than 100 additional pilots, there will be no shortage of personnel despite the current upswing in the aviation industry." | 199502_4-LR2_19_22 | [
"Most of the trained pilots who are on a waiting list for a job are on the waiting lists of all the major companies.",
"In the long run, pilot training will become necessary to compensate for ordinary attention.",
"If no new pilots are trained, there will be an age imbalance in the pilot work force.",
"The quoted personnel projections take account of the current upswing in the aviation industry.",
"Some of the other major companies are still training pilots but with no presumption of subsequent employment."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the accuracy of the above conclusion? |
A car's antitheft alarm that sounds in the middle of the night in a crowded city neighborhood may stop an attempted car theft. On the other hand, the alarm might signal only a fault in the device, or a response to some harmless contact, such as a tree branch brushing the car. But whatever the cause, the sleep of many people in the neighborhood is disturbed. Out of consideration for others, people who have these antitheft alarms on their cars should deactivate them when they park in crowded city neighborhoods at night. | 199502_4-LR2_20_23 | [
"The inconvenience of false alarms is a small price to pay for the security of a neighborhood.",
"In most cases when a car alarm sounds at night, it is a false alarm.",
"Allowing the residents of a crowded city neighborhood to sleep undisturbed is more important than preventing car theft.",
"People who equip their cars with antitheft alarms are generally inconsiderate of others.",
"The sounding of car antitheft alarms during the daytime does not disturb the residents of crowded city neighborhoods."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following, if assumed by the author of the passage, would allow her properly to draw her conclusion that the owners of alarm-equipped cars should deactivate the alarms when parking in crowded city neighborhoods at night? |
In Peru, ancient disturbances in the dark surface material of a desert show up as light-colored lines that are the width of a footpath and stretch for long distances. One group of lines branching out like rays from a single point crosses over curved lines that form a very large bird figure. Interpreting the lines in the desert as landing strips for spaceship-traveling aliens, an investigator argues that they could hardly have been Inca roads, asking, "What use to the Inca would have been closely spaced roads that ran parallel? That intersected in a sunburst pattern? That came abruptly to an end in the middle of an uninhabited plain?" | 199502_4-LR2_21_24 | [
"reject out of hand direct counterevidence to the investigator's own interpretation",
"introduce evidence newly discovered by the investigator which discredits the alternative interpretation",
"support one interpretation by calling into question the plausibility of the alternative interpretation",
"challenge the investigative methods used by those who developed the alternative interpretation",
"show that the two competing interpretations can be reconciled with one another"
]
| 2 | The argumentative strategy of the investigator quoted is to |
In Peru, ancient disturbances in the dark surface material of a desert show up as light-colored lines that are the width of a footpath and stretch for long distances. One group of lines branching out like rays from a single point crosses over curved lines that form a very large bird figure. Interpreting the lines in the desert as landing strips for spaceship-traveling aliens, an investigator argues that they could hardly have been Inca roads, asking, "What use to the Inca would have been closely spaced roads that ran parallel? That intersected in a sunburst pattern? That came abruptly to an end in the middle of an uninhabited plain?" | 199502_4-LR2_21_25 | [
"In areas that were inhabited by ancient native North American peoples, arrangements of stones have been found that mark places where sunlight falls precisely on the spring solstice, an astronomically determined date.",
"The straight lines are consistent with sight lines to points on the horizon where particular astronomical events could have been observed at certain plausible dates, and the figure could represent a constellation.",
"The straight-line pattern is part of a large connected complex of patterns of straight-line rays connecting certain points with one another.",
"Native Central American cultures, such as that of the Maya, left behind elaborate astronomical calendars that were engraved on rocks.",
"There is evidence that the bird figure was made well before the straight-line pattern."
]
| 1 | For someone who interprets the lines as referring to astronomical phenomena, which one of the following, if true, most effectively counters an objection that the crossing of the straight-line pattern over the bird figure shows that the two kinds of line pattern served unrelated purposes? |
Walter: Although cigarette smoking is legal, it should be banned on all airline flights. Cigarette smoking in the confines of an aircraft exposes nonsmokers to harmful secondhand smoke that they cannot avoid. | 199506_2-LR1_1_1 | [
"People should be prohibited from engaging in an otherwise legal activity in those situations in which that activity would unavoidably expose others to harm.",
"An activity should be banned only if most situations in which a person engages in that activity would inevitably expose others to harm.",
"A legal activity that has the potential for causing harm to others in certain situations should be modified in those situations to render it harmless.",
"People who regularly engage in an activity that has the potential for harming others when that activity takes place in certain situations should be excluded from those situations.",
"If an activity is legal in some situations in which a person's engaging in that activity could harm others, then that activity should be legal in all situations."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following principles, if established, would justify the proposal put forth by Walter? |
Physicist: The claim that low-temperature nuclear fusion can be achieved entirely by chemical means is based on chemical experiments in which the measurements and calculations are inaccurate. Chemist: But your challenge is ineffectual, since you are simply jealous at the thought that chemists might have solved a problem that physicists have been unable to solve. | 199506_2-LR1_2_2 | [
"It restates a claim in different words instead of offering evidence for this claim.",
"It fails to establish that perfect accuracy of measurements and calculations is possible.",
"It confuses two different meanings of the word \"solve.\"",
"It is directed against the proponent of a claim rather than against the claim itself.",
"It rests on a contradiction."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following is the strongest criticism of the chemist's response to the physicist's challenge? |
A certain strain of bacteria was found in the stomachs of ulcer patients. A medical researcher with no history of ulcers inadvertently ingested some of the bacteria and within weeks developed an ulcer. Therefore, it is highly likely that the bacteria strain induces ulcers. | 199506_2-LR1_3_3 | [
"People who have the bacteria strain in their stomachs have been found to have no greater incidence of kidney disease than do people who lack the bacteria strain.",
"The researcher did not develop any other serious health problems within a year after ingesting the bacteria strain.",
"There is no evidence that the bacteria strain induces ulcers in laboratory animals.",
"The researcher is a recognized expert in the treatment of diseases of the stomach.",
"A study of 2,000 people who do not have ulcers found that none of these people had the bacteria strain in their stomachs."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if true, most supports the argument above? |
A recent study monitored the blood pressure of people petting domestic animals in the laboratory. The blood pressure of some of these people lowered while petting the animals. Therefore, for any one of the people so affected, owning a pet would result in that person having a lower average blood pressure. | 199506_2-LR1_4_4 | [
"Because a single dose of a drug acts as a remedy for a particular ailment, a healthy person can ward off that ailment by taking single doses regularly.",
"Because buying an automobile is very expensive, people should hold on to an automobile, once bought, for as long as it can be maintained in running condition.",
"Since pruning houseplants is enjoyable for some people, those people should get rid of houseplants that do not require frequent pruning.",
"Since riding in a boat for a few minutes is relaxing for some people, those people would be more relaxed generally if those people owned boats.",
"Since giving a fence one coat of white paint makes the fence white, giving it two coats of white paint would make it even whiter."
]
| 3 | The flawed pattern of reasoning in the argument above is most similar to that in which one of the following? |
Of the five bill collectors at Apex Collection Agency, Mr. Young has the highest rate of unsuccessful collections. Yet Mr. Young is the best bill collector on the agency's staff. | 199506_2-LR1_5_5 | [
"Mr. Young is assigned the majority of the most difficult cases at the agency.",
"The other four bill collectors at the agency all consider Mr. Young to be a very capable bill collector.",
"Mr. Young's rate of collections per year has remained fairly steady in the last few years.",
"Before joining the agency, Mr. Young was affiliated with the credit department of a large department store.",
"None of the bill collectors at the agency has been on the agency's staff longer than Mr. Young has."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy? |
A primate jawbone found in Namibia in southern Africa has been identified by anthropologists as that of an ape that lived between 10 million and 15 million years ago. Researchers generally agree that such ancient primates lived only in dense forests. Consequently, the dry, treeless expanses now dominating the landscape in and around Namibia must have replaced an earlier, heavily forested terrain. | 199506_2-LR1_6_6 | [
"Modern apes also tend to live only in heavily forested terrain.",
"The ape whose jawbone was found lived in or near the area that is now Namibia.",
"There were no apes living in the area that is now Namibia prior to 15 million years ago.",
"The ape whose jawbone was found was adapted to a diet that was significantly different from that of any modern ape.",
"The ancient primates were numerous enough to have caused severe damage to the ecology of the forests in which they lived."
]
| 1 | The argument assumes which one of the following? |
Workers may complain about many things at work, but stress is not high on the list. In fact, in a recent survey a majority placed boredom at the top of their list of complaints. The assumption that job-related stress is the most serious problem for workers in the corporate world is thus simply not warranted. | 199506_2-LR1_7_7 | [
"Those workers who are responsible for the planning and supervision of long-term projects are less likely to complain of either boredom or stress.",
"Workers who complain of boredom exhibit more stress-related symptoms than do those who claim their work is interesting.",
"Workers responding to opinion surveys tend to emphasize those experiences that have happened most recently.",
"Workers who feel that their salaries are commensurate with the amount of work they do are less likely to complain of boredom.",
"Workers are less likely to complain about work if they feel that their jobs are secure."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument? |
Would it be right for the government to abandon efforts to determine at what levels to allow toxic substances in our food supply? Only if it can reasonably be argued that the only acceptable level of toxic substances in food is zero. However, virtually all foods contain perfectly natural substances that are toxic but cause no harm because they do not occur in food in toxic concentrations. Furthermore, we can never be certain of having reduced the concentration of any substance to zero; all we can ever know is that it has been reduced to below the threshold of detection of current analytical methods. | 199506_2-LR1_8_8 | [
"the government should continue trying to determine acceptable levels for toxic substances in our food supply",
"the only acceptable level of toxic substances in food is zero",
"naturally occurring toxic substances in food present little danger because they rarely occur in toxic concentrations",
"the government will never be able to determine with certainty that a food contains no toxic substances",
"the government needs to refine its methods of detecting toxic substances in our food supply"
]
| 0 | The main conclusion of the argument is that |
Over the past twenty-five years the introduction of laborsaving technologies has greatly reduced the average amount of time a worker needs to produce a given output, potentially both reducing the number of hours each worker works each week and increasing workers' leisure time correspondingly. The average amount of leisure time per worker, however, has increased at only half the rate at which the average hourly output per worker has grown. | 199506_2-LR1_9_9 | [
"Workers, on average, spend more money on leisure activities today than they did twenty-five years ago.",
"Labor-saving technologies have created fewer jobs than they have eliminated.",
"The percentage of the population that is in the work force has grown over the past twenty-five years.",
"The average hourly output per worker has not risen as much as had been anticipated when modern labor-saving technologies were first introduced.",
"Twenty-five years ago the average weekly output per worker was less than it is today."
]
| 4 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following is most strongly supported by them? |
Ten thousand years ago many communities in western Asia stopped procuring food by hunting and gathering and began instead to cultivate food. Archaeological evidence reveals that compared to their hunter-gatherer forebears, the early agricultural peoples ate a poorly balanced diet and had diet-related health problems, yet these peoples never returned to hunting and gathering. | 199506_2-LR1_10_10 | [
"The plants and animals that the agricultural peoples began to cultivate continued to exist in the wild.",
"Both hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists sometimes depended on stored and preserved foods instead of fresh foods.",
"An increase in population density at the time required a higher food production rate than hunting and gathering could provide.",
"Thousands of years ago similar shifts from hunting and gathering to agriculture occurred in many other parts of the world.",
"The physical labor involved in agriculture burns more calories than does that needed for hunting and gathering."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain why the agricultural peoples of western Asia never returned to hunting and gathering? |
Should a journalist's story begin with the set phrase "in a surprise development," as routinely happens? Well, not if the surprise was merely the journalist's, since journalists should not intrude themselves into their stories, and not if the surprise was someone else's, because if some person's surprise was worth mentioning at all, it should have been specifically attributed. The one possibility remaining is that lots of people were surprised; in that case, however, there is no point in belaboring the obvious. | 199506_2-LR1_11_11 | [
"Journalists should reserve use of the phrase \"in a surprise development\" for major developments that are truly unexpected.",
"The phrase \"in a surprise development\" is appropriately used only where someone's being surprised is itself interesting.",
"The phrase \"in a surprise development\" is used in three distinct sorts of circumstances.",
"Journalists should make the point that a development comes as a surprise when summing up, not when introducing, a story.",
"Introducing stories with the phrase \"in a surprise development\" is not good journalistic practice."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following most accurately states the conclusion of the argument above? |
Individual pyrrole molecules readily join together into larger molecules called polypyrroles. If polypyrroles form from pyrrole in the presence of zeolites, they do so by attaching to the zeolite either in lumps on the outer surface of the zeolite or in delicate chains within the zeolite's inner channels. When zeolite changes color from yellow to black, it means that on or in that zeolite polypyrroles have formed from pyrrole. Yellow zeolite free of any pyrrole was submerged in dissolved pyrrole. The zeolite turned black even though no polypyrroles formed on its outer surface. | 199506_2-LR1_12_12 | [
"Polypyrroles had already formed on or in the zeolite before it was submerged.",
"Lumps of polypyrrole attached to the zeolite were responsible for its color change.",
"At least some of the pyrrole in which the zeolite was submerged formed polypyrrole chains.",
"None of the pyrrole in which the zeolite was submerged attached itself to the zeolite.",
"Little, if any, of the pyrrole in which the zeolite was submerged reached the zeolite's inner channels."
]
| 2 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following must on the basis of them be true? |
Pedigreed dogs, including those officially classified as working dogs, must conform to standards set by organizations that issue pedigrees. Those standards generally specify the physical appearance necessary for a dog to be recognized as belonging to a breed but stipulate nothing about other genetic traits, such as those that enable breeds originally developed as working dogs to perform the work for which they were developed. Since dog breeders try to maintain only those traits specified by pedigree organizations, and traits that breeders do not try to maintain risk being lost, certain traits like herding ability risk being lost among pedigreed dogs. Therefore, pedigree organizations should set standards requiring working ability in pedigreed dogs classified as working dogs. | 199506_2-LR1_13_13 | [
"Organizations that set standards for products or activities should not set standards calling for a particular characteristic if such standards increase the risk of some other characteristic being lost.",
"Any standard currently in effect for a product or an activity should be rigorously enforced regardless of when the standard was first set.",
"Organizations that set standards for products or activities should be responsible for seeing to it that those products or activities conform to all the specifications called for by those standards.",
"Any standard that is set for a product or an activity should reflect the uses to which that product or activity will eventually be put.",
"Organizations that set standards for products or activities should attempt to ensure that those products or activities can serve the purposes for which they were originally developed."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following principles, if valid, justifies the argument's conclusion that pedigree organizations should set standards for working ability in dogs? |
Pedigreed dogs, including those officially classified as working dogs, must conform to standards set by organizations that issue pedigrees. Those standards generally specify the physical appearance necessary for a dog to be recognized as belonging to a breed but stipulate nothing about other genetic traits, such as those that enable breeds originally developed as working dogs to perform the work for which they were developed. Since dog breeders try to maintain only those traits specified by pedigree organizations, and traits that breeders do not try to maintain risk being lost, certain traits like herding ability risk being lost among pedigreed dogs. Therefore, pedigree organizations should set standards requiring working ability in pedigreed dogs classified as working dogs. | 199506_2-LR1_13_14 | [
"It is a claim on which the argument depends but for which no support is given.",
"It is a subsidiary conclusion used in support of the main conclusion.",
"It acknowledges a possible objection to the proposal put forth in the argument.",
"It summarizes the position that the argument as a whole is directed toward discrediting.",
"It provides evidence necessary to support a claim stated earlier in the argument."
]
| 1 | The phrase "certain traits like herding ability risk being lost among pedigreed dogs" serves which one of the following functions in the argument? |
In rheumatoid arthritis, the body's immune system misfunctions by attacking healthy cells in the joints causing the release of a hormone that in turn causes pain and swelling. This hormone is normally activated only in reaction to injury or infection. A new arthritis medication will contain a protein that inhibits the functioning of the hormone that causes pain and swelling in the joints. | 199506_2-LR1_14_15 | [
"Unlike aspirin and other medications that reduce pain and swelling and that are currently available, the new medication would repair existing cell damage that had been caused by rheumatoid arthritis.",
"The benefits to rheumatoid arthritis sufferers of the new medication would outweigh the medication's possible harmful side effects.",
"A patient treated with the new medication for rheumatoid arthritis could sustain a joint injury without becoming aware of it.",
"The new medication could be adapted for use against a variety of immune system disorders such as diabetes and lupus.",
"Joint diseases other than rheumatoid arthritis would not be affected by the new medication."
]
| 2 | The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following conclusions? |
In their native habitat, amaryllis plants go dormant when the soil in which they are growing dries out during the dry season. Therefore, if amaryllis plants kept as houseplants are to thrive, water should be withheld from them during part of the year so that the plants go dormant. | 199506_2-LR1_15_16 | [
"Most kinds of plants go dormant at some time or other during the year.",
"Amaryllis are more difficult to keep as houseplants than other kinds of plants are.",
"Water should be withheld from amaryllis plants kept as houseplants during the exact time of year that corresponds to the dry season in their native habitat.",
"Any amaryllis plant that fails to thrive is likely to have been dormant for too short a time.",
"Going dormant benefits amaryllis plants in their native habitat in some way other than simply preventing death during overly dry periods."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
Most people believe that yawning is most powerfully triggered by seeing someone else yawn. This belief about yawning is widespread not only today, but also has been commonplace in many parts of the world in the past, if we are to believe historians of popular culture. Thus, seeing someone else yawn must be the most irresistible cause of yawning. | 199506_2-LR1_16_17 | [
"It attempts to support its conclusion solely by restating that conclusion in other words.",
"It cites the evidence of historians of popular culture in direct support of a claim that lies outside their area of expertise.",
"It makes a sweeping generalization about yawning based on evidence drawn from a limited number of atypical cases.",
"It supports its conclusion by appealing solely to opinion in a matter that is largely factual.",
"It takes for granted that yawns have no cause other than the one it cites."
]
| 3 | The argument is most vulnerable to which one of the following criticisms? |
Everyone who is a gourmet cook enjoys a wide variety of foods and spices. Since no one who enjoys a wide variety of foods and spices prefers bland foods to all other foods, it follows that anyone who prefers bland foods to all other foods is not a gourmet cook. | 199506_2-LR1_17_18 | [
"All of the paintings in the Huang Collection will be put up for auction next week. Since the paintings to be auctioned next week are by a wide variety of artists, it follows that the paintings in the Huang Collection are by a wide variety of artists.",
"All of the paintings in the Huang Collection are abstract. Since no abstract painting will be included in next week's art auction, nothing to be included in next week's art auction is a painting in the Huang Collection.",
"All of the paintings in the Huang Collection are superb works of art. Since none of the paintings in the Huang Collection is by Roue, it stands to reason that no painting by Roue is a superb work of art.",
"Every postimpressionist painting from the Huang Collection will be auctioned off next week. No pop art paintings from the Huang Collection will be auctioned off next week. Hence none of the pop art paintings to be auctioned off next week will be from the Huang Collection.",
"Every painting from the Huang Collection that is to be auctioned off next week is a major work of art. No price can adequately reflect the true value of a major work of art. Hence the prices that will be paid at next week's auction will not adequately reflect the true value of the paintings sold."
]
| 1 | The pattern of reasoning displayed in the argument above is most similar to that displayed in which one of the following? |
Without information that could only have come from someone present at the secret meeting between the finance minister and the leader of the opposition party, the newspaper story that forced the finance minister to resign could not have been written. No one witnessed the meeting, however, except the minister's aide. It is clear, therefore, that the finance minister was ultimately brought down, not by any of his powerful political enemies, but by his own trusted aide. | 199506_2-LR1_18_19 | [
"drawing a conclusion on the basis of evidence that provides equally strong support for a competing conclusion",
"assuming without warrant that if one thing cannot occur without another thing's already having occurred, then the earlier thing cannot occur without bringing about the later thing",
"confusing evidence that a given outcome on one occasion was brought about in a certain way with evidence that the same outcome on a different occasion was brought about in that way",
"basing its conclusion on evidence that is almost entirely irrelevant to the point at issue",
"treating evidence that a given action contributed to bringing about a certain effect as though that evidence established that the given action by itself was sufficient to bring about that effect"
]
| 0 | The argument commits which one of the following errors of reasoning? |
S. R. Evans: A few critics have dismissed my poems as not being poems and have dismissed me as not being a poet. But one principle of criticism has it that only true poets can recognize poetic creativity or function as critics of poetry—and that the only true poets are those whose work conveys genuine poetic creativity. But I have read the work of these critics; none of it demonstrated poetic creativity. These critics' judgments should be rejected, since these critics are not true poets. | 199506_2-LR1_19_20 | [
"presupposes what it sets out to conclude, since the principle requires that only true poets can determine whether the critics' work demonstrates poetic creativity",
"uses the distinction between poets and critics as though everyone fell into one category or the other",
"gives no justification for the implicit claim that the standing of a poet can be judged independently of his or her poetry",
"makes an unjustifiable distinction, since it is possible that some critics are also poets",
"inevitably leads to the conclusion that poets can never learn to improve their poetry, since no poet is in a position to criticize his or her own work"
]
| 0 | The argument above is vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it |
Claim: Country X's government lowered tariff barriers because doing so served the interests of powerful foreign companies. Principle: In order for a change to be explained by the advantage some person or group gained from it, it must be shown how the interests of the person or group played a role in bringing about the change. | 199506_2-LR1_20_21 | [
"Foreign companies did benefit when Country X lowered tariff barriers, but consumers in Country X benefited just as much.",
"In the period since tariff barriers were lowered, price competition among importers has severely limited importers' profits from selling foreign companies' products in Country X.",
"It was impossible to predict how Country X's economic reforms, which included lowering tariff barriers, would affect the economy in the short term.",
"Many of the foreign companies that benefited from Country X's lowering tariff barriers compete fiercely among themselves both in Country X and in other markets.",
"Although foreign companies benefited when Country X lowered tariff barriers, there is no other evidence that these foreign companies induced the change."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if true, can most logically serve as a premise for an argument that uses the principle to counter the claim? |
A scientist made three observations: (1) in the world's temperate zones, food is more plentiful in the ocean than it is in fresh water; (2) migratory fish in temperate zones generally mature in the ocean and spawn in fresh water; and (3) migratory fish need much nourishment as they mature but little or none during the part of their lives when they spawn. On the basis of those observations, the scientist formulated the hypothesis that food availability is a determining factor in the migration of migratory fish. Subsequently the scientist learned that in the tropics migratory fish generally mature in fresh water and spawn in the ocean. | 199506_2-LR1_21_22 | [
"whether in the world's temperate zones, the temperatures of bodies of fresh water tend to be lower than those of the regions of the oceans into which they flow",
"whether the types of foods that migratory fish eat while they inhabit the ocean are similar to those that they eat while they inhabit bodies of fresh water",
"whether any species of fish with populations in temperate zones also have populations that live in the tropics",
"whether there are more species of migratory fish in the tropics than there are in temperate zones",
"whether in the tropics food is less plentiful in the ocean than in fresh water"
]
| 4 | Which one of the following would it be most helpful to know in order to judge whether what the scientist subsequently learned calls into question the hypothesis? |
No computer will ever be able to do everything that some human minds can do, for there are some problems that cannot be solved by following any set of mechanically applicable rules. Yet computers can only solve problems by following some set of mechanically applicable rules. | 199506_2-LR1_22_23 | [
"At least one problem solvable by following some set of mechanically applicable rules is not solvable by any human mind.",
"At least one problem not solvable by following any set of mechanically applicable rules is solvable]e by at least one human mind.",
"At least one problem solvable by following some set of mechanically applicable rules is solvable by every human mind.",
"Every problem that is solvable by following more than one set of mechanically applicable rules is solvable by almost every human mind.",
"Every problem that is solvable by following at least one set of mechanically applicable rules is solvable by at least one human mind."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
People were asked in a survey how old they felt. They replied, almost unanimously despite a great diversity of ages, with a number that was 75 percent of their real age. There is, however, a problem in understanding this sort of response. For example, suppose it meant that a 48-year-old man was claiming to feel as he felt at 36. But at age 36 he would have said he felt like a man of 27, and at 27 he would have said he felt just over 20 and so on into childhood. And surely, that 48-year-old man did not mean to suggest that he felt like a child! | 199506_2-LR1_23_24 | [
"projecting from responses collected at one time from many individuals of widely different ages to hypothetical earlier responses of a single individual at some of those ages",
"reinterpreting what certain people actually said in the light of what would, in the circumstances, have been the most reasonable thing for them to say",
"qualifying an overly sweeping generalization in light of a single, well chosen counterexample",
"deriving a contradiction from a pair of statements in order to prove that at least one of those statements is false",
"analyzing an unexpected unanimity among respondents as evidence, not of a great uniformity of opinion among those respondents, but of their successful manipulation by their questioners"
]
| 0 | Which one of the following techniques of reasoning is employed in the argument? |
Those who support the continued reading and performance of Shakespeare's plays maintain that in England appreciation for his work has always extended beyond educated elites and that ever since Shakespeare's own time his plays have always been known and loved by comparatively uneducated people. Skepticism about this claim is borne out by examining early eighteenth-century editions of the plays. These books, with their fine paper and good bindings, must have been far beyond the reach of people of ordinary means. | 199506_3-LR2_1_1 | [
"suggest that knowledge of Shakespeare's plays is a suitable criterion for distinguishing the educated elite from other members of English society",
"provide evidence that at some time in the past appreciation for Shakespeare's plays was confined to educated elites",
"prove that early eighteenth-century appreciation for Shakespeare's works rested on aspects of the works that are less appreciated today",
"demonstrate that since Shakespeare's time the people who have known and loved his work have all been members of educated elites",
"confirm the skepticism of the educated elite concerning the worth of Shakespeare's plays"
]
| 1 | The main point of the argument is to |
Those who support the continued reading and performance of Shakespeare's plays maintain that in England appreciation for his work has always extended beyond educated elites and that ever since Shakespeare's own time his plays have always been known and loved by comparatively uneducated people. Skepticism about this claim is borne out by examining early eighteenth-century editions of the plays. These books, with their fine paper and good bindings, must have been far beyond the reach of people of ordinary means. | 199506_3-LR2_1_2 | [
"The argument uses the popularity of Shakespeare's plays as a measure of their literary quality.",
"The argument bases an aesthetic conclusion about Shakespeare's plays on purely economic evidence.",
"The argument anachronistically uses the standards of the twentieth century to judge events that occurred in the early eighteenth century.",
"The argument judges the literary quality of a book's text on the basis of the quality of the volume in which the text is printed.",
"The argument does not allow for the possibility that people might know Shakespeare's plays without having read them."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following describes a reasoning error in the argument? |
Organization president: The stationery and envelopes used in all of the mailings from our national headquarters are made from recycled paper, and we never put anything but letters in the envelopes. When the envelopes have windows, these windows are also made from recycled material. Therefore the envelopes, and thus these mailings, are completely recyclable. | 199506_3-LR2_2_3 | [
"All the paper used by the organization for purposes other than mailings is recycled.",
"The mailings from the organization's national headquarters always use envelopes that have windows.",
"The envelope windows made from recycled material are recyclable.",
"The envelopes and stationery used in the organization's are always recycled.",
"The organization sends mailings only from its national headquarters."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the organization president's argument depends? |
The frequently expressed view that written constitutions are inherently more liberal than unwritten ones is false. No written constitution is more than a paper with words on it until those words are both interpreted and applied. Properly understood, then, a constitution is the sum of those procedures through which the power of the state is legitimately exercised and limited. Therefore, even a written constitution becomes a liberal constitution only when it is interpreted and applied in a liberal way. | 199506_3-LR2_3_4 | [
"written constitutions are no more inherently liberal than are unwritten constitutions",
"the idea of a written constitution, properly understood, is inherently self-contradictory",
"unwritten constitutions are less subject to misinterpretation than are constitutions that have been written down",
"liberal constitutions are extremely difficult to preserve",
"there are criteria for evaluating the interpretation and application of a constitution"
]
| 0 | The main point of the argument above is that |
The frequently expressed view that written constitutions are inherently more liberal than unwritten ones is false. No written constitution is more than a paper with words on it until those words are both interpreted and applied. Properly understood, then, a constitution is the sum of those procedures through which the power of the state is legitimately exercised and limited. Therefore, even a written constitution becomes a liberal constitution only when it is interpreted and applied in a liberal way. | 199506_3-LR2_3_5 | [
"A careful analysis of the written text of a constitution can show that the constitution is not a liberal one.",
"It is impossible to determine that a written constitution is liberal merely through careful analysis of the written text.",
"There are no advantages to having a written rather than an unwritten constitution.",
"Constitutions that are not written are more likely to be liberal than are constitutions that are written.",
"A constitution is a liberal constitution if it is possible to interpret it in a liberal way."
]
| 1 | If the statements in the argument are all true, which one of the following must also be true on the basis of them? |
As far as we know, Earth is the only planet on which life has evolved, and all known life forms are carbon-based. Therefore, although there might exist noncarbon-based life on planets very unlike Earth, our scientific estimates of the probability of extraterrestrial life should be generated from estimates of the number of planets like Earth and the likelihood of carbon-based life on those planets. | 199506_3-LR2_4_6 | [
"There is no good reason to think that unobserved phenomena closely resemble those that have been observed.",
"A scientific theory that explains a broad range of phenomena is preferable to a competing theory that explains only some of those phenomena.",
"It is preferable for scientists to restrict their studies to phenomena that are observable and forego making estimates about unobservable things.",
"A scientific theory that explains observed phenomena on the basis of a few principles that are independent of each other is preferable to a theory that explains those same phenomena on the basis of many independent principles.",
"Estimations of probability that are more closely tied to what is known are preferable to those that are less closely tied to what is known."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following general principles most strongly supports the recommendation? |
Politician: Unless our nation redistributes wealth, we will be unable to alleviate economic injustice and our current system will lead inevitably to intolerable economic inequities. If the inequities become intolerable, those who suffer from the injustice will resort to violence to coerce social reform. It is our nation's responsibility to do whatever is necessary to alleviate conditions that would otherwise give rise to violent attempts at social reform. | 199506_3-LR2_5_7 | [
"The need for political reform never justifies a resort to violent remedies.",
"It is our nation's responsibility to redistribute wealth.",
"Politicians must base decisions on political expediency rather than on abstract moral principles.",
"Economic injustice need not be remedied unless it leads to intolerable social conditions.",
"All that is required to create conditions of economic justice is the redistribution of wealth."
]
| 1 | The statements above logically commit the politician to which one of the following conclusions? |
Delta green ground beetles sometimes remain motionless for hours at a stretch, although they are more active in wet years than in dry years. In 1989 an observer spotted ten delta green ground beetles in nine hours; in 1985 the same observer at the same location had counted 38 in about two hours. This difference probably does not reflect a drop in the population of these rare beetles over this period, however, because 1985 was a wet year and 1989 was relatively dry. | 199506_3-LR2_6_8 | [
"Because of their excellent camouflage, delta green ground beetles are almost impossible to see if they are not moving.",
"The only habitat of delta green ground beetles is around pools formed by the collection of winter rains in low-lying areas.",
"Delta green ground beetles move about very little to get food; most of their moving from one place to another is related to their reproductive behavior.",
"Delta green ground beetles are so rare that, although the first specimen was found in 1878, a second was not found until 1974.",
"No predator relies on the delta green ground beetle for a major portion of its food supply."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most strongly supports the conclusion drawn above? |
Chronic fatigue syndrome, a condition that afflicts thousands of people, is invariably associated with lower-than-normal concentrations of magnesium in the blood. Further, malabsorption of magnesium from the digestive tract to the blood is also often associated with some types of fatigue. These facts in themselves demonstrate that treatments that raise the concentration of magnesium in the blood would provide an effective cure for the fatigue involved in the syndrome. | 199506_3-LR2_7_9 | [
"It fails to establish that lower-than-normal concentrations of magnesium in the blood are invariably due to malabsorption of magnesium.",
"It offers no evidence that fatigue itself does not induce lowered concentrations of magnesium in the blood.",
"It ignores the possibility that, even in people who are not afflicted with chronic fatigue syndrome, concentration of magnesium in the blood fluctuates.",
"It neglects to state the exact concentration of magnesium in the blood which is considered the normal concentration.",
"It does not specify what methods would be most effective in raising the concentration of magnesium in the blood."
]
| 1 | The argument is most vulnerable to which one of the following criticisms? |
Consumer advocate: The toy-labeling law should require manufacturers to provide explicit safety labels on toys to indicate what hazards the toys pose. The only labels currently required by law are labels indicating the age range for which a toy is intended. For instance, a "three and up" label is required on toys that pose a choking hazard for children under three years of age. Although the current toy-labeling law has indeed reduced the incidence of injuries to children from toys, parents could prevent such injuries almost entirely if toy labels provided explicit safety information. | 199506_3-LR2_8_10 | [
"Certain types of toys have never been associated with injury to children.",
"Most parents believe that the current labels are recommendations regarding level of cognitive skill.",
"The majority of children injured by toys are under three years of age.",
"Many parents do not pay attention to manufacturers labels when they select toys for their children.",
"Choking is the most serious hazard presented to children by toys."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the consumer advocate's argument? |
Consumer advocate: The toy-labeling law should require manufacturers to provide explicit safety labels on toys to indicate what hazards the toys pose. The only labels currently required by law are labels indicating the age range for which a toy is intended. For instance, a "three and up" label is required on toys that pose a choking hazard for children under three years of age. Although the current toy-labeling law has indeed reduced the incidence of injuries to children from toys, parents could prevent such injuries almost entirely if toy labels provided explicit safety information. | 199506_3-LR2_8_11 | [
"It is a general principle supporting the conclusion of the argument.",
"It is a proposed compromise between two conflicting goals.",
"It is the conclusion of the argument.",
"It is evidence that must be refuted in order to establish the conclusion of the argument.",
"It is a particular instance of the general position under discussion."
]
| 2 | The statement that the law should require explicit safety labels on toys serves which one of the following functions in the consumer advocate's argument? |
Proponents of organic farming claim that using chemical fertilizers and pesticides in farming is harmful to local wildlife. To produce the same amount of food, however, more land must be under cultivation when organic farming techniques are used than when chemicals are used. Therefore, organic farming leaves less land available as habitat for local wildlife. | 199506_3-LR2_9_12 | [
"Chemical fertilizers and pesticides pose no health threat to wildlife.",
"Wildlife living near farms where chemicals are used will not ingest any food or water containing those chemicals.",
"The only disadvantage to using chemicals in farming is their potential effect on wildlife.",
"The same crops are grown on organic farms as on farms where chemicals are used.",
"Land cultivated by organic farming methods no longer constitutes a habitat for wildlife."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the author's argument depends? |
Reptiles are air-breathing vertebrates with completely ossified skeletons; so alligators must be air-breathing vertebrates with completely ossified skeletons. | 199506_3-LR2_10_13 | [
"Green plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen back into the air; so it follows that grass takes in carbon dioxide and releases oxygen into the air.",
"Some red butterflies are poisonous to birds that prey on them; so this particular red butterfly is poisonous to birds that prey on it.",
"Knowledge about the empirical world can be gained from books; so Virginia Woolf's book A Room of One's Own must provide knowledge about the empirical world.",
"Dierdre has seen every film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder; so Dierdre must have seen Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, a film directed by Fassbinder.",
"Skiers run a high risk of bone fracture; so it is likely that Lindsey, who has been an avid skier for many years, has suffered a broken bone at some point."
]
| 0 | In terms of its logical features, the argument above most resembles which one of the following? |
Although inflated government spending for weapons research encourages waste at weapons research laboratories, weapons production plants must be viewed as equally wasteful of taxpayer dollars. After all, by the government's own admission, the weapons plant it plans to reopen will violate at least 69 environmental, health, and safety laws. The government has decided to reopen the plant and exempt it from compliance, even though the weapons to be produced there could be produced at the same cost at a safer facility. | 199506_3-LR2_11_14 | [
"It offers no evidence that the \"safer\" alternative production site actually complies with any of the laws mentioned.",
"It concedes a point regarding weapons research laboratories that undermines its conclusion about weapons production plants.",
"It relies on evidence that does not directly address the issue of wasteful spending.",
"It confuses necessary expenditures for research with wasteful spending on weapons.",
"It fails to establish that research laboratories and weapons production plants are similar enough to be meaningfully compared."
]
| 2 | The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds? |
Dr. Godfrey: Now that high school students are allowed to work more than 15 hours per week at part-time jobs, those who actually do so show less interest in school and get lower grades than those who do not work as many hours at part-time jobs. Obviously, working long hours at part-time jobs during the school year contributes to the academic problems that many of our high school students experience. Dr. Nash: That's not so. Many of our high school students set out to earn as much money as they can simply to compensate for their lack of academic success. | 199506_3-LR2_12_15 | [
"attempting to downplay the seriousness of the problems facing academically troubled high school students",
"offering an alternative interpretation of the evidence cited by Dr. Godfrey",
"questioning the accuracy of the evidence on which Dr. Godfrey bases his conclusion",
"proposing that the schools are not at fault for the academic problems facing many high school students",
"raising the possibility that there is no relationship between academic problems among high school students and part-time employment"
]
| 1 | Dr. Nash responds to Dr. Godfrey's argument by doing which one of the following? |
Dr. Godfrey: Now that high school students are allowed to work more than 15 hours per week at part-time jobs, those who actually do so show less interest in school and get lower grades than those who do not work as many hours at part-time jobs. Obviously, working long hours at part-time jobs during the school year contributes to the academic problems that many of our high school students experience. Dr. Nash: That's not so. Many of our high school students set out to earn as much money as they can simply to compensate for their lack of academic success. | 199506_3-LR2_12_16 | [
"whether people who have had academic problems in high school are ultimately less successful in their careers than people who have not had such problems",
"whether students are allowed to spend more than 15 hours per week at school-sponsored nonacademic extracurricular activities such as team sports or clubs",
"whether the students who work more than 15 hours per week and have academic problems had such problems before they began to work that many hours",
"whether employers and high school students typically obey all the laws that regulate the conditions under which young people may legally be employed",
"whether high school students who have after-school jobs continue to work at those jobs after graduating from high school"
]
| 2 | The answer to which one of the following would be the most helpful in determining whether the conclusion that Dr. Godfrey draws could be logically defended against Dr. Nash's counterargument? |
X: Medical research on animals should not be reduced in response to a concern for animals, because results of such research serve to avert human suffering. In such research a trade-off between human and animal welfare is always inevitable, but we should give greater weight to human welfare. Y: With technology that is currently available, much of the research presently performed on animals could instead be done with computer modeling or human subjects without causing any suffering. | 199506_3-LR2_13_17 | [
"contradicts a premise on which X's argument relies",
"disagrees with X about the weight to be given to animal suffering as opposed to human suffering",
"presents a logical consequence of the premises of X's argument",
"strengthens X's argument by presenting evidence not mentioned by X",
"supplies a premise to X's argument that was not explicitly stated"
]
| 0 | The relationship of Y's response to X's argument is that Y's response |
In experiments in which certain kinds of bacteria were placed in a generous supply of nutrients, the populations of bacteria grew rapidly, and genetic mutations occurred at random in the populations. These experiments show that all genetic mutation is random. | 199506_3-LR2_14_18 | [
"Either all genetic mutations are random or none are random.",
"The bacteria tested in the experiments were of extremely common forms.",
"If all genetic mutations in bacteria are random, then all genetic mutations in every other life form are random also.",
"The kind of environment in which genetic mutation takes place has no effect on the way genetic mutation occurs.",
"The nutrients used were the same as those that nourish the bacteria in nature."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, enables the conclusion to be properly drawn? |
Thomas: The club president had no right to disallow Jeffrey's vote. Club rules say that only members in good standing may vote. You've admitted that club rules also say that all members whose dues are fully paid are members in good standing. And since, as the records indicate, Jeffrey has always paid his dues on time, clearly the president acted in violation of club rules. Althea: By that reasoning my two-year-old niece can legally vote in next month's national election since she is a citizen of this country, and only citizens can legally vote in national elections. | 199506_3-LR2_15_19 | [
"fails to take into account the distinction between something not being prohibited and is being authorized",
"offers evidence that casts doubt on the character of the club president and thereby ignores the question of voting eligibility",
"wrongly assumes that if a statement is not actually denied by someone, that statement must be regarded as true",
"does not specify the issue with respect to which the disputed vote was cast",
"overlooks the possibility that Althea is not an authority on the club's rules"
]
| 0 | The reasoning in Thomas' argument is flawed because his argument |
Calories consumed in excess of those with which the body needs to be provided to maintain its weight are normally stored as fat and the body gains weight. Alcoholic beverages are laden with calories. However, those people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day and thereby exceed the caloric intake necessary to maintain their weight do not in general gain weight. | 199506_3-LR2_16_20 | [
"Some people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day avoid exceeding the caloric intake necessary to maintain their weight by decreasing caloric intake from other sources.",
"Excess calories consumed by people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day tend to be dissipated as heat.",
"Some people who do not drink alcoholic beverages but who eat high-calorie foods do not gain weight.",
"Many people who regularly drink more than three alcoholic beverages a day do not gain weight.",
"Some people who take in fewer calories than are normally necessary to maintain their weight do not lose weight."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy? |
When a person with temporal lobe epilepsy is having an epileptic seizure, part of the brain's temporal lobe produces abnormal electrical impulses, which can often, but not always, be detected through a test called an electroencephalogram (EEG). Therefore, although a positive EEG reading—that is, evidence of abnormal electrical impulses—during an apparent seizure is a reasonably reliable indicator of temporal lobe epilepsy, ____. | 199506_3-LR2_17_21 | [
"a positive reading is just as reliable an indicator of the absence of temporal lobe epilepsy",
"a positive reading can also indicate the presence of other forms of epilepsy",
"a positive reading is more frequently an erroneous reading than is a negative one",
"a negative reading does not mean that temporal lobe epilepsy can be ruled out",
"a negative reading is just as reliable an indicator of the presence of temporal lobe epilepsy"
]
| 3 | Of the following, which one logically completes the conclusion above? |
In Sheldon most bicyclists aged 18 and over have lights on their bicycles, whereas most bicyclists under the age of 18 do not. It follows that in Sheldon most bicyclists who have lights on their bicycles are at least 18 years old. | 199506_3-LR2_18_22 | [
"Most of the people in Sheldon buy gasoline on Mondays only. But almost everyone in Sheldon buys groceries on Tuesdays only. It follows that fewer than half of the people in Sheldon buy gasoline on the same day on which they buy groceries.",
"The Sheldon Library lent more books during the week after it began lending videos than it had in the entire preceding month. It follows that the availability of videos was responsible for the increase in the number of books lent.",
"Most of the residents of Sheldon who voted in the last election are on the Conservative party's mailing list, whereas most of Sheldon's residents who did not vote are not on the list. It follows that most of the residents of Sheldon on the Conservative party's mailing list voted in the last election.",
"In the county where Sheldon is located, every town that has two or more fire trucks has a town pool, whereas most towns that have fewer than two fire trucks do not have a town pool. It follows that Sheldon, which has a town pool, must have at least two fire trucks.",
"In Sheldon everyone over the age of 60 who knits also sews, but not everyone over the age of 60 who sews also knits. It follows that among people over the age of 60 in Sheldon there are more who sew than there are who knit."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following exhibits a pattern of flawed reasoning most similar to that in the argument above? |
Asbestos, an almost indestructible mineral once installed as building insulation, poses no health risk unless the asbestos is disturbed and asbestos fibers are released into the environment. Since removing asbestos from buildings disturbs it, thereby releasing asbestos fibers, the government should not require removal of all asbestos insulation. | 199506_3-LR2_19_23 | [
"Asbestos poses far less risk to health than does smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, improper diet, or lack of exercise.",
"Asbestos can pose a health threat to workers who remove it without wearing required protective gear.",
"Some kinds of asbestos, when disturbed, pose greater health risks than do other kinds.",
"Asbestos is inevitably disturbed by building renovations or building demolition.",
"Much of the time, removed asbestos is buried in landfills and forgotten, with no guarantee that it will not be disturbed again."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument? |
When volcanic lava solidifies, it becomes uniformly magnetized in the direction in which the Earth's magnetic field points. There are significant differences in the direction of magnetization among solidified lava flows from different volcanoes that erupted at different times over the past several million years. Therefore, it must be that the direction of the Earth's magnetic field has changed over time. Since lava flows differing by thousands of years in age often have very similar directions of magnetization, the change in the direction of the Earth's magnetic field must take place very gradually over hundreds of thousands of years. | 199506_3-LR2_20_24 | [
"only lava can be used to measure the direction of the Earth's magnetic field as it existed in the distant past",
"a single volcano can produce lava of differing consistencies during different eruptions",
"not all solidified lava has changed the direction of its magnetization unpredictably",
"there are fewer volcanic eruptions now than there were millions of years ago",
"as lava flows down the side of a volcano, it picks up magnetized rocks"
]
| 2 | The argument that the direction of the Earth's magnetic field has changed over time requires the assumption that |
When volcanic lava solidifies, it becomes uniformly magnetized in the direction in which the Earth's magnetic field points. There are significant differences in the direction of magnetization among solidified lava flows from different volcanoes that erupted at different times over the past several million years. Therefore, it must be that the direction of the Earth's magnetic field has changed over time. Since lava flows differing by thousands of years in age often have very similar directions of magnetization, the change in the direction of the Earth's magnetic field must take place very gradually over hundreds of thousands of years. | 199506_3-LR2_20_25 | [
"The changes in the direction of the Earth's magnetic field are determined by the chaotic movement of iron-containing liquids in the Earth's outer core.",
"There has not been a change in the direction of the Earth's magnetic field since scientists have begun measuring the direction of magnetization of lava flows.",
"The direction of the Earth's magnetic field has undergone a complete reversal several times over the past few million years.",
"A lava flow has been found in which the direction of magnetization in the center of the flow differs significantly from that on the surface, even though the flow took only two weeks to solidify completely.",
"Since the rate at which molten lava solidifies depends on the temperature and altitude of the environment, some lava flows from volcanoes in certain areas will take years to solidify completely."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the conclusion that the change in the direction of the Earth's magnetic field happened very slowly? |
When the manufacturers in a given country are slower to adopt new technologies than their foreign competitors are, their production costs will fall more slowly than their foreign competitors' costs will. But if manufacturers' production costs fall less rapidly than their foreign competitors' costs do, those manufacturers will be unable to lower their prices as rapidly as their foreign competitors can; and when a country's manufacturers cannot lower their prices as rapidly as their foreign competitors can, that country gets squeezed out of the global market. | 199506_3-LR2_21_26 | [
"If the manufacturers in one country raise their prices, it is because they have squeezed their foreign competitors out of the global market.",
"If manufacturers in one county have been squeezed out of the global market, this shows that their foreign competitors have adopted new technologies more rapidly than they have.",
"If a country's foreign competitors can lower their production costs more rapidly than the country's own manufacturers can, then their foreign competitors must have adopted new manufacturing techniques.",
"If a country's manufacturers adopt new technologies at the same rate as their foreign competitors, neither group will be able to squeeze the other out of the global market.",
"If a country's manufacturers can lower their prices as rapidly as their foreign competitors can, this shows that they adopt new technology at least as fast as their foreign competitors do."
]
| 4 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true on the basis of them? |
The city's center for disease control reports that the rabies epidemic is more serious now than it was two years ago: 2 years ago less than 25 percent of the local raccoon population was infected, whereas today the infection has spread to more than 50 percent of the raccoon population. However, the newspaper reports that whereas two years ago 32 cases of rabid raccoons were confirmed during a 12-month period, in the past 12 months only 18 cases of rabid raccoons were confirmed. | 199509_2-LR1_1_1 | [
"The number of cases of rabies in wild animals other than raccoons has increased in the past 12 months.",
"A significant proportion of the raccoon population succumbed to rabies in the year before last.",
"The symptoms of distemper, another disease to which raccoons are susceptible, are virtually identical to those of rabies.",
"Since the outbreak of the epidemic, raccoons, which are normally nocturnal, have increasingly been seen during daylight hours.",
"The number of confirmed cases of rabid raccoons in neighboring cities has also decreased over the past year."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy between the two reports? |
Recently, reviewers of patent applications decided against granting a patent to a university for a genetically engineered mouse developed for laboratory use in studying cancer.The reviewers argued that the mouse was a new variety of animal and that rules governing the granting of patents specifically disallow patents for new animal varieties. | 199509_2-LR1_2_2 | [
"The restrictions the patent reviewers cited pertain only to domesticated farm animals.",
"The university's application for a patent for the genetically engineered mouse was the first such patent application made by the university.",
"The patent reviewers had reached the same decision on all previous patent requests for new animal varieties.",
"The patent reviewers had in the past approved patents for genetically engineered plant varieties.",
"The patent reviewers had previously decided against granting patents for new animal varieties that were developed through conventional breeding programs rather than through genetic engineering."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the patent reviewers' argument? |
Although water in deep aquifers does not contain disease-causing bacteria, when public water supplies are drawn from deep aquifers, chlorine is often added to the water as a disinfectant because contamination can occur as a result of flaws in pipes or storage tanks. Of 50 municipalities that all pumped water from the same deep aquifer, 30 chlorinated their water and 20 did not. The water in all of the municipalities met the regional government's standards for cleanliness, yet the water supplied by the 20 municipalities that did not chlorinate had less bacterial contamination than the water supplied by the municipalities that added chlorine. | 199509_2-LR1_3_3 | [
"A municipality's initial decision whether or not to use chlorine is based on the amount of bacterial contamination in the water source.",
"Water in deep aquifers does not contain any bacteria of any kind.",
"Where accessible, deep aquifers are the best choice as a source for a municipal water supply.",
"The regional government's standards allow some bacteria in municipal water supplies.",
"Chlorine is the least effective disinfecting agent."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following can properly be concluded from the information given above? |
Although water in deep aquifers does not contain disease-causing bacteria, when public water supplies are drawn from deep aquifers, chlorine is often added to the water as a disinfectant because contamination can occur as a result of flaws in pipes or storage tanks. Of 50 municipalities that all pumped water from the same deep aquifer, 30 chlorinated their water and 20 did not. The water in all of the municipalities met the regional government's standards for cleanliness, yet the water supplied by the 20 municipalities that did not chlorinate had less bacterial contamination than the water supplied by the municipalities that added chlorine. | 199509_2-LR1_3_4 | [
"Chlorine is considered by some experts to be dangerous to human health, even in the small concentrations used in municipal water supplies.",
"When municipalities decide not to chlorinate their water supplies, it is usually because their citizens have voiced objections to the taste and smell of chlorine.",
"The municipalities that did not add chlorine to their water supplies also did not add any of the other available water disinfectants, which are more expensive than chlorine.",
"Other agents commonly added to public water supplies, such as fluoride and sodium hydroxide, were not used by any of the 50 municipalities.",
"Municipalities that do not chlorinate their water supplies are subject to stricter regulation by the regional government in regard to pipes and water tanks than are municipalities that use chlorine."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps explain the difference in bacterial contamination in the two groups of municipalities? |
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