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The population of songbirds throughout England has decreased in recent years. Many people explain this decrease as the result of an increase during the same period in the population of magpies, which eat the eggs and chicks of songbirds. | 199509_2-LR1_4_5 | [
"Official records of the population of birds in England have been kept for only the past 30 years.",
"The number of eggs laid yearly by a female songbird varies widely according to the songbird's species.",
"Although the overall population of magpies has increased, in most areas of England in which the songbird population has decreased, the number of magpies has remained stable.",
"The population of magpies has increased because farmers no longer shoot or trap magpies to any great extent, though farmers still consider magpies to be pests.",
"Although magpies eat the eggs and chicks of songbirds, magpies' diets consist of a wide variety of other foods as well."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following, if true, argues most strongly against the explanation reported in the passage? |
The introduction of symbols for numbers is an event lost in prehistory, but the earliest known number symbols, in the form of simple grooves and scratches on bones and stones, date back 20,000 years or more. Nevertheless, since it was not until 5,500 years ago that systematic methods for writing numerals were invented, it was only then that any sort of computation became possible. | 199509_2-LR1_5_6 | [
"Grooves and scratches found on bones and stones were all made by people, and none resulted from natural processes.",
"Some kinds of surfaces upon which numeric symbols could have been made in the period before 5,500 years ago were not used for that purpose.",
"Grooves and scratches inscribed on bones and stones do not date back to the time of the earliest people.",
"Computation of any sort required a systematic method for writing numerals.",
"Systematic methods for writing numerals were invented only because the need for computation arose."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument relies? |
Politician: Now that we are finally cleaning up the industrial pollution in the bay, we must start making the bay more accessible to the public for recreational purposes. Reporter: But if we increase public access to the bay, it will soon become polluted again. Politician: Not true. The public did not have access to the bay, and it got polluted. Therefore, if and when the public is given access to the bay, it will not get polluted. | 199509_2-LR1_6_7 | [
"If there had been a full moon last night, the tide would be higher than usual today. Since the tide is no higher than usual, there must not have been a full moon last night.",
"The detective said that whoever stole the money would be spending it conspicuously by now. Jones is spending money conspicuously, so he must be the thief.",
"When prisoners convicted of especially violent crimes were kept in solitary confinement, violence in the prisons increased. Therefore, violence in the prisons will not increase if such prisoners are allowed to mix with fellow prisoners.",
"To get a driver's license, one must pass a written test. Smith passed the written test, so she must have gotten a driver's license.",
"In order to like abstract art, you have to understand it. Therefore, in order to understand abstract art, you have to like it."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following most closely parallels the flawed pattern of reasoning in the politician's reply to the reporter? |
Because learned patterns of behavior, such as the association of a green light with "go" or the expectation that switches will flip up for "on," become deeply ingrained, designers should make allowances for that fact, in order not to produce machines that are inefficient or dangerous. | 199509_2-LR1_7_8 | [
"Manufacturers have refused to change the standard order of letters on the typewriter keyboard even though some people who have never learned to type find this arrangement of letters bewildering.",
"Government regulations require that crucial instruments in airplane cockpits be placed in exactly the same array in all commercial aircraft.",
"Automobile manufacturers generally design for all of their automobiles a square or oblong ignition key and a round or oval luggage compartment key.",
"The only traffic signs that are triangular in shape are \"yield\" signs.",
"On some tape recorders the \"start\" button is red and the \"stop\" button is yellow."
]
| 4 | In which one of the following situations is the principle expressed most clearly violated? |
From 1973 to 1989 total energy use in this country increased less than 10 percent. However, the use of electrical energy in this country during this same period grew by more than 50 percent, as did the gross national product—the total value of all goods and services produced in the nation. | 199509_2-LR1_8_9 | [
"Most of the energy used in this country in 1989 was electrical energy.",
"From 1973 to 1989 there was a decline in the use of energy other than electrical energy in this country.",
"From 1973 to 1989 there was an increase in the proportion of energy use in this country that consisted of electrical energy use.",
"In 1989 electrical energy constituted a larger proportion of the energy used to produce the gross national product than did any other form of energy.",
"In 1973 the electrical energy that was produced constituted a smaller proportion of the gross national product than did all other forms of energy combined."
]
| 2 | If the statements above are true, then which one of the following must also be true? |
A fundamental illusion in robotics is the belief that improvements in robots will liberate humanity from "hazardous and demeaning work." Engineers are designing only those types of robots that can be properly maintained with the least expensive, least skilled human labor possible. Therefore, robots will not eliminate demeaning work—only substitute one type of demeaning work for another. | 199509_2-LR1_9_10 | [
"ignores the consideration that in a competitive business environment some jobs might be eliminated if robots are not used in the manufacturing process",
"assumes what it sets out to prove, that robots create demeaning work",
"does not specify whether or not the engineers who design robots consider their work demeaning",
"attempts to support its conclusion by an appeal to the emotion of fear, which is often experienced by people faced with the prospect of losing their jobs to robots",
"fails to address the possibility that the amount of demeaning work eliminated by robots might be significantly greater than the amount they create"
]
| 4 | The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to the criticism that it |
If the needle on an industrial sewing machine becomes badly worn, the article being sewn can be ruined. In traditional apparel factories, the people who operate the sewing machines monitor the needles and replace those that begin to wear out. Industrial sewing operations are becoming increasingly automated, however, and it would be inefficient for a factory to hire people for the sole purpose of monitoring needles. Therefore a sophisticated new acoustic device that detects wear in sewing machine needles is expected to become standard equipment in the automated apparel factories of the future. | 199509_2-LR1_10_11 | [
"In automated apparel factories, items will be ruined by faulty needles less frequently than happens in traditional apparel factories.",
"In the automated apparel factories of the future, each employee will perform only one type of task.",
"Traditional apparel factories do not use any automated equipment.",
"The needles of industrial sewing machines wear out at unpredictable rates.",
"As sewing machine needles become worn, the noise they make becomes increasingly loud."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above? |
Alexander: The chemical waste dump outside our town should be cleaned up immediately. Admittedly, it will be very costly to convert that site into woodland, but we have a pressing obligation to redress the harm we have done to local forests and wildlife. Teresa: But our town's first priority is the health of its people. So even if putting the dump there was environmentally disastrous, we should not spend our resources on correcting it unless it presents a significant health hazard to people. If it does, then we only need to remove that hazard. | 199509_2-LR1_11_12 | [
"Environmental destruction should be redressed only if it is in the economic interest of the community to do so.",
"Resources should be allocated only to satisfy goals that have the highest priority.",
"No expense should be spared in protecting the community's health.",
"Environmental hazards that pose slight health risks to people should be rectified if the technology is available to do so.",
"It is the community as a whole that should evaluate the importance of eliminating various perceived threats to public health."
]
| 1 | Teresa's statement most closely conforms to which one of the following principles? |
Alexander: The chemical waste dump outside our town should be cleaned up immediately. Admittedly, it will be very costly to convert that site into woodland, but we have a pressing obligation to redress the harm we have done to local forests and wildlife. Teresa: But our town's first priority is the health of its people. So even if putting the dump there was environmentally disastrous, we should not spend our resources on correcting it unless it presents a significant health hazard to people. If it does, then we only need to remove that hazard. | 199509_2-LR1_11_13 | [
"whether the maintenance of a chemical waste dump inflicts significant damage on forests and wildlife",
"whether it is extremely costly to clean up a chemical waste dump in order to replace it by a woodland",
"whether the public should be consulted in determining the public health risk posed by a chemical waste dump",
"whether the town has an obligation to redress damage to local forests and wildlife if that damage poses no significant health hazard to people",
"whether destroying forests and wildlife in order to establish a chemical waste dump amounts to an environmental disaster"
]
| 3 | Which one of the following is the point at issue between Alexander and Teresa? |
In 1980, Country A had a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) that was $5,000 higher than that of the European Economic Community. By 1990, the difference, when adjusted for inflation, had increased to $6,000. Since a rising per capita GDP indicates a rising average standard of living, the average standard of living in Country A must have risen between 1980 and 1990. | 199509_2-LR1_12_14 | [
"Between 1980 and 1990, Country A and the European Economic Community experienced the same percentage increase in population.",
"Between 1980 and 1990, the average standard of living in the European Economic Community fell.",
"Some member countries of the European Economic Community had, during the 1980s, a higher average standard of living than Country A.",
"The per capita GDP of the European Economic Community was not lower by more than $1,000 in 1990 than it had been in 1980.",
"In 1990, no member country of the European Economic Community had a per capita GDP higher than that of Country A."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
Municipal officials originally estimated that it would be six months before municipal road crews could complete repaving a stretch of road. The officials presumed that private contractors could not finish any sooner. However, when the job was assigned to a private contractor, it was completed in just 28 days. | 199509_2-LR1_13_15 | [
"Road repaving work can only be done in the summer months of June, July, and August.",
"The labor union contract for road crews employed by both municipal agencies and private contractors stipulates that employees can work only eight hours a day, five days a week, before being paid overtime.",
"Many road-crew workers for private contractors have previously worked for municipal road crews, and vice versa.",
"Private contractors typically assign 25 workers to each road-repaving job site, whereas the number assigned to municipal road crews is usually 30.",
"Municipal agencies must conduct a lengthy bidding process to procure supplies after repaving work is ordered and before they can actually start work, whereas private contractors can obtain supplies readily as needed."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if true, does most to resolve the discrepancy between the time estimated for completion of the repaving job, and the actual time taken by the private contractor? |
Researchers in South Australia estimate changes in shark populations inhabiting local waters by monitoring what is termed the "catch per unit effort" (CPUE). The CPUE for any species of shark is the number of those sharks that commercial shark-fishing boats catch per hour for each kilometer of gill net set out in the water. Since 1973 the CPUE for a particular species of shark has remained fairly constant. Therefore, the population of that species in the waters around South Australia must be at approximately its 1973 level. | 199509_2-LR1_14_16 | [
"The waters around South Australia are the only area in the world where that particular species of shark is found.",
"The sharks that are the most profitable to catch are those that tend to remain in the same area of ocean year after year and not migrate far from where they were born.",
"A significant threat to shark populations, in addition to commercial shark fishing, is \"incidental mortality\" that results from catching sharks in nets intended for other fish.",
"Most of the quotas designed to protect shark populations limit the tonnage of sharks that can be taken and not the number of individual sharks.",
"Since 1980 commercial shark-fishing boats have used sophisticated electronic equipment that enables them to locate sharks with greater accuracy."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument? |
Winston: The Public Transportation Authority (PTA) cannot fulfill its mandate to operate without a budget deficit unless it eliminates service during late-night periods of low ridership. Since the fares collected during these periods are less than the cost of providing the service, these cuts would reduce the deficit and should be made. Transit law prohibits unauthorized fare increases, and fare-increase authorization would take two years. Ping: Such service cuts might cost the PTA more in lost fares than they would save in costs, for the PTA would lose those riders who leave home during the day but must return late at night. Thus the PTA would lose two fares, while realizing cost savings for only one leg of such trips. | 199509_2-LR1_15_17 | [
"carefully redefines a term used in Winston's argument",
"questions Winston's proposal by raising considerations not addressed by Winston",
"supplies a premise that could have been used as part of the support for Winston's argument",
"introduces detailed statistical evidence that is more persuasive than that offered by Winston",
"proposes a solution to the PTA's dilemma by contradicting Winston's conclusion"
]
| 1 | The relationship of Ping's response to Winston's argument is that Ping's response |
Winston: The Public Transportation Authority (PTA) cannot fulfill its mandate to operate without a budget deficit unless it eliminates service during late-night periods of low ridership. Since the fares collected during these periods are less than the cost of providing the service, these cuts would reduce the deficit and should be made. Transit law prohibits unauthorized fare increases, and fare-increase authorization would take two years. Ping: Such service cuts might cost the PTA more in lost fares than they would save in costs, for the PTA would lose those riders who leave home during the day but must return late at night. Thus the PTA would lose two fares, while realizing cost savings for only one leg of such trips. | 199509_2-LR1_15_18 | [
"Over 23 percent of the round trips made by PTA riders are either initiated or else completed during late-night periods.",
"Reliable survey results show that over 43 percent of the PTA's riders oppose any cut in PTA services.",
"The last time the PTA petitioned for a 15 percent fare increase, the petition was denied.",
"The PTA's budget deficit is 40 percent larger this year than it was last year.",
"The PTA's bus drivers recently won a new contract that guarantees them a significant cash bonus each time they work the late-night shifts."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most strongly supports Ping's conclusion? |
The Volunteers for Literacy Program would benefit if Dolores takes Victor's place as director, since Dolores is far more skillful than Victor is at securing the kind of financial support the program needs and Dolores does not have Victor's propensity for alienating the program's most dedicated volunteers. | 199509_2-LR1_16_19 | [
"It would be more convenient for Dominique to take a bus to school than to take the subway, since the bus stops closer to her house than does the subway and, unlike the subway, the bus goes directly to the school.",
"Joshua's interest would be better served by taking the bus to get to his parent's house rather than by taking an airplane, since his primary concern is to travel as cheaply as possible and taking the bus is less expensive than going by airplane.",
"Belinda will get to the concert more quickly by subway than by taxi, since the concert takes place on a Friday evening and on Friday evenings traffic near the concert hall is exceptionally heavy.",
"Anita would benefit financially by taking the train to work rather than driving her car, since when she drives she has to pay parking fees and the daily fee for parking a car is higher than a round-trip train ticket.",
"It would be to Fred's advantage to exchange his bus tickets for train tickets, since he needs to arrive at his meeting before any of the other participants and if he goes by bus at least one of the other participants will arrive first."
]
| 0 | The pattern of reasoning in the argument above is most closely paralleled in which one of the following? |
Students from outside the province of Markland, who in any given academic year pay twice as much tuition each as do students from Markland, had traditionally accounted for at least two-thirds of the enrollment at Central Markland College. Over the past 10 years academic standards at the college have risen, and the proportion of students who are not Marklanders has dropped to around 40 percent. | 199509_2-LR1_17_20 | [
"If it had not been for the high tuition paid by students from outside Markland, the college could not have improved its academic standards over the past 10 years.",
"If academic standards had not risen over the past 10 years, students who are not Marklanders would still account for at least two-thirds of the college's enrollment.",
"Over the past 10 years, the number of students from Markland increased and the number of students from outside Markland decreased.",
"Over the past 10 years, academic standards at Central Markland College have risen by more than academic standards at any other college in Markland.",
"If the college's per capita revenue from tuition has remained the same, tuition fees have increased over the past 10 years."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the statements above? |
Several years ago, as a measure to reduce the population of gypsy moths, which depend on oak leaves for food, entomologists introduced into many oak forests a species of fungus that is poisonous to gypsy moth caterpillars. Since then, the population of both caterpillars and adult moths has significantly declined in those areas. Entomologists have concluded that the decline is attributable to the presence of the poisonous fungus. | 199509_2-LR1_18_21 | [
"A strain of gypsy moth whose caterpillars are unaffected by the fungus has increased its share of the total gypsy moth population.",
"The fungus that was introduced to control the gypsy moth population is poisonous to few insect species other than the gypsy moth.",
"An increase in numbers of both gypsy moth caterpillars and gypsy moth adults followed a drop in the number of some of the species that prey on the moths.",
"In the past several years, air pollution and acid rain have been responsible for a substantial decline in oak tree populations.",
"The current decline in the gypsy moth population in forests where the fungus was introduced is no greater than a decline that occurred concurrently in other forests."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most strongly supports the conclusion drawn by the entomologists? |
Director of personnel: Ms. Tours has formally requested a salary adjustment on the grounds that she was denied merit raises to which she was entitled. Since such grounds provide a possible basis for adjustments, an official response is required. Ms. Tours presents compelling evidence that her job performance has been both excellent in itself and markedly superior to that of others in her department who were awarded merit raises. Her complaint that she was treated unfairly thus appears justified. Nevertheless, her request should be denied. To raise Ms. Tours's salary because of her complaint would jeopardize the integrity of the firm's merit-based reward system by sending the message that employees can get their salaries raised if they just complain enough. | 199509_2-LR1_19_22 | [
"fails to consider the possibility that Ms. Tours's complaint could be handled on an unofficial basis",
"attempts to undermine the persuasiveness of Ms. Tours's evidence by characterizing it as \"mere complaining\"",
"sidesteps the issue of whether superior job performance is a suitable basis for awarding salary increases",
"ignores the possibility that some of the people who did receive merit increases were not entitled to them",
"overlooks the implications for the integrity of the firm's merit-based reward system of denying Ms. Tours's request"
]
| 4 | The personnel director's reasoning is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it |
S: People who are old enough to fight for their country are old enough to vote for the people who make decisions about war and peace. This government clearly regards 17 year olds as old enough to fight, so it should acknowledge their right to vote. T: Your argument is a good one only to the extent that fighting and voting are the same kind of activity. Fighting well requires strength, muscular coordination, and in a modern army instant and automatic response to orders. Performed responsibly, voting, unlike fighting, is essentially a deliberative activity requiring reasoning power and knowledge of both history and human nature. | 199509_2-LR1_20_23 | [
"citing evidence overlooked by S that would have supported S's conclusion",
"calling into question S's understanding of the concept of rights",
"showing that S has ignored the distinction between having a right to do something and having an obligation to do that thing",
"challenging the truth of a claim on which S's conclusion is based",
"arguing for a conclusion opposite to the one drawn by S"
]
| 3 | T responds to S's argument by |
The role of the Uplandian supreme court is to protect all human rights against abuses of government power. Since the constitution of Uplandia is not explicit about all human rights, the supreme court must sometimes resort to principles outside the explicit provisions of the constitution in justifying its decisions. However, human rights will be subject to the whim of whoever holds judicial power unless the supreme court is bound to adhere to a single objective standard, namely, the constitution. Therefore, nothing but the explicit provisions of the constitution can be used to justify the court's decisions. Since these conclusions are inconsistent with each other, it cannot be true that the role of the Uplandian supreme court is to protect all human rights against abuses of government power. | 199509_2-LR1_21_24 | [
"ignores data that offer reasonable support for a general claim and focuses on a single example that argues against that claim",
"seeks to defend a view on the grounds that the view is widely held and that decisions based on that view are often accepted as correct",
"rejects a claim as false on the grounds that those who make that claim could profit if that claim is accepted by others",
"makes an unwarranted assumption that what is true of each member of a group taken separately is also true of the group as a whole",
"concludes that a particular premise is false when it is equally possible for that premise to be true and some other premise false"
]
| 4 | The reasoning that leads to the conclusion that the first sentence in the passage is false is flawed because the argument |
The painted spider spins webs that are much stickier than the webs spun by the other species of spiders that share the same habitat. Stickier webs are more efficient at trapping insects that fly into them. Spiders prey on insects by trapping them in their webs; therefore, it can be concluded that the painted spider is a more successful predator than its competitors. | 199509_3-LR2_1_1 | [
"Not all of the species of insects living in the painted spider's habitat are flying insects.",
"Butterflies and moths, which can shed scales, are especially unlikely to be trapped by spider webs that are not very sticky.",
"Although the painted spider's venom does not kill insects quickly, it paralyzes them almost instantaneously.",
"Stickier webs reflect more light, and so are more visible to insects, than are less-sticky webs.",
"The webs spun by the painted spider are no larger than the webs spun by the other species of spiders in the same habitat."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument? |
Despite the best efforts of astronomers, no one has yet succeeded in exchanging messages with intelligent life on other planets or in other solar systems. In fact, no one has even managed to prove that any kind of extraterrestrial life exists. Thus, there is clearly no intelligent life anywhere but on Earth. | 199509_3-LR2_2_2 | [
"fails to consider that there might be extraterrestrial forms of intelligence that are not living beings",
"confuses an absence of evidence for a hypothesis with the existence of evidence against the hypothesis",
"interprets a disagreement over a scientific theory as a disproof of that theory",
"makes an inference that relies on the vagueness of the term \"life\"",
"relies on a weak analogy rather than on evidence to draw a conclusion"
]
| 1 | The argument's reasoning is flawed because the argument |
Bart: A mathematical problem that defied solution for hundreds of years has finally yielded to a supercomputer. The process by which the supercomputer derived the result is so complex, however, that no one can fully comprehend it. Consequently, the result is unacceptable. Anne: In scientific research, if the results of a test can be replicated in other tests, the results are acceptable even though the way they were derived might not be fully understood. Therefore, if a mathematical result derived by a supercomputer can be reproduced by other supercomputers following the same procedure, it is acceptable. | 199509_3-LR2_3_3 | [
"The mathematical result in question is unacceptable because it was derived with the use of a supercomputer.",
"For the mathematical result in question to be acceptable, there must be someone who can fully comprehend the process by which it was derived.",
"To be acceptable, the mathematical result in question must be reproduced on another supercomputer.",
"Making the mathematical result in question less complex would guarantee its acceptability.",
"The supercomputer cannot derive an acceptable solution to the mathematical problem in question."
]
| 1 | Bart's argument requires which one of the following assumptions? |
Bart: A mathematical problem that defied solution for hundreds of years has finally yielded to a supercomputer. The process by which the supercomputer derived the result is so complex, however, that no one can fully comprehend it. Consequently, the result is unacceptable. Anne: In scientific research, if the results of a test can be replicated in other tests, the results are acceptable even though the way they were derived might not be fully understood. Therefore, if a mathematical result derived by a supercomputer can be reproduced by other supercomputers following the same procedure, it is acceptable. | 199509_3-LR2_3_4 | [
"whether a scientific result that has not been replicated can properly be accepted",
"whether the result that a supercomputer derives for a mathematical problem must be replicated on another supercomputer before it can be accepted",
"the criterion to be used for accepting a mathematical result derived by a supercomputer",
"the level of complexity of the process to which Bart refers in his statements",
"the relative complexity of mathematical problems as compared to scientific problems"
]
| 2 | The exchange between Bart and Anne most strongly supports the view that they disagree as to |
It is commonly held among marketing experts that in a nonexpanding market a company's best strategy is to go after a bigger share of the market and that the best way to do this is to run comparative advertisements that emphasize weaknesses in the products of rivals. In the stagnant market for food oil, soybean-oil and palm-oil producers did wage a two-year battle with comparative advertisements about the deleterious effect on health of each other's products. These campaigns, however, had little effect on respective market shares; rather, they stopped many people from buying any edible oils at all. | 199509_3-LR2_4_5 | [
"increase a company's market share in all cases in which that company's products are clearly superior to the products of rivals",
"should not be used in a market that is expanding or likely to expand",
"should under no circumstances be used as a retaliatory measure",
"carry the risk of causing a contraction of the market at which they are aimed",
"yield no long-term gains unless consumers can easily verify the claims made"
]
| 3 | The statements above most strongly support the conclusion that comparative advertisements |
Recent unexpectedly heavy rainfalls in the metropolitan area have filled the reservoirs and streams; water rationing, therefore, will not be necessary this summer. | 199509_3-LR2_5_6 | [
"Water rationing was imposed in the city in three of the last five years.",
"A small part of the city's water supply is obtained from deep underground water systems that are not reached by rainwater.",
"The water company's capacity to pump water to customers has not kept up with the increased demand created by population growth in the metropolitan area.",
"The long-range weather forecast predicts lower-than-average temperatures for this summer.",
"In most years the city receives less total precipitation in the summer than it receives in any other season."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following, if true, most undermines the author's prediction? |
John: In 80 percent of car accidents, the driver at fault was within five miles of home, so people evidently drive less safely near home than they do on long trips. Judy: But people do 80 percent of their driving within five miles of home. | 199509_3-LR2_6_7 | [
"It shows that the evidence that John presents, by itself, is not enough to prove his claim.",
"It restates the evidence that John presents in different terms.",
"It gives additional evidence that is needed by John to support his conclusion.",
"It calls into question John's assumption that whenever people drive more than five miles from home they are going on a long trip.",
"It suggests that John's conclusion is merely a restatement of his argument's premise."
]
| 0 | How is Judy's response related to John's argument? |
Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world; unreasonable people persist in trying to adapt the world to themselves. Therefore, all progress depends on unreasonable people. | 199509_3-LR2_7_8 | [
"Reasonable people and unreasonable people are incompatible.",
"If there are only reasonable people, there cannot be progress.",
"If there are unreasonable people, there will be progress.",
"Some unreasonable people are unable to bring about progress.",
"Unreasonable people are more persistent than reasonable people."
]
| 1 | If all of the statements in the passage above are true, which one of the following statements must also be true? |
Theater critic: The theater is in a dismal state. Audiences are sparse and revenue is down. Without the audience and the revenue, the talented and creative people who are the lifeblood of the theater are abandoning it. No wonder standards are deteriorating. Producer: It's not true that the theater is in decline. Don't you realize that your comments constitute a self-fulfilling prophecy? By publishing these opinions, you yourself are discouraging new audiences from emerging and new talent from joining the theater. | 199509_3-LR2_8_9 | [
"focusing on the effects of the critic's evaluation rather than on its content",
"accusing the critic of relying solely on opinion unsupported by factual evidence",
"challenging the motives behind the critic's remarks rather than the remarks themselves",
"relying on emphasis rather than on argument",
"invoking authority in order to intimidate the critic"
]
| 0 | Which one of the following is a questionable technique employed by the producer in responding to the critic? |
Michelangelo's sixteenth-century Sistine Chapel paintings are currently being restored. A goal of the restorers is to uncover Michelangelo's original work, and so additions made to Michelangelo's paintings by later artists are being removed. However, the restorers have decided to make one exception: to leave intact additions that were painted by da Volterra. | 199509_3-LR2_9_10 | [
"The restorers believe that da Volterra stripped away all previous layers of paint before he painted his own additions to the Sistine Chapel.",
"Because da Volterra used a type of pigment that is especially sensitive to light, the additions to the Sistine Chapel that da Volterra painted have relatively muted colors.",
"Da Volterra's additions were painted in a style that was similar to the style used by Michelangelo.",
"Michelangelo is famous primarily for his sculptures and only secondarily for his paintings, whereas da Volterra is known exclusively for his paintings.",
"Da Volterra's work is considered by certain art historians to be just as valuable as the work of some of the other artists who painted additions to Michelangelo's work."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to reconcile the restorers' decision with the goal stated in the passage? |
A controversial program rewards prison inmates who behave particularly well in prison by giving them the chance to receive free cosmetic plastic surgery performed by medical students. The program is obviously morally questionable, both in its assumptions about what inmates might want and in its use of the prison population to train future surgeons. Putting these moral issues aside, however, the surgery clearly has a powerful rehabilitative effect, as is shown by the fact that, among recipients of the surgery, the proportion who are convicted of new crimes committed after release is only half that for the prison population as a whole. | 199509_3-LR2_10_11 | [
"allows moral issues to be a consideration in presenting evidence about matters of fact",
"dismisses moral considerations on the grounds that only matters of fact are relevant",
"labels the program as \"controversial\" instead of discussing the issues that give rise to controversy",
"asserts that the rehabilitation of criminals is not a moral issue",
"relies on evidence drawn from a sample that there is reason to believe is unrepresentative"
]
| 4 | A flaw in the reasoning of the passage is that it |
The retina scanner, a machine that scans the web of tiny blood vessels in the retina, stores information about the pattern formed by the blood vessels. This information allows it to recognize any pattern it has previously scanned. No two eyes have identical patterns of blood vessels in the retina. A retina scanner can therefore be used successfully to determine for any person whether it has ever scanned a retina of that person before. | 199509_3-LR2_11_12 | [
"diseases of the human eye do not alter the pattern of blood vessels in the retina in ways that would make the pattern unrecognizable to the retina scanner",
"no person has a different pattern of blood vessels in the retina of the left eye than in the retina of the right eye",
"there are enough retina scanners to store information about every person's retinas",
"the number of blood vessels in the human retina is invariant, although the patterns they form differ from person to person",
"there is no person whose retinas have been scanned by two or more different retina scanners"
]
| 0 | The reasoning in the argument depends upon assuming that |
There are just two ways a moon could have been formed from the planet around which it travels: either part of the planet's outer shell spun off into orbit around the planet or else a large object such as a comet or meteoroid, struck the planet so violently that it dislodged a mass of material from inside the planet. Earth's moon consists primarily of materials different from those of the Earth's outer shell. | 199509_3-LR2_12_13 | [
"The moons of some planets in Earth's solar system were not formed primarily from the planets' outer shells.",
"Earth's moon consists primarily of elements that differ from those inside the Earth.",
"Earth's gravity cannot have trapped a meteoroid and pulled it into its orbit as the Moon.",
"The craters on the surface of Earth's moon show that it has been struck by many thousands of large meteoroids.",
"Comets and large meteoroids normally move at very high speeds."
]
| 1 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following, if also true, would most help to justify drawing the conclusion that Earth's moon was not formed from a piece of the Earth? |
Caffeine can kill or inhibit the growth of the larvae of several species of insects. One recent experiment showed that tobacco hornworm larvae die when they ingest a preparation that consists, in part, of finely powdered tea leaves, which contain caffeine. This result is evidence for the hypothesis that the presence of non-negligible quantities of caffeine in various parts of many diverse species of plants is not accidental but evolved as a defense for those plants. | 199509_3-LR2_13_14 | [
"caffeine-producing plants are an important raw material in the manufacture of commercial insecticides",
"caffeine is stored in leaves and other parts of caffeine-producing plants in concentrations roughly equal to the caffeine concentration of the preparation fed to the tobacco hornworm larvae",
"caffeine-producing plants grow wherever insect larvae pose a major threat to indigenous plants or once posed a major threat to the ancestors of those plants",
"the tobacco plant is among the plant species that produce caffeine for their own defense",
"caffeine-producing plants or their ancestors have at some time been subject to being fed upon by creatures sensitive to caffeine"
]
| 4 | The argument assumes that |
The only plants in the garden were tulips, but they were tall tulips. So the only plants in the garden were tall plants. | 199509_3-LR2_14_15 | [
"The only dogs in the show were poodles, and they were all black poodles. So all the dogs in the show were black.",
"All the buildings on the block were tall. The only buildings on the block were office buildings and residential towers. So all the office buildings on the block were tall buildings.",
"All the primates in the zoo were gorillas. The only gorillas in the zoo were small gorillas. Thus the only primates in the zoo were small primates.",
"The only fruit in the kitchen was pears, but the pears were not ripe. Thus none of the fruit in the kitchen was ripe.",
"All the grand pianos here are large. Ail the grand pianos here are heavy. Thus everything large is heavy."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following exhibits faulty reasoning most similar to the faulty reasoning in the argument above? |
Scientific research will be properly channeled whenever those who decide which research to fund give due weight to the scientific merits of all proposed research. But when government agencies control these funding decisions, political considerations play a major role in determining which research will be funded, and whenever political considerations play such a role, the inevitable result is that scientific research is not properly channeled. | 199509_3-LR2_15_16 | [
"There is no proper role for political considerations to play in determining who will decide which scientific research to fund.",
"It is inevitable that considerations of scientific merit will be neglected in decisions regarding the funding of scientific research.",
"Giving political considerations a major role in determining which scientific research to fund is incompatible with giving proper weight to the scientific merits of proposed research.",
"When scientific research is not properly channeled, governments tend to step in and take control of the process of choosing which research to fund.",
"If a government does not control investment in basic scientific research, political consideration will inevitably be neglected in deciding which research to fund."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the statements above? |
A new silencing device for domestic appliances operates by producing sound waves that cancel out the sound waves produced by the appliance. The device, unlike conventional silencers, actively eliminates the noise the appliance makes, and for that reason vacuum cleaners designed to incorporate the new device will operate with much lower electricity consumption than conventional vacuum cleaners. | 199509_3-LR2_16_17 | [
"Designers of vacuum cleaner motors typically have to compromise the motors' efficiency in order to reduce noise production.",
"The device runs on electricity drawn from the appliance's main power supply.",
"Conventional vacuum cleaners often use spinning brushes to loosen dirt in addition to using suction to remove dirt.",
"Governmental standards for such domestic appliances as vacuum cleaners allow higher electricity consumption when vacuum cleaners are quieter.",
"The need to incorporate silencers in conventional vacuum cleaners makes them heavier and less mobile than they might otherwise be."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain why the new silencing device will make lower electricity consumption possible? |
Because dinosaurs were reptiles, scientists once assumed that, like all reptiles alive today, dinosaurs were cold-blooded. The recent discovery of dinosaur fossils in the northern arctic, however, has led a number of researchers to conclude that at least some dinosaurs might have been warm-blooded. These researchers point out that only warm-blooded animals could have withstood the frigid temperatures that are characteristic of arctic winters, whereas cold-blooded animals would have frozen to death in the extreme cold. | 199509_3-LR2_17_18 | [
"Today's reptiles are generally confined to regions of temperate or even tropical climates.",
"The fossils show the arctic dinosaurs to have been substantially smaller than other known species of dinosaurs.",
"The arctic dinosaur fossils were found alongside fossils of plants known for their ability to withstand extremely cold temperatures.",
"The number of fossils found together indicates herds of dinosaurs so large that they would need to migrate to find a continual food supply.",
"Experts on prehistoric climatic conditions believe that winter temperatures in the prehistoric northern arctic were not significantly different from what they are today."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, weakens the researchers' argument? |
Maria: Calling any state totalitarian is misleading: it implies total state control of all aspects of life. The real world contains no political entity exercising literally total control over even one such aspect. This is because any system of control is inefficient, and, therefore, its degree of control is partial. James: A one-party state that has tried to exercise control over most aspects of a society and that has, broadly speaking, managed to do so is totalitarian. Such a system's practical inefficiencies do not limit the aptness of the term, which does not describe a state s actual degree of control as much as it describes the nature of a state's ambitions. | 199509_3-LR2_18_19 | [
"No state can be called totalitarian without inviting a mistaken belief.",
"To be totalitarian, a state must totally control society.",
"The degree of control exercised by a state is necessarily partial.",
"No existing state currently has even one aspect of society under total control.",
"Systems of control are inevitably inefficient."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following most accurately expresses Maria's main conclusion? |
Maria: Calling any state totalitarian is misleading: it implies total state control of all aspects of life. The real world contains no political entity exercising literally total control over even one such aspect. This is because any system of control is inefficient, and, therefore, its degree of control is partial. James: A one-party state that has tried to exercise control over most aspects of a society and that has, broadly speaking, managed to do so is totalitarian. Such a system's practical inefficiencies do not limit the aptness of the term, which does not describe a state s actual degree of control as much as it describes the nature of a state's ambitions. | 199509_3-LR2_18_20 | [
"pointing out a logical inconsistency between two statements she makes in support of her argument",
"offering an alternative explanation for political conditions she mentions",
"rejecting some of the evidence she presents without challenging what she infers from it",
"disputing the conditions under which a key term of her argument can be appropriately applied",
"demonstrating that her own premises lead to a conclusion different from hers"
]
| 3 | James responds to Maria's argument by |
The similarity between ichthyosaurs and fish is an example of convergence, a process by which different classes of organisms adapt to the same environment by independently developing one or more similar external body features. Ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles and thus do not belong to the same class of organisms as fish. However, ichthyosaurs adapted to their marine environment by converging on external body features similar to those of fish. Most strikingly, ichthyosaurs, like fish, had fins. | 199509_3-LR2_19_21 | [
"The members of a single class of organisms that inhabit the same environment must be identical in all their external body features.",
"The members of a single class of organisms must exhibit one or more similar external body features that differentiate that class from all other classes of organisms.",
"It is only as a result of adaptation to similar environments that one class of organisms develops external body features similar to those of another class of organisms.",
"An organism does not necessarily belong to a class simply because the organism has one or more external body features similar to those of members of that class.",
"Whenever two classes of organisms share the same environment, members of one class will differ from members of the other class in several external body features."
]
| 3 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following is an inference that can be properly drawn on the basis of them? |
Further evidence bearing on Jamison's activities must have come to light. On the basis of previously available evidence alone, it would have been impossible to prove that Jamison was a party to the fraud, and Jamison's active involvement in the fraud has now been definitively established. | 199509_3-LR2_20_22 | [
"Smith must not have purchased his house within the last year. He is listed as the owner of that house on the old list of property owners, and anyone on the old list could not have purchased his or her property within the last year.",
"Turner must not have taken her usual train to Nantes today. Had she done so, she could not have been in Nantes until this afternoon, but she was seen having coffee in Nantes at 11 o'clock this morning.",
"Norris must have lied when she said that she had not authorized the investigation. There is no doubt that she did authorize it, and authorizing an investigation is not something anyone is likely to have forgotten.",
"Waugh must have known that last night's class was canceled. Waugh was in the library yesterday, and it would have been impossible for anyone in the library not to have seen the cancellation notices.",
"LaForte must have deeply resented being passed over for promotion. He maintains otherwise, but only someone who felt badly treated would have made the kind of remark LaForte made at yesterday's meeting."
]
| 1 | The pattern of reasoning exhibited in the argument above most closely parallels that exhibited in which one of the following? |
Reporting on a civil war, a journalist encountered evidence that refugees were starving because the government would not permit food shipments to a rebel-held area. Government censors deleted all mention of the government's role in the starvation from the journalist's report, which had not implicated either nature or the rebels in the starvation. The journalist concluded that it was ethically permissible to file the censored report, because the journalist's news agency would precede it with the notice "Cleared by government censors." | 199509_3-LR2_21_23 | [
"It is ethical in general to report known facts but unethical to do so while omitting other known facts if the omitted facts would substantially alter an impression of a person or institution that would be congruent with the reported facts.",
"In a situation of conflict, it is ethical to report known facts and unethical to fail to report known facts that would tend to exonerate one party to the conflict.",
"In a situation of censorship, it is unethical to make any report if the government represented by the censor deletes from the report material unfavorable to that government.",
"It is ethical in general to report known facts but unethical to make a report in a situation of censorship if relevant facts have been deleted by the censor, unless the recipient of the report is warned that censorship existed.",
"Although it is ethical in general to report known facts, it is unethical to make a report from which a censor has deleted relevant facts, unless the recipient of the report is warned that there was censorship and the reported facts do not by themselves give a misleading impression."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following ethical criteria, if valid, would serve to support the journalist's conclusion while placing the least constraint on the flow of reported information? |
A birth is more likely to be difficult when the mother is over the age of 40 than when she is younger. Regardless of the mother's age, a person whose birth was difficult is more likely to be ambidextrous than is a person whose birth was not difficult. Since other causes of ambidexterity are not related to the mother's age, there must be more ambidextrous people who were born to women over 40 than there are ambidextrous people who were born to younger women. | 199509_3-LR2_22_24 | [
"It assumes what it sets out to establish.",
"It overlooks the possibility that fewer children are born to women over 40 than to women under 40.",
"It fails to specify what percentage of people in the population as a whole are ambidextrous.",
"It does not state how old a child must be before its handedness can be determined.",
"It neglects to explain how difficulties during birth can result in a child's ambidexterity."
]
| 1 | The argument is most vulnerable to which one of the following criticisms? |
The government has no right to tax earnings from labor. Taxation of this kind requires the laborer to devote a certain percentage of hours worked to earning money for the government. Thus, such taxation forces the laborer to work, in part, for another's purpose. Since involuntary servitude can be defined as forced work for another's purpose, just as involuntary servitude is pernicious, so is taxing earnings from labor. | 199509_3-LR2_23_25 | [
"deriving a general principle about the rights of individuals from a judgment concerning the obligations of governments",
"inferring what will be the case merely from a description of what once was the case",
"inferring that since two institutions are similar in one respect, they are similar in another respect",
"citing the authority of an economic theory in order to justify a moral principle",
"presupposing the inevitability of a hierarchical class system in order to oppose a given economic practice"
]
| 2 | The argument uses which one of the following argumentative techniques? |
The government has no right to tax earnings from labor. Taxation of this kind requires the laborer to devote a certain percentage of hours worked to earning money for the government. Thus, such taxation forces the laborer to work, in part, for another's purpose. Since involuntary servitude can be defined as forced work for another's purpose, just as involuntary servitude is pernicious, so is taxing earnings from labor. | 199509_3-LR2_23_26 | [
"It ignores a difference in how the idea of forced work for another's purpose applies to the two cases.",
"It does not take into account the fact that labor is taxed at different rates depending on income.",
"It mistakenly assumes that all work is taxed.",
"It ignores the fact that the government also taxes income from investment.",
"It treats definitions as if they were matters of subjective opinion rather than objective facts about language."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following is an error of reasoning committed by the argument? |
The basic ingredients from which cement is made are both cheap and plentiful. Materials as common as limestone and clay will do. Nevertheless, the price of cement is influenced by the price of oil, because turning the basic ingredients into cement in high-temperature kilns uses large amounts of energy. | 199512_2-LR1_1_1 | [
"Oil is one of the basic ingredients that make up cement.",
"Oil is a source of energy for some of the kilns used in the making of cement.",
"The higher the price of cement rises, the higher the price of clay rises.",
"Whenever oil prices rise, cement prices drop.",
"A given amount of cement costs no more than the total cost of its basic ingredients."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following can be logically inferred from the passage? |
Many people do not understand themselves, nor do they try to gain self-understanding. These people might try to understand others, but these attempts are sure to fail, because without self-understanding it is impossible to understand others. It is clear from this that anyone who lacks self-understanding will be incapable of understanding others. | 199512_2-LR1_2_2 | [
"mistakes something that is necessary to bring about a situation for something that in itself is enough to bring about that situation",
"fails to take into account the possibility that not everyone wants to gain a thorough understanding of himself or herself",
"blames people for something for which they cannot legitimately be held responsible",
"makes use of the inherently vague term \"self-understanding\" without defining that term",
"draws a conclusion that simply restates a claim given in support of that conclusion"
]
| 4 | The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument |
Wife: The work of the artist who painted the portrait of my grandparents 50 years ago has become quite popular lately, so the portrait has recently become valuable. But since these sorts of artistic fads fade rapidly, the practical thing to do would be to sell the portrait while it is still worth something, and thereby enable our daughter to attend the college she has chosen. Husband: How could you make such a suggestion? That painting is the only thing you own that belonged to your grandparents. I don't think it's a very good painting, but it has great sentimental value. Besides, you owe it to our daughter to keep it in the family as a link to her family's past. | 199512_2-LR1_3_3 | [
"Gifts offered as sentimental tokens of affection should not be accepted if the recipient intends to sell them later for profit.",
"A beautiful work of art is more valuable than the money it could be sold for, whatever the amount.",
"It is more important for parents to provide their children with tangible links to the family's past than it is to enable them to attend the college of their choice.",
"Children and grandchildren have a duty to preserve family heirlooms only if they have promised their parents or grandparents that they would do so.",
"Providing one's children with an education is more important than providing them with material goods, even if the goods have sentimental value."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following principles, if established, does most to justify the husband's reply? |
Wife: The work of the artist who painted the portrait of my grandparents 50 years ago has become quite popular lately, so the portrait has recently become valuable. But since these sorts of artistic fads fade rapidly, the practical thing to do would be to sell the portrait while it is still worth something, and thereby enable our daughter to attend the college she has chosen. Husband: How could you make such a suggestion? That painting is the only thing you own that belonged to your grandparents. I don't think it's a very good painting, but it has great sentimental value. Besides, you owe it to our daughter to keep it in the family as a link to her family's past. | 199512_2-LR1_3_4 | [
"taking issue with the practicality of her suggestion",
"questioning her aesthetic judgment",
"claiming that the reasons she gives are based on emotions rather than on rational considerations",
"asserting that the evidence she cites in support of her suggestion is false",
"invoking a competing obligation that he judges to override her practical considerations"
]
| 4 | The husband uses which one of the following argumentative techniques in replying to the wife's suggestion? |
Questions have arisen regarding the accuracy of the reports the university's archaeological museum issues on its sales and acquisitions for the year. To forestall controversy, this year's report is being reviewed by three archaeologists from other universities. Since these archaeologists will be given full access to all documents on which the report is based, they will be able to determine whether it is indeed accurate. | 199512_2-LR1_4_5 | [
"does not specify whether the reviewers will have access to data about objects that have been in the museum's collection for many years",
"provides no information regarding the size or quality of the archaeological museum's collection",
"omits any mention of whether the museum's collection is on display or is available only to researchers",
"ignores the possibility that there might have been some sales or acquisitions during the past year that were not mentioned in the documents on which the report was based",
"does not describe what will occur if the reviewers discover discrepancies between the report and the documents on which it was based"
]
| 3 | The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument |
Engineer: Some people argue that the world's energy problems could be solved by mining the Moon for helium-3, which could be used for fuel in fusion reactors. But this is nonsense. Even if it were possible to mine the Moon for helium-3, the technology needed to build viable fusion reactors that could use such fuel is at least 50 years away. If the world's energy problems are not solved before then, it will be too late to solve those problems. | 199512_2-LR1_5_6 | [
"mining the Moon for helium-3 is currently not feasible",
"fusion reactors that are now being planned are not designed to use helium-3 as fuel",
"people who advocate mining the Moon for helium-3 do not realize that fusion reactors could be designed to use fuels other than helium-3",
"mining the Moon for helium-3 is not a possible solution to the world's energy problems",
"if the world's energy problems are not solved within the next 50 years, it will be too late to solve those problems"
]
| 3 | The main point of the argument is that |
The fishing industry cannot currently be relied upon to help the government count the seabirds killed by net fishing, since an accurate count might result in restriction of net fishing. The government should therefore institute a program under which tissue samples from the dead birds are examined to determine the amount of toxins in the fish eaten by the birds. The industry would then have a reason to turn in the bird carcasses, since the industry needs to know whether the fish it catches are contaminated with toxins. | 199512_2-LR1_6_7 | [
"The seabirds that are killed by net fishing do not eat all of the species of fish caught by the fishing industry.",
"The government has not in the past sought to determine whether fish were contaminated with toxins by examining tissue samples of seabirds.",
"The government cannot gain an accurate count of the number of seabirds killed by net fishing unless the fishing industry cooperates.",
"If the government knew that fish caught by the fishing industry were contaminated by toxins, the government would restrict net fishing.",
"If net fishing were restricted by the government, then the fishing industry would become more inclined to reveal the number of seabirds killed by net fishing."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument? |
The fishing industry cannot currently be relied upon to help the government count the seabirds killed by net fishing, since an accurate count might result in restriction of net fishing. The government should therefore institute a program under which tissue samples from the dead birds are examined to determine the amount of toxins in the fish eaten by the birds. The industry would then have a reason to turn in the bird carcasses, since the industry needs to know whether the fish it catches are contaminated with toxins. | 199512_2-LR1_6_8 | [
"The seabirds killed by net fishing might be contaminated with several different toxins even if the birds eat only one kind of fish.",
"The fishing industry could learn whether the fish it catches are contaminated with toxins if only a few of the seabirds killed by the nets were examined.",
"The government could gain valuable information about the source of toxins by examining tissue samples of the seabirds caught in the nets.",
"The fish caught in a particular net might be contaminated with the same toxins as those in the seabirds caught in that net.",
"The government would be willing to certify that the fish caught by the industry are not contaminated with toxins if tests done on the seabirds showed no contamination."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following, if true, most strongly indicates that the government program would not by itself provide an accurate count of the seabirds killed by net fishing? |
Some people claim that elected officials must avoid even the appearance of impropriety in office. Yet since actions that give the appearance of impropriety are not necessarily improper, the only reason for an elected official to avoid the appearance of impropriety is to maintain public approval and popularity. No one, however, not even a public official, has an obligation to be popular or to maintain public approval. | 199512_2-LR1_7_9 | [
"No elected official has an obligation to avoid the appearance of impropriety.",
"All elected officials have a vested interest in maintaining a high public approval rating.",
"Elected officials who have been scrupulous in satisfying the obligations of their office should ensure that the public is aware of this fact.",
"The public never approves of an elected official who appears to have behaved improperly in office.",
"Elected officials who abuse the power of their office have an obligation at least to appear to be fulfilling the obligations of their office."
]
| 0 | The argument is structured so as to lead to which one of the following conclusions? |
Cafeteria patron: The apples sold in this cafeteria are greasy. The cashier told me that the apples are in that condition when they are delivered to the cafeteria and that the cafeteria does not wash the apples it sells. Most fruit is sprayed with dangerous pesticides before it is harvested, and is dangerous until it is washed. Clearly, the cafeteria is selling pesticide-covered fruit, thereby endangering its patrons. | 199512_2-LR1_8_10 | [
"The apples that the cafeteria sells are not thoroughly washed after harvest but before reaching the cafeteria.",
"Most pesticides that are sprayed on fruit before harvest leave a greasy residue on the fruit.",
"Many of the cafeteria's patrons are unaware that the cafeteria does not wash the apples it sells.",
"Only pesticides that leave a greasy residue on fruit can be washed off.",
"Fruits other than apples also arrive at the cafeteria in a greasy condition."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
P: Because an elected official needs the support of a political party to be effective, the independent candidate for the legislature cannot possibly be an effective legislator is she wins. Q: I disagree. By your reasoning, our current legislator, who has the support of a political party, ought to have been effective, but he has not been. | 199512_2-LR1_9_11 | [
"It simply contradicts P's claim without offering evidence against it.",
"It does not consider the possibility that a political party might decide to support an elected legislator even though he or she ran as an independent.",
"It fails to prove a precise definition for a key term—the word \"effective.\"",
"It presupposes what is to be proved—that a legislator must have the support of a political party in order to be \"effective.\"",
"It mistakenly interprets P to be claiming that a factor assures, rather than is necessary for, a legislator's effectiveness."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following is the best criticism of Q's statement? |
Public health will improve more quickly in the wake of new medical discoveries if medical researchers abandon their practice of waiting until their findings are published in peer-reviewed journals before informing the press of important research results. This is because the public release of new medical information allows people to use that information in order to improve their health, but the peer-review process is unavoidably very slow. | 199512_2-LR1_10_12 | [
"Many medical researchers do not agree to serve as reviewers when their own research is in a critical phase.",
"Reviewers for many medical journals are not themselves medical researchers.",
"People would use new medical information even if it were not first published in peer-reviewed journals.",
"The peer-review process could be speeded up enough to produce a significant improvement in public health.",
"New medical information that is first published in peer-reviewed journals does not usually receive public attention."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
Public health will improve more quickly in the wake of new medical discoveries if medical researchers abandon their practice of waiting until their findings are published in peer-reviewed journals before informing the press of important research results. This is because the public release of new medical information allows people to use that information in order to improve their health, but the peer-review process is unavoidably very slow. | 199512_2-LR1_10_13 | [
"Peer review often prevents the publication of false conclusions drawn on the basis of poorly conducted medical research.",
"People often alter their life-styles on the basis of new medical information made available through the press.",
"Some improvements in public health are due to factors other than the discovery of new medical information.",
"Some newspapers would be willing to publish the results of medical research before those results have appeared in peer-reviewed journals.",
"Most peer-reviewed scientific journals would refuse to give up the practice of peer review."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument? |
Between 1977 and 1987, the country of Ravonia lost about 12,000 jobs in logging and wood processing, representing a 15 percent decrease in employment in the country's timber industry. Paradoxically, this loss of jobs occurred even as the amount of wood taken from the forests of Ravoinia increased by 10 percent. | 199512_2-LR1_11_14 | [
"Not since the 1950's has the timber industry been Ravonia's most important industry economically.",
"Between 1977 and 1987, the total number of acres of timberland in Ravonia fell, while the demand for wood products increased.",
"Since 1977, a growing proportion of the timber that has been cut in Ravonia has been exported as raw, unprocessed wood.",
"Since 1977, domestic sales of wood and wood products have increased by more than export sales have increased.",
"In 1977, overall unemployment in Ravonia was approximately 10 percent; in 1987, Ravonia's unemployment rate was 15 percent."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox? |
To perform an act that is morally wrong is to offend against humanity, and all offenses against humanity are equally bad. Because murder is morally wrong, it is just as bad to have murdered one person by setting off a bomb as it would have been to have murdered a hundred people by setting off that bond. | 199512_2-LR1_12_15 | [
"If lying is morally wrong, telling a lie is as bad as murdering someone.",
"Risking one's life to save the lives of a hundred people is morally no better than risking one's life to save one person.",
"If stealing is morally wrong, it is equally important to society to prevent people from stealing as it is to prevent them from committing murder.",
"Accidentally causing the death of a person is just as bad as murdering that person.",
"In a situation in which the life of one person can be saved only by killing another person, killing and not killing are equally bad."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following judgments conforms to the principles invoked above? |
In yesterday's council election a majority of voters supported conservative candidates, and a majority of voters supported candidates who voted in favor of the antipollution act. Therefore, it must be that a majority of voters in yesterday's council election supported conservative candidates who voted in favor of the antipollution act. | 199512_2-LR1_13_16 | [
"Bill claims that soil can be damaged if it is tilled when it is too wet, and Sue claims that seeds planted in wet soil can rot. Therefore, if both claims are true, gardeners who till and plant their gardens when the soil is wet damage both their soil and their seeds.",
"According to Sara, most children like pies. According to Robert, most children like blueberries. So if Sara and Robert are both right, it must be that most children like pies that contain blueberries.",
"Mark will go on a picnic today only if it does not rain. Susan will go on a picnic today only if Mark goes too. Since it is not going to rain today, both Mark and Susan will go on a picnic.",
"The majority of customers who regularly eat at this restaurant always order both fish and stuffed mushrooms. Thus, fish and stuffed mushrooms must be the restaurant's most frequently ordered dishes.",
"Most people living at Gina's house cook well. Since most people at Gina's house enjoy eating well-cooked meals, most meals served at Gina's house are cooked well."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following is an argument that contains flawed reasoning most similar to the flawed reasoning in the argument above? |
Politician: Critics of the wetlands-protection bill are delaying passage of this important legislation merely on the grounds that they disagree with its new, more restrictive definition of the term "wetlands." But this bill will place stricter limits on the development of wetlands than the existing regulations do. Therefore, in quibbling over semantics, critics of this bill show that they care little about what really happens to our wetlands. | 199512_2-LR1_14_17 | [
"It falsely identifies the motives of those who have criticized the wetlands-protection bill with the motives of all those who are opposed to conservation.",
"It does not adequately recognize the possibility that the definition of the word \"wetlands\" determines the impact of the legislation.",
"It assumes without justification that those who criticized the wetlands-protection bill stand to profit if the bill is defeated.",
"It fails to provide a defense for a less restrictive definition of \"wetlands.\"",
"It attempts to defend the credibility of the author of the bill rather than defending the bill itself."
]
| 1 | The politician's reply to the opponents of the wetlands-protection bill is most vulnerable to which one of the following criticisms? |
Dillworth: More and more people are deciding not to have children because of the personal and economic sacrifices children require and because so often children are ungrateful for the considerable sacrifices their parents do make for them. However, such considerations have no bearing on the fact that their children provide the best chance most people have of ensuring that their values live on after them. Therefore, for anyone with deeply held values, foregoing parenthood out of reluctance to make sacrifices for which little gratitude can be expected would probably be a mistake. Travers: Your reasoning ignores another fact that deserves consideration: children's ingratitude for parental sacrifices usually stems from a wholesale rejection of parental values. | 199512_2-LR1_15_18 | [
"showing that considerations cited as drawbacks to a given course of action are not really drawbacks at all",
"exposing as morally suspect the motives of people who would make the choice that Dillworth rejects",
"indirectly establishing that a given course of action is obligatory by arguing that the alternative course of action is prohibited",
"distinguishing a category of person for whom the reason presented in favor of a given course of action is more telling than the reasons cited against that course of action",
"using evidence that a certain course of action would be appropriate under one set of conditions to arrive at a general conclusion about what would be appropriate in all cases"
]
| 3 | Dillworth employs which one of the following argumentative strategies? |
Dillworth: More and more people are deciding not to have children because of the personal and economic sacrifices children require and because so often children are ungrateful for the considerable sacrifices their parents do make for them. However, such considerations have no bearing on the fact that their children provide the best chance most people have of ensuring that their values live on after them. Therefore, for anyone with deeply held values, foregoing parenthood out of reluctance to make sacrifices for which little gratitude can be expected would probably be a mistake. Travers: Your reasoning ignores another fact that deserves consideration: children's ingratitude for parental sacrifices usually stems from a wholesale rejection of parental values. | 199512_2-LR1_15_19 | [
"Dillworth's assumption that children acquire values only from their parents is mistaken",
"it is a mistake to dismiss as irrelevant the personal and economic sacrifices people are called on to make for the sake of their children",
"Dillworth has overlooked the well-known fact that people with deeply held values not infrequently reject opposing values that are deeply held by others",
"the desire to perpetuate their values should not be a factor in people's decision to have children",
"the fact that children are often ungrateful for parental sacrifices is not irrelevant to deciding whether to have children in order to perpetuate one's values"
]
| 4 | The point of Travers' rejoinder to Dillworth's argument is that |
Until about 400 million years ago, fishes—the first true swimmers—were jawless. Their feeding methods were limited to either sucking in surface plankton or sucking in food particles from bottom mud. With the development of biting jaws, however, the life of fishes changed dramatically, since jaws allowed them actively to pursue prey, to seize it in their jaws, and to manipulate it between their teeth. The jawed fishes then developed along two main lines: one retained cartilage for its skeletons, for example, sharks and rays; the other adopted bone as its principal skeletal material. From the latter group evolved the most abundant and diverse of all of today's vertebrate groups, the "teleosts," some 21,000 species, which vary from barracudas to sea horses. | 199512_2-LR1_16_20 | [
"Fish are the primary prey of all jawed fishes.",
"The jawless fishes did not prey upon other fish.",
"Teleosts do not feed upon particles found in bottom mud.",
"Jawless fishes did not have cartilage as their skeletal material.",
"Jawless fishes became extinct approximately 400 million years ago."
]
| 1 | If all of the statements in the passage are true, which one of the following must also be true? |
Nuclear reactors are sometimes built in "geologically quiet" regions, so called by geologists because such regions are distant from plate boundaries and contain only minor faults. Since no minor fault in a geologically quiet region produces an earthquake more often than once in any given 100,000-year period, it follows that of all potential nuclear reactor sites in such a region, those that are least likely to be struck by an earthquake are ones located near a fault that has produced an earthquake within living memory. | 199512_2-LR1_17_21 | [
"Geologically quiet regions are the least dangerous regions in which to build nuclear reactors.",
"For any potential nuclear reactor site, the likelihood of being struck by an earthquake is the primary determinant of site safety.",
"In a geologically quiet region, every potential nuclear reactor site is near at least one minor fault.",
"Nuclear reactors that are located in geologically quiet regions are built to withstand at least one but not necessarily more than one earthquake of minor to moderate force.",
"Earthquake faults in geologically quiet regions produce earthquakes at least once in 100,000 years."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
Magazine editor: I know that some of our regular advertisers have been pressuring us to give favorable mention to their products in our articles, but they should realize that for us to yield to their wishes would actually be against their interests. To remain an effective advertising vehicle we must have loyal readership, and we would soon lose that readership if our readers suspect that our editorial integrity has been compromised by pandering to advertisers. Advertising-sales director: You underestimate the sophistication of our readers. They recognize that the advertisements we carry are not articles, so their response to the advertisements has never depended on their opinion of the editorial integrity of the magazine as a whole. | 199512_2-LR1_18_22 | [
"It succeeds because it shows that the editor's argument depends on an unwarranted assumption about factors affecting an advertisement's effectiveness.",
"It succeeds because it exposes as mistaken the editor's estimation of the sophistication of the magazine's readers.",
"It succeeds because it undermines the editor's claim about how the magazine's editorial integrity would be affected by allowing advertisers to influence articles.",
"It fails because the editor's argument does not depend on any assumption about readers' response to the advertisements they see in the magazine.",
"It fails because it is based on a misunderstanding of the editor's view about how readers respond to advertisements they see in the magazine."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following is the most accurate assessment of the advertising-sales director's argument as a response to the magazine editor's argument? |
Magazine editor: I know that some of our regular advertisers have been pressuring us to give favorable mention to their products in our articles, but they should realize that for us to yield to their wishes would actually be against their interests. To remain an effective advertising vehicle we must have loyal readership, and we would soon lose that readership if our readers suspect that our editorial integrity has been compromised by pandering to advertisers. Advertising-sales director: You underestimate the sophistication of our readers. They recognize that the advertisements we carry are not articles, so their response to the advertisements has never depended on their opinion of the editorial integrity of the magazine as a whole. | 199512_2-LR1_18_23 | [
"A magazine editor should never be influenced in the performance of his or her professional duties by the wishes of the companies that regularly advertise in the magazine.",
"The magazine cannot give any favorable mention in its articles to its regular advertisers without compromising its reputation for editorial integrity.",
"Favorable mention of their products in the magazine's articles is of less value to the advertisers than is the continued effectiveness of the magazine as an advertising vehicle.",
"Giving favorable mention to a product in a magazine article is a more effective form of advertisement than is an explicit advertisement for the product in the same magazine.",
"Carrying paid advertisements can never pose any threat to the magazine's reputation for editorial integrity nor to the loyalty of its readership."
]
| 2 | The magazine editor's argument assumes which one of the following? |
Public policy dictates the health risks the public routinely takes. Statistical arguments about health risks are used primarily to deflect public fears, while contributing little to policy debate. For example, statistics are cited to imply that wearing a seat belt reduces one's risk of death in an automobile accident, deflecting attention from the fact that a transportation policy that promotes increasing use of automobiles inherently increases any individual's risk of death in an automobile accident. | 199512_2-LR1_19_24 | [
"Statistics indicate that an individual's risk of contracting cancer from radiation emitted by a nuclear power plant is less than that of contracting cancer from sunshine. These statistics draw attention away from the fact that a policy of energy conservation is safer for human health than a policy based on nuclear energy.",
"Statistics indicate that an urban resident's risk of accidental death from any cause is no greater than that of an individual who lives in a suburban or rural area. These statistics counter the widely held public belief that urban areas are more dangerous than suburban or rural areas.",
"Statistics indicate that the average life expectancy of males is shorter than that of females. This alone should not influence policies regarding eligibility for life insurance because it is also true that any individual's expectancy can be calculated on the basis of personal characteristics and health practices.",
"Statistics indicate that the average life expectancy of males is shorter than that of females. When one accounts for the fact that females smoke less and are less likely to work in jobs in the chemical and manufacturing industries, the difference in life expectancy is narrowed.",
"Statistics indicate that the number of people dependent on alcohol far exceeds the number dependent on illegal addictive drugs; thus, any policy for the control and treatment of substance abuse should provide for treatment of alcoholism."
]
| 0 | The way the example functions above is most closely paralleled in which one of the following? |
S: It would be premature to act to halt the threatened "global warming trend," since that alleged trend might not be real. After all, scientists disagree about it, some predicting over twice as much warming as others, so clearly their predictions cannot be based on firm evidence. W: Most scientists consider discussions of accepted ideas boring, and prefer to argue about what is not known. According to the International Science Council, there is a consensus among reputable investigators that average global warming in the next century will be from 1.5° to 4.5°C. | 199512_2-LR1_20_25 | [
"denying the existence of the disagreements cited by S",
"accepting S's conclusion while disputing the reasons offered for it",
"relying on authorities whose views conflict with the views of the authorities cited by S",
"putting disagreements cited by S in perspective by emphasizing similarities",
"reasoning in a circle by accepting evidence only if it agrees with a desired conclusion"
]
| 3 | W's rejoinder proceeds by |
If a country's manufacturing capacity is fully utilized, there can be no industrial growth without new capital investment. Any reduction in interest rates produces new capital investment. | 199512_3-LR2_1_1 | [
"Interest rates might in exceptional cases be reduced without there being any subsequent investment of new capital.",
"A reduction in interest rates might cause a precondition for industrial growth to be met.",
"If a country's manufacturing capacity is underutilized, interest rates should be held constant.",
"New capital investment that takes place while interest rates are rising cannot lead to industrial growth.",
"Manufacturing capacity newly created by capital investment needs to be fully utilized if it is to lead to industrial growth."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following can be properly concluded from the statements above? |
A certain type of insect trap uses a scented lure to attract rose beetles into a plastic bag from which it is difficult for them to escape. If several of these traps are installed in a backyard garden, the number of rose beetles in the garden will be greatly reduced. If only one trap is installed, however, the number of rose beetles in the garden will actually increase. | 199512_3-LR2_2_2 | [
"The scent of a single trap's lure usually cannot be detected throughout a backyard garden by rose beetles.",
"Several traps are better able to catch a large number of rose beetles than is one trap alone, since any rose beetles that evade one trap are likely to encounter another trap if there are several traps in the garden.",
"When there are several traps in a garden, they each capture fewer rose beetles than any single trap would if it were the only trap in the garden.",
"The presence of any traps in a backyard garden will attract more rose beetles than one trap can catch, but several traps will not attract significantly more rose beetles to a garden than one trap will.",
"When there is only one trap in the garden, the plastic bag quickly becomes filled to capacity, allowing some rose beetles to escape."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy? |
The current move to patent computer programs is a move in the wrong direction and should be stopped. The patent system was originally designed solely to protect small-time inventors from exploitation, not to give large corporations control over a methodology. Any computer program is merely the implementation of a methodology. | 199512_3-LR2_3_3 | [
"Computer programs should be developed not only by large corporations but by small-time inventors as well.",
"Implementing a methodology always requires less creative effort than does true invention.",
"The issue of whether or not to patent computer programs presents the patent system with problems that have never before arisen.",
"Large corporations should not hold patents for implementations of methodologies.",
"Small-time inventors who support the move to patent computer programs act contrary to their own best interests."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
Walter: For the economically privileged in a society to tolerate an injustice perpetrated against one of society's disadvantaged is not just morally wrong but also shortsighted: a system that inflicts an injustice on a disadvantaged person today can equally well inflict that same injustice on a well-to-do person tomorrow. Larissa: In our society, the wealthy as well as the well-educated can protect themselves against all sorts of injustices suffered by the less well-off. Allowing such injustices to persist is bad policy not because it places everyone at equal risk of injustice but because it is a potent source of social unrest. | 199512_3-LR2_4_4 | [
"giving reason to doubt the truth of Walter's conclusion",
"drawing implausible consequences from Walter's assumptions",
"questioning Walter's authority to address matters of social policy",
"providing an alternative reason for accepting the truth of Walter's conclusion",
"charging Walter with stopping short of recognizing the full implications of his position"
]
| 3 | Larissa responds to Walter by doing which one of the following? |
Walter: For the economically privileged in a society to tolerate an injustice perpetrated against one of society's disadvantaged is not just morally wrong but also shortsighted: a system that inflicts an injustice on a disadvantaged person today can equally well inflict that same injustice on a well-to-do person tomorrow. Larissa: In our society, the wealthy as well as the well-educated can protect themselves against all sorts of injustices suffered by the less well-off. Allowing such injustices to persist is bad policy not because it places everyone at equal risk of injustice but because it is a potent source of social unrest. | 199512_3-LR2_4_5 | [
"whether the poor and the rich are part of the same social fabric",
"whether the most successful members of a society are that society's least tolerant people",
"whether the disadvantaged members of society suffer from injustice",
"whether those who have the most advantages in a society are morally obligated to correct that society's injustices",
"whether the economically privileged members of a society are less exposed to certain sorts of injustices than are the economically disadvantaged"
]
| 4 | Walter and Larissa are logically committed by what they say to disagreeing about which one of the following? |
Three major laundry detergent manufacturers have concentrated their powdered detergents by reducing the proportion of inactive ingredients in the detergent formulas. The concentrated detergents will be sold in smaller packages. In explaining the change, the manufacturers cited the desire to reduce cardboard packaging and other production costs. Market analysts predict that the decision of these three manufacturers, who control 80 percent of the laundry detergent market, will eventually bring about the virtual disappearance of old-style bulky detergents. | 199512_3-LR2_5_6 | [
"Most smaller manufacturers of laundry detergents will consider it too expensive to retool factories for the production of the smaller detergent packages.",
"Many consumers will be skeptical initially that the recommended small amount of concentrated detergent will clean laundry as effectively as the larger amount of the old-style detergent did.",
"Some analysts believe that consumers will have to pay a greater cost per load of laundry to use the new concentrated detergent than they did to use the old-style detergent.",
"Major supermarkets have announced that they will not charge the detergent manufacturers less to display their detergents, even though the detergents will take up less shelf space.",
"Consumers are increasingly being persuaded by environmental concerns to buy concentrated detergents when available in order to reduce cardboard waste."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if true, most strongly supports the prediction made by the market analysts? |
Political advocate: Campaigns for elective office should be subsidized with public funds. One reason is that this would allow politicians to devote less time to fund-raising, thus giving campaigning incumbents more time to serve the public. A second reason is that such subsidies would make it possible to set caps on individual campaign contributions, thereby reducing the likelihood that elected officials will be working for the benefit not of the public but of individual large contributors. Critic: This argument is problematic: the more the caps constrain contributions, the more time candidates have to spend finding more small contributors. | 199512_3-LR2_6_7 | [
"any resourceful large contributor can circumvent caps on individual contributions by sending in smaller amounts under various names",
"one of the projected results cited in support of the proposal made is entailed by the other and therefore does not constitute independent support of the proposal",
"of the two projected results cited in support of the proposal made, one works against the other",
"it overlooks the possibility that large contributors will stop contributing if they cannot contribute at will",
"it overlooks the possibility that incumbents with a few extremely generous contributors will be hit harder by caps than incumbents with many moderately generous contributors"
]
| 2 | The critic objects that the advocate's argument is flawed because |
Political advocate: Campaigns for elective office should be subsidized with public funds. One reason is that this would allow politicians to devote less time to fund-raising, thus giving campaigning incumbents more time to serve the public. A second reason is that such subsidies would make it possible to set caps on individual campaign contributions, thereby reducing the likelihood that elected officials will be working for the benefit not of the public but of individual large contributors. Critic: This argument is problematic: the more the caps constrain contributions, the more time candidates have to spend finding more small contributors. | 199512_3-LR2_6_8 | [
"If complete reliance on private funding of some activity keeps the public from enjoying a benefit that could be provided if public funds were used, such public funds should be provided.",
"If election campaigns are to be funded from public funds, terms of office for elected officials should be lengthened.",
"If in an election campaign large contributions flow primarily to one candidate, public funds should be used to support the campaigns of that candidate's rivals.",
"If public funding of some activity produces a benefit to the public but also inevitably a special benefit for specific individuals, the activity should not be fully funded publicly but in part by the individuals deriving the special benefit.",
"If a person would not have run for office in the absence of public campaign subsidies, this person should not be eligible for any such subsidies."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following principles, if established, provides a basis for the advocate's argument? |
Novice bird-watcher: I don't know much about animal tracks, but I do know that birds typically have four toes, and most birds have three toes pointing forward and one toe pointing backward. Since this track was made by an animal with four toes, of which three point forward and one points backward, we can conclude it was made by some kind of bird. | 199512_3-LR2_7_9 | [
"relies on the vagueness of the term \"track\"",
"does not define birds as animals with four toes",
"fails to identify what kind of bird might have made the track",
"does not establish that only a bird could have made the track",
"depends on evidence about an individual bird rather than about birds in general"
]
| 3 | The argument is flawed because it |
Psychologists have claimed that many people are more susceptible to psychological problems in the winter than in the summer; the psychologists call this condition seasonal affective disorder. Their claim is based on the results of surveys in which people were asked to recall how they felt at various times in the past. However, it is not clear that people are able to report accurately on their past psychological states. Therefore, these survey results do not justify the psychologists' claim that there is any such condition as seasonal affective disorder. | 199512_3-LR2_8_10 | [
"offering an alternative explanation of the variation in the occurrence of psychological problems across seasons",
"questioning whether any seasonal variation in the occurrence of psychological problems could properly be labeled a disorder",
"questioning the representativeness of the population sample surveyed by the psychologists",
"questioning an assumption that the author attributes to the psychologists",
"demonstrating that fewer people actually suffer from seasonal affective disorder than psychologists had previously thought"
]
| 3 | The author criticizes the psychologists' claim by |
Unless the residents of Glen Hills band together, the proposal to rezone that city will be approved. If it is, the city will be able to build the water and sewer systems that developers need in order to construct apartment houses there. These buildings would attract new residents, and the increased population would probably result in overcrowded schools and would certainly result in roads so congested that new roads would be built. Neither new roads nor additional schools could be built without substantial tax increases for the residents of Glen Hills. Ultimately, this growth might even destroy the rural atmosphere that makes Glen Hills so attractive. | 199512_3-LR2_9_11 | [
"If the citizens of Glen Hills band together, developers will not build apartment houses.",
"If developers build apartment houses in Glen Hills, there will be substantial tax increases for the residents of Glen Hills.",
"If the rezoning proposal does not pass, the rural atmosphere in Glen Hills will not be lost.",
"If developers do not build apartment houses in Glen Hills, the taxes of the residents of Glen Hills will not increase substantially.",
"If developers do not build apartment houses in Glen Hills, the schools of Glen Hills will not be overcrowded and roads will not be congested."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following can be properly concluded from the passage? |
One year ago a local government initiated an antismoking advertising campaign in local newspapers, which it financed by imposing a tax on cigarettes of 20 cents per pack. One year later, the number of people in the locality who smoke cigarettes had declined by 3 percent. Clearly, what was said in the advertisements had an effect, although a small one, on the number of people in the locality who smoke cigarettes. | 199512_3-LR2_10_12 | [
"Residents of the locality have not increased their use of other tobacco products such as snuff and chewing tobacco since the campaign went into effect.",
"A substantial number of cigarette smokers in the locality who did not quit smoking during the campaign now smoke less than they did before it began.",
"Admissions to the local hospital for chronic respiratory ailments were down by 15 percent one year after the campaign began.",
"Merchants in the locality responded to the local tax by reducing the price at which they sold cigarettes by 20 cents per pack.",
"Smokers in the locality had incomes that on average were 25 percent lower than those of nonsmokers."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to strengthen the argument? |
No projects that involve historical restorations were granted building permits this month. Since some of the current projects of the firm of Stein and Sapin are historical restorations, at least some of Stein and Sapin's projects were not granted building permits this month. | 199512_3-LR2_11_13 | [
"None of the doctors working at City Hospital were trained abroad. So, although some hospitals require doctors trained abroad to pass an extra qualifying exam, until now, at least, this has not been an issue for City Hospital.",
"None of the news reports from the economic summit meeting have been encouraging. Since some other recent economic reports have showed positive trends, however, at least some of the economic news is encouraging at this time.",
"None of the new members of the orchestra have completed their paperwork. Since only those people who have completed their paperwork can be paid this week, at least some of the new members of the orchestra are likely to be paid late.",
"Several films directed by Hannah Barker were released this season, but none of the films released this season were enthusiastically reviewed. Therefore, at least some of Hannah Barker's films have not received enthusiastic reviews.",
"Some of the city's most beautiful parks are not larger than a few acres, and some of the parks only a few acres in size are among the city's oldest. Therefore, some of the city's most beautiful parks are also its oldest parks."
]
| 3 | The pattern of reasoning in the argument above is most similar to that in which one of the following? |
Many artists claim that art critics find it is easier to write about art that they dislike than to write about art that they like. Whether or not this hypothesis is correct, most art criticism is devoted to art works that fail to satisfy the critic. Hence it follows that most art criticism is devoted to works other than the greatest works of art. | 199512_3-LR2_12_14 | [
"No art critic enjoys writing about art works that he or she dislikes intensely.",
"All art critics find it difficult to discover art works that truly satisfy them.",
"A work of art that receives extensive critical attention can thereby become more widely known than it otherwise would have been.",
"The greatest works of art are never recognized as such until long after the time of their creation.",
"The greatest works of art are works that inevitably satisfy all critics."
]
| 4 | The conclusion above is properly drawn if which one of the following is assumed? |
Babies who can hear and have hearing parents who expose them to speech begin to babble at a certain age as a precursor to speaking. In the same way, deaf babies with deaf parents who communicate with them and with each other by signing begin to babble in signs at the same age. That is, they make repetitive hand gestures that constitute, within the language system of signs, the analogue of repeated syllables in speech. | 199512_3-LR2_13_15 | [
"Names of persons or things are the simplest words in a language, since babies use them before using the names of actions or processes.",
"The development of language competency in babies depends primarily on the physical maturation of the vocal tract, a process that requires speech-oriented vocal activity.",
"In the absence of adults who communicate with each other in their presence, babies develop idiosyncratic languages.",
"In babbling, babies are unaware that the sound or gesture combinations they use can be employed in a purposive way.",
"The making of hand gestures by hearing babies who have hearing parents should be interpreted as a part of their developing language."
]
| 1 | The information above, if accurate, can best be used as evidence against which one of the following hypotheses? |
Each of the elements of Girelli's recently completed design for a university library is copied from a different one of several historic libraries. The design includes various features from Classical Greek, Islamic, Mogul, and Romanesque structures. Since no one element in the design is original, it follows that the design of the library cannot be considered original. | 199512_3-LR2_14_16 | [
"assuming that because something is true of each of the parts of a whole it is true of the whole itself",
"generalizing illegitimately from a few instances of a certain kind to all instances of that kind",
"concluding that an unknown instance of a phenomenon must have all the properties of the known instances",
"presupposing that alternatives that can be true separately cannot be true together",
"deriving a factual conclusion from evidence derived from reports of aesthetic preferences"
]
| 0 | Which one of the following is a reasoning error made in the argument? |
Although tales of wonder and the fantastic are integral to all world literatures, only recently has the fantasy genre had a commercial resurgence in North America. During the last 20 years, sales of fantasy-fiction books written for adults have gone from 1 to 10 percent of total adult-fiction sales. At the same time, the number of favorable reviews of fantasy books has increased markedly. Some booksellers say that the increased sales of fantasy books written for adults can be traced to the increased favorable attention given the genre by book reviewers. | 199512_3-LR2_15_17 | [
"Publishers often select a manuscript on the basis of whether they think that the published book will receive favorable reviews by book reviewers.",
"Few readers of fantasy fiction read book reviews, and even fewer select books to purchase on the basis of those reviews.",
"Most booksellers are aware of what major book reviewers have written about recently published books.",
"Although the increase in the percentage of fantasy books sold has been substantial, publishers estimate that sales could increase even further.",
"Many of the book reviews of new fantasy-fiction novels also mention great fantasy novels of the past."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following, if true, undermines the booksellers' explanation of the growth in sales of fantasy-fiction books for adults? |
Although tales of wonder and the fantastic are integral to all world literatures, only recently has the fantasy genre had a commercial resurgence in North America. During the last 20 years, sales of fantasy-fiction books written for adults have gone from 1 to 10 percent of total adult-fiction sales. At the same time, the number of favorable reviews of fantasy books has increased markedly. Some booksellers say that the increased sales of fantasy books written for adults can be traced to the increased favorable attention given the genre by book reviewers. | 199512_3-LR2_15_18 | [
"Many experts report that on average the reading level of book buyers has declined over the past 20 years.",
"Because life during the past 20 years has become complex and difficult, many readers have come to prefer the happy endings that fantasy fiction often provides.",
"Some fantasy publishers take advantage of the popularity of certain books by commissioning similar books.",
"Because few readers of mystery novels were buying fantasy fiction, 10 years ago the major publishers of fantasy fiction created an advertising campaign directed specifically at those readers.",
"After fantasy fiction began to be favorably reviewed by respected critics 20 years ago, book buyers began to regard fantasy books as suitable reading for adults."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if true, most strongly supports the booksellers' explanation of the growth in sales of fantasy-fiction books for adults? |
Of all the houses in the city's historic district, the house that once belonged to the Tyler family is the most famous by far. Since the historic district is the most famous district in the city, the Tyler house must be the city's most famous house. | 199512_3-LR2_16_19 | [
"Of all the peaks in the coastal mountain range, Mount Williams is the tallest. Since the tallest peaks in the entire region are in the coastal mountain range, Mount Williams must be the region's tallest peak.",
"Tobacco smoking is the behavior most likely to cause lung cancer in people. Since more tobacco is smoked in Greene County than anywhere else in the world, there must be more lung cancer in Greene County than anywhere else in the world.",
"Susan Coleman is the oldest of the three children in her family. Since the three Coleman children are each older than any of the other children who live in their building, Susan Coleman must be the oldest child now living in the building.",
"Of all the fish stores in the harbor area, Miller's Fish Market has the most exotic selection of fish. Since there are many more fish stores in the harbor area than anywhere else in the city, Miller's Fish Market must have the most exotic selection of fish in the city.",
"Of all the flowers grown in the university's botanical garden, the Oakland roses are the most beautiful. Since the university's botanical garden is the most beautiful garden in the region, the Oakland roses grown in the garden must be the most beautiful flowers grown in the entire region."
]
| 4 | The flawed reasoning in the argument above most closely parallels the flawed reasoning in which one of the following? |
Morton:In order to succeed in today's society, one must have a college degree. Skeptics have objected that there are many people who never completed any education beyond high school but who are nevertheless quite successful. This success is only apparent, however, because without a college degree a person does not have enough education to be truly successful. | 199512_3-LR2_17_20 | [
"assumes what it sets out to conclude",
"mistakes a correlation for a cause",
"draws a highly general conclusion from evidence about individual cases",
"fails to consider the status of alleged counterexamples",
"bases its conclusion on the supposition that most people believe in that conclusion"
]
| 0 | Morton's argument is flawed because it |
Even the earliest known species of land animals, known from fossils dating from the late Silurian period, 400 million years ago, show highly evolved adaptations to life on land. Since neither aquatic nor amphibious animals exhibit these adaptations, early species of land animals must have evolved very rapidly after leaving an aquatic environment. | 199512_3-LR2_18_21 | [
"Known fossils of early land animals include fossils of animals that lived relatively soon after the first emergence of land animals.",
"Fossils from the late Silurian period represent only a small number of the animal species that were alive at that time.",
"No plants were established on land before the late Silurian period.",
"No present-day species of aquatic animal is descended from a species of animal that once lived on land.",
"All animals alive in the late Silurian period lived either exclusively on land or exclusively in the water."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
On Saturday Melvin suggested that Jerome take the following week off from work and accompany him on a trip to the mountains. Jerome refused, claiming that he could not afford the cost of the trip added to the wages he would forfeit by taking off without notice. It is clear, however, that cost cannot be the real reason for Jerome's unwillingness to go with Melvin to the mountains, since he makes the same excuse every time Melvin asks him to take an unscheduled vacation regardless of where Melvin proposes to go. | 199512_3-LR2_19_22 | [
"It attempts to forestall an attack on Melvin's behavior by focusing attention on the behavior of Jerome.",
"It fails to establish that Melvin could no more afford to take an unscheduled vacation trip to the mountains than could Jerome.",
"It overlooks the possibility that Jerome, unlike Melvin, prefers vacations that have been planned far in advance.",
"It assumes that if Jerome's professed reason is not his only reason, then it cannot be a real reason for Jerome at all.",
"It does not examine the possibility that Jerome's behavior is adequately explained by the reason he gives for it."
]
| 4 | The reasoning is most vulnerable to which one of the following criticisms? |
Arnold: I was recently denied a seat on an airline flight for which I had a confirmed reservation, because the airline had overbooked the flight. Since I was forced to fly on the next available flight, which did not depart until two hours later, I missed an important business meeting. Even though the flight on which I had a reservation was canceled at the last minute due to bad weather, the airline should still pay me compensation for denying me a seat on the flight. Jamie: The airline is not morally obligated to pay you any compensation. Even if you had not been denied a seat on the earlier flight, you would have missed your business meeting anyway. | 199512_3-LR2_20_23 | [
"if the only reason the passenger is forced to take a later flight is that the airline overbooked the original flight",
"only if there is a reason the passenger is forced to take a later flight other than the original flight's being canceled due to bad weather",
"only if the passenger would not have been forced to take a later flight had the airline not overbooked the original flight",
"even if the only reason the passenger is forced to take a later flight were that the original flight is canceled due to bad weather",
"even if the passenger would still have been forced to take a later flight had the airline not overbooked the original flight"
]
| 2 | A principle that, if established, justifies Jamie's response to Arnold is that an airline is morally obligated to compensate a passenger who has been denied a seat on a flight for which the passenger has confirmed reservations |
Ditrama is a federation made up of three autonomous regions: Korva, Mitro, and Guadar. Under the federal revenue-sharing plan, each region receives a share of federal revenues equal to the share of the total population of Ditrama residing in that region, as shown by a yearly population survey. Last year, the percentage of federal revenues Korva received for its share decreased somewhat even though the population survey on which the revenue-sharing was based showed that Korva's population had increased. | 199512_3-LR2_21_24 | [
"Of the three regions, Korva had the smallest number of residents.",
"The population of Korva grew by a smaller percentage than it did in previous years.",
"The populations of Mitro and Guadar each increased by a percentage that exceeded the percentage by which the population of Korva increased.",
"Of the three regions, Korva's numerical increase in population was the smallest.",
"Korva's population grew by a smaller percentage than did the population of at least one of the other two autonomous regions."
]
| 4 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also have been shown by the population survey on which last year's revenue-sharing in Ditrama was based? |
By examining fossilized beetles, a research team has produced the most detailed description yet of temperatures in Britain over the past 22,000 years. Fossils of species that still exist were selected and dated. When individuals of several species found in the same place were found to date to the same period, the known temperature tolerances of the existing beetle species were used to determine the maximum summer temperature that could have existed at that place and period. | 199512_3-LR2_22_25 | [
"Beetles can tolerate warm weather better than cold weather.",
"Fossils of different species found in the same place belonged to different period.",
"The process of dating is more accurate for beetles than for other organisms.",
"The highest actual summer temperature at a place and period equaled the average of the highest temperatures that could have been tolerated by each of the beetle species found there and dated to that period.",
"The temperature tolerances of the beetle species did not change significantly during the 22,000-year period."
]
| 4 | The procedure of the researchers assumes which one of the following? |
Frequently, people who diet to lose weight become trapped in a vicious cycle. When those people diet, they not only lose weight, but their bodies become used to fewer calories and become accustomed to functioning at that lower rate of caloric intake. As a result, when they stop dieting and go back to eating amounts of food that would have just maintained their weight in the days before the diet, they take in far more calories than they need. Those excess calories produce excess weight. | 199602_1-LR1_1_1 | [
"They are bound to end up weighing more than when they started dieting.",
"They should not diet if they desire to maintain their reduced weight.",
"They must not go back to eating pre-diet amounts of food if they are to maintain their weight at the reduced level resulting from dieting.",
"They will have to eat even less than the amount of food allowed by their diets if they are to avoid gaining weight after they stop dieting.",
"They never can go back to their pre-diet caloric intake without regaining all of the weight lost by dieting."
]
| 2 | The passage above best supports which one of the following conclusions about people who diet to lose weight? |
The gu, the hu, and the jue are types of bronze libation vessels that were produced in China during the Shang dynasty, almost 4,000 years ago. Close examination of authentic gu, hu, and jue vessels reveals that they all bear incised patterns symbolizing the taotie, a mythological beast of greed. It must be true then that any bronze libation vessel that does not bear incised patterns symbolizing the taotie is not an authentic vessel produced in China during the Shang dynasty. | 199602_1-LR1_2_2 | [
"basing a generalization on claims that contradict each other",
"basing a generalization on examples that the argument itself admits are atypical",
"treating the fact that some members of a given category possess a certain characteristic as sufficient evidence that other objects that possess the characteristic are also members of that category",
"treating the fact that some members of a category possess a certain characteristic as sufficient evidence that possession of the characteristic is necessary for membership in that category",
"treating the facts that certain specific objects belong to a given category and that some other objects belonging to that category possess a certain characteristic as sufficient evidence that the former objects also possess that characteristic"
]
| 3 | The argument makes which one of the following errors of reasoning? |
In a democratic society, when a political interest group exceeds a certain size, the diverse and sometimes conflicting economic interests that can be found in almost any large group of people tend to surface. Once these conflicting interests have surfaced, they can make it impossible for the political interest group to unite behind a common program. Yet to have the political impact necessary to influence legislation, a group must be united. | 199602_1-LR1_3_3 | [
"Political interest groups are generally less influential when their membership is expanding than when it is numerically stable.",
"For a democratic society to function effectively, it is necessary for political groups within that society to make compromises with each other.",
"Politicians can ignore with impunity the economic interests of very large groups of people.",
"A political interest group can become ineffective by expanding to include as wide a membership as possible.",
"Political interest groups generally start out effectively but lose their effectiveness over time."
]
| 3 | The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following views? |
Safety inspector: The number of laboratory samples of rabies virus sent through the university delivery service has recently grown dangerously high. We need to limit this use of the service. Biologist: There is no need for a limit. The university delivery service has been handling rabies virus samples for 20 years with no accidents. | 199602_1-LR1_4_4 | [
"fails to explain why the number of samples sent through the service has increased",
"fails to focus specifically on the issue of rabies virus samples",
"overlooks the possibility that there has been a change in the hazardousness of the rabies virus samples themselves",
"offers no defense of the university's need for continued delivery of rabies virus samples",
"does not address the potential for harm that is posed by the recent increase in the number of samples sent through the service"
]
| 4 | As a rebuttal of the safety inspector's claim, the biologist's reasoning is flawed in that it |
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