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Manager: One reason productivity in our office is not as high as it could be is that office workers spend too much time taking unauthorized breaks. Since the number of office workers assigned to each manager will soon be reduced, managers will be able to supervise workers more closely in the future to make sure that they are not taking unauthorized breaks. Therefore, productivity in our office will soon increase. | 199602_1-LR1_5_5 | [
"The best way to improve productivity is to reduce the number of employees and give more work to employees who remain on the job.",
"Office workers are spending more time now taking unauthorized breaks than they used to.",
"Giving financial incentives to workers whose divisions increase their productivity would not have any significant effect on overall office productivity.",
"Supervising employees more closely to reduce unauthorized breaks is the most efficient way of increasing overall office productivity.",
"The gain in productivity that will result from reducing unauthorized breaks will exceed any loss in productivity caused by closer supervision."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the manager's argument depends? |
Tom: Executives in this country make around 85 times what the average worker earns. This is an extraordinarily large disparity, and therefore public resentment over the size of executives' salaries is justified. Martha: Such resentment is not justified, since wealth is created by taking risks and making decisions, actions most people prefer to avoid. Generous rewards for those who choose not to avoid these actions are both fair and necessary. Tom: I think you misunderstood me. I'm not saying that people resent that there is a large disparity here between executives' salaries and workers' salaries, but rather they resent that it is atypically large: in other countries executives earn only 20 or 30 times what the average worker earns. | 199602_1-LR1_6_6 | [
"whether executives in this country make 85 times the average worker's salary",
"whether public resentment of the size of executive salaries is justified",
"whether a wage gap between executives and workers is necessary to promote the creation of wealth",
"whether executives deserve higher salaries than workers deserve",
"whether executives in this country create as much wealth as do those in other countries"
]
| 1 | Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point at issue between Tom and Martha? |
Tom: Executives in this country make around 85 times what the average worker earns. This is an extraordinarily large disparity, and therefore public resentment over the size of executives' salaries is justified. Martha: Such resentment is not justified, since wealth is created by taking risks and making decisions, actions most people prefer to avoid. Generous rewards for those who choose not to avoid these actions are both fair and necessary. Tom: I think you misunderstood me. I'm not saying that people resent that there is a large disparity here between executives' salaries and workers' salaries, but rather they resent that it is atypically large: in other countries executives earn only 20 or 30 times what the average worker earns. | 199602_1-LR1_6_7 | [
"He strengthens his own position by tacitly agreeing to drop one of his original premises and introduces a new line of argument defending his original conclusion.",
"He introduces evidence showing that a generalization Martha has made regarding the creation of wealth is unwarranted because it is not based on any evidence.",
"He undermines Martha's position by pointing out that Martha has made two contradictory assertions in support of the same claim.",
"He undermines the relevance of Martha's objection by making explicit his grounds for judging that the disparity at issue is unjustifiably large.",
"He raises considerations that call into question the grounds on which Martha bases her conclusion."
]
| 3 | Tom responds to Martha's critique in which one of the following ways? |
Fossilized bones from the hominids Australopithecus robustus and Homo erectus were chemically analyzed. The robustus bones contained a lower ratio of strontium to calcium than did the erectus bones. The lower the ratio of strontium to calcium in fossilized hominid bones, the more meat the hominid had in its diet. H. erectus is known to have eaten meat. | 199602_1-LR1_7_8 | [
"The diet of A. robustus included at least some meat.",
"The meat in the diet of H. erectus was higher in strontium than was the meat in the diets of other hominids.",
"The diet of H. erectus was richer in calcium than was the diet of A. robustus.",
"The diets of A. robustus and H. erectus both contained less strontium than calcium.",
"The process of fossilization altered the ratio of strontium to calcium in the bones of both A. robustus and H. erectus."
]
| 0 | The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following? |
Letter to the editor: I was shocked to learn that Judge Mosston was convicted of criminal assault, but I disagree with my fellow citizens who believe that he should be forced to resign. I have played cards with Judge Mosston for many years, and he has always shown himself to be fair toward me and our fellow cardplayers. Our judicial system simply cannot afford to lose any just and fair judges. | 199602_1-LR1_8_9 | [
"Judge Mosston is a fair judge.",
"Judge Mosston should not be forced to resign.",
"Fairness is the most important quality in a judge.",
"A conviction for criminal assault is never sufficient grounds for damaging anyone's professional career.",
"Individuals who have interacted with a judge outside that judge's courtroom are the most objective assessors of that judge's fairness."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of the letter writer's argument? |
Letter to the editor: I was shocked to learn that Judge Mosston was convicted of criminal assault, but I disagree with my fellow citizens who believe that he should be forced to resign. I have played cards with Judge Mosston for many years, and he has always shown himself to be fair toward me and our fellow cardplayers. Our judicial system simply cannot afford to lose any just and fair judges. | 199602_1-LR1_8_10 | [
"confuses duties specific to legal professionals with the responsibilities of private citizens",
"insists upon a distinction between \"fair\" and \"just\" which cannot plausibly be maintained",
"makes a general claim about an individual's professional competence based on an unrepresentative sampling of the individual's behavior",
"treats the violent crime of criminal assault as if its consequences were no more serious than winning or losing at cards",
"asserts a conclusion based on popular opinion rather than on argumentation"
]
| 2 | The reasoning in the letter is most vulnerable to the criticism that it |
Building a space station, in which astronauts would live for a considerable time, is essential even if the space station project were to contribute no new knowledge about space or Earth that could not otherwise be obtained. For future missions to explore Mars, we will need the medical knowledge that the space station project will give us about the limits of human capacities to live in spacecraft for an extended time. | 199602_1-LR1_9_11 | [
"the exploration of Mars will be carried out by people traveling in spacecraft and not by robots alone",
"the capacities of astronauts are typical of those of ordinary human beings",
"no unforeseen medical problems will arise on the first mission to explore Mars",
"a mission to Mars will be the first of many missions that will explore the solar system",
"living in a spaceship for an extended time presents insurmountable medical problems"
]
| 0 | The argument makes the assumption that |
The hearts of patients who are given vitamin E before undergoing heart surgery are less susceptible to certain postoperative complications than are the hearts of patients who are not given vitamin E before heart surgery. From six hours after surgery onward, however, the survivors from both groups show the same level of heart function, on average, and also recover equally well. Despite this lack of long-term effect, doctors often recommend vitamin E for patients about to undergo heart surgery. | 199602_1-LR1_10_12 | [
"Postoperative complications pose the greatest threat to patients during the first six hours after heart surgery.",
"Postoperative complications occur six or more hours after surgery for some patients who have not been given vitamin E.",
"It sometimes takes less than six hours for a patient's heart function to return to normal after heart surgery.",
"Certain categories of patients are inherently less likely to develop postoperative complications than other patients are.",
"Many patients who are told that they are being given vitamin E actually receive a medically inert substance."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the doctors' recommendation? |
Architect: Obviously, a dirty stone building is less attractive than a clean one. But the process of cleaning stone buildings with water drives the water deep into the stone, eventually causing irreparable damage. Dirt also damages stone buildings, but less than water does. So I am afraid stone buildings must remain dirty if they are to last as long as possible. Engineer: Not so fast. Advances in technology make it possible to clean stone buildings without water, using mild chemicals that do not penetrate the stone. | 199602_1-LR1_11_13 | [
"disputing the accuracy of the evidence that the architect cites in support of the conclusion",
"showing that the architect's argument is internally inconsistent",
"describing undesirable consequences that follow from accepting the architect's conclusion",
"adducing facts selected to show that the architect's conclusion is false",
"using the evidence cited by the architect to draw an alternative conclusion"
]
| 3 | The engineer responds to the architect by doing which one of the following? |
Anthropologist: The culture responsible for the inscriptions at the site must have used fire to fashion iron implements. Of the Xa, Ye, and Zi, the three cultures known to have inhabited the area surrounding this site, the Xa could obtain iron but could not use fire to fashion implements and the Ye had no access to iron. Therefore the Zi is the only culture known to be from the surrounding area that could have made these inscriptions. | 199602_1-LR1_12_14 | [
"Whoever committed the burglary wore size nine shoes. Of the three suspects in custody, Jensen, Kapp, and Lomax, neither Jensen nor Lomax could have worn size nine shoes. Of the three suspects in custody, therefore, nobody but Kapp could be the burglar.",
"Anyone wishing to file a claim must first send a check and then visit the bureau. Of Quinn, Robins, and Su, Robins and Su each sent a check and visited the bureau, so Robins and Su can each file a claim.",
"The person who designed the Ultra 180 must have been a very patient person. Of three well-known designers, Morris, Nieves, and Ott, who worked for Ultra's manufacturer when the Ultra 180 was designed, Morris and Ott were both impatient people. Therefore, Nieves is the only person who could have designed the Ultra 180.",
"Anyone aspiring to public office must have a quick wit and a ready smile. Of my friends Gail, Harry, and Ida, only Harry and Ida are aspiring to public office, so only Harry and Ida could have both a quick wit and a ready smile.",
"Whoever wrote this letter to me signed it \"Tony.\" Since I do not know anyone who signs letters with that name, the writer of this letter could only have been someone whom I do not know."
]
| 0 | The reasoning in which one of the following arguments most closely parallels the reasoning used in the argument above? |
Antiwhaling activist: Not all species of whales are threatened with extinction. Nevertheless, given the highly mechanized technology used in whaling, a ban on the whaling of endangered species cannot be enforced without banning the whaling of all other species. Hence, since hunting endangered whale species should be banned, all whale-hunting should be banned. | 199602_1-LR1_13_15 | [
"The fishing industry has a right to hunt members of species that are not endangered.",
"If a certain activity ought to be prohibited, so should any other activity that interferes with the enforcement of that prohibition.",
"No industry should adopt new technologies if the adoption of those technologies would create new ethical problems.",
"All actions that are instrumental in achieving ends that are permissible are themselves permissible.",
"If a commercial form of a certain activity ought to be prohibited, then so should all noncommercial forms of that activity."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following principles, if established, would do the most to justify the conclusion drawn by the antiwhaling activist? |
Giordano Bruno, the Renaissance philosopher, must have been a spy for England during the time he served in the French embassy there. English state records show that a spy who foiled at least two assassination plots against Queen Elizabeth of England was in place in the French embassy in London at that time. Since the spy is identified in confidential English state documents only as "the only clergyman working at the French embassy" at that time, Bruno must have been the spy: Bruno had been ordained a member of the clergy long before he started work at the French embassy. | 199602_1-LR1_14_16 | [
"Long before his employment at the embassy, Bruno had been excommunicated from his church and thereafter neither dressed nor functioned as a member of the clergy.",
"During Bruno's tenure in the French embassy, a high degree of tension and an atmosphere of mutual suspicion prevailed between France and England.",
"English records show that the spy sometimes transmitted information to the English government in French, which was not the language Bruno knew best.",
"The French ambassador at the time was a man who trusted Bruno implicitly, often defending him from the criticisms of others on the embassy staff.",
"During the Renaissance, well-educated members of the clergy often served in nonclerical roles as tutors, secretaries, and personal assistants to wealthy aristocrats."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the force of the evidence advanced in the argument? |
Giordano Bruno, the Renaissance philosopher, must have been a spy for England during the time he served in the French embassy there. English state records show that a spy who foiled at least two assassination plots against Queen Elizabeth of England was in place in the French embassy in London at that time. Since the spy is identified in confidential English state documents only as "the only clergyman working at the French embassy" at that time, Bruno must have been the spy: Bruno had been ordained a member of the clergy long before he started work at the French embassy. | 199602_1-LR1_14_17 | [
"During the Renaissance the staff of each French embassy always included at least one member of the clergy to officiate as chaplain for the ambassador and his staff.",
"Several years after his embassy service ended, Bruno was condemned for his philosophical ideas by the pope, who was at that time generally hostile to England and sympathetic to France.",
"Like the rest of the diplomatic staff at the French embassy, Bruno was introduced to many English aristocrats by the French ambassador.",
"Bruno was known to his contemporaries as a teacher, and that is how he first gained employment with the king of France, who later recommended him to the French ambassador in England.",
"The period of Bruno's tenure at the French embassy corresponds exactly to the period during which, according to English records, the spy was transmitting information."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if true, provides the most support for the argument? |
Theories in certain scientific fields may be in flux today, but this unsettled state must be attributed to scientific progress, not to a lack of theoretical rigor. Several decades of scientific research have recently culminated in a wealth of new discoveries in these fields, and whenever many new facts come to light in a field, the ways in which that field organizes its knowledge inevitably need adjustment. | 199602_1-LR1_15_18 | [
"presenting the situation to be explained as part of a general pattern",
"referring to the unacceptable consequences of adopting a particular explanation",
"showing that two alternate explanations for a situation are equally probable",
"citing a law of nature to explain a particular kind of change",
"explaining why a situation came about by referring to the intended outcome of a course of action"
]
| 0 | The argument proceeds by |
All art criticism is political because all art has political implications. Clearly, the critic who chooses to address overtly an artwork's political implications is engaged in political discourse. But those critics who attempt a purely aesthetic evaluation of a work, and therefore ignore the work's political implications, necessarily, though perhaps inadvertently, end up endorsing the politics of the artist. | 199602_1-LR1_16_19 | [
"Critics who overtly address an artwork's political implications rarely endorse art for art's own sake.",
"Critics who are politically naive always attempt purely apolitical critiques of art.",
"Art that makes an overt social or political statement is the sort of art with which critics are typically concerned.",
"A political critique of a work of art has more value than any other sort of critique of that work.",
"Art criticism that is intended to evaluate a work on purely aesthetic grounds never ends up rejecting the politics of the artist whose work is under review."
]
| 4 | If the statements above are all true, which one of the following must also be true? |
In the country of Boldavia at present, only 1 percent of 80-year-olds are left-handed, whereas 10 percent of 50-year-olds and 15 percent of 20-year-olds are left-handed. Yet over the past 80 years, the proportion of Boldavians who are born left-handed has not increased, nor have Boldavian attitudes toward left-handedness undergone any important changes. | 199602_1-LR1_17_20 | [
"In Boldavia, where men have a shorter average life expectancy than do women, left-handedness is less common among women than among men.",
"In Boldavia, left-handed people are no more likely than right-handed people to be involved in accidents",
"Ambidexterity is highly valued in Boldavia.",
"The birthrate in Boldavia has decreased slowly but steadily over the course of the past 80 years.",
"Left-handed people have never accounted for more than 18 percent of the population of Boldavia."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the variation in incidence of left-handedness among Boldavians? |
Eugenia: Reliable tests have shown that Koolair brand refrigerators are the best-made of any of the major brands because they last longer and, on the whole, require fewer repairs than do refrigerators of any other major brand. Neil: That is impossible. I have owned refrigerators of several different major brands, including Koolair, and the Koolair needed more repairs than did any of the others. | 199602_1-LR1_18_21 | [
"uses a different notion of a product's quality from that used by Eugenia",
"contradicts Eugenia's claim on the basis of a snap judgment and without making any attempt to offer supporting argumentation",
"rejects a generalization on the basis of a single negative instance when that generalization has reasonable support and is not universal",
"uses a pretense of authority in a technical field as the only support for his claim",
"concludes that what holds true of each member of a group taken individually must also hold true of that group taken collectively"
]
| 2 | The reasoning in Neil's response is flawed because he |
Advertisement: RediMed is the cold treatment to choose. People who treat their colds with RediMed have symptoms half as severe as those suffered by people who leave their colds untreated. | 199602_1-LR1_19_22 | [
"When cooking spaghetti, you should add the salt to the water when the water is already boiling, since the spaghetti takes on a bitter flavor otherwise.",
"National Financial is the place for your everyday banking, since it has more checking account customers than any other bank.",
"Tuff-Grip tires are the ones to choose, since in trials by a consumer magazine they were found to be the most durable and the safest.",
"The lubricant to select for locks is graphite, since unlubricated locks are stiffer than locks lubricated with graphite and sometimes freeze completely.",
"If you are not going to use butter for frying, you should use olive oil, since European chefs use olive oil."
]
| 3 | The flawed pattern of reasoning in which one of the following is most similar to that in the advertisement above? |
Health association: In certain studies, most volunteers who used to eat meat have permanently excluded meat from their diets and now eat only vegetables and fruits. These volunteers suffered no ill effects and many even prefer the new regimen. So people who eat meat can change their diets to meatless ones and not suffer as a result. Critic: Participants in these studies were all favorably disposed to the substitution before they started, and even so, many of them failed to make a complete transition to a vegetarian diet. | 199602_1-LR1_20_23 | [
"The diets of most people who eat meat would be improved if those people ate only vegetables and fruits instead.",
"Among those who make the attempt to exclude meat from their diets, the more favorably disposed to the meatless regimen a person is the more likely that person is to succeed in the attempt.",
"The number of people who have adopted a strictly vegetarian diet has increased in the last few years.",
"Participants in the study who failed to make the transition to a vegetarian diet do not regret the attempt.",
"Most people, if told by their physicians to exclude meat from their diets and eat only vegetables and fruits, would succeed in doing so."
]
| 4 | The critic's response would most seriously call into question which one of the following conclusions, if that conclusion were drawn on the basis of the evidence given by the health association? |
The shoe factory in Centerville is the town's largest firm, and it employs more unskilled workers on a full-time basis than all of the other businesses in town combined. Therefore, if the shoe factory closes down and ceases all operations, more than half of Centerville's residents who are unskilled workers with full-time jobs in Centerville will lose their jobs. | 199602_1-LR1_21_24 | [
"More people who now are residents of Centerville are employed than are unemployed.",
"Centerville has more unskilled workers among its population than it has skilled workers.",
"The shoe factory in Centerville employs more unskilled workers than skilled workers.",
"The shoe factory in Centerville employs no one who is not a resident of Centerville.",
"There are no factories in Centerville other than the shoe factory."
]
| 3 | The conclusion above logically follows from the premises if which one of the following is assumed? |
In one-round sealed-bid auctions, each prospective buyer submits in strict confidence a single bid, and the sale goes to the highest bidder. A reserve price—a minimum price below which there will be no sale—can be set by the seller as protection against a token bid, which is an unreasonably low bid sometimes made by a bidder who gambles that there will be no other bid. Paradoxically, such protection is most needed when extremely desirable items are auctioned off this way. | 199602_1-LR1_22_25 | [
"The bidder who submitted the winning bid on an item cannot, on being informed of this fact, decline acceptance of the item in favor of the next-highest bidder.",
"The identity of unsuccessful bidders is not disclosed unless those bidders themselves choose to disclose it.",
"The reserve price on an extremely desirable item is generally set high enough to yield a profit for the seller even if the winning bid just matches it.",
"Prospective buyers of an extremely desirable item can often guess quite accurately who at least some of the other prospective buyers are.",
"Prospective buyers tend to believe that, in order to be successful, a bid on an extremely desirable item would have to be so high as not to make economic sense."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if true about one-round sealed-bid auctions, most helps to explain why the generalization characterized above as paradoxical holds? |
Preschool children who spend the day in daycare nurseries are ill more often than those who do not. They catch many common illnesses, to which they are exposed by other children in the nurseries. However, when these children reach school age they tend to be ill less often than their classmates who did not spend the day in daycare nurseries during their preschool years. | 199602_4-LR2_1_1 | [
"There are many common infectious illnesses that circulate quickly through a population of school-age children, once one child is infected.",
"Those children who have older siblings are likely to catch any common infectious illnesses that their older siblings have.",
"By school age, children who have been in daycare nurseries have developed the immunities to common childhood illnesses that children who have not been in such nurseries have yet to develop.",
"The number of infectious illnesses that children in a daycare nursery or school develop is roughly proportional to the number of children in the facility, and daycare nurseries are smaller than most schools.",
"Although in general the illnesses that children contract through contact with other children at daycare nurseries are not serious, some of those illnesses if untreated have serious complications."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following, if true, best explains the discrepancy in the information above? |
The vision test for obtaining a driver's license should not be limited to measuring the adequacy of vision in daylight conditions, as is the current practice. Many people whose daylight vision is adequate have night vision that is inadequate for safe night driving. Most car accidents occur at night, and inadequate vision plays a role in 80 percent of these accidents. | 199602_4-LR2_2_2 | [
"the vision test for obtaining a driver's license should measure the adequacy of vision in night conditions",
"inadequate vision does not play a role in most of the accidents that occur in daylight",
"most drivers who have adequate vision in daylight conditions also have adequate vision in night conditions",
"inadequate vision is the primary factor in the majority of car accidents that occur at night",
"the current vision test for obtaining a driver's license ensures that most licensed drivers have adequate vision for night driving"
]
| 0 | The main point of the argument is that |
Pit vipers are so called because of the small pits on the sides of their heads which function as infrared sensors, giving the viper a thermal impression of objects in its vicinity. Because all species of pit vipers are predators, scientists have long thought that these sensors were used to find prey. One researcher has hypothesized, however, that the infrared sensor serves primarily to assist the viper in judging the size of approaching predators and how far away they are. | 199602_4-LR2_3_3 | [
"Pit vipers of both sexes have infrared sensors, and both sexes exhibit aggressive and defensive behaviors.",
"Pit vipers do not differ in their predatory behavior from closely related vipers without pits, but they do differ markedly from these other species in their strategies of defense against predators.",
"Pit vipers are distinguishable from other viper species not only by their pits but also by the chemical composition of their venom.",
"Pit vipers have a well-developed sense of smell that they use to supplement the thermal impressions they receive from their infrared sensors.",
"The rattle of the diamondback rattlesnake, one of the most common kinds of pit viper, functions as a defense mechanism to intimidate predators."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following, if true, would most support the researcher's hypothesis? |
Many scholars believe that official medieval persecutions of various minority groups were undertaken very reluctantly by medieval authorities and only in order to soothe popular unrest caused by underlying popular hostility to the groups in question. This belief is highly questionable. For one thing, there are few indications of any profound underlying popular hostility toward persecuted groups in cases where persecutions were particularly violent and sustained. For another, the most serious and widespread persecutions carried out by medieval authorities seem to have had as targets exactly those groups that most effectively disputed these authorities' right to govern. | 199602_4-LR2_4_4 | [
"referring to the large numbers of scholarly adherents of a certain view to support the claim that the view is correct",
"providing reasons to suspect the reliability of any conclusions based on evidence concerning the distant past",
"attempting to make a particular comparison seem absurd by adducing evidence that suggests that the events compared share only traits that are irrelevant to the claim the comparison is intended to support",
"citing both a lack of evidence supporting a particular explanation and further evidence that suggests an alternative explanation",
"establishing a general principle and using the principle to justify a conclusion about a particular category of cases"
]
| 3 | The argument proceeds by |
Many scholars believe that official medieval persecutions of various minority groups were undertaken very reluctantly by medieval authorities and only in order to soothe popular unrest caused by underlying popular hostility to the groups in question. This belief is highly questionable. For one thing, there are few indications of any profound underlying popular hostility toward persecuted groups in cases where persecutions were particularly violent and sustained. For another, the most serious and widespread persecutions carried out by medieval authorities seem to have had as targets exactly those groups that most effectively disputed these authorities' right to govern. | 199602_4-LR2_4_5 | [
"Official persecutions in medieval times were usually preceded by officially sanctioned campaigns vilifying the groups to be persecuted.",
"Medieval minority communities often existed under the direct protection of official institutions.",
"Some groups, such as those accused of witchcraft, were the victims of spontaneous mob violence as well as of occasional official persecution.",
"Many medieval leaders refused to authorize the dissemination of information misrepresenting the religious practices of officially protected minorities.",
"Convicted felons were often legally excluded from participation in medieval society, but this practice was seen as a form of punishment and not of persecution."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument that the scholars' belief is questionable? |
The frozen, well-preserved body of a man was recently discovered in a glacier as the glacier melted. Artifacts found on the body reveal that the man lived at least 4,000 years ago. The nature of the glacier indicates that the man died on virtually the same spot where his body was discovered. If the body had not been sealed in the glacier shortly after the man died, or if the body had thawed in the intervening millennia, it would not still be preserved. | 199602_4-LR2_5_6 | [
"None of the artifacts found on the body were more than 4,000 years old.",
"The man whose body was discovered in the glacier did not freeze to death.",
"The glacier that melted to reveal the ancient is at least 4,000 years old.",
"The artifacts found on the frozen body would not have been preserved if they had not also been frozen.",
"The global climate is, on average, warmer now than it was 4,000 years ago."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following is most strongly supported if all of the statements above are true? |
One hundred people listened to a single musical composition, "Study I," on a certain morning. Later that day, they listened to "Study I" again and to another musical composition, "Study II," and were asked which they preferred. A substantial majority preferred "Study I." These results support the hypotheses that people prefer music they have heard on an earlier occasion to music they are hearing for the first time. | 199602_4-LR2_6_7 | [
"Half of the members of a large group of people who heard only \"Study II\" in the morning and heard both \"Study I\" and \"Study II\" later the same day preferred \"Study I.\"",
"Ninety percent of the members of a large group of people who listened to \"Study I\" and \"Study II\" without having heard either of the compositions on any earlier occasion preferred \"Study I.\"",
"The group of 100 people who listened to \"Study I\" in the morning and to both \"Study I\" and \"Study II\" later the same day included some professional music critics.",
"Of 80 people who heard only \"Study II\" in the morning and heard both \"Study I\" and \"Study II\" later the same day, 70 preferred \"Study II.\"",
"Many of the 100 people who in the morning listened only to \"Study I\" complained afterward that they had not been able to hear well from where they had been seated."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument? |
After an area has been hit by a natural disaster, there is often a great demand for plywood for repairing damaged homes. Retailers in the area often raise prices on new shipments of plywood to well above their predisaster prices, and some people denounce these retailers for taking advantage of a disaster to make more money on each sheet of plywood they sell. In fact, however, these retailers do not make more money on each sheet of plywood than before the disaster, because transporting the plywood into devastated areas is difficult and expensive, and therefore the plywood's cost to retailers is higher than it was before the disaster. | 199602_4-LR2_7_8 | [
"Residents of areas affected by natural disasters are often unable to pay the prices the retailers in those areas set for scarce necessities.",
"Retailers must pay the full amount of any increase in shipping costs.",
"No retailer makes enough money on each sheet of plywood sold to absorb for long an increase in shipping costs without raising prices.",
"Suppliers of plywood do not transport as much plywood to an area after it has been affected by a natural disaster as they did before it was so affected.",
"The increase in the prices charged by retailers for plywood following a natural disaster does not exceed the increase in cost to those retailers."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
After an area has been hit by a natural disaster, there is often a great demand for plywood for repairing damaged homes. Retailers in the area often raise prices on new shipments of plywood to well above their predisaster prices, and some people denounce these retailers for taking advantage of a disaster to make more money on each sheet of plywood they sell. In fact, however, these retailers do not make more money on each sheet of plywood than before the disaster, because transporting the plywood into devastated areas is difficult and expensive, and therefore the plywood's cost to retailers is higher than it was before the disaster. | 199602_4-LR2_7_9 | [
"a counterexample to a claim",
"the main conclusion toward which the argument as a whole is directed",
"a subsidiary conclusion used to support the main conclusion of the argument",
"an example used to illustrate the implausibility of the position argued against",
"background information used to provide a context for the argument"
]
| 2 | The clause "the plywood's cost to retailers is higher than it was before the disaster" serves in the argument as which one of the following? |
Industrial scientists have hypothesized that much of the nitrous oxide that contributes to air pollution originates from the burning of organic matter in forest fires. The results of one extensive study in which smoke samples taken from forest fires were bottled and then analyzed in a research laboratory supports this hypothesis, since the analysis showed that all of the samples contained high concentrations of nitrous oxide. | 199602_4-LR2_8_10 | [
"The production of synthetic products such as nylon is responsible for up to 10 percent of the nitrous oxide present in the atmosphere.",
"Many of the pollutants that are present in the atmosphere are produced by the combustion of fossil fuels, such as petroleum, which are derived from organic matter.",
"Soil bacteria that feed on ammonium compounds present in organic ash are thought by some scientists to excrete small amounts of nitrous oxide that then enter the atmosphere.",
"When in a closed container, the gases in smoke produced by forest fires quickly react with each other thereby producing high concentrations of nitrous oxide.",
"By using gas-analyzing devices mounted on helicopters, researchers can perform on-site analyses of smoke instead of sending smoke samples to laboratories for analysis."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most undermines the argument? |
By examining the fossilized leaves of any prehistoric plant it is possible to determine the climate in which that specimen grew because the size and shape of a leaf are unique to a given climate. Since the climate at a given location depends on the altitude at that location, it follows that the size and shape of a fossilized leaf also indicates the altitude at which the plant grew. | 199602_4-LR2_9_11 | [
"fails to demonstrate that no species of plant can long survive a violent change in its environment",
"overlooks the possibility that locations at different altitudes can have the same climate",
"treats the size and shape of a leaf as if they were the only physical characteristics of a leaf that depend on climate",
"relies on a weak analogy between a leaf and the fossil of a leaf as evidence for the claims advanced",
"ignores the possibility that the location at which a fossilized leaf was found is not the location at which the original plant grew"
]
| 1 | The reasoning in the argument is vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it |
Box office receipts at movie theaters increased 40 percent last year over the previous year. Thus, the film industry overall evidently is prospering. Yet twice as many movie theaters went bankrupt last year as in the preceding two years combined. | 199602_4-LR2_10_12 | [
"Films cost, on average, twice as much to produce today as they did ten years ago.",
"Ticket prices at some theaters fell last year.",
"Those of last year's films that were successful were very profitable films that were shown by exclusive engagement at only a selection of the largest theaters.",
"The amount of money spent on film advertising increased greatly last year over the year before, and the majority of this expense was absorbed by the producers and the distributors of films, not by the theater owners.",
"In general, an increase in a theater's box office receipts for any year is accompanied by an increase in that theater's profits from snack-food and soft-drink sales for that year."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above? |
Suffering from kidney failure and having fallen into a coma, Mr. Smith urgently required a kidney transplant. When Mr. Smith's cousin volunteered to donate a kidney, Mr. Smith's daughter had to decide whether to sign the consent form permitting the transplant. She knew that her father strongly objected to transplantation of organs from live donors on the grounds that these operations caused serious disability to the organ donor. Although she knew her father's objection was based on a mistaken belief about the danger to kidney donors, she decided not to consent to the surgery. | 199602_4-LR2_11_13 | [
"A son or a daughter must do everything possible to protect the life and health of a parent unless the parent has prohibited the son or daughter from doing so.",
"Anyone called on to make a medical decision concerning another person should always treat the interests of that person as paramount and decide according to what would most help promote that person's health, regardless of that person's age, mental condition, or physical disabilities.",
"A person has no obligation to permit medically advisable surgery for an unconscious relative if that surgery is not likely to prolong the life of the patient.",
"Withholding a medically advisable treatment from an unconscious patient is justified if securing that treatment would result in another person's becoming seriously disabled.",
"A patient's rights to self-determination impose an obligation on others to accede to the patient's preferences concerning treatment, even when those preferences can only be inferred from a general knowledge of the patient's commitments, beliefs, and desires."
]
| 4 | Mr. Smith's daughter's decision conforms to which one of the following principles? |
Letter to the editor: According to last Thursday's editorial, someone who commits a burglary runs almost no risk of being caught. This is clearly false. Police reports show that at least 70 percent of people who commit crimes are caught. All burglars are criminals, so although some burglars will undoubtedly escape, a large percentage of them will eventually be caught. | 199602_4-LR2_12_14 | [
"A large percentage of professional persons are self-employed. Thus, since nurses are professional persons, a large percentage of nurses are self-employed.",
"Psychiatrists have medical training, and a large percentage of them also have social-work training. Therefore, some people who have social-work training also have medical training.",
"Since a large percentage of professional persons have changed their careers, and since career changes require new training, all professional persons who have changed their careers required new training.",
"A large percentage of doctors are specialists. Since anyone who is a specialist must have training beyond the usual medical curriculum, it follows that many doctors have training beyond the usual medical curriculum.",
"Many engineers are employed in management positions, and since anyone in a management position needs training in management, many engineers need training in management."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following arguments exhibits a flawed pattern of reasoning parallel to that exhibited in the argument that a large percentage of burglars will be caught? |
Letter to the editor: According to last Thursday's editorial, someone who commits a burglary runs almost no risk of being caught. This is clearly false. Police reports show that at least 70 percent of people who commit crimes are caught. All burglars are criminals, so although some burglars will undoubtedly escape, a large percentage of them will eventually be caught. | 199602_4-LR2_12_15 | [
"It is evidence presented in support of the letter writer's conclusion.",
"It is the conclusion of a subsidiary argument.",
"It provides an example of the kind of case under discussion.",
"It restates the position against which the letter writer's argument as a whole is directed.",
"It concedes a point that does not undermine the letter writer's conclusion."
]
| 4 | The claim that some burglars will undoubtedly escape plays which one of the following roles in the letter writer's argument? |
Scientists have recently discovered that, in doses massive enough to kill cells, almost any chemical is carcinogenic because cell death causes rapid division among surviving cells, promoting cancer-causing mutations. A few chemicals are also carcinogenic without causing cell death. Until now studies of the carcinogenicity of food additives have always involved administering to test animals doses of additives larger than the largest possible human exposure levels and massive enough to kill large numbers of cells in the animals, and then observing the animals' cancer rates. | 199602_4-LR2_13_16 | [
"In the doses heretofore used in carcinogenicity studies of food additives, cell death often does not occur in test animals.",
"Until now results of carcinogenicity studies encouraged overestimation of the degree to which some food additives are carcinogenic.",
"Truly carcinogenic chemicals usually cause some immediate cell death, even in small doses.",
"Carcinogenic chemicals are usually absorbed in small doses in the natural environment.",
"Most of the food additives that are now banned because of carcinogenicity could safely be used in human foods."
]
| 1 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following conclusions is most strongly supported by them? |
Drivers in the country of Holston want highway tolls eliminated. The cost of maintaining the highways is paid entirely out of revenue from the highway tolls. Holston must maintain its highways. Thus, it follows that if the tolls are eliminated, then the entire cost of maintaining the highways will have to be paid for by an increase in general taxes. | 199602_4-LR2_14_17 | [
"Work on highway maintenance can be authorized only if the money needed to pay for it has already been collected.",
"The amount of money saved by eliminating the costs associated with toll collection would not be available to pay part of the total cost of maintaining the highways.",
"If the highway tolls are eliminated and the general taxes are increased to pay for maintaining the highways, there will be less emphasis on preventive maintenance.",
"The total cost of maintaining the highways will be less if the highway tolls rather than the general taxes pay for the maintenance.",
"If the highway tolls are not eliminated, there will be no need to increase the general taxes."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following is an assumption made by the argument? |
Efraim: The popular press continually advises people to avoid various health risks. Yet by seeking to avoid health risks, people inevitably become anxious, and anxiety, in turn, poses a major health risk. Thus, paradoxical as it seems, simply disregarding journalists' advice about reducing health risks is bound to pose less of a health risk than does trying to follow any such advice. Felicity: But history shows that you are wrong. It was articles in the popular press that made people aware of the health risks posed by smoking cigarettes. Many people stopped smoking in response, and they led longer and healthier lives than they would have otherwise. | 199602_4-LR2_15_18 | [
"whether products and practices described by journalists as posing health risks do in fact pose health risks",
"whether the people most likely to suffer anxiety in stressful situations are also the ones most likely to try to avoid health risks",
"whether there are any people who ignore journalists' advice about avoiding health risks",
"whether people can reduce risks to their health by heeding the advice of articles in the popular press",
"whether the sort of anxiety that results from efforts to avoid health risks can be overcome"
]
| 3 | Which one of the following most accurately expresses the point at issue between Efraim and Felicity? |
Efraim: The popular press continually advises people to avoid various health risks. Yet by seeking to avoid health risks, people inevitably become anxious, and anxiety, in turn, poses a major health risk. Thus, paradoxical as it seems, simply disregarding journalists' advice about reducing health risks is bound to pose less of a health risk than does trying to follow any such advice. Felicity: But history shows that you are wrong. It was articles in the popular press that made people aware of the health risks posed by smoking cigarettes. Many people stopped smoking in response, and they led longer and healthier lives than they would have otherwise. | 199602_4-LR2_15_19 | [
"A significant proportion of the people who, following journalists' advice, seek to avoid specific health risks cannot avoid those risks completely.",
"Journalists who advise people to avoid various health risks render their advice in needlessly alarming language.",
"The popular press is not unanimous in its recommendations to people wishing to avoid various health risks.",
"The anxiety, if any, produced by disregarding journalists' advice to avoid health risks is less than that produced by attempting to heed this advice.",
"Most strategies for dealing with sources of personal anxiety are themselves anxiety inducing."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which Efraim's argument depends? |
All orchid species that are pollinated solely by insects have features that attract insects. The flower of a recently discovered orchid species contains edible tendrils that invariably attract insects to the inside of the flower. Hence, it follows that this orchid species is one that is pollinated solely by insects. | 199602_4-LR2_16_20 | [
"makes an unwarranted assumption that a characteristic that is shared by two classes of things is their only common feature",
"assumes without warrant that a characteristic that distinguishes one class of things from another is the only characteristic that distinguishes that class from the other",
"mistakes a characteristic that is unique to one particular class of things for a characteristic that is unique to an unrelated class of things",
"treats a characteristic known to be true of one class of things as if that characteristic were unique to that class",
"makes broad generalizations about all members of a particular class of things on the basis of what is known about a member of an unrelated class of things"
]
| 3 | The argument is flawed because it |
In 1578 Moroccan troops defeated a Portuguese army on Moroccan soil. Accounts written by Portuguese contemporaries report the defeat but omit mention of the fact that King Sebastian of Portugal was killed in the battle. Such omissions cannot simply be the result of ignorance of Sebastian's death. Sebastian's death is not even mentioned in the battle accounts written by two captured Portuguese officers while waiting to be ransomed from a Moroccan prison. These two officers actually shared their cells with the Portuguese soldiers who identified the king's body to Moroccan officials. The omissions therefore had to have had a psychological cause: the Portuguese evidently found Sebastian's death so humiliating that they could not bring themselves to write about it. | 199602_4-LR2_17_21 | [
"providing grounds for eliminating an alternative explanation",
"supplying indirect evidence that a disputed death actually occurred",
"resolving an apparent contradiction between two of the argument's main premises",
"giving evidence supporting a general psychological principle on which the main conclusion is explicitly based",
"offering grounds for doubting the reliability of historical reports that conflict with the argument's main conclusion"
]
| 0 | The discussion about the two Portuguese officers advances the argument by |
A tiny, tree-living thrips is the first species identified that can reproduce both by laying eggs and by bearing live young, although for any one instance of reproduction, a given female will use only one of the two methods. Interestingly, biologists have observed that all of the offspring of this insect that are hatched from eggs are females, and all of the offspring that are live-born are males. It has also been noted that any particular live-born brood will comprise fewer individuals than any particular brood hatched from eggs. However, a much larger proportion of male offspring than of female offspring survives to adulthood, and among thrips reaching adulthood the ratio of males to females is about even. | 199602_4-LR2_18_22 | [
"It is the only species capable of using two different methods of reproduction.",
"Any female of the species that can reproduce by laying eggs can also reproduce by bearing live young but not necessarily vice versa.",
"On average, across the species, more of the offspring are born by hatching from eggs than are born live.",
"For the species as a whole, there are, over time, about as many instances of live-born broods as there are broods hatched from eggs.",
"There are females that use only one of the two methods of reproduction over the course of their lives."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following can be properly inferred about the species of thrips described in the passage? |
Since the zoo has more animals than enclosures, and every animal lives in an enclosure, it must be true that at least one of the enclosures contains more than one animal. | 199602_4-LR2_19_23 | [
"Every person has two biological parents, so some people who have no brothers or sisters have more parents than their parents have children.",
"Since every year there are more marriages than divorces, there must be some marriages that will not end in divorce.",
"Since boys under ten slightly outnumber girls under ten and since some families have more than one child under ten, it follows that at least one girl under ten has more than one brother under ten.",
"At least one of the families in Herndon has more than one child, since in Herndon, there are fewer families than children and every child is a member of a family.",
"There must be fewer families that include teenagers than there are teenagers belonging to such families, since there is at least one family that includes more than one teenager."
]
| 3 | The argument above exhibits a pattern of reasoning that is most closely paralleled by which one of the following? |
In the Hartshorn Building, most but not all of the third-floor offices are larger than any office on the second floor. The fourth-floor offices are all larger than any office on the second floor. However, all the second-floor offices are larger than any office on the first floor. | 199602_4-LR2_20_24 | [
"Some first-floor offices are as large as the smallest fourth-floor offices.",
"Some first-floor offices are as large as the smallest third-floor offices.",
"Some third-flour offices are not as large as the largest first-floor offices.",
"Some third-floor offices are not as large as the smallest fourth-floor offices.",
"Some fourth-floor offices are not as large as the largest third-floor offices."
]
| 3 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true? |
Louis: People's intentions cannot be, on the whole, more bad than good. Were we to believe otherwise, we would inevitably cease to trust each other, and no society can survive without mutual trust among its members. | 199602_4-LR2_21_25 | [
"It fails to rule out the possibility that a true belief can have deleterious consequences.",
"It mistakenly assumes that if two claims cannot at the same time both be true, then they cannot at the same time both be false.",
"It challenges the truth of a claim merely by calling into question the motives of those who profess that they believe it to be true.",
"It assumes without warrant that in any situation with two possible outcomes, the most negative one will inevitably occur.",
"It provides no reason to believe that a statement that is true of a given group of individuals is also true of any other group of individuals."
]
| 0 | The argument is most vulnerable to which one of the following criticisms? |
Director of Ace Manufacturing Company:Our management consultant proposes that we reassign staff so that all employees are doing both what they like to do and what they do well. This, she says, will "increase productivity by fully exploiting our available resources." But Ace Manufacturing has a long-standing commitment not to exploit its workers. Therefore, implementing her recommendations would cause us to violate our own policy. | 199606_2-LR1_1_1 | [
"failing to distinguish two distinct senses of a key term",
"attempting to defend an action on the ground that it is frequently carried out",
"defining a term by pointing to an atypical example of something to which the term applies",
"drawing a conclusion that simply restates one of the premises of the argument",
"calling something by a less offensive term than the term that is usually used to name that thing"
]
| 0 | The director' s argument for rejecting the management consultant's proposal is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds? |
A large number of drivers routinely violate highway speed limits. Since driving at speeds that exceed posted limits is a significant factor in most accidents, installing devices in all cars that prevent those cars from traveling faster than the speed limit would prevent most accidents. | 199606_2-LR1_2_2 | [
"A person need not be a trained mechanic to install the device properly.",
"Most accidents are caused by inexperienced drivers.",
"A driver seldom needs to exceed the speed limit to avoid an accident when none of the other drivers involved are violating the speed limit.",
"Most drivers who exceed the speed limit do so unintentionally.",
"Even if the fines for speed-limit violations were increased, the number of such violations would still not be reduced."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
In a recession, a decrease in consumer spending causes many businesses to lay off workers or even to close. Workers who lose their jobs in a recession usually cannot find new jobs. The result is an increase in the number of people who are jobless. Recovery from a recession is defined by an increase in consumer spending and an expansion of business activity that creates a need for additional workers. But businesspeople generally have little confidence in the economy after a recession and therefore delay hiring additional workers as long as possible. | 199606_2-LR1_3_3 | [
"Recessions are usually caused by a decrease in businesspeople's confidence in the economy.",
"Governmental intervention is required in order for an economy to recover from a recession.",
"Employees of businesses that close during a recession make up the majority of the workers who lose their jobs during that recession.",
"Sometimes recovery from a recession does not promptly result in a decrease in the number of people who are jobless.",
"Workers who lose their jobs during a recession are likely to get equally good jobs when the economy recovers."
]
| 3 | The statements above, if true, provide most support for which one of the following conclusions? |
Scientists analyzing air bubbles that had been trapped in Antarctic ice during the Earth's last ice age found that the ice-age atmosphere had contained unusually large amounts of ferrous material and surprisingly small amounts of carbon dioxide. One scientist noted that algae absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The scientist hypothesized that the ferrous material, which was contained in atmospheric dust, had promoted a great increase in the population of Antarctic algae such as diatoms. | 199606_2-LR1_4_4 | [
"Diatoms are a microscopic form of algae that has remained largely unchanged since the last ice age.",
"Computer models suggest that a large increase in ferrous material today could greatly promote the growth of oceanic algae.",
"The dust found in the air bubbles trapped in Antarctic ice contained other minerals in addition to the ferrous material.",
"Sediment from the ocean floor near Antarctica reflects no increase, during the last ice age, in the rate at which the shells that diatoms leave when they die accumulated.",
"Algae that currently grow in the oceans near Antarctica do not appear to be harmed by even a large increase in exposure to ferrous material."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, would most seriously undermine the scientist's hypothesis? |
Adults who work outside the home spend, on average, 100 minutes less time each week in preparing dinner than adults who do not work outside the home. But, contrary to expectation, comparisons show that the dinners eaten at home by the two groups of adults do not differ significantly with respect to nutritional value, variety of menus, or number of courses. | 199606_2-LR1_5_5 | [
"The fat content of the dinners eaten at home by adults who do not work outside the home is 25 percent higher than national guidelines recommend.",
"Adults who do not work outside the home tend to prepare breakfast more often than adults who work outside the home.",
"Adults who work outside the home spend 2 hours less time per day on all household responsibilities, including dinner preparation, than do adults who do not work outside the home.",
"Adults who work outside the home eat dinner at home 20 percent less often than do adults who do not work outside the home.",
"Adults who work outside the home are less likely to plan dinner menus well in advance than are adults who do not work outside the home."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above? |
Legislator: Your agency is responsible for regulating an industry shaken by severe scandals. You were given funds to hire 500 investigators to examine the scandals, but you hired no more than 400. I am forced to conclude that you purposely limited hiring in an attempt to prevent the full extent of the scandals from being revealed. Regulator: We tried to hire the 500 investigators but the starting salaries for these positions had been frozen so low by the legislature that it was impossible to attract enough qualified applicants. | 199606_2-LR1_6_6 | [
"shifting the blame for the scandals to the legislature",
"providing information that challenges the conclusion drawn by the legislator",
"claiming that compliance with the legislature's mandate would have been an insufficient response",
"rephrasing the legislator's conclusion in terms more favorable to the regulator",
"showing that the legislator's statements are self-contradictory"
]
| 1 | The regulator responds to the legislator's criticism by |
A commonly accepted myth is that left-handed people are more prone to cause accidents than are right-handed people. But this is, in fact, just a myth, as is indicated by the fact that more household accidents are caused by right-handed people than are caused by left-handed people. | 199606_2-LR1_7_7 | [
"makes a distinction where there is no real difference between the things distinguished",
"takes no account of the relative frequency of left-handed people in the population as a whole",
"uses the word \"accidents\" in two different senses",
"ignores the possibility that some household accidents are caused by more than one person",
"gives wholly irrelevant evidence and simply disparages an opposing position by calling it a \"myth\""
]
| 1 | The reasoning is flawed because the argument |
Ornithologist: The curvature of the claws of modern tree-dwelling birds enables them to perch in trees. The claws of Archeopteryx, the earliest known birdlike creature, show similar curvature that must have enabled the creature to perch on tree limbs. Therefore, Archeopteryx was probably a tree-dwelling creature. Paleontologist: No, the ability to perch in trees is not good evidence that Archeopteryx was a tree-dwelling bird. Chickens also spend time perched in trees, yet chickens are primarily ground-dwelling. | 199606_2-LR1_8_8 | [
"questions the qualifications of the ornithologist to evaluate the evidence",
"denies the truth of the claims the ornithologist makes in support of the hypothesis",
"uses a parallel case to illustrate a weakness in the ornithologist's argument",
"shows that the hypothesis contradicts one of the pieces of evidence used to support it",
"provides additional evidence to support the ornithologist's argument"
]
| 2 | In responding to the ornithologist's hypothesis that Archeopteryx was tree-dwelling, the paleontologist |
Ornithologist: The curvature of the claws of modern tree-dwelling birds enables them to perch in trees. The claws of Archeopteryx, the earliest known birdlike creature, show similar curvature that must have enabled the creature to perch on tree limbs. Therefore, Archeopteryx was probably a tree-dwelling creature. Paleontologist: No, the ability to perch in trees is not good evidence that Archeopteryx was a tree-dwelling bird. Chickens also spend time perched in trees, yet chickens are primarily ground-dwelling. | 199606_2-LR1_8_9 | [
"Modern tree-dwelling birds are the direct descendants of Archeopteryx.",
"Archeopteryx made use of the curvature of its claws.",
"There have never been tree-dwelling birds without curved claws.",
"Archeopteryx was in fact the earliest birdlike creature.",
"The curvature of the claws is the only available evidence for the claim that Archeopteryx was tree-dwelling."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the ornithologist's reasoning depends? |
There are rumors that the Premier will reshuffle the cabinet this week. However, every previous reshuffle that the Premier has made was preceded by meetings between the Premier and senior cabinet members. No such meetings have occurred or are planned. Therefore the rumors are most likely false. | 199606_2-LR1_9_10 | [
"When a conclusion follows logically from a set of premises, the probability that the conclusion is true cannot be any less than the probability that the premises are all true.",
"A hypothesis is undermined when a state of affairs does not obtain that would be expected to obtain if the hypothesis were true.",
"It is possible for a hypothesis to be false even though it is supported by all the available data.",
"Even if in the past a phenomenon was caused by particular circumstances, it is erroneous to assume that the phenomenon will recur only under the circumstances in which it previously occurred.",
"If two statements are known to be inconsistent with each other and if one of the statements is known to be false, it cannot be deduced from these known facts that the other statement is true."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following most accurately expresses a principle of reasoning employed by the argument? |
Carl: Researchers who perform operations on animals for experimental purposes are legally required to complete detailed pain protocols indicating whether the animals will be at risk of pain and, if so, what steps will be taken to minimize or alleviate it. Yet when human beings undergo operations, such protocols are never required. If lawmakers were as concerned about human beings as they seem to be about animals, there would be pain protocols for human beings too. Debbie: But consider this: a person for whom a doctor wants to schedule surgery can simply be told what pain to expect and can then decide whether or not to undergo the operation. So you see, pain protocols are unnecessary for human beings. | 199606_2-LR1_10_11 | [
"showing that one of the claims on which Carl bases his conclusion is inaccurate",
"pointing out a relevant difference to undermine an analogy on which Carl bases his conclusion",
"claiming that Carl's argument should be rejected because it is based on an appeal to sentimentality rather than on reasoned principles",
"drawing an analogy that illustrates a major flaw in Carl's argument",
"offering a specific example to demonstrate that Carl's argument is based on a claim that can be neither confirmed nor disproved"
]
| 1 | Debbie attempts to counter Carl' s argument by |
Carl: Researchers who perform operations on animals for experimental purposes are legally required to complete detailed pain protocols indicating whether the animals will be at risk of pain and, if so, what steps will be taken to minimize or alleviate it. Yet when human beings undergo operations, such protocols are never required. If lawmakers were as concerned about human beings as they seem to be about animals, there would be pain protocols for human beings too. Debbie: But consider this: a person for whom a doctor wants to schedule surgery can simply be told what pain to expect and can then decide whether or not to undergo the operation. So you see, pain protocols are unnecessary for human beings. | 199606_2-LR1_10_12 | [
"Not all operations that are performed on human beings are painful.",
"Some experimentation that is now done on animals need not be done at all.",
"Preparing pain protocols is not a time-consuming or costly procedure.",
"Some surgical operations performed on infants are painful.",
"Unalleviated pain after an operation tends to delay the healing process."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument made by Debbie in response to Carl's argument? |
A company with long-outstanding bills owed by its customers can assign those bills to a collection agency that pays the company a fraction of their amount and then tries to collect payment from the customers. Since these agencies pay companies only 15 percent of the total amount of the outstanding bills, a company interested in reducing losses from long-outstanding bills would be well advised to pursue its debtors on its own. | 199606_2-LR1_11_13 | [
"a company that pursues its debtors on its own typically collects more than 15 percent of the total amount of the long-outstanding bills that it is owed",
"the cost to a company of pursuing its debtors on its own for payment of long-outstanding bills does not exceed 15 percent of the total amount of those bills",
"collection agencies that are assigned bills for collection by companies are unsuccessful in collecting, on average, only 15 percent of the total amount of those bills",
"at least 15 percent of the customers that owe money to companies eventually pay their bills whether or not those bills are assigned to a collection agency",
"unless most of the customers of a company pay their bills, that company in the long run will not be profitable"
]
| 0 | The argument depends on the assumption that |
Herbalist: Many of my customers find that their physical coordination improves after drinking juice containing certain herbs. A few doctors assert that the herbs are potentially harmful, but doctors are always trying to maintain a monopoly over medical therapies. So there is no reason not to try my herb juice. | 199606_2-LR1_12_14 | [
"attempts to force acceptance of a claim by inducing fear of the consequences of rejecting that claim",
"bases a conclusion on claims that are inconsistent with each other",
"rejects a claim by attacking the proponents of the claim rather than addressing the claim itself",
"relies on evidence presented in terms that presuppose the truth of the claim for which the evidence is offered",
"mistakes the observation that one thing happens after another for proof that the second thing is the result of the first"
]
| 2 | The reasoning in the herbalist's argument is flawed because the argument |
Because of the lucrative but illegal trade in rhinoceros horns, a certain rhinoceros species has been hunted nearly to extinction. Therefore an effective way to ensure the survival of that species would be to periodically trim off the horns of all rhinoceroses, thereby eliminating the motivation for poaching. | 199606_2-LR1_13_15 | [
"Most poachers who are discouraged from hunting rhinoceroses are not likely to hunt other animals for their horns.",
"At least some rhinoceroses whose horns are periodically trimmed off will be able to attract mates.",
"Poachers hunt at least some immature rhinoceroses whose horns have not yet started to develop.",
"The demand for rhinoceros horns will remain constant even if the supply decreases after the periodic trimming-off of the rhinoceros horns has begun.",
"Rhinoceroses whose horns have been trimmed off are unable to defend themselves against predators ."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument? |
Motorcoach driver: Professional drivers spend much more time driving, on average, than do other people and hence are more competent drivers than are other, less experienced drivers. Therefore, the speed limit on major highways should not be reduced, because that action would have the undesirable effect of forcing some people who are now both law-abiding and competent drivers to break the law. Police officer: All drivers can drive within the legal speed limit if they wish, so it is not true to say that reducing the speed limit would be the cause of such illegal behavior. | 199606_2-LR1_14_16 | [
"it would be desirable to reduce the speed limit on major highways",
"professional drivers will drive within the legal speed limit if that limit is reduced",
"reducing the speed limit on major highways would cause some professional drivers to break the law",
"professional drivers are more competent drivers than are other, less experienced drivers",
"all drivers wish to drive within the speed limit"
]
| 2 | The point at issue between the motorcoach driver and the police officer is whether |
People cannot devote themselves to the study of natural processes unless they have leisure, and people have leisure when resources are plentiful, not when resources are scarce. Although some anthropologists claim that agriculture, the cultivation of crops, actually began under conditions of drought and hunger, the early societies that domesticated plants must first have discovered how the plants they cultivated reproduced themselves and grew to maturity. These complex discoveries were the result of the active study of natural processes. | 199606_2-LR1_15_17 | [
"whenever a society has plentiful resources, some members of that society devote themselves to the study of natural processes",
"plants cannot be cultivated by someone lacking theoretical knowledge of the principles of plant generation and growth",
"agriculture first began in societies that at some time in their history had plentiful resources",
"early agricultural societies knew more about the natural sciences than did early nonagricultural societies",
"early societies could have discovered by accident how the plants they cultivated reproduced and grew"
]
| 2 | The argument is structured to lead to the conclusion that |
In the past decade, a decreasing percentage of money spent on treating disease X went to pay for standard methods of treatment, which are known to be effective though they are expensive and painful. An increasing percentage is being spent on nonstandard treatments, which cause little discomfort. Unfortunately, the nonstandard treatments have proved to be ineffective. Obviously, less money is being spent now on effective treatments of disease X than was spent ten years ago. | 199606_2-LR1_16_18 | [
"Varieties of disease X requiring expensive special treatment have become less common during the past decade.",
"Nonstandard methods of treating disease X are more expensive now than they were a decade ago.",
"Of total medical expenditures, the percentage that is due to treatment of disease X increased during the past decade.",
"Most of the money spent on treating disease X during the last decade went to pay for nonstandard treatments.",
"The total amount of money spent on treating disease X slowly declined during the past decade."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion above to be properly drawn? |
When an ordinary piece of steel is put under pressure, the steel compresses; that is, its volume slightly decreases. Glass, however, is a fluid, so rather than compressing, it flows when put under pressure; its volume remains unchanged. Any portion of a sheet of glass that is under sustained pressure will very slowly flow to areas under less pressure. Therefore, if a single, extremely heavy object is placed in the middle of a horizontal sheet of glass of uniform thickness and if the glass is able to support the weight without cracking, then the sheet of glass will eventually ____. | 199606_2-LR1_17_19 | [
"become larger in size yet still be of uniform thickness",
"flow toward the point at which the pressure of the object is greatest",
"compress, although not as much as a piece of steel would",
"divide into exactly two pieces that are equal in neither size nor shape to the original piece of glass",
"be thinner in the portion of the glass that is under the pressure of the object than in those portions of the glass that are not under that pressure"
]
| 4 | Which one of the following most logically completes the argument? |
Anyone who insists that music videos are an art form should also agree that television gave rise to an art form, since television gave rise to music videos. | 199606_2-LR1_18_20 | [
"Anyone who claims that all vegetables are nutritious should also agree that some vegetables are harmful if eaten in large quantities.",
"Anyone who holds that avocados are a fruit should also hold that pound cake is lower in fat than some fruit, since pound cake is lower in fat than avocados.",
"Anyone who dislikes tomatoes should also agree that some people do like tomatoes, if that person agrees that no taste is universal.",
"A person who eats a variety of vegetables is probably well nourished, since most people who eat a variety of vegetables generally eat well-balanced meals.",
"A person who claims to prefer fruit to vegetables should also prefer cake to bread, since fruit is sweeter than vegetables and cake is sweeter than bread."
]
| 1 | The pattern of reasoning displayed in the argument above most closely parallels that displayed in which one of the following? |
Medieval Arabs had manuscripts of many ancient Greek texts, which were translated into Arabic when there was a demand for them. Medieval Arab philosophers were very interested in Aristotle's Poetics, an interest that evidently was not shared by medieval Arab poets, because a poet interested in the Poetics would certainly have wanted to read Homer, to whose epics Aristotle frequently refers. But Homer was not translated into Arabic until modern times. | 199606_2-LR1_19_21 | [
"A number of medieval Arab translators possessed manuscripts of the Homeric epics in their original Greek.",
"Medieval Arabic story cycles, such as the Arabian Nights, are in some ways similar to parts of the Homeric epics.",
"In addition to translating from Greek, medieval Arab translators produced Arabic editions of many works originally written in Indian languages and in Persian.",
"Aristotle' s Poetics has frequently been cited and commented on by modern Arab poets.",
"Aristotle's Poetics is largely concerned with drama, and dramatic works were written and performed by medieval Arabs."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most strongly supports the argument above? |
Congenial guests and a plentiful supply of good things to eat and drink will ensure a successful dinner party. Since Sylvia has prepared more than enough to eat and drink and her guests are all congenial people, her dinner party is certain to be a success. | 199606_2-LR1_20_22 | [
"The right ingredients, properly combined and baked in a reliable oven will always produce a well-baked cake. Since Emily has properly combined the right ingredients, her cake is certain to come out well if she bakes it in a reliable oven.",
"If corn is baked with its husks on, the resulting dish will always be moist and sweet. Since George wishes to ensure that the corn he plans to serve is moist, he will be certain both to bake it and to leave its husks on.",
"Making pie dough using ice water and thoroughly chilling the dough before rolling it out will ensure a flaky crust. Andrew thoroughly chilled his pie dough before rolling it out, so, since he used ice water in making it, his pie is certain to have a flaky crust.",
"If soup is made with a well-seasoned meat stock and fresh ingredients, it will always be welcome at dinner. Since to his meat stock Arnold added only very fresh ingredients, the resulting soup is certain to be welcome at dinner.",
"Fresh greens, carefully washed and served with a light dressing, always produce a refreshing salad. Since Tisha has developed an exceptionally light dressing but never washes her fresh greens, no salad she serves will be a refreshing one."
]
| 3 | The pattern of flawed reasoning exhibited by the argument above is most similar to that exhibited by which one of the following? |
A museum director, in order to finance expensive new acquisitions, discreetly sold some paintings by major artists. All of them were paintings that the director privately considered inferior. Critics roundly condemned the sale, charging that the museum had lost first-rate pieces, thereby violating its duty as a trustee of art for future generations. A few months after being sold by the museum, those paintings were resold, in an otherwise stagnant art market, at two to three times the price paid to the museum. Clearly, these prices settle the issue, since they demonstrate the correctness of the critics' evaluation. | 199606_2-LR1_21_23 | [
"It concludes that a certain opinion is correct on the grounds that it is held by more people than hold the opposing view.",
"It rejects the judgment of the experts in an area in which there is no better guide to the truth than expert judgment.",
"It rejects a proven means of accomplishing an objective without offering any alternative means of accomplishing that objective.",
"It bases a firm conclusion about a state of affairs in the present on somewhat speculative claims about a future state of affairs.",
"It bases its conclusion on facts that could, in the given situation, have resulted from causes other than those presupposed by the argument."
]
| 4 | The reasoning in the argument is vulnerable to the criticism that the argument does which one of the following? |
The United States ranks far behind countries such as Sweden and Canada when it comes to workplace safety. In all three countries, joint labor-management committees that oversee workplace safety conditions have been very successful in reducing occupational injuries. In the United States, such committees are found only in the few companies that have voluntarily established them. However, in Sweden and several Canadian provinces, joint safety committees are required by law and exist in all medium-sized and large workplaces. | 199606_2-LR1_22_24 | [
"The establishment of joint safety committees in all medium-sized and large workplaces in the United States would result in a reduction of occupational injuries.",
"A joint safety committee that is required by law is more effective at reducing occupational injuries than is a joint safety committee that is voluntarily established.",
"Workplace safety in Sweden and Canada was superior to that in the United States even prior to the passage of laws requiring joint safety committees in all medium-sized and large workplaces.",
"Joint safety committees had been voluntarily established in most medium-sized and large workplaces in Sweden and several Canadian provinces prior to the passage of laws requiring such committees.",
"The United States would surpass Sweden and Canada in workplace safety if joint safety committees were required in all medium-sized and large workplaces in the United States."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following is supported by the information above? |
Three-year-old Sara and her playmate Michael are both ill and have the same symptoms. Since they play together every afternoon, Sara probably has the same illness as Michael does. Since Michael definitely does not have a streptococcal infection, despite his having some symptoms of one, the illness that Sara has is definitely not a streptococcal infection either. | 199606_4-LR2_1_1 | [
"presupposes what it sets out to prove",
"mistakes the cause of a particular phenomenon for the effect of that phenomenon",
"fails to distinguish between acute streptococcal infections on the one hand, and less severe streptococcal infections on the other",
"treats evidence that the conclusion is probably true as if that evidence establishes the certainty of the conclusion",
"makes a general claim based on particular examples that do not adequately represent the respective groups that they are each intended to represent"
]
| 3 | The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument |
Lambert: The proposal to raise gasoline taxes to support mass transit networks is unfair. Why should drivers who will never use train or bus lines be forced to pay for them? Keziah: You have misunderstood. The government has always spent far more, per user, from general revenue sources to fund highways than to fund mass transit. The additional revenue from the gasoline tax will simply allow the government to make its distribution of transportation funds more equitable. | 199606_4-LR2_2_2 | [
"elaborating the context of the issue in order to place the proposal in a more favorable light",
"appealing to the principle that what benefits society as a whole benefits all individuals within that society",
"challenging the presupposition that fairness is an appropriate criterion on which to judge the matter",
"demonstrating that the proposed tax increase will not result in increased expenses for drivers",
"declining to argue a point with someone who is poorly informed on the matter under discussion"
]
| 0 | Keziah uses which one of the following argumentative strategies in replying to Lambert? |
The number of calories in a gram of refined cane sugar is the same as in an equal amount of fructose, the natural sugar found in fruits and vegetables. Therefore, a piece of candy made with a given amount of refined cane sugar is no higher in calories than a piece of fruit that contains an equal amount of fructose. | 199606_4-LR2_3_3 | [
"fails to consider the possibility that fruit might contain noncaloric nutrients that candy does not contain",
"presupposes that all candy is made with similar amounts of sugar",
"confuses one kind of sugar with another",
"presupposes what it sets out to establish, that fruit does not differ from sugar-based candy in the number of calories each contains",
"overlooks the possibility that sugar might not be the only calorie-containing ingredient in candy or fruit"
]
| 4 | The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument |
In order to increase production, ABC Company should implement a flextime schedule, which would allow individual employees some flexibility in deciding when to begin and end their workday. Studies have shown that working under flextime schedules is associated with increased employee morale. | 199606_4-LR2_4_4 | [
"the employees who prefer a flextime schedule are the most productive employees at ABC Company",
"an increase in the morale of ABC Company's employees could lead to increased production",
"flextime schedules tend to be associated with reduced lateness and absenteeism",
"employees are most productive during the part of the day when all employees are present",
"companies that are in competition with ABC Company also use a flextime schedule"
]
| 1 | The argument depends on the assumption that |
Attorneys for a criminal defendant charged that the government, in a coverup, had destroyed evidence that would have supported the defendant in a case. The government replied that there is no evidence that would even tend to support the defendant in the case. | 199606_4-LR2_5_5 | [
"It leaves open the question of whether the government had destroyed such evidence.",
"It establishes that the attorneys' charge is an exaggeration.",
"It shows that the attorneys did not know whether their charge was true.",
"It demonstrates the government's failure to search for evidence in its files.",
"If true, it effectively disproves the charge made on behalf of the defendant."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following is the most accurate evaluation of the government' s reply? |
Videocassette recorders (VCRs) enable people to watch movies at home on videotape. People who own VCRs go to movie theaters more often than do people who do not own VCRs. Contrary to popular belief, therefore, owning a VCR actually stimulates people to go to movie theaters more often than they otherwise would. | 199606_4-LR2_6_6 | [
"concludes that a claim must be false because of the mere absence of evidence in its favor",
"cites, in support of the conclusion, evidence that is inconsistent with other information that is provided",
"fails to establish that the phenomena interpreted as cause and effect are not both direct effects of some other factor",
"takes a condition that by itself guarantees the occurrence of a certain phenomenon to be a condition that therefore must be met for that phenomenon to occur",
"bases a broad claim about the behavior of people in general on a comparison between two groups of people that together include only a small proportion of people overall"
]
| 2 | The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it |
The cumbersome spears that were the principal weapons used by certain tribes in the early Bronze Age precluded widespread casualties during intertribal conflicts. But the comparatively high number of warrior tombs found in recent excavations of the same tribes' late Bronze Age settlements indicates that in the late Bronze Age, wars between these tribes were frequent, and the casualty rate was high. Hence some archaeologists claim that by the late Bronze Age, these tribes had developed new methods of warfare designed to inflict many casualties. | 199606_4-LR2_7_7 | [
"A royal tomb dating to the early Bronze Age contained pottery depicting battle scenes in which warriors use spears.",
"There is evidence that many buildings dating to the late Bronze Age were built by prisoners of war taken in battles between enemy tribes.",
"Scenes of violent warfare, painted in bright hues, frequently appear on pottery that has been found in some early Bronze Age tombs of warriors.",
"Some tombs of warriors dating to the late Bronze Age contain armor and weapons that anthropologists believe were trophies taken from enemies in battle.",
"The marks on the bones of many of the late Bronze Age warriors whose tombs were excavated are consistent with the kind of wounds inflicted by arrowheads also found in many late Bronze Age settlements."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following, if true, most supports the archaeologists' claim? |
Based on data collected from policyholders, life insurance companies have developed tables that list standard weight ranges for various heights. Policyholders whose weight fell within the range given for their height lived longer than those whose weight fell outside their given range. Therefore, if people whose weight falls outside their given range modified their weight to fall within that range, their overall life expectancies would improve. | 199606_4-LR2_8_8 | [
"Some people would be unwilling to modify their weights solely to increase the general population's overall life expectancies.",
"Life insurance companies intended their tables to guide individuals in adjusting their weights in order to increase their life spans.",
"The tables include data gathered from policyholders whose deaths resulted from accidents in addition to those whose deaths resulted from natural causes.",
"Holders of life insurance policies do not have longer overall life expectancies than the general population.",
"People's efforts to modify their weight to conform to a given range would not damage their health enough to decrease their overall life expectancies."
]
| 4 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument relies? |
Measurements of the motion of the planet Uranus seem to show Uranus being tugged by a force pulling it away from the Sun and the inner planets. Neptune and Pluto, the two known planets whose orbits are farther from the Sun than is the orbit of Uranus, do not have enough mass to exert the force that the measurements indicate. Therefore, in addition to the known planets, there must be at least one planet in our solar system that we have yet to discover. | 199606_4-LR2_9_9 | [
"Pluto was not discovered until 1930.",
"There is a belt of comets beyond the orbit of Pluto with powerful gravitational pull.",
"Neither Neptune nor Pluto is as massive as Uranus.",
"The force the Sun exerts on Uranus is weaker than the force it exerts on the inner planets.",
"Uranus' orbit is closer to Neptune's orbit than it is to Pluto's."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument? |
Audiences find a speaker more convincing if the speaker begins a speech by arguing briefly against his or her position before providing reasons for accepting it. The reason this technique is so effective is that it makes the speaker appear fair-minded and trustworthy. Therefore, candidates for national political office who wish to be successful in winning votes should use this argumentative technique in their speeches. | 199606_4-LR2_10_10 | [
"Political candidates typically have no control over which excerpts from their speeches will be reported by the news media.",
"Many people do not find arguments made by politicians convincing, since the arguments are often one-sided or oversimplify the issues.",
"People decide which political candidate to vote for more on the basis of their opinions of the candidate's character than on the exact positions of the candidate.",
"People regard a political candidate more favorably if they think that the candidate respects an opponent's position even while disagreeing with it.",
"Political candidates have to address audiences of many different sizes and at many different locations in the course of a political campaign."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously limits the effectiveness of adopting the argument's recommendation? |
Five thousand of the 50,000 books published in country Z in 1991 were novels. Exactly 25 of the films released in country Z in 1992 were based on those novels. Since 100 films were released in country Z in 1992, no more than one-quarter of them were based on books published in country Z in 1991. | 199606_4-LR2_11_11 | [
"None of the scripts used in films released in 1992 were written by professional novelists.",
"None of the films released in country Z in 1992 were based on books other than novels.",
"None of the books that were published in country Z in 1992 were based on plots of films released in 1991.",
"Some of the films released in country Z in 1992 were based on older films that had been released for the first time many years earlier.",
"Some of the films released in 1991 in country Z were based on novels that were published in 1991."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion above to be properly drawn? |
On their way from their nest to a food source, ants of most species leave a trail of chemicals called pheromones. The ants use the scent of the pheromones to guide themselves between the food and their nest. All pheromones evaporate without a trace almost immediately when temperatures rise above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), as is typical during afternoons in places such as the Sahara Desert. | 199606_4-LR2_12_12 | [
"Most ants forage for food either only in the morning or only during the night.",
"Most ants that do not use pheromones to mark the paths they take between their nest and food live in the Sahara Desert.",
"If any ants live in the Sahara Desert and forage for food at no time but in the afternoon, those ants generally do not use pheromones to guide themselves between food and their nest.",
"If any ants do not use pheromones to navigate between food and their nest, those ants use a different substance that does not evaporate in temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius.",
"If any Saharan ants forage for food in the afternoon, those ants forage for food less efficiently when temperatures are above 45 degrees Celsius than they do when temperatures are lower."
]
| 2 | The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following? |
Some people think that in every barrel of politicians there are only a few rotten ones. But if deceit is a quality of rottenness, I believe all effective politicians are rotten. They must be deceitful in order to do the job properly. Someone who is scrupulously honest about obeying the rules of society will never be an effective politician. | 199606_4-LR2_13_13 | [
"Some people think all politicians are rotten.",
"Some politicians are scrupulously honest.",
"Some people define a politician's job as obeying the rules of society.",
"Some deceitful politicians are ineffective.",
"Some scrupulously honest politicians are effective."
]
| 4 | Assuming that the author's statements are accurate, which one of the following statements CANNOT be true? |
The Biocarb Company wants to build a sterilization plant to treat contaminated medical waste in a city neighborhood where residents and environmental activists fear that such a facility will pollute the area. Biocarb's president argues that the operation of the plant cannot cause pollution because the waste would be sterile after processing by the plant. He claims that after exposure for an hour to superheated steam in the autoclave, such refuse would be far cleaner than food prepared in the cleanest kitchen. | 199606_4-LR2_14_14 | [
"Environmental activists believe that waste treated with steam will not pollute.",
"Handling of the waste before treatment in the proposed facility will not pose a threat of pollution to the area.",
"Fear of pollution is the only argument against construction of an autoclave facility for medical waste.",
"No others besides environmental activists are concerned about pollution hazards that can result from processing medical waste.",
"Treatment by superheated steam represents the surest method of sterilization."
]
| 1 | The president's argument depends on which one of the following assumptions? |
Grow-Again ointment is a proven treatment for reversing male hereditary baldness. Five drops daily is the recommended dose, and exceeding this quantity does not increase the product's effectiveness. Therefore, offering a manufacturer's rebate on the purchase price of Grow-Again will not increase sales and consequently would be unprofitable for the manufacturer. | 199606_4-LR2_15_15 | [
"When using an ointment, people tend to believe that applying it in greater quantities can make it more effective.",
"Grow-Again is more effective on some of the men who use it than it is on others.",
"The rebate, if offered, would not attract purchasers who otherwise might not use Grow-Again.",
"Baldness in men can be caused by a variety of factors, only one of which is heredity.",
"Grow-Again is a product whose per-unit manufacturing cost does not fall significantly when the product is produced in large quantities."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument? |
Henry: Some scientists explain the dance of honeybees as the means by which honeybees communicate the location of whatever food source they have just visited to other members of the hive. But honeybees do not need so complicated a mechanism to communicate that information. Forager honeybees returning to their hive simply leave a scent trail from the food source they have just visited. There must therefore be some other explanation for the honeybees' dance. Winifred: Not necessarily. Most animals have several ways of accomplishing critical tasks. Bees of some species can navigate using either the position of the Sun or the memory of landmarks. Similarly, for honeybees, scent trails are a supplementary not an exclusive means of communicating. | 199606_4-LR2_16_16 | [
"theories of animal behavior can be established on the basis of evidence about only one species of animal",
"there is more than one valid explanation for the dance of the honeybees",
"honeybees communicate the location of food sources through their dance",
"the honeybee is the only species of bee that is capable of communicating navigational information to other hive members",
"the honeybee's sense of smell plays a role in its foraging strategies"
]
| 2 | The point at issue between Henry and Winifred is whether |
Henry: Some scientists explain the dance of honeybees as the means by which honeybees communicate the location of whatever food source they have just visited to other members of the hive. But honeybees do not need so complicated a mechanism to communicate that information. Forager honeybees returning to their hive simply leave a scent trail from the food source they have just visited. There must therefore be some other explanation for the honeybees' dance. Winifred: Not necessarily. Most animals have several ways of accomplishing critical tasks. Bees of some species can navigate using either the position of the Sun or the memory of landmarks. Similarly, for honeybees, scent trails are a supplementary not an exclusive means of communicating. | 199606_4-LR2_16_17 | [
"It addresses an ambiguity in Henry's use of the expression \"communicate the location.\"",
"It provides evidence in support of a general claim.",
"It calls into question the accuracy of key evidence cited by Henry.",
"It points out that Henry's conclusion directly contradicts one of his premises.",
"It proposes an alternative explanation for the honeybees' dance."
]
| 1 | In Winifred's response to Henry, the statement about how bees of some species navigate plays which one of the following roles? |
Politician: A government that taxes incomes at a rate of 100 percent will generate no revenue because all economic activity will cease. So it follows that the lower the rate of income tax, the more revenue the government will generate by that tax. Economist: Your conclusion cannot be correct, since it would mean that an income tax of 0 percent would generate the maximum revenue. | 199606_4-LR2_17_18 | [
"stating a general principle that is incompatible with the conclusion the politician derives",
"providing evidence that where the politician's advice has been adopted, the results have been disappointing",
"arguing that the principle derived by the politician, if applied in the limiting case, leads to an absurdly false conclusion",
"undermining the credibility of the politician by openly questioning the politician's understanding of economics",
"attacking the politician's argument by giving reason to doubt the truth of a premise"
]
| 2 | Which one of the following argumentative strategies is used by the economist in responding to the politician? |
Sponges attach to the ocean floor, continually filtering seawater for food and ejecting water they have just filtered to avoid reingesting it. Tubular and vase-shaped sponges can eject filtered water without assistance from surrounding ocean currents and thus are adapted to slow-moving, quiet waters. Because of their shape, however, these sponges cannot live in strong currents, since strong currents would dislodge them. Both of these varieties of sponge were widespread during the late Jurassic period. | 199606_4-LR2_18_19 | [
"Few tubular or vase-shaped sponges lived before the late Jurassic period.",
"Tubular and vase-shaped sponges were more common during the late Jurassic period than in succeeding geological eras.",
"During the late Jurassic period there were many areas of the ocean floor where currents were weak.",
"All sponges that are neither tubular nor vase-shaped inhabit areas of the ocean floor where there are extremely strong currents.",
"No types of sponge live in large colonies, since sponges do not flourish in areas where much of the water has been filtered by other sponges."
]
| 2 | The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following claims? |
There is strong evidence that the cause of migraines (severe recurrent headaches) is not psychological but instead is purely physiological. Yet several studies have found that people being professionally treated for migraines rate higher on a standard psychological scale of anxiety than do people not being professionally treated for migraines. | 199606_4-LR2_19_20 | [
"People who have migraine headaches tend to have relatives who also have migraine headaches.",
"People who have migraine headaches often suffer these headaches when under emotional stress.",
"People who rate higher on the standard psychological scale of anxiety are more likely to seek professional treatment than are people who rate lower on the scale.",
"Of the many studies done on the cause of migraine headaches, most of those that suggest that psychological factors such as anxiety cause migraines have been widely publicized.",
"Most people who have migraines and who seek professional treatment remain in treatment until they stop having migraines, whether their doctors consider the cause to be physiological or psychological."
]
| 2 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above? |
Not all tenured faculty are full professors. Therefore, although every faculty member in the linguistics department has tenure, it must be the case that not all of the faculty members in the linguistics department are full professors. | 199606_4-LR2_20_21 | [
"Although all modern office towers are climate-controlled buildings, not all office buildings are climate-controlled. Therefore, it must be the case that not all office buildings are modern office towers.",
"All municipal hospital buildings are massive, but not all municipal hospital buildings are forbidding in appearance. Therefore, massive buildings need not present a forbidding appearance.",
"Although some buildings designed by famous architects are not well proportioned, all government buildings are designed by famous architects. Therefore, some government buildings are not well proportioned.",
"Not all public buildings are well designed, but some poorly designed public buildings were originally intended for private use. Therefore, the poorly designed public buildings were all originally designed for private use.",
"Although some cathedrals are not built of stone, every cathedral is impressive. Therefore, buildings can be impressive even though they are not built of stone."
]
| 2 | The flawed pattern of reasoning exhibited by the argument above is most similar to that exhibited by which one of the following? |
When a planetary system forms, the chances that a planet capable of supporting life will be formed are high. The chances that a large planet the size of Jupiter or Saturn will be formed, however, are low. Without Jupiter and Saturn, whose gravitational forces have prevented Earth from being frequently struck by large comets, intelligent life would never have arisen on Earth. Since planetary systems are unlikely to contain any large planets, the chances that intelligent life will emerge on a planet are, therefore, low. | 199606_4-LR2_21_22 | [
"whether all planetary systems are formed from similar amounts of matter",
"whether intelligent species would be likely to survive if a comet struck their planet",
"whether large comets could be deflected by only one large planet rather than by two",
"how high the chances are that planetary systems will contain many large comets",
"how likely it is that planetary systems containing large planets will also contain planets the size of Earth"
]
| 3 | Knowing which one of the following would be most useful in evaluating the argument? |
Construction contractors working on the cutting edge of technology nearly always work on a "cost-plus" basis only. One kind of cost-plus contract stipulates the contractor's profit as a fixed percentage of the contractor's costs; the other kind stipulates a fixed amount of profit over and above costs. Under the first kind of contract, higher costs yield higher profits for the contractor, so this is where one might expect final costs in excess of original cost estimates to be more common. Paradoxically, such cost overruns are actually more common if the contract is of the fixed-profit kind. | 199606_4-LR2_22_23 | [
"Clients are much less likely to agree to a fixed-profit type of cost-plus contract when it is understood that under certain conditions the project will be scuttled than they are when there is no such understanding.",
"On long-term contracts, cost projections take future inflation into account, but since the figures used are provided by the government, they are usually underestimates.",
"On any sizable construction project, the contractor bills the client monthly or quarterly, so any tendency for original cost estimates to be exceeded can be detected early.",
"Clients billed under a cost-plus contract are free to review individual billings in order to uncover wasteful expenditures, but they do so only when the contractor's profit varies with cost.",
"The practice of submitting deliberately exaggerated cost estimates is most common in the case of fixed-profit contracts, because it makes the profit, as a percentage of estimated cost, appear modest."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox in the situation described above? |
That wall is supported by several joists. The only thing that can have caused the bulge that the wall now has is a broken joist. Therefore, at least one of the joists is broken. | 199606_4-LR2_23_24 | [
"At least one of the players in the orchestra must have made a mistake, since nothing else would have made the conductor grimace in the way she just did.",
"The first piece must have been the easiest, since it was the only piece in the entire concert in which the orchestra did not make many mistakes",
"The players play well only when they like the music, since they tend to make mistakes when they play something they do not like.",
"One of the orchestra's players must be able to play the harp, since in one of the pieces they are playing at next week's concert the composer specified that a harp should be played.",
"The emotion of the music is the only thing that can have caused the conductor to look so angry just then, since the orchestra was playing perfectly."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following arguments is most similar in logical features to the argument above? |
Sasha: Handwriting analysis should be banned in court as evidence of a person's character: handwriting analysts called as witnesses habitually exaggerate the reliability of their analyses. Gregory: You are right that the current use of handwriting analysis as evidence is problematic. But this problem exists only because there is no licensing board to set professional standards and thus deter irresponsible analysts from making exaggerated claims. When such a board is established, however, handwriting analysis by licensed practitioners will be a legitimate courtroom tool for character assessment. | 199606_4-LR2_24_25 | [
"He ignores evidence introduced as support for Sasha's recommendation.",
"He defends a principle by restricting the class to which it is to be applied.",
"He abstracts a general principle from specific evidence.",
"He identifies a self-contradictory statement in Sasha's argument.",
"He shows that Sasha's argument itself manifests the undesirable characteristic that it condemns."
]
| 1 | Gregory does which one of the following in responding to Sasha's argument? |
Sasha: Handwriting analysis should be banned in court as evidence of a person's character: handwriting analysts called as witnesses habitually exaggerate the reliability of their analyses. Gregory: You are right that the current use of handwriting analysis as evidence is problematic. But this problem exists only because there is no licensing board to set professional standards and thus deter irresponsible analysts from making exaggerated claims. When such a board is established, however, handwriting analysis by licensed practitioners will be a legitimate courtroom tool for character assessment. | 199606_4-LR2_24_26 | [
"Courts routinely use means other than handwriting analysis to provide evidence of a person's character.",
"Many people can provide two samples of their handwriting so different that only a highly trained professional could identify them as having been written by the same person.",
"A licensing board would inevitably refuse to grant licenses to some responsible handwriting analysts for reasons having nothing to do with their reliability.",
"The only handwriting analysts who claim that handwriting provides reliable evidence of a person's character are irresponsible.",
"The number of handwriting analysts who could conform to professional standards set by a licensing board is very small."
]
| 3 | Which one of the following, if true, would provide Sasha with the strongest counter to Gregory's response? |
French divers recently found a large cave along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The cave is accessible only through an underwater tunnel. The interior of the cave is completely filled with seawater and contains numerous large stalagmites, which are stony pillars that form when drops of water fall repeatedly on a single spot on a cave floor, leaving behind mineral deposits that accumulate over time. | 199610_1-LR1_1_1 | [
"The Mediterranean Sea was at a higher level in the past than it is now.",
"The water level within the cave is higher now than it once was.",
"The French divers were the first people who knew that the tunnel leading to the cave existed.",
"There was once an entrance to the cave besides the underwater tunnel.",
"Seawater in the Mediterranean has a lower mineral content now than it had when the stalagmites were being formed."
]
| 1 | The information above most strongly supports which one of the following? |
A director of the Rexx Pharmaceutical Company argued that the development costs for new vaccines that the health department has requested should be subsidized by the government, since the marketing of vaccines promised to be less profitable than the marketing of any other pharmaceutical product. In support of this claim the director argued that sales of vaccines are likely to be lower since each vaccine is administered to a patient only once, whereas medicines that combat diseases and chronic illnesses are administered many times to each patient. | 199610_1-LR1_2_2 | [
"Vaccines are administered to many more people than are most other pharmaceutical products.",
"Many of the diseases that vaccines are designed to prevent can be successfully treated by medicines.",
"Pharmaceutical companies occasionally market products that are neither medicines nor vaccines.",
"Pharmaceutical companies other than the Rexx Pharmaceutical Company produce vaccines.",
"The cost of administering a vaccine is rarely borne by the pharmaceutical company that manufactures that vaccine."
]
| 0 | Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the support offered by the company director for the claim concerning the marketing of vaccines? |
Manager: Our new computer network, the purpose of which is to increase productivity, can be installed during the day, which would disrupt our employees' work, or else at night, which would entail much higher installation charges. Since saving money is important, we should have the network installed during me day. | 199610_1-LR1_3_3 | [
"The monetary value of the network equipment would not exceed the cost of having the equipment installed at night.",
"The monetary value of any productivity lost during a daytime installation would be less than the difference between daytime and nighttime installation costs.",
"A daytime installation would be completed by no larger a crew and would take the crew no more time than would a nighttime installation.",
"Once the network has been installed, most of the company's employees will be able to use it immediately to increase their productivity.",
"Most of the company's employees would be able to work productively while a daytime installation is in progress."
]
| 1 | The manager's argument assumes which one of the following? |
An ingredient in marijuana known as THC has been found to inactivate herpes viruses in experiments. In previous experiments researchers found that inactivated herpes viruses can convert healthy cells into cancer cells. It can be concluded that the use of marijuana can cause cancer. | 199610_1-LR1_4_4 | [
"Several teams of scientists performed the various experiments and all of the teams had similar results.",
"The carcinogenic effect of THC could be neutralized by the other ingredients found in marijuana.",
"When THC kills herpes viruses it weakens the immune system, and it might thus diminish the body's ability to fight other viruses, including viruses linked to cancers.",
"If chemists modify the structure of THC, THC can be safely incorporated into medications to prevent herpes.",
"To lessen the undesirable side effects of chemotherapy, the use of marijuana has been recommended for cancer patients who are free of the herpes virus."
]
| 1 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument? |
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