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1. Most
consumers do not get much use out of the sports equipment they purchase. For
example, seventeen percent of the adults in the United States own jogging
shoes, but only forty-five percent of the owners jog more than once a year,
and only seventeen percent jog more than once a week.
Which of the following, if true, casts most doubt on the claim that most
consumers get little use out of the sports equipment they purchase?
(A) Joggers are most susceptible to sports injuries during the first six
months in which they jog.
(B) Joggers often exaggerate the frequency with which they jog in surveys
designed to elicit such information.
(C) Many consumers purchase jogging shoes for use in activities other than
jogging.
(D) Consumers who take up jogging often purchase an athletic shoe that can
be used in other sports.
(E) Joggers who jog more than once a week are often active participants in
other sports as well.
Explanation: The claim that most consumers do not get much use out of the
sports equipment they purchase is supported by the infrequency with which
jogging shoes are used for jogging. This reasoning overlooks the possibility
that jogging shoes are used for other purposes; thus, choice C is the best
answer.
Because injured joggers are less likely to use their jogging shoes, choice A
is inappropriate. If B is true, joggers use their jogging shoes even less
than the study cited states. So choice B is inappropriate. Because the
consumers and joggers mentioned in D and E respectively are most likely to
be among those who frequently use sports equipment and whose existence the
argument concedes, D and E are inappropriate.
2. It is
true that it is against international law to sell plutonium to countries
that do not yet have nuclear weapons. But if United States companies do not
do so, companies in other countries will.
Which of the following is most like the argument above in its logical
structure?
(A) It is true that it is against the police department’s policy to
negotiate with kidnappers. But if the police want to prevent loss of life,
they must negotiate in some cases.
(B) it is true that it is illegal to refuse to register for military
service. But there is a long tradition in the United States of conscientious
objection to serving in the armed forces.
(C) It is true that it is illegal for a government official to participate
in a transaction in which there is an apparent conflict of interest. But if
the facts are examined carefully, it will clearly be seen that there was no
actual conflict of interest in the defendant’s case.
(D) It is true that it is against the law to burglarize people’s homes. But
someone else certainly would have burglarized that house if the defendant
had not done so first.
(E) It is true that company policy forbids supervisors to fire employees
without two written warnings. But there have been many supervisors who have
disobeyed this policy.
Explanation: The argument in the passage acknowledges that a certain action
contravenes a law, but it presents an excuse for the action by presupposing
that someone will inevitably break this law. Only choice D shares all these
features, and is thus the best answer.
In Choice A, an excuse is presented for contravening a stated policy.
However, unlike in the passage and choice D, there is no presupposition that
the policy will inevitably be contravened. Similarly, choices B and E report
that illegal activities have occurred, without presupposing that they
inevitably will. Choice C describes a case as being one to which the law
that is stated is inapplicable.
3.
Extinction is a process that can depend on a variety of ecological,
geographical, and physiological variables. These variables affect different
species of organisms in different ways, and should, therefore, yield a
random pattern of extinctions. However, the fossil record shows that
extinction occurs in a surprisingly definite pattern, with many species
vanishing at the same time.
Which of the following, if true, forms the best basis for at least a partial
explanation of the patterned extinctions revealed by the fossil record?
(A) Major episodes of extinction can result from widespread environmental
disturbances that affect numerous different species.
(B) Certain extinction episodes selectively affect organisms with particular
sets of characteristics unique to their species.
(C) Some species become extinct because of accumulated gradual changes in
their local environments.
(D) In geologically recent times, for which there is no fossil record, human
intervention has changed the pattern of extinctions.
(E) Species that are widely dispersed are the least likely to become
extinct.
Explanation: Choice A, the best answer, asserts that some environmental
disturbances can be so widespread as to cause the extinction of numerous
species. This fact helps to explain why the fossil record frequently shows
many species becoming extinct at the same time, despite the variety of
factors that can cause a species to become extinct.
None of the other choices explain how numerous extinctions could have
occurred simultaneously in the past. Choice B explains why sometimes only a
very limited range of species become extinct. Choice C explains how some
individual species become extinct. Choice D explains why the modern period
is unlike the period of the fossil record, and choice E states which species
are least likely to become extinct.
4. Shelby
Industries manufactures and sells the same gauges as Jones Industries.
Employee wages account for forty percent of the cost of manufacturing gauges
at both Shelby Industries and Jones Industries. Shelby Industries is seeking
a competitive advantage over Jones Industries. Therefore, to promote this
end, Shelby Industries should lower employee wages.
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument above?
(A) Because they make a small number of precision instruments, gauge
manufacturers cannot receive volume discounts on raw materials.
(B) Lowering wages would reduce the quality of employee work, and this
reduced quality would lead to lowered sales.
(C) Jones Industries has taken away twenty percent of Shelby Industries’
business over the last year.
(D) Shelby Industries pays its employees, on average, ten percent more than
does Jones Industries.
(E) Many people who work for manufacturing plants live in areas in which the
manufacturing plant they work for is the only industry.
Explanation: According to choice B, the effect of lowering wages is to
reduce quality sufficiently to reduce sales. This is a good reason to doubt
that wage cuts would give Shelby Industries any competitive advantage, so
choice B is the best answer.
Some of the other choices provide good reasons for, rather than against,
lowering wages. Choice A implies that reducing the cost of raw materials is
not possible, choice D indicates that Shelby Industries’ wages are
relatively high, and choice E suggests that Shelby Industries would not lose
many workers if it did reduce wages. Choice C gives a reason for Shelby
Industries to be concerned about its competitive position but no reason to
think wage cuts would not improve that position.
5. Large
national budget deficits do not cause large trade deficits. If they did,
countries with the largest budget deficits would also have the largest trade
deficits. In fact, when deficit figures are adjusted so that different
countries are reliably comparable to each other, there is no such
correlation.
If the statements above are all true, which of the following can properly be
inferred on the basis of them?
(A) Countries with large national budget deficits tend to restrict foreign
trade.
(B) Reliable comparisons of the deficit figures of one country with those of
another are impossible.
(C) Reducing a country’s national budget deficit will not necessarily result
in a lowering of any trade deficit that country may have.
(D) When countries are ordered from largest to smallest in terms of
population, the smallest countries generally have the smallest budget and
trade deficits.
(E) Countries with the largest trade deficits never have similarly large
national budget deficits.
Explanation: According to choice B, the effect of lowering wages is to
reduce quality sufficiently to reduce sales. This is a good reason to doubt
that wage cuts would give Shelby Industries any competitive advantage, so
choice B is the best answer.
Some of the other choices provide good reasons for, rather than against,
lowering wages. Choice A implies that reducing the cost of raw materials is
not possible, choice D indicates that Shelby Industries’ wages are
relatively high, and choice E suggests that Shelby Industries would not lose
many workers if it did reduce wages. Choice C gives a reason for Shelby
Industries to be concerned about its competitive position but no reason to
think wage cuts would not improve that position.
6. Many
breakfast cereals are fortified with vitamin supplements. Some of these
cereals provide 100 percent of the recommended daily requirement of
vitamins. Nevertheless, a well-balanced breakfast, including a variety of
foods, is a better source of those vitamins than are such fortified
breakfast cereals alone.
Which of the following, if true, would most strongly support the position
above?
(A) In many foods, the natural combination of vitamins with other nutrients
makes those vitamins more usable by the body than are vitamins added in
vitamin supplements.
(B) People who regularly eat cereals fortified with vitamin supplements
sometimes neglect to eat the foods in which the vitamins occur naturally.
(C)Foods often must be fortified with vitamin supplements because naturally
occurring vitamins are removed during processing.
(D) Unprocessed cereals are naturally high in several of the vitamins that
are usually added to fortified breakfast cereals.
(E) Cereals containing vitamin supplements are no harder to digest than
similar cereals without added vitamins.
Explanation: By pointing out that, when occurring in natural combination
with other nutrients, vitamins are more usable by the body than are those
same vitamins when added as a supplement, choice A provides reason to
believe that a well-balanced breakfast is a better source of vitamins than
is a fortified breakfast cereal. A is the best answer.
Choice B does not support the position taken, although the position taken,
if correct, is relevant to the people mentioned. Choice E describes a
similarity between fortified cereals and other cereals. Choice C provides a
reason for adding supplements to processed cereals, and choice D gives
information about unprocessed cereals, but neither adds support for the
alleged advantage of a well-balanced breakfast over a fortified cereal.
7. Which of
the following best completes the passage below?
The more worried investors are about losing their money, the more they will
demand a high potential return on their investment; great risks must be
offset by the chance of great rewards. This principle is the fundamental one
in determining interest rates, and it is illustrated by the fact that——.
(A) successful investors are distinguished by an ability to make very risky
investments without worrying about their money
(B) lenders receive higher interest rates on unsecured loans than on loans
backed by collateral
(C) in times of high inflation, the interest paid to depositors by banks can
actually be below the rate of inflation
(D) at any one time, a commercial bank will have a single rate of interest
that it will expect all of its individual borrowers to pay
(E) the potential return on investment in a new company is typically lower
than the potential return on investment in a well-established company
Explanation: Since an unsecured loan is more risky, from the lender’s point
of view, than a loan baked by collateral, the fact that lenders receive
higher interest rates for unsecured loans is an illustration of the
principle outlined in the passage. Thus, choice B is the best answer.
None of the other choices gives a clear instance in which increased risk is
compensated by the potential for increased return. Choice A does not concern
return on investment at all. Choice C is an instance of low return unrelated
to risk. In choice D, contrary to the principle, the rate of return remains
constant despite possible variations in risk, and choice E also runs counter
to the principle if investments in well-established companies entail less
risk.
8. Sales of
telephones have increased dramatically over the last year. In order to take
advantage of this increase, Mammoth Industries plans to expand production of
its own model of telephone, while continuing its already very extensive
advertising of this product.
Which of the following, if true, provides most support for the view that
Mammoth Industries cannot increase its sales of telephones by adopting the
plan outlined above?
(A) Although it sells all of the telephones that it produces, Mammoth
Industries’ share of all telephone sales has declined over the last year.
(B) Mammoth Industries’ average inventory of telephones awaiting shipment to
retailers has declined slightly over the last year.
(C) Advertising has made the brand name of Mammoth Industries’ telephones
widely known, but few consumers know that Mammoth Industries owns this
brand.
(D) Mammoth Industries’ telephone is one of three brands of telephone that
have together accounted for the bulk of the last year’s increase in sales.
(E) Despite a slight decline in the retail price, sales of Mammoth
Industries’ telephones have fallen in the last year.
Explanation: Choice E indicates that Mammoth’s telephones already fail to
participate in the industry trend of higher sales despite heavy advertising.
Producing more of the same model would thus be unlikely to generate
increased sales for Mammoth, so E is the best answer.
If Mammoth has sold all the telephones it produced, it might increase sales
by producing more, even if it has lost market share, as choice A states.
Choice D indicates that Mammoth’s sales are increasing, and similarly for B
if the decrease in inventory results from retailers taking delivery of more
telephones. So long as consumers recognize the brand name of Mammoth’s
telephones, as choice C states, it probably does not matter whether they
associate it with Mammoth.
9. Many
institutions of higher education suffer declining enrollments during periods
of economic slowdown. At two-year community colleges, however, enrollment
figures boom during these periods when many people have less money and there
is more competition for jobs.
Each of the following, if true, helps to explain the enrollment increases in
two-year community colleges described above EXCEPT:
(A) During periods of economic slowdown, two-year community colleges are
more likely than four-year colleges to prepare their students for the jobs
that are still available.
(B) During periods of economic prosperity, graduates of two-year community
colleges often continue their studies at four-year colleges.
(C) Tuition at most two-year community colleges is a fraction of that at
four-year colleges.
(D) Two-year community colleges devote more resources than do other colleges
to attracting those students especially affected by economic slowdowns.
(E) Students at two-year community colleges, but not those at most four-year
colleges, can control the cost of their studies by choosing the number of
courses they take each term.
Explanation: Four of the choices give reasons why, in an economic showdown,
many people would choose a two-year college. Choice A indicates that a
two-year college education gives one a better chance of finding a job when
economic conditions are poor. Choice C and E indicate why people with less
money might prefer two-year colleges. Finally, choice D suggests that more
is being done to attract people whose lives are affected by the slowdown to
two-year than to four-year colleges.
Choice B, the best answer, might explain the decreased enrollment at
four-year colleges during the slowdown, but because it deals with graduates
of two-year colleges it cannot explain why enrollment at these colleges
might increase.
10. In
tests for pironoma, a serious disease, a false positive result indicates
that people have pironoma when, in fact, they do not; a false negative
result indicates that people do not have pironoma when, in fact, they do. To
detect pironoma most accurately, physicians should use the laboratory test
that has the lowest proportion of false positive results.
Which of the following, if true, gives the most support to the
recommendation above?
(A) The accepted treatment for pironoma does not have damaging side effects.
(B) The laboratory test that has the lowest proportion of false positive
results causes the same minor side effects as do the other laboratory tests
used to detect pironoma.
(C) In treating pironoma patients, it is essential to begin treatment as
early as possible, since even a week of delay can result in loss of life.
(D) The proportion of inconclusive test results is equal for all laboratory
tests used to detect pironoma.
(E) All laboratory tests to detect pironoma have the same proportion of
false negative results.
Explanation: The most accurate test for pironoma would be the one with the
fewest false results. If all tests have the same proportion of false
negatives, then the most accurate is the one that has the lowest proportion
of false positives. Thus, E supports the recommendation and is the best
answer.
Choice A and C deal with the treatment for pironoma and are irrelevant to
the accuracy of tests pironoma. Choice B deals with the side effects of
tests for pironoma, and does not address their accuracy. That the proportion
of inconclusive test results is equal for all tests (choice D) leaves open
the question of which test is more accurate, since it does not indicate
which test has fewest false results.
11. When a
polygraph test is judged inconclusive, this is no reflection on the
examinee. Rather, such a judgment means that the test has failed to show
whether the examinee was truthful or untruthful. Nevertheless, employers
will sometimes refuse to hire a job applicant because of an inconclusive
polygraph test result.
Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn from the
information above?
Most examinees with inconclusive polygraph test results are in fact
untruthful.
Polygraph tests should not be used by employers in the consideration of job
applicants.
An inconclusive polygraph test result is sometimes unfairly held against the
examinee.
A polygraph test indicating that an examinee is untruthful can sometimes be
mistaken.
Some employers have refused to consider the results of polygraph tests when
evaluating job applicants.
Explanation: The passage indicates that an inconclusive polygraph test tells
nothing about the person who has taken the test, and yet employers sometimes
refuse to hire someone whose results from such a test are inclusive.
Treating lack of information as if it were unfavorable evidence about a
person can reasonably be considered unfair. There, C is the best choice.
Choice A is not supported, since the passage says that an inconclusive
polygraph test is no reflection on the examinee. Neither B nor D is
supported, since the information given includes nothing either implicit or
explicit about polygraph tests that yield conclusive results. Since the
passage is consistent with both E and its denial, E is not supported.
12.
According to the new office smoking regulations, only employees who have
enclosed office may smoke at their desks. Virtually all employees with
enclosed offices are at the professional level, and virtually all
secretarial employees lack enclosed offices. Therefore, secretaries who
smoke should be offered enclosed offices.
Which of the following is an assumption that enables the conclusion above to
be properly drawn?
(A) Employees at the professional level who do not smoke should keep their
enclosed offices.
(B) Employees with enclosed offices should not smoke at their desks, even
though the new regulations permit them to do so.
(C) Employees at the secretarial level should be allowed to smoke at their
desks, even if they do not have enclosed offices.
(D) The smoking regulations should allow all employees who smoke an equal
opportunity to do so, regardless of an employee’s job level.
(E) The smoking regulations should provide equal protection from any hazards
associated with smoking to all employees who do not smoke.
Explanation: The regulations allow some employees-those with enclosed
offices-but not others the opportunity to smoke at their desks. If it is
assumed that the regulations should allow all employees equal opportunity to
smoke, those who are currently denied this opportunity should be given it,
and so secretaries who smoke should be offered enclosed offices. Therefore,
choice D is the best answer.
None of the other choices enables the conclusion to be properly drawn.
Choice A tends to conflict with the conclusion, unless some enclosed offices
are vacant. Choice B supports no conclusion about how secretaries should be
treated, and choice C undermines the conclusion. Finally, nonsmokers already
have equal protection from hazards, so choice E cannot be used to justify
making any changes.
13. Dental
researchers recently discovered that tooth-brushes can become contaminated
wth bacterial that cause pneumonia and strep throat. They found that
contamination usually occurs after toothbrushes have been used for four
weeks. For that reason, people should replace their toothbrushes at least
once a month.
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion above?
(A) The dental researchers could not discover why toothbrush contamination
usually occurred only after toothbrushes had been used for four weeks.
(B) The dental researchers failed to investigate contamination of
toothbrushes by viruses, yeasts, and other pathogenic microorganisms.
(C) The dental researchers found that among people who used toothbrushes
contaminated with bacterial that cause pneumonia and strep throat, the
incidence of these diseases was no higher than among people who used
uncontaminated toothbrushes.
(D) The dental researchers found that people who rinsed their toothbrushes
thoroughly in hot water after each use were as likely to have contaminated
toothbrushes as were people who only rinsed their toothbrushes hurriedly in
cold water after each use.
(E) The dental researchers found that, after six weeks of use, greater
length of use of a toothbrush did not correlate with a higher number of
bacterial being present.
Explanation: According to choice C, using a contaminated toothbrush does not
increase the incidence of infection, so the recommendation to replace a
toothbrush before it becomes contaminated is greatly undermined. Choice C is
therefore the best answer.
Since the recommendation is based on the discovery that bacterial
contamination occurs after about four weeks, the researchers’ inability to
discover why contamination takes that long to appear does not weaken the
recommendation (choice A), nor does their failure to investigate other forms
of contamination (choice B), nor does the discovery that contamination does
not worsen after six weeks (choice E). According to choice D, even thorough
washing cannot prevent contamination, so replacing the toothbrush appears
more essential, rather than less so.
Questions
14-15 are based on the following.
To protect certain fledgling industries, the government of country Z banned
imports of the types of products those industries were starting to make. As
a direct result, the cost of those products to the buyers, several
export-dependent industries in Z, went up, sharply limiting the ability of
those industries to compete effectively in their export markets.
14. Which
of the following can be most properly inferred from the passage about the
products whose importation was banned?
(A) Those products had been cheaper to import than they were to make within
country Z’s fledgling industries.
(B) Those products were ones that country Z was hoping to export in its
turn, once the fledgling industries matured.
(C) Those products used to be imported from just those countries to which
country Z’s exports went.
(D) Those products had become more and more expensive to import, which
resulted in a foreign trade deficit just before the ban.
(E) Those products used to be imported in very small quantities, but they
were essential to country Z’s economy.
Explanation: In Z, when the government banned imports of certain products
the cost of those produces rose, so the products must have been cheaper to
import than they were to make in Z. Therefore choice A is the best answer.
None of the other choices can be inferred. Country Z need have had no plan
to export those products later (choice B), nor need the products have come
previously from those countries to which country Z exported goods (choice
C). The products need not have become more expensive before the ban (choice
D), and they could have been imported in relatively large quantities (choice
E).
15. Which
of the following conclusions about country Z’s adversely affected
export-dependent industries is best supported by the passage?
(A) Profit margins in those industries were not high enough to absorb the
rise in costs mentioned above.
(B) Those industries had to contend with the fact that other countries
banned imports from country Z.
(C) Those industries succeeded in expanding the domestic market for their
products.
(D) Steps to offset rising materials costs by decreasing labor costs were
taken in those industries.
(E) Those industries started to move into export markets that they had
previously judged unprofitable.
Explanation: When the cost of the products rose, the competitive ability of
those export-dependent industries that bought them was sharply limited. This
fact strongly supports the claim that those industries did not have
sufficiently high profit margins to enable them to absorb the price
increase, so choice A is the best answer.
Given the limitation on their competitive ability, it is unlikely that those
industries would be able either to expand their domestic markets (choice C)
or to enter into new export markets (choice E). The other choices relate
situations that would be possible but that are not strongly supported: other
countries could have continued to permit imports from Z (choice B), and the
industries may have unable to decrease labor costs (choice D).
16.The
difficulty with the proposed high-speed train line is that a used plane can
be bought for one-third the price of the train line, and the plane, which is
just as fast, can fly anywhere. The train would be a fixed linear system,
and we live in a world that is spreading out in all directions and in which
consumers choose the free-wheel systems (cars, buses, aircraft), which do
not have fixed routes. Thus a sufficient market for the train will not
exist.
Which of the following, if true, most severely weakens the argument
presented above?
(A) Cars, buses, and planes require the efforts of drivers and pilots to
guide them, whereas the train will be guided mechanically.
(B) Cars and buses are not nearly as fast as the high-speed train will be.
(C) Planes are not a free-wheel system because they can fly only between
airports, which are less convenient for consumers than the high-speed
train’s stations would be.
(D) The high-speed train line cannot use currently underutilized train
stations in large cities.
(E) For long trips, most people prefer to fly rather than to take
ground-level transportation.
Explanation: The author argues that planes, since they are a free-wheel
system, will be preferred to the high-speed train. Choice C weakens the
argument by pointing out that planes are not a free-wheel system and are les
convenient than the high-speed train would be. Thus C is the best answer.
The special feature of the high-speed train described in A is not one that
clearly affects consumer choice one way or the other way. Since it is planes
that would compete effectively with the proposed trains, the fact that cars
and buses might not do so is irrelevant. Non-availability of certain station
(choice D) and the consumer preferences described in choice E tend to make
the proposed train less, not more, attractive and so both choices strengthen
the argument.
17.Leaders
of a miners’ union on strike against Coalco are contemplating additional
measures to pressure the company to accept the union’s contract proposal.
The union leaders are considering as their principal new tactic a consumer
boycott against Gasco gas stations, which are owned by Energy Incorporated,
the same corporation that owns Coalco.
Answer to which of the following questions is LEAST directly relevant to the
union leaders’ consideration of whether attempting a boycott of Gasco will
lead to acceptance of their contract proposal?
(A) Would revenue losses by Gasco seriously affect Energy Incorporated?
(B) Can current Gasco customers easily obtain gasoline elsewhere?
(C) Have other miners’ unions won contracts similar to the one proposed by
this union?
(D) Have other unions that have employed a similar tactic achieved their
goals with it?
(E) Do other corporations that own coal companies also own gas stations?
Explanation: Whether corporations, other than Energy Incorporated, that own
coal companies also own gas stations is not directly relevant to whether
attempting a boycott of Gasco gas stations will coerce Coalco to accept the
contract proposal. Thus choice E is the best answer.
Each of the other four questions is relevant to evaluating the chances the
union strategy has of succeeding. Choice A bears on whether the strategy
would apply sufficient economic pressure on Energy Incorporated. Choice B is
relevant to whether consumers can respond to the call for a boycott. Choice
C is relevant to whether the union’s contract proposal is a reasonable one.
Choice D is relevant because a successful precedent would favorably reflect
on the union’s chances of success.
Questions 18-19 are based on the following.
Transnational cooperation among corporations is experiencing a model
renaissance among United States firms, even though projects undertaken by
two or more corporations under a collaborative agreement are less profitable
than projects undertaken by a singly corporation . The advantage of
transnational cooperation is that such joint international projects may
allow United States firms to win foreign contracts that they would not
otherwise be able to win.
18. Which of the following statements by a United States corporate officer
best fits the situation of United States firms as described in the passage
above?
(A) “We would rather make only a share of the profit and also risk only a
share of a possible loss than run the full risk of a loss.”
(B) “We would rather make a share of a relatively modest profit than end up
making none of a potentially much bigger profit.”
(C) “We would rather cooperate and build good will than poison the business
climate by all-out competition.”
(D) “We would rather have foreign corporations join us in American projects
than join them in projects in their home countries.”
(E) “We would rather win a contract with a truly competitive bid of our own
than get involved in less profitable collaborative agreements.”
Explanation: According to the passage, for certain foreign contracts United
States firms can either cooperate and hope to earn a modest profit, or not
cooperate, not win the contract, and earn no part of a larger profit. This
is how choice B describes the situation, so choice B is the best answer.
In order to earn a profit, United States firms must cooperate, so the
alternatives described in several of the choices are not in practice open to
them: the alternatives of a modest risk versus a full risk (choice A).,
cooperation versus competition (choice C), and winning on their own versus
collaborating (choice E). Since they do not have the same need to cooperate
with foreign corporations to win American contracts, choice D does not fit
either.
19. Which
of the following is information provided by the passage above?
(A) Transnational cooperation involves projects too big for a single
corporation to handle.
(B) Transnational cooperation results in a pooling of resources leading to
high-quality performance.
(C) Transnational cooperation has in the past been both more common and less
common than it is now among United States firms.
(D) Joint projects between United States and foreign corporation are not
profitable enough to be worth undertaking.
(E) Joint projects between United States and foreign corporations benefit
only those who commission the projects.
Explanation: To say that transnational cooperation is experiencing a modest
renaissance means that it used to be relatively common, became less so, and
is now becoming more common again. Therefore choice C is the best answer,
since it follows from that statement.
None of the other choices presents information provided by the passage. The
passage says nothing about the size of the projects (choice A), nor about
the quality of work in cases of transnational cooperation (choice B). Since
the passage strongly suggests transnational cooperation can be profitable
for the firms concerned, it thereby tends to contradict both the claims that
joint projects are not profitable (choice D) and that they only benefit
those who commission the projects (choice E).
20. A
compelling optical illusion called the illusion of velocity and size makes
objects appear to be moving more slowly the larger the objects are.
Therefore, a motorist’s estimate of the time available for crossing a
highway with a small car approaching is bound to be lower than it would be
with a large truck approaching.
The conclusion above would be more properly drawn if it were made clear that
the
(A) truck’s speed is assumed to be lower than the car’s
(B) truck’s speed is assumed to be the same as the car’s
(C) truck’s speed is assumed to be higher than the car’s
(D) motorist’s estimate of time available is assumed to be more accurate
with cars approaching than with trucks approaching
(E) motorist’s estimate of time available is assumed to be more accurate
with trucks approaching than with cars approaching
Explanation: If the truck’s speed is assumed to be the same the car’s, then
since the truck is larger, the optical illusion will make it appear that
there is more time to cross the highway with the truck approaching than with
the car approaching. Thus, choice B helps in establishing the conclusion and
is the best answer.
If the truck’s speed is lower than the cars (choice A), the conclusion does
not depend on the illusion. If the truck’s speed is higher than the car’s
(choice C), the speed of the truck might counteract the illusion’s effect.
Since the illusion works as stated regardless of what vehicle the estimate
happens to be accurate for, neither choice D nor choice E assists in drawing
the conclusions.
21.
Biological functions of many plants and animals vary in cycles that are
repeated every 24 hours. It is tempting to suppose that alteration in the
intensity of incident light is the stimulus that controls these daily
biological rhythms. But there is much evidence to contradict this
hypothesis.
Which of the following, if known, is evidence that contradicts the
hypothesis stated in lines 2-5 above?
(A) Human body temperature varies throughout the day, with the maximum
occurring in the late afternoon and the minimum in the morning.
(B) While some animals, such as the robin, are more active during the day,
others, such as mice, show greater activity at night.
(C) When people move from one time zone to another, their daily biological
rhythms adjust in a matter of days to the periods of sunlight and darkness
in the new zone.
(D) Certain single-cell plants display daily biological rhythms even when
the part of the cell containing the nucleus is removed.
(E) Even when exposed to constant light intensity around the clock, some
algae display rates of photosynthesis that are much greater during daylight
hours than at night.
Explanation: Algae whose rate of photosynthesis varies on a 24-hour basis
even when they are under constant light constitute evidence against the
hypothesis that it is alterations in light that control biological cycles.
Therefore choice E is the best answer.
Choices A and B describe biological cycles, but provide no evidence about
what controls them. Choice C says that cycles can become adapted to new
patterns of light, weakly supporting the hypothesis that alterations in
light control cycles. Finally, choice D provides evidence against a
different hypothesis, namely, that it is the cell nucleus of single-cell
plants that controls their biological cycles.
22.
Although migraine headaches are believed to be caused by food allergies,
putting patients on diets that eliminate those foods to which the patients
have been demonstrated to have allergic migraine reactions frequently does
not stop headaches. Obviously, some other cause of migraine headaches
besides food allergies much exist.
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion above?
(A) Many common foods elicit an allergic response only after several days,
making it very difficult to observe links between specific foods patients
eat and headaches they develop.
(B) Food allergies affect many people who never develop the symptom of
migraine headaches.
(C) Many patients report that the foods that cause them migraine headaches
are among the foods that they most enjoy eating.
(D) Very few patients have allergic migraine reactions as children live
migraine-free adult lives once they have eliminated from their diets foods
to which they have been demonstrated to be allergic.
(E) Very rarely do food allergies cause patients to suffer a symptom more
severe than that of migraine headaches.
Explanation: If it is difficult to determine which foods cause migraines,
then some foods that cause allergic reactions might not have been
demonstrated to do so. Hence, if choice A is true, eliminating foods that
have been demonstrated to cause migraines might not eliminate migraines,
even if food allergies are the only cause of migraines. Choice A is the best
answer.
Neither the fact some food allergies do not result in migraines (choice B),
nor the fact that few allergies result in symptoms more severe than
migraines. Choice C suggests that migraine suffers do not naturally avoid
the foods at issue. Choice D reiterates the information that eliminating
certain foods does not usually solve the problem.
23. The
technological conservatism of bicycle manufacturers is a reflection of the
kinds of demand they are trying to meet. The only cyclists seriously
interested in innovation and willing to pay for it are bicycle racers.
Therefore, innovation in bicycle technology is limited by what authorities
will accept as standard for purpose of competition in bicycle races.
Which of the following is an assumption made in drawing the conclusion
above?
(A) The market for cheap, traditional bicycles cannot expand unless the
market for high-performance competition bicycles expands.
(B) High-performance bicycles are likely to be improved more as a result of
technological innovations developed in small workshops than as a result of
technological innovations developed in major manufacturing concerns.
(C) Bicycle racers do not generate a strong demand for innovations that fall
outside what is officially recognized as standard for purposes of
competition.
(D) The technological conservatism of bicycle manufacturers results
primarily from their desire to manufacture a product that can be sold
without being altered to suit different national markets.
(E) The authorities who set standards for high-performance bicycle racing do
not keep informed about innovative bicycle design.
Explanation: If racers, the only cyclists interested in innovation, created
a strong demand for innovations for purposes other than official
competition, then the conclusion would not follow. Therefore choice C-which
asserts that racers generate no such demand-is assumed and is the best
answer.
Since the argument is stated generally in terms of where demand for
innovation lies and how manufacturers respond to demand, no assumption is
made about the structure of the market for bicycles themselves (choice A)
nor about which manufactures are most likely to produce innovations (choice
B). Choice D presents another pressure toward technological conservatism,
but the pressure is not required by the argument. Finally, the authorities
may keep a close eye on innovation (choice E) without the argument being
affected.
24.
Spending on research and development by United States businesses for 1984
showed an increase of about 8 percent over the 1983 level. This increase
actually continued a downward trend evident since 1981 – when outlays for
research and development increased 16.4 percent over 1980 spending. Clearly,
the 25 percent tax credit enacted by Congress in 1981, which was intended to
promote spending on research and development, did little or nothing to
stimulate such spending.
The conclusion of the argument above cannot be true unless which of the
following is true?
(A) Business spending on research and development is usually directly
proportional to business profits.
(B) Business spending for research and development in 1985 could not
increase by more than 8.3%.
(C) Had the 1981 tax credit been set higher than 25%, business spending for
research and development after 1981 would have increased more than it did.
(D) In the absence of the 25% tax credit, business spending for research and
development after 1981 would not have been substantially lower than it was.
(E) Tax credits market for specific investments are rarely effective in
inducing businesses to make those investments.
Explanation: The conclusion that the tax credit did nothing to stimulate
spending on research and development would not be true if, without the
credit, such spending would have been even lower than it actually was. Thus
choice D must be true for the conclusion to be true and is the best answer.
Since a tax credit generally improves business profits, if the conclusion is
true choice A is unlikely to be true. If the tax credit was ineffective,
some other factors must determine the level of spending, and could lead to
much higher levels of spending in 1985 (against choice B), and could render
a higher level of tax credit ineffective (against choice C), but it could be
that credits are generally effective (against choice E).
25.
Treatment for hypertension forestalls certain medical expenses by preventing
strokes and heart disease. Yet any money so saved amounts to only one-fourth
of the expenditures required to treat the hypertensive population.
Therefore, there is no economic justification for preventive treatment for
hypertension.
Which of the following, if true, is most damaging to the conclusion above?
(A) The many fatal strokes and heart attacks resulting from untreated
hypertension cause insignificant medical expenditures but large economic
losses of other sorts.
(B) The cost, per patient, of preventive treatment for hypertension would
remain constant even if such treatment were instituted on a large scale.
(C) In matters of health care, economic considerations should ideally not be
dominant.
(D) Effective prevention presupposes early diagnosis, and programs to ensure
early diagnosis are costly.
(E) The net savings in medical resources achieved by some preventive health
measures are smaller than the net losses attributable to certain other
measures of this kind.
Explanation: If the results of untreated hypertension cause large economic
losses, as choice A claims, then the treatment of hypertension may well be
economically justifiable. Therefore choice A is most damaging to the
conclusion and is the best answer.
Choices B and D tend to support the conclusion; choice B says that making
preventive treatment widespread would not introduce economies of scale, and
choice D identifies one aspect of prevention that is both costly and
essential. Choice C undermines a different conclusion-that society should
not support treatment for hypertension-but does not damage the conclusion
actually drawn. The fact that different preventive health measures have
different economic consequences (choice D) gives no specific information
about treatment for hypertension, and so cannot affect the conclusion drawn.
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