Question: Which one of the following is an assumption the economist's argument requires?

Choices:
- (A)If the economy grows stronger, most of the new jobs that are created will be in fields that pay well.
- (B)If the economy grows stronger, the number of new day-care workers will not be significantly greater than the number of day-care workers who move to better-paying jobs in other fields.
- (C)If the economy grows stronger, the number of workers employed by day-care centers is likely to decrease.
- (D)The shortage of day care for children is unlikely to worsen unless employment increases and many day-care center employees quit to take better-paying jobs in other fields.
- (E)The total number of young children in day-care centers will decrease if the cost of day care increases significantly.


Question: Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above?

Choices:
- (A)Two pairs of yearling ostriches are more expensive than a herd of cows and a bull.
- (B)Cattle ranching is not a good source of income.
- (C)A cow consumes no more feed than an ostrich does.
- (D)The average ostrich farm generates almost five times as much profit as the average cattle ranch.
- (E)Ostrich farmers typically lose money during their first year.


Question: Which one of the following is an assumption that the argument requires?

Choices:
- (A)Hairless dogs have never been found anywhere except in the regions of western Mexico and coastal Peru.
- (B)Most of the trade goods that came into western Mexico centuries ago were transported by boat.
- (C)Centuries ago, no one would have traveled between western Mexico and coastal Peru by boat except for the purposes of carrying out a trading expedition.
- (D)If hairless dogs were at one time transported between western Mexico and coastal Peru by boat, they were traded in exchange for other goods.
- (E)Centuries ago, it was easier to travel by boat between western Mexico and coastal Peru than to travel by an overland route.


Question: If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true?

Choices:
- (A)The Earth's crust took no longer than 300 million years to start to form.
- (B)The Earth's crust first formed in the area that is now Western Australia.
- (C)The Earth's crust took billions of years to form.
- (D)Microdiamonds were the first components of the Earth's crust to form.
- (E)All naturally occurring microdiamonds were formed at the time the Earth's crust was being formed.


Question: Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?

Choices:
- (A)People speaking in the public square of days past had complete freedom of expression.
- (B)All citizens have the same level of access to the Internet.
- (C)A public forum can lose effectiveness as a tool of democracy if participants cannot discuss issues freely.
- (D)The Internet is more often used to discuss important issues than to discuss frivolous issues.
- (E)Other than the Internet, no other public forum today is an important tool of democracy.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most tends to undermine the argument?

Choices:
- (A)Some students who did not participate in the chess program had learned to play chess at home.
- (B)Those children who began the program but who did not successfully complete it had lower preprogram levels of achievement than did those who eventually did successfully complete the program.
- (C)Many of the children who completed the program subsequently sought membership on a school chess team that required a high grade average for membership.
- (D)Some students who did not participate in the chess program participated instead in after-school study sessions that helped them reach much higher levels of achievement in the year after they attended the sessions.
- (E)At least some of the students who did not successfully complete the program were nevertheless more talented chess players than some of the students who did complete the program.


Question: The argument above is most similar in its pattern of reasoning to which one of the following arguments?

Choices:
- (A)Only teachers at the Culinary Institute are allowed to use the institute's main kitchen. Most dinners at Cafe Delice are prepared in that kitchen. So at least some dinners at Cafe Delice must be prepared by Culinary Institute teachers.
- (B)All dinners at Cafe Delice are prepared in the main kitchen of the Culinary Institute. But only teachers at the institute are allowed to use that kitchen. So the dinners at Cafe Delice must be prepared by Culinary Institute teachers.
- (C)Most dinners at Cafe Delice are prepared in the main kitchen of the Culinary Institute. All the teachers at the institute are allowed to use that kitchen. So at least some dinners at Cafe Delice must be prepared by Culinary Institute teachers.
- (D)Most teachers at the Culinary Institute are allowed to use the institute's main kitchen. Dinners at Cafe Delice are only prepared in that kitchen. So dinners at Cafe Delice must sometimes be prepared by Culinary Institute teachers.
- (E)Only teachers at the Culinary Institute are allowed to use the main kitchen of the institute. Dinners at Cafe Delice are usually prepared by Culinary Institute teachers. So dinners at Cafe Delice must sometimes be prepared in the main kitchen of the Culinary Institute.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the editor's argument?

Choices:
- (A)The cost of collecting and disposing of general trash has been less than the cost of collecting and disposing of recyclables, and this is still likely to be the case under the new recycling program.
- (B)Even if the volume of collected recyclables increases, that increase might not be enough to make the recycling program cost effective.
- (C)Because the volume of recyclables people accumulate during a week is less than what they accumulate during two weeks, the city expects a recyclables pickup to take less time under the new program.
- (D)A weekly schedule for recyclables pickup is substantially easier for people to follow and adhere to than is a schedule of pickups every other week.
- (E)Because of the increase in the number of pickups under the new program, the amount charged by the contractor that collects the city's recyclables will increase significantly.


Question: Which one of the following is an assumption that the professor's argument requires?

Choices:
- (A)If some of the students who are most enthusiastic about science do not receive passing grades in introductory science courses, then designing these courses to serve as proving grounds has been unsuccessful.
- (B)Science departments need a way to ensure that only those students most committed to being science majors will receive passing grades in introductory science courses.
- (C)Some of the students in the very demanding introductory science courses who are most enthusiastic about science do not receive passing grades in those courses.
- (D)None of the students in the very demanding introductory science courses who are least enthusiastic about science are among the students most committed to being science majors.
- (E)Introductory science courses should not continue to be designed to serve as proving grounds if doing so has not served its intended purpose.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above?

Choices:
- (A)Like its potential predators, the common ancestor of bird and reptile species would have lacked the anatomy necessary to hear hissing sounds.
- (B)The common ancestor of bird and reptile species would probably have employed multiple threat devices against potential predators.
- (C)The production of a hissing sound would have increased the apparent body size of the common ancestor of bird and reptile species.
- (D)The use of hissing as a threat device would have been less energetically costly than other threat behaviors available to the common ancestor of bird and reptile species.
- (E)Unlike most modern bird and reptile species, the common ancestor of these species would have had few predators.


Question: Which one of the following principles, if valid, most justifies Hidalgo's stance?

Choices:
- (A)Surveys gathering information for a specific purpose should not collect more detailed personal information than is necessary to achieve the purpose.
- (B)Survey respondents should not be asked a particular question if they are unlikely to answer accurately.
- (C)Sensitive personal information should be gathered only if a secure means of storing that information is available.
- (D)Surveys should be allowed to gather any information that might be needed to meet their purposes.
- (E)Surveys should gather detailed personal information only if survey respondents are first told about how that information will be used.


Question: Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?

Choices:
- (A)In 1 893, scholars knew of no other ancient city that could have been Troy.
- (B)The Iliad does not provide any clues about the specific location of Troy.
- (C)Dorpfeld's team found no evidence in the city they excavated that a siege had occurred there.
- (D)The city excavated by Dorpfeld's team had many features that scholars of the time believed Troy had.
- (E)The Iliad accurately represents the duration of the Trojan War


Question: Garcia responds to Flynn's argument by

Choices:
- (A)arguing that the policy supported in Flynn's argument could have undesirable consequences
- (B)providing evidence that undermines one of the premises of Flynn's argument
- (C)comparing Flynn's argument to an obviously flawed argument that has the same logical structure
- (D)contending that Flynn's argument could be used to support a policy that is inconsistent with the policy that Flynn advocates
- (E)providing an alternative explanation for a situation described in Flynn's argument


Question: Monroe and Wilkerson disagree over the truth of which one of the following?

Choices:
- (A)Approximately 2,000 homes in the community are still without electricity.
- (B)Before the organization's project began, over 5,000 homes in the community had no electricity.
- (C)The organization's project must be considered a failure if any home in the community has no electricity.
- (D)The stated goal of the project was to reduce as much as possible the number of homes in the community that lack electricity.
- (E)Leaving approximately 2,000 homes in the community without electricity at the conclusion of the project counts as a failure for the project.


Question: The reasoning above calls into question a conclusion drawn from statistical data by

Choices:
- (A)showing that the data are based on an unrepresentative sample
- (B)offering an alternative explanation of some of the data
- (C)showing that one cannot directly observe altruism
- (D)criticizing the motives of the researchers
- (E)offering a specific counterexample


Question: The dialogue provides the most support for the claim that Mario and Renate disagree over whether

Choices:
- (A)the rug store in Glendale sold rugs of inferior quality
- (B)it is a good idea to open a rug store in Glendale
- (C)it is possible to determine the market for rugs in Glendale
- (D)any other stores have gone out of business in Glendale
- (E)rug stores can close because of insufficient demand for rugs


Question: Which one of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the editorialist's argument?

Choices:
- (A)The argument draws a conclusion on the basis of a general statement that has in tum been inferred from a very limited number of particular instances.
- (B)The argument fails to consider the possibility that whether an airport can allow more air traffic than it was originally designed for without reducing safety depends largely on what the latest technology is.
- (C)The argument fails to consider the possibility that the city council members who support the increase are aware of the studies that were conducted 30 years ago.
- (D)The argument confuses an absence of evidence for the claim that the airport can.safely permit air traffic in excess of its original design capacity with the existence of evidence against this claim.
- (E)The argument fails to consider that a slight increase in safety risks might be acceptable if it yields overriding benefits of another kind.


Question: Which one of the following most logically completes the argument?

Choices:
- (A)moral codes tend to be based in the specific contexts in which they arise
- (B)the moral codes of most cultures resemble each other in many respects
- (C)a variety of moral codes can be based in shared moral attitudes
- (D)it is possible to understand the basis of the moral codes of different cultures
- (E)moral attitudes can be adapted to suit the moral codes of many different cultures


Question: The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

Choices:
- (A)infers of two correlated.phenomena, X and Y, that X causes Y without considering whether Y causes X
- (B)fails to describe the mechanism by which productivity is supposedly increased
- (C)takes for granted that the characteristics of one prairie plot could reveal something about the characteristics of other prairie plots
- (D)bases a general conclusion on data that is likely to be unrepresentative
- (E)takes an increase in number to indicate an increase in proportion


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the anthropologist's argument?

Choices:
- (A)Apart from the sophistication of their stone tools, there is a great deal of evidence suggesting that Neanderthals possessed some form of language.
- (B)The students who were taught with verbal explanations were allowed to discuss the toolmaking techniques among themselves, whereas the students who learned by silent example were not.
- (C)The tools that the undergraduate's were taught to make were much simpler and easier to make than most types of tools created by Neanderthals.
- (D)The instructor Who taught the .group of students who learned by, silent example alone was much less proficient at making the stone tools than was the instructor who taught the other group of students.
- (E)The tools created by Neanderthals were much less sophisticated than the tools created by anatomically modem humans who almost certainly possessed language and lived at the same time as the Neanderthals.


Question: Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the statements above?

Choices:
- (A)Having a strenuous workout most days of the week can produce a dramatic improvement in cardiovascular health.
- (B)Doing the equivalent of an hour of brisk walking two or three times a week generally produces dramatic improvements in cardiovascular health.
- (C)It is possible to obtain at least as great an improvement in cardiovascular health from doing the equivalent of half an hour of brisk walking most days of the week as from having a strenuous workout most days of the week.
- (D)Aside from exercise, there is no way of improving one's cardiovascular health.
- (E)To obtain a dramatic improvement in one's cardiovascular health, one must exercise strenuously at least occasionally.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

Choices:
- (A)Sartore has technical knowledge of film, whereas Kelly is merely a fan.
- (B)Most of Kelly's movie reviews are unfavorable to the movie being reviewed.
- (C)One who is apt not to enjoy a particular movie is more likely to realize this by reading a review by Sartore than a review by Kelly.
- (D)Reading a movie review by Sartore will usually help one to enjoy the .movie more than one otherwise would have.
- (E)Most of the movies that Sartore reviews are also reviewed by Kelly.


Question: Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above?

Choices:
- (A)Specially bred aquarium fish must receive special care if they are to survive.
- (B)Connoisseurs are not interested in dull-colored, simply shaped fish.
- (C)Most specially bred aquarium fish are purchased by connoisseurs.
- (D)Ordinary fish tend not to have elaborate tails or strangely shaped fins.
- (E)Strangely shaped fins and elaborate tails interfere with a fish's ability to reproduce.


Question: Which one of the following is an assumption required by the ethicist's argument?

Choices:
- (A)If a person failed to do something she or he ought to have done, then that person failed to do something that.she or he promised to do.
- (B)Only an event like an unforeseen.traffic jam could excuse a person from the obligation to keep a promise.
- (C)If there is something that a.person ought not do, then it is something that that person is capable of not doing.
- (D)The obligation created by a promise is not relieved by the fact that the promise cannot be kept.
- (E)If an event like an unforeseen traffic jam interferes with someone's keeping a promise, then that person should not have made the promise to begin with.


Question: The situation described above conforms most closely to which one of the following generalizations?

Choices:
- (A)The price of any manufactured good depends more on how fashionable that good is than on the materials it is made from.
- (B)It is more important for the materials used in the manufacture of clothing to be fashionable than it is for them to be practical.
- (C)Materials that require relatively little labor in their production tend to be fashionable.
- (D)The appearance of a manufactured good is the only thing that determines whether it is fashionable.
- (E)Cultural trends tend to be an important determinant of the prices of materials used in manufacturing.


Question: The conclusion of the argument is most strongly supported if which one of the following completes the passage?

Choices:
- (A)more than half of the forest is unnaturally crowded with immature trees
- (B)mature trees are usually the first to be eaten by tussock moths
- (C)usually a higher proportion of mature trees than of immature ones are destroyed in forest fires
- (D)the expected outbreak: of tussock moths will almost certainly occur if no attempt is made to counter it
- (E)there are no completely effective countermeasures against the moth


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most helps, to explain the increase in average commute time?

Choices:
- (A)Most people who work in the downtown area of Gastner commute from one of the city's suburbs.
- (B)The location of the new highway is most convenient for people who commute to and from Gastner's largest suburbs.
- (C)Shortly after the new highway was opened, several suburban roads connecting to the new highway were upgraded with new stoplights.
- (D)At the same time the new highway was being built,. road repair work was being done on important streets leading to downtown Gastner.
- (E)In Gastner's downtown area, traffic on the roads near the new highway become more congested after the new highway was opened.


Question: Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the office worker's reasoning?

Choices:
- (A)It is better to focus one's time on a single project than to split one's time between two projects.
- (B)It is better to finish one of two projects than to risk failing to finish both projects.
- (C)It is better to first finish those projects that must be done than to interrupt them with projects that are merely optional.
- (D)It is better not to worry about having failed to finish a project on time than to allow such worry to interfere with finishing a competing project on time.
- (E)It is better to attempt to finish a project on time than to attempt to finish a late project that does not have higher priority.


Question: Which one of the following is an assumption the science teacher's argument requires?

Choices:
- (A)Secondary schools should teach only those skills that are the most useful for the decisions that adults typically make in their daily lives.
- (B)Teaching secondary, school students the more abstract aspects of science is at least as important as teaching them to evaluate science based arguments regarding practical issues.
- (C)Adults who have an abstract knowledge of science are no better at evaluating science-based arguments regarding practical issues than are adults who have no knowledge of science at all.
- (D)No secondary school science courses currently teach students how to evaluate science-based arguments regarding practical issues.
- (E)The ability to evaluate science-based arguments regarding practical issues is sometimes useful in making the decisions that adults typically make in their daily lives.


Question: Which one of ,the following most accurately expresses a point of disagreement between Lyle and Carl?

Choices:
- (A)whether modernizing the language of premodern plays results in plays that have different pedagogical value than the originals
- (B)whether the loss in aesthetic quality that results from modernizing the language of premodern plays lessens the plays usefulness for teaching history
- (C)whether the highest form of aesthetic enjoyment of premodern plays comes from seeing them as they were originally performed
- (D)whether increasing the accessibility of premodern plays through modernizing their language is valuable for teaching history
- (E)whether using plays with modernized language to teach history requires that there be some loss in the aesthetic quality of the plays


Question: The pattern of flawed reasoning in which one of the following arguments is most parallel to that in the argument above?

Choices:
- (A)Most pharmacies sell cosmetics. Vrrtually every pharmacy sells shampoo or toothpaste, or both. Therefore, if there are pharmacies that sell both cosmetics and toothpaste, there must also be some that sell both cosmetics and shampoo.
- (B)Undoubtedly, most pharmacies sell cosmetics for almost all pharmacies sell either shampoo or toothpaste, or both, and there are some pharmacies that sell both cosmetics and shampoo and some that sell both cosmetics and toothpaste.
- (C)Most pharmacies sell cosmetics. Nearly all pharmacies sell shampoo or toothpaste, or both. Therefore, unless there are some pharmacies that sell both cosmetics and toothpaste, there must be some that sell both cosmetics and shampoo.
- (D)Virtually every pharmacy that sells shampoo also sells toothpaste. Most pharmacies sell cosmetics. Therefore, there must be some pharmacies that sell both cosmetics and toothpaste and some that sell both cosmetics and shampoo
- (E)Nearly all pharmacies sell either shampoo or toothpaste, or both. Therefore, since most pharmacies sell cosmetics, there must be some pharmacies that sell both cosmetics and toothpaste and some that sell both cosmetics and shampoo.


Question: The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument

Choices:
- (A)takes an inconsistent stance regarding the status of the inferences that can be drawn from the study
- (B)overlooks the possibility that two or more chemicals produce the same effects
- (C)concludes that a generalization has been proven true merely on the grounds that it has not been proven false
- (D)takes something to be the cause of a reduction when it could have been an effect of that reduction
- (E)does not consider the possibility that PCBs have detrimental effects on human health several years after exposure


Question: Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its reasoning to the argument above?

Choices:
- (A)of those who participated in the marathon,some succeeded and others failed. But those who did not participate at all neither succeeded nor failed, since both success and failure require participation.
- (B)People who are aware of their motives can articulate them. But unconscious motives are usually impossible to acknowledge. So people are more likely to hear about other people's conscious motives than their unconscious ones.
- (C)It is unclear whether the company's venture succeeded, because the criteria for its success are undefined, But if the venture had had a measurable goal, then it would have been possible to judge its success.
- (D)A teacher is someone who teaches. In addition,there are people who teach but are not called teachers. So while the number of those called teachers is large, the number of those who teach is even larger.
- (E)Because someone intervened in the conflict, the effects of that intervention can be discerned. But since no one can investigate what does not happen, it is impossible to discern that would have happened had someone not intervened.


Question: The argument requires assuming which one of the following principles?

Choices:
- (A)The amount of attention that lawmakers give to a group's interests should be directly proportional to the number of voters in that group.
- (B)Parenis should not be given responsibility for making a decision on their child's behalf unless their child is not mature enough to decide wisely.
- (C)The parents of underage children should always consider the best interests of their children when they vote.
- (D)It is not fair for lawmakers to favor the interests of people who have the vote over the interests of people who do not have the vote.
- (E)A group of people can be fairly represented in a democracy even if some members of that group can vote on behalf of others in that group.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the critic's argument?

Choices:
- (A)The Gazette-Standard pays its editorial staff lower salaries than its biggest competitor pays its editorial staff.
- (B)The Gazette-Standard has been in business considerably longer than has its biggest competitor.
- (C)The Gazette-Standard more actively follows up reader complaints about errors in the paper than does its biggest competitor.
- (D)The Gazette-Standard's articles are each checked by more editors than are the articles of its biggest competitor.
- (E)The increase in the Gazette-Standard's editorial staff has been offset by a decrease in the reporting staff at the newspaper.


Question: The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds?

Choices:
- (A)It draws a conclusion about a population from observations of a subgroup that is quite likely to be unrepresentative of that population in certain relevant respects.
- (B)It takes for granted that most individuals do not vary significantly in the opinions they would express on a given issue if surveyed regarding that issue on different occasions.
- (C)It relies on the accuracy of a survey made under conditions in which it is probable that most of the responses to that survey did not correctly reflect the opinions of the respondents.
- (D)It uses evidence about an opinion held by the majority of a population in an attempt to justify a conclusion regarding the opinion of a small part of that population.
- (E)It takes for granted that the fund-raising letter had some influence on the opinions of most of the people who received it.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

Choices:
- (A)Political failures within the Roman empire during its last years led to conflicts that hampered agricultural production.
- (B)The areas of the Roman empire that had the greatest climatic instability between 250 A.D. and 550 A.D. did not experience unusual levels of unrest during that period.
- (C)Poor farming practices led to depleted soil in many parts of Europe during the last years of the Roman empire.
- (D)During periods when the Roman empire was thriving, Europe consistently experienced weather that was favorable for agriculture.
- (E)Total food production in Europe was likely greater in the years around 550 A.D. than in the years around 250 A.D.


Question: Which one of the following most logically completes the sales manager's argument?

Choices:
- (A)devote more effort to training than to evaluating salespeople
- (B)devote more effort to finding good managers than to finding natural superstar salespeople
- (C)keep to a minimum the number of salespeople for which a manager is responsible
- (D)promote more natural superstar salespeople to management positions
- (E)reward superstar performance more than superstar talent


Question: The claim that more steel was purchased when it could be manufactured more cheaply plays which one of the following roles in the argument?

Choices:
- (A)It is described as inadequate evidence for the falsity of the argument's conclusion.
- (B)It is described as an exception to a generalization for which the argument offers evidence.
- (C)It is used to illustrate the generalization that,according to the argument, does not hold in all cases.
- (D)It is the evidence that, according to the argument,led economists to embrace a false hypothesis.
- (E)It is cited as one of several reasons for modifying a general assumption made by economists.


Question: The reasoning in the resident's argument is flawed in that the argument overlooks the possibility that

Choices:
- (A)the town has a relatively small number of houses
- (B)inadequate site drainage can make a house unsafe
- (C)structural defects are often easier to fix than inadequate site drainage
- (D)many houses in the town have neither inadequate site drainage nor structural defects that could make them unsafe
- (E)some of the houses that have structure defects that could make them unsafe also have inadequate site drainage


Question: Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the reasoning in the argument?

Choices:
- (A)One should not regret making a decision unless a different decision would have resulted in one having a greater number of close personal relationships.
- (B)One should not regret making a decision if it helped to bring about something that one cherishes.
- (C)One should not regret making a decision that had little effect on one's life.
- (D)People who regret the missed opportunities of youth should cherish their close personal relationships more deeply.
- (E)People with few close personal relationships should cherish the ones they have.


Question: Of the following, which one is most strongly supported by the information above?

Choices:
- (A)Foods high in flavonoids are not readily available on the Panamanian mainland.
- (B)Kuna who live on the islands drink cocoa because they believe that it is beneficial to their health.
- (C)The Kuna have a genetic predisposition to low blood pressure.
- (D)Kuna who live on the Panamanian mainland generally have higher blood pressure than other people who live on the mainland.
- (E)Drinking several cups of flavonoid-rich cocoa per day tends to prevent high blood pressure.


Question: Which one of the following would be most useful to know in order to evaluate the legal theorists hypothesis?

Choices:
- (A)whether jurors typically know that judges have appraised the scientific evidence presented at trial
- (B)whether jurors reactions to scientific evidence presented at trial are influenced by other members of the jury
- (C)how jurors determine the credibility of an expert witness who is presenting scientific evidence in a trial
- (D)whether jurors typically draw upon their own scientific knowledge when weighing scientific evidence presented at trial
- (E)how jurors respond to situations in which different expert witnesses give conflicting assessments of scientific evidence


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the surprising finding?

Choices:
- (A)Word-of-mouth marketing campaigns are generally used for specialty products that are not well suited to being marketed through mass-media advertisements.
- (B)Those who tend to be the most receptive to mass-media marketing campaigns are also the least likely to be influenced by knowledge of a product booster's affiliation.
- (C)Most people who work as product boosters in word-of-mouth marketing campaigns have themselves been recruited through a word-of-mouth process.
- (D)Most word-of-mouth marketing campaigns cost far less than marketing campaigns that rely on mass-media advertisements.
- (E)When a word-of-mouth product booster admits his or her affiliation, it fosters a more relaxed and in-depth discussion of the marketed product.


Question: The consultant's conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?

Choices:
- (A)There is no change Whalley could make to her platform that would win over more voters under 50 than it would lose voters 50 and over.
- (B)The issues that most concern voters under 50 are different from those that most concern voters 50 and over.
- (C)If Whalley changes her platform, her opponent will not change his platform in response.
- (D)There will be more voters in the election who are 50 and over than there will be voters under 50.
- (E)Whalley would change her platform if she thought it would give her a better chance to win.


Question: The claims made above are incompatible with which one of the following generalizations?

Choices:
- (A)A decrease in per capita emissions of carbon dioxide never occurs during a period of economic growth.
- (B)Countries whose economies are growing slowly or not at all usually cannot afford to enact laws restricting carbon dioxide emissions.
- (C)Economic growth initially leads to increased per capita emissions of greenhouse gases, but eventually new technologies are developed that tend to reduce these emissions.
- (D)As the world's population grows, emissions of greenhouse gases will increase proportionately.
- (E)Economic growth always increases household income and consumption, which inevitably increases per capita emissions of carbon dioxide.


Question: Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument presented in the advertisement?

Choices:
- (A)A lawyer's knowledge and level of expertise is at least as complex as that of a doctor.
- (B)Do-it-yourself software cannot tailor a person's will to meet that person's particular circumstances as well as a Jawyer can.
- (C)Many people who prepare their wills using do-it-yourself software are not satisfied with the results.
- (D)In the majority of cases, valid wills do not adequately meet the needs of the persons for whom the wills were prepared.
- (E)There is some way for an ill person to get a valid prescription without first consulting a doctor.


Question: The reasoning in which one of the following arguments is most similar to that in the argument above?

Choices:
- (A)Any dessert with chocolate is high in calories,and any dessert high in calories is fattening. So any dessert with chocolate is fattening.
- (B)Every dessert with chocolate is high in calories, and every fattening dessert is also high in calories. So any dessert with chocolate is fattening.
- (C)Any dessert that is high in calories has chocolate in it, and any dessert that is high in calories is fattening. So every dessert with chocolate is fattening.
- (D)Every dessert with chocolate is high in calories,and every dessert that is high in calories is fattening. So every fattening dessert has chocolate in it.
- (E)Any dessert with chocolate is high in calories,and many desserts that are high in calories are fattening. So many desserts with chocolate are fattening.


Question: The claim that the proliferation of arguments has been construed as evidence that the principles of mechanism themselves are in tension with democracy plays which one of the fllowing roles in the argument?

Choices:
- (A)It states a principle that the argument seeks to establish.
- (B)It describes a general phenomenon that the argument seeks to explain.
- (C)It introduces a hypothesis that the argument challenges.
- (D)It provides evidence in support of the conclusion of the argument.
- (E)It expresses the conclusion of the argument.


Question: The reasoning in the argument is flawed in that it

Choices:
- (A)confuses a quality that shows an understanding of people with a quality that is necessary for understanding people
- (B)confuses a' quality that usually correlates with being a good manager with a quality that results from being a good manager
- (C)confuses qualities necessary for being a good manager with qualities that guarantee being a good manager
- (D)overlooks the possibility that different managers defuse tense situations in different ways
- (E)takes for granted that because all good managers have a certain quality, Ishiko must have that quality


Question: Which one of the following, if true, would most help to explain the babblers ' strange behavior?

Choices:
- (A)Babblers fly much faster than the predators that prey upon them.
- (B)Babblers ' predators are generally intimidated by large numbers of babblers.
- (C)There is more than one type of predator that preys upon babblers.
- (D)Babblers ' predators have very good eyesight but relatively weak hearing.
- (E)Animals that live in close proximity to babblers are also preyed upon by the predators that prey upon babblers.


Question: The claim that there is a warm sea beneath Europa's icy surface figures in the argument in which one of the following ways?

Choices:
- (A)It is a subsidiary conclusion used by the argument to support its overall conclusion.
- (B)It is the overall conclusion of the argument.
- (C)It is used to discredit a theory that the argument disputes
- (D)It is the only consideration presented in support of the argument's overall conclusion.
- (E)It is presented as support for a..subsidiary conclusion drawn in the argument.


Question: Which one of the following most accurately describes the overall conclusion drawn ,in the argument?

Choices:
- (A)Feeling lucky is the most enjoyable emotional experience garnered from shopping.
- (B)Retailers take advantage of the fact that shoppers enjoy feeling lucky.
- (C)Advertised price cuts are overused as a means of gaining retail sales.
- (D)Using advertised price cuts to promote retail products reduces profit margins and undermines customer loyalty.
- (E)Making consumers feel lucky is usually not a good formula for retail success.


Question: The jurist's claim that it is important to guarantee that lawbreaking does not give lawbreakers an unfair advantage over law abiders functions in the argument in which one of the following ways?

Choices:
- (A)It states a condition that, if fulfilled, will ensure that a legal system remains just.
- (B)It expresses a principle that is offered as support for the conclusion.
- (C)It is a conclusion for which the only support offered is the claim that the legal system serves multiple goals.
- (D)It is a premise presented as support for the claim that the most important goal of criminal punishment is to ensure that criminal wrongdoing remains profitless.
- (E)It is presented as refuting an argument that criminal punishment has goals other than guaranteeing that lawbreaking remains profitless.


Question: The argument's conclusion can be properly inferred if which one of the following is assumed?

Choices:
- (A)Yeung is a lawyer in the company's legal department.
- (B)Neither Grimes nor Yeung was told about the procedural changes until after they were made.
- (C)No lawyer in the company's legal department was told about the procedural changes until . after they were made.
- (D)If the company's president was told about the procedural changes before they were made, then the contract was not violated.
- (E)If no lawyer in the company's legal department was told about the procedural changes before they were made, then the contract was violated.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the journalist's reasoning?

Choices:
- (A)Most people who have a genetic predisposition to Parkinson's disease have no more iron in their diets than people without the predisposition.
- (B)Many of the vegetables regularly consumed by vegetarians who do not contract Parkinson's disease are as rich in iron as meat and seafood.
- (C)Children and adolescents require a much larger amount of iron in their diets than do mature adults.
- (D)The iron in some foods is much less easily absorbed by the body than the iron contained in other foods.
- (E)The amounts of iron-rich foods consumed by people starts to decline beginning at age 50.


Question: If the statements of Riverdale's Modem Party Chairperson are true, each of the following could be true EXCEPT:

Choices:
- (A)Maples has the least seniority of any member of Riverdale's Modem Party and was recently ousted from the Traditionalist Party.
- (B)Tannett would be a better mayor than would any other member of Riverdale's Traditionalist Party.
- (C)Few residents of Riverdale believe that Maples would be a better mayor than Tannett .
- (D)Of all the members of Riverdale's Modern Party, Maples would be the worst mayor.
- (E)Tannett is better qualified to be mayor than is Riverdale's Modern Party Chairperson.


Question: The answer to which one of the following questions would be most useful to know in order to evaluate the reasoning in the businessperson's argument?

Choices:
- (A)What were the reasons for performing maintenance on the parking area directly in front of the building on that particular day?
- (B)Were any other of the meeting attendees also late to the meeting because they had difficulty finding parking?
- (C)What are the parking patterns in the building's vicinity on days when the parking area in front of the building is open?
- (D)Does the businessperson have a tendency to be late to meetings? .
- (E)Was it particularly important that the businessperson not be late to this meeting?


Question: The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following?

Choices:
- (A)A work of literature cannot be well received within an external national tradition if it is not well received within the writer's own national tradition.
- (B)A work of world literature offers more to readers within external national traditions than it offers to readers within the writer's national tradition.
- (C)A work should not be thought of as world literature if it is more meaningful to readers from the writer's national tradition than it is to readers from external national traditions.
- (D)A work of world literature is always influenced by works outside of the writer's national tradition.
- (E)A work is not part of world literature if it affects the development of only one national tradition.


Question: The flawed pattern of reasoning in the argument above is most similar to that in which one of the following?

Choices:
- (A)Most of the paintings on display at the Metro Art Museum are from the twentieth century, but most of the paintings the Metro Art Museum owns are from the nineteenth century. It follows that the museum owns few if any of the twentieth-century paintings it displays.
- (B)In an opinion poll of Silver Falls residents,more said they were in favor of increased spending on roads than said they were in favor of increased spending on parks. So most Silver Falls residents must be in favor of spending more on roads but opposed to spending more on parks.
- (C)In the San Felipe city arboretum, most of the trees are of local rather than exotic species. Therefore, in the San Felipe area,there must be more trees of local species than of exotic species.
- (D)Most of the vegetables available at the Valley Food Co-op are organic, but most of the vegetables available at the Jumbo Supermarket are not. Thus, more organic vegetables are available at Valley Food than are available at Jumbo.
- (E)The Acme Realty website has photos of most of the houses, but of fewer than half of the condominiums, that Acme is offering for sale.So Acme must have more houses than condominiums for sale.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

Choices:
- (A)Because the film studio owns the new technology, the studio will be able to control its use in any future films.
- (B)Films that introduce innovative special-effects technologies generally draw large audiences of people who are curious about the new effects.
- (C)The production costs of this film are so high that, even if the film is popular, it is unlikely that the film's ticket sales will offset those costs.
- (D)In the past, many innovative special-effects technologies were abandoned after the films for which they were developed proved to be unpopular.
- (E)The use of the new special-effects technology would lower the production costs of other films that use it.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent conflict in the statements above?

Choices:
- (A)Dust-mite allergens in bedding tend to irritate many allergy sufferers' nasal passages more than do the same allergens in other locations, such as carpets.
- (B)When people report their own allergy symptoms, they tend to exaggerate the severity of those symptoms.
- (C)The medical community does not fully understand how dust-mite allergens cause allergy.
- (D)For dust-mite allergy sufferers to get relief from their allergies, dust-mite allergens must be reduced by 90 to 95 percent.
- (E)All of the participants in the study were told that one group in the study would be sleeping on mite-proof bedding.


Question: The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument

Choices:
- (A)mistakes a decline in the market share of Wilson Appliance's hair dryer for a decline in the total sales of that product
- (B)does not provide specific information about the prof its hair dryers generate for the companies that produce them
- (C)fails to discuss sales figures for Wilson Appliance's products other than its hair dryers
- (D)overlooks the possibility that the retail price of Wilson Appliance's hair dryer may have increased over the past 5 years
- (E)provides no independent evidence that Wilson Appliance's hair dryer is one of the company's least profitable products


Question: Which one of the following most accurately expresses the overall conclusion drawn in the argument?

Choices:
- (A)The object of a person's faithfulness partially determines whether or not that faithfulness is virtuous.
- (B)Virtuous behavior is praiseworthy by definition.
- (C)Behavior that emerges from hatred or animosity cannot be called virtuous.
- (D)Faithfulness and resentment are obviously different, despite some similarities.
- (E)Resentment should not be considered a virtuous emotion.


Question: Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the columnist's judgment that the legislator's proposal is unacceptable?

Choices:
- (A)Customers of a utility have a right to know how the money they pay to the utility will be used.
- (B)Money designated for projects that benefit an entire community should not be used for projects that benefit only some members of a community.
- (C)An additional charge on water bills should not be used to fund a project that most of the utility's customers disapprove of.
- (D)An additional charge on water bills should not be imposed unless it is approved by the legislature.
- (E)A water utility should not collect an additional charge unless the money collected is used for water-related expenditures.


Question: Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?

Choices:
- (A)Feeding on the Natal grass cycad is the only means by which the leopard magpie moth can make itself highly unpalatable to predators.
- (B)The leopard magpie moth does not have the speed or the agility to escape from any of its potential predators.
- (C)Potential predators of the leopard magpie moth cannot determine from appearance alone whether a moth's body is laced with macrozamin.
- (D)Leopard magpie moths are not able to locate Natal grass cycads unless those plants are abundant.
- (E)None of the potential predators of the leopard magpie moth have developed a tolerance to macrozamin.


Question: Which one of the following most accurately expresses the conclusion drawn in the citizen's argument?

Choices:
- (A)Homeowners should not pay off their mortgages early if they must neglect upkeep of their homes in order to do so.
- (B)It does not make sense for the government to use the budget surplus to pay down the national debt.
- (C)A homeowner's personal financial situation is analogous in relevant ways to the financial situation of a country's government.
- (D)Because of underfunding, the government does not maintain adequate standards in the services it provides.
- (E)Government leaders want to use the country's large budget surplus to pay down the national debt.


Question: The dialogue provides the most support for the claim that Peraski and Jackson disagree over whether

Choices:
- (A)driving a gas-guzzling automobile produces a greater level of pollution than driving a smaller car
- (B)speaking out against the use of gas guzzlers despite driving in situations in which one could use a bicycle reveals hypocrisy
- (C)driving even a small car when one could use a bicycle contributes to the level of pollution
- (D)one should speak out against polluting even if doing so reveals one's own hypocrisy
- (E)there is no moral difference between driving a gas guzzler and driving a smaller car


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above?

Choices:
- (A)Otters and abalones also compete for the same types of food and so are drawn to the same waters.
- (B)The fossils that were studied showed the development of only one of the two species of large abalones known to exist.
- (C)Otters also prey on the abalones* competitors for food and so indirectly make it easier for abalones to get food.
- (D)Small abalone species tend to reproduce more rapidly than larger abalone species.
- (E)Otters have a preference for large abalones over small ones and so prefer waters in which large abalones are found.


Question: The conclusion of the argument can be properly drawn if which one of the following is assumed?

Choices:
- (A)Those who are perceived to be clearly superior almost always win.
- (B)The winner of a competition is often the competitor who exerts the most effort.
- (C)When competitors perceive the competition as winnable, their overall performance generally improves.
- (D)Doubting one's own ability to perform can decrease one's overall performance.
- (E)Competitors who work to undermine the confidence of other participants often do better in competitions.


Question: Of the following claims, which one can most justifiably be rejected on the basis of the statements above?

Choices:
- (A)Most of the duplicates and omissions among plant names in the scientific record have yet to be cleared up.
- (B)An accurate database of all the plant species in the scientific record can serve as an aid to botanists in their work.
- (C)Duplicates and omissions in the scientific record also occur in fields other than botany.
- (D)Botanists have no techniques for determining whether distinct plant species have been given distinct names.
- (E)A person who consults the scientific record looking under only one of a plant's names may miss available information about that plant.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

Choices:
- (A)Before the plan was implemented the hospitals already had a policy of thoroughly investigating any staff error that causes life-threatening injury to a patient.
- (B)The incidence of patient injuries at a regional hospital that did not participate in the plan also decreased over the year in question.
- (C)The plan did not call for the recording of staff errors that could have caused patient injuries but did not.
- (D)The decrease in the incidence of the injuries did not begin at any hospital until the staff there became aware that the records were being closely analyzed.
- (E)Under the plan, the hospitals' staff members who were found to have made errors that caused injuries to patients received only reprimands for their first errors.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the failure of the strategy involving wolves?

Choices:
- (A)The presence of wolves in an area tends to discourage other predators from moving into the area.
- (B)Attempts to control moose populations in other national parks by introducing predators have also been unsuccessful.
- (C)Wolves often kill moose weakened by diseases that probably would have spread to other moose.
- (D)Healthy moose generally consume more vegetation than do those that are diseased or injured.
- (E)Moose that are too old to breed are just as likely to die of natural causes as of attack by wolves.


Question: The reasoning in the argument is flawed in that the argument

Choices:
- (A)takes a sufficient condition for a state of affairs to be a necessary condition for it
- (B)infers a causal relationship from the mere presence of a correlation
- (C)trades on the use of a term in one sense in a premise and in a different sense in the conclusion
- (D)draws a conclusion about how the world actually is on the basis of claims about how it should be
- (E)infers that because a set of things has acertain property, each member of that set has the property


Question: The pattern of reasoning in the argument above is most similar to that in which one of the following arguments?

Choices:
- (A)A company must have efficient employees to be successful. And if a company's employees are knowledgeable and hardworking, then they are probably efficient. Thus, in order for a company to be successful, it must have knowledgeable and hardworking employees.
- (B)The fact that the suspect was flustered when questioned by the police might be a result of the suspect's surprise at being questioned. But if it is, the probability that the suspect is guilty is very low. Thus, the fact that the suspect was flustered is not necessarily a sign that the suspect is guilty.
- (C)Oil companies are not buying new drilling equipment. But if they were planning on increasing their drilling, they would be buying new drilling equipment. Thus, oil companies are not planning on increasing their drilling.
- (D)The price of real estate in a particular town is increasing. And if the town's economy were improving, the price of real estate there would increase. Thus, the town's economy is improving.
- (E)The exports of a particular nation have recently decreased. But whenever that nation's exports decrease, its trade deficit increases. Thus, the nation's trade deficit has recently increased.


Question: The dialogue provides the most support for the claim that Sanchez and Merriweather disagree over whether the school

Choices:
- (A)needed sixteen new computers
- (B)purchased more computers than it should have
- (C)spent more in purchasing the sixteen computers than it should have
- (D)paid more for each computer than it was worth
- (E)has been harshly criticized for purchasing the sixteen computers


Question: Which one of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the airport administrator's argument?

Choices:
- (A)The argument presumes, without providing justification, that building runways closer together will encourage pilots to be more cautious while landing.
- (B)The argument overlooks the fact that those who make mistakes are often unreliable sources of information about those mistakes.
- (C)The argument questions the integrity of those who are opposed to allowing runways to be built closer together.
- (D)The argument presumes, without providing justification, that the air traffic control tapes studied do not provide accurate information concerning specific flights.
- (E)The argument infers from a lack of conclusive evidence supporting the higher number's accuracy that it must be inaccurate.


Question: Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Choices:
- (A)The ease with which lake trout can be caught by anglers varies with the time of year and the water temperature.
- (B)Cold water is denser, and therefore heavier,than relatively warmer water.
- (C)Lake txout are found exclusively in deep temperate lakes.
- (D)Lake trout do not alter their feeding habits from one part of the year to another.
- (E)In deep temperate lakes that have ice residues on the surface, late-winter "turnover" has not yet occurred.


Question: The dialogue provides the most support for inferring that Liang and Sarah agree with each other that

Choices:
- (A)people who experience an emotion vicariously are likely to purge themselves of that emotion
- (B)the members of a mature audience are unlikely to believe that violence is sometimes an appropriate way to resolve problems
- (C)if violence in certain movies causes violence in viewers, access to those movies should be restricted
- (D)the effects of dramatic depictions of violenceon audiences are at least partially understood
- (E)children are more likely than adults to be attracted to dramas involving characters who behave violently


Question: Which one of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the politician's argument?

Choices:
- (A)Opposing higher taxes is not a factor contributing to good leadership.
- (B)Being opposed to higher taxes is not a sufficient condition for good leadership.
- (C)Thompson has questionable opinions concerning important issues other than taxes.
- (D)All of the past leaders who supported highertaxes performed their jobs adequately.
- (E)All of the past leaders who supported highertaxes were hardworking.


Question: Garza responds to Patterson by doing which one of the following?

Choices:
- (A)arguing that the body of evidence to which Patterson appeals is insufficient for Patterson's purposes
- (B)offering evidence to challenge the truth of the premise of Patterson's argument
- (C)presenting a counterexample to the general conclusion drawn in Patterson's argument
- (D)presenting an argument analogous to Patterson's argument to reveal a potential flaw in Patterson's reasoning
- (E)using Patterson's evidence to draw a conclusionin consistent with the conclusion drawn in Patterson's argument


Question: The principle stated above, if valid, most helps to justify the reasoning in which one of the following arguments?

Choices:
- (A)Because some of the duties that police officer scarry out have no connection to human health or safety, police officers should not be subject to a licensing requirement.
- (B)Because there are no realistic circumstances in which poor work by an interior designer poses a danger to human beings, interior designers should not be subject to a licensing requirement.
- (C)Because hospital administrators routinely make decisions that affect the health of hundreds of people, hospital administrators should be subject to a licensing requirement.
- (D)Because hair stylists regularly use substances that can pose a threat to human health if handled improperly, hair stylists should be subject to a licensing requirement.
- (E)Because tattoo artists who do not maintain strict sanitation pose a serious threat to human health, tattoo artists should be subject to a licensing requirement.


Question: If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true?

Choices:
- (A)Regis Motors sold more new cars to residents of Blomenville last year than they had in any previous year.
- (B)The total number of new cars purchased by residents of Blomenville was greater last year than it was in any previous year.
- (C)A car retailer other than Regis Motors sold the most new cars to residents of Blomenville last year,
- (D)The number of new cars purchased last year by residents of Blomenville is greater than the number of new cars sold by Regis Motors.
- (E)Regis Motors' share of the new car market in Blomenville last year increased over its share the year before.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, provides the most support for the argument in the editorial?

Choices:
- (A)Teenagers start releasing melatonin later at night and stop releasing it later in the morning than do young children.
- (B)Sleepy teenagers are tardy for school morefrequently than teenagers who are well rested when the school day begins.
- (C)Teenagers who work at jobs during the day spend more time driving than do teenagers who attend high school during the day.
- (D)Many of the car accidents involving teenage drivers in Granville occurred in the evening rather than in the morning.
- (E)Car accidents involving teenage drivers rose in the region surrounding Granville during the time they declined in Granville.


Question: Which one of the following arguments exhibits a flawed pattern of reasoning most similar to that exhibited by the argument above?

Choices:
- (A)A major shopping mall is now being constructed in our city. Most cities with major shopping malls are regional economic hubs. Therefore, our city will probably become a regional economic hub.
- (B)Cities that are regional economic hubs generally experience tremendous economic growth at some point. Our city is a regional economic hub that has never experienced tremendous economic growth. Thus it will probably experience tremendous economic growth in the future.
- (C)Cities that are regional economic hubs always have excellent transportation systems. It is widely agreed that our city's transportation system is inadequate. Therefore, our city will probably never become a regional economic hub.
- (D)A major shopping mall was built in our city ten years ago, and our city has experienced tremendous economic growth since then. Therefore, most cities in which major shopping malls are built will experience tremendous economic growth shortly afterward.
- (E)Most cities that are regional economic hub scontain major shopping malls. A major shopping mall is now being constructed in our city. Therefore, our city will probably become a regional economic hub.


Question: Which one of the following is an assumption that the oceanographer's argument requires?

Choices:
- (A)Carbon dioxide will dissolve much more thoroughly if it is pumped into cold water than it will if it is pumped into warmer water.
- (B)Evaporation of warmer ocean water near an ocean's surface does not generally release into the atmosphere large amounts of the carbon dioxide dissolved in the evaporating water.
- (C)Carbon dioxide dissolved in cool, dense waterin ocean depths will not escape back into Earth's atmosphere a long time before the water in which that carbon dioxide is dissolved mixes with warmer water near the surface.
- (D)It is the density of the water in the ocean depths that plays the main role in the trapping of the carbon dioxide.
- (E)Carbon dioxide should be pumped into ocean depths to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere only if the carbon dioxide pumped into ocean depths would be trapped there for hundreds of years.


Question: The reasoning in the community organizer's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument

Choices:
- (A)generalizes about the outcome of an event based on a single observation of a similar situation
- (B)takes for granted that people who participated in last year's cleanup will participate this year
- (C)confuses a condition that is required for an outcome with one that is sufficient for that outcome
- (D)overlooks the possibility that the cleanup will attract participants who are not residents in the community
- (E)defines a term in such a way as to ensure that whatever the outcome, it will be considered a positive outcome


Question: Bell and Soltan disagree with each other about which one of the following?

Choices:
- (A)Klein's policies have been effective.
- (B)Klein's policies are unpopular.
- (C)Klein should step down.
- (D)There are important decisions to be made in the future.
- (E)Klein's policies were implemented in the face of an impending catastrophe.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy described above?

Choices:
- (A)A person's assessment of the value of an object depends on his or her evaluation of the inherent properties of the object.
- (B)People are usually unable to judge the value of an object when they have possessed it for a long period of time.
- (C)The amount a person is willing to spend on an object is determined by the amount that object sold for in the past.
- (D)People tend to value an object that they do no town less than they value a very similar object that they already own.
- (E)People are more likely to undervalue objects they have been given than objects they have purchased.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the support for the ecologist's conclusion?

Choices:
- (A)Adult starlings are able to defend themselves against parasitic insects.
- (B)Male starlings do not decorate their nests in areas with unusually small populations of parasitic insects.
- (C)Nestlings grow faster in nests that incorporate aromatic plants than in nests that do not.
- (D)Male starlings tend to decorate their nests with a greater number of aromatic plants when a caged female is positioned adjacent to the nest.
- (E)The compounds in the aromatic plants used by the male starlings to decorate their nests are harmless to nestlings.


Question: The conclusion of the argument follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?

Choices:
- (A)Commission members who have expressed their opinions about disaster preparedness in the news media have also emphasized their commitment to producing an effective report.
- (B)News organizations should not provide a platform for members of the commission to express their opinions about disaster preparedness if doing so will undermine the effectiveness of the commission's report.
- (C)The commission will be able to speak with a uniform voice only if individual members' opinions about disaster preparedness are not made public before the report is completed.
- (D)If commission members had not expressed their opinions about disaster preparedness in the news media before the report was completed, there would have been much public speculation about what those views were.
- (E)The commission's report will not be effective if some of the commission members already had opinions about the nation's disaster preparedness even before the commission was formed.


Question: The engineer's argument can most reasonably be interpreted as invoking which one of the following principles?

Choices:
- (A)Conditions that create a feeling of security also encourage risk taking.
- (B)Problems created by humans require human-created solutions.
- (C)Technical fixes are inevitably temporary.
- (D)Technical fixes cannot discourage risk-taking behavior.
- (E)The longer a problem goes unresolved, the worse it becomes.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, adds the most support for the conclusion of the argument?

Choices:
- (A)Wood rats build their nests using dead, brittle branches, not live ones.
- (B)A number of different animals use poison oakand poison ivy as food sources.
- (C)It is common for plants to defend themselves by producing chemical substances.
- (D)In approximately 85 percent of the human population, very small amounts of urushiol can cause a rash.
- (E)Poison oak and poison ivy grow particularly well in places where humans have altered natural forest ecosystems.


Question: Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the politician's criticism?

Choices:
- (A)Evaluation of legislation should take into account actual results, not intentions alone.
- (B)The wealthier members of a community should not have undue influence on its governance.
- (C)A community' s tax laws and zoning regulations should apply equally to all individuals within selected areas.
- (D)Legislation that is not to anyone's benefit should not be commended.
- (E)Laws that give advantage to the well-to-do can also benefit society as a whole.


Question: Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of the pund it's argument?

Choices:
- (A)If national leaders who fail to solve problems are voted out of office after a few years, new leaders will be more motivated to solve problems.
- (B)National leaders who stay in power too long tend to deny responsibility for problems that they could have dealt with earlier.
- (C)National leaders are most likely to undertake reforms early in a new government.
- (D)National leaders who immediately respond to problems upon taking office should be given enough time to succeed at solving them.
- (E)National leaders should be removed from office every few years by the voting in of new leaders.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the farmer's argument?

Choices:
- (A)The government sponsors at least some investigations of agricultural techniques that are considered likely to solve agricultural problems and do not use commercial products.
- (B)For almost any agricultural problem, there is at least one agricultural technique that does not use commercial products but that would solve that agricultural problem.
- (C)Investigations of agricultural techniques are rarely sponsored by individuals or by any entity other than private for-profit corporations or the government.
- (D)Most if not all investigations of agricultural techniques that use commercial products are sponsored by private for-profit corporations.
- (E)Most if not all government-sponsored agricultural research investigates agricultural techniques that do not use commercial products.


Question: The spokesperson's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

Choices:
- (A)overlooks the possibility that the students surveyed were unaware that only Hall Dining Services could be hired if the current vendor were not hired
- (B)relies on a sample that is likely to be unrepresentative
- (C)overlooks the possibility that student preferenceis not the only factor to be considered when it comes to deciding which food vendor the university should hire
- (D)overlooks the possibility that there is disagreement among students concerning the issue of food vendors
- (E)argues that a certain action ought to be undertaken merely on the grounds that it would be popular


Question: Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above?

Choices:
- (A)On average, cats fed canned cat food eat more calories per day than do cats fed dry cat food.
- (B)Typically, cats are fed either canned cat food or dry cat food, or both.
- (C)How much it costs to feed a cat a given kind of food depends only on how many calories per ounce that food contains.
- (D)On average, it costs no less to feed a cat that eats fewer ounces of food per day than it does to feed a cat that eats more ounces of food per day.
- (E)Canned cat food typically costs more per ounce than does dry cat food.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, would most help to resolve the puzzle described above?

Choices:
- (A)An eighteenth-century baroque organ cannot adequately produce much of the organ music now played in church services and concerts.
- (B)The organ originally designed for the church had some features that modem organs lack.
- (C)The donation for rebuilding the originaleighteenth-century baroque organ was designated for that purpose alone.
- (D)By the time the church was destroyed in World War II, the eighteenth-century baroque organ had been modified several times.
- (E)In the eighteenth century, the organ playedan important role in church services at the Frauenkirche.


Question: Which one of the following is a statement from which the conclusion can be properly drawn using the principle?

Choices:
- (A)Reducing taxes on textile imports would notf inancially benefit many consumers in the domestic economy.
- (B)Reducing taxes on textile imports would financially benefit some consumers in the domestic economy but would not benefit the domestic textile industry.
- (C)The domestic textile industry faces significant competition in many of its export markets.
- (D)The domestic textile industry and consumers in the domestic economy would benefit less from reductions in taxes on textile imports than they would from other measures.
- (E)The added competition produced by any reduction of taxes on imports would significantly harm the domestic textile industry.


Question: Which one of the following can most reasonably be concluded on the basis of the information above?

Choices:
- (A)The exact magnitude of the rise in global sea level is in dispute.
- (B)Rises in global sea level that occurred before the world's reservoirs were built are difficult to explain.
- (C)Little is known about the contribution of global warming to the rise in global sea level.
- (D)The amount of water in the world's reservoirs is about equal to the amount of water that results from the melting of glaciers and ice sheets.
- (E)The amount of water that results from the melting of glaciers and ice sheets cannot be determined by looking at the rise in global sea level alone.


Question: The reasoning in the argument is flawed in that the argument

Choices:
- (A)infers a causal relationship when the evidence only supports a correlation
- (B)takes a condition that is sufficient for a particular outcome as one that is necessary for that outcome
- (C)infers that every member of a group has a feature in common on the grounds that the group as a whole has that feature
- (D)has a premise that presupposes the truth of the conclusion
- (E)constructs a generalization on the basis of a single instance


Question: The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following?

Choices:
- (A)There should be limits placed on how much technical information can be considered by both sides in preparing a legal case.
- (B)Jury decisions in cases involving expert witness testimonies are not always determined by the reliability of those testimonies.
- (C)Jurors who understand the technical information presented in a case can usually assess its legal implications accurately.
- (D)Jury members should generally be selected on the basis of their technical expertise.
- (E)Expert witnesses who testify on opposite sides in legal cases are likely to agree in their evaluations of technical claims.


Question: Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Choices:
- (A)It is rare for political groups both on the right and on the left to criticize a particular tax reform proposal.
- (B)Even an overly specific or vague tax reform proposal can be implemented in a way that produces beneficial results.
- (C)The proposed legislation has not been criticized by any group that does not identify itself with the political right or the political left.
- (D)The proposed legislation as it is framed was not meant to satisfy either political groups on the right or political groups on the left.
- (E)The proposed legislation is not made up of a set of statements some of which are overly specific and some of which are overly vague.


Question: Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its reasoning to the employee's argument?

Choices:
- (A)Some people advocate moderation in all things. But different people react differently to certain substances, so what counts as a moderate amount of, say, caffeine for you might be too much for me. So to talk about moderation is to fail to take into account people's basic biological differences.
- (B)Activists are calling for an electronic device to be banned, for research has shown that prolonged exposure to the device while it is in use causes cancer in laboratory animals. But most chemicals probably cause cancer when administered in very high doses, yet no one would argue that we should ban all these chemicals for that reason.
- (C)Acme expects that approximately 1,000 of its employees will retire over the next year. No one would claim that Acme does not need a work force as large as its present one. So Acme will need to hire approximately 1,000 people over the next year.
- (D)In many creative writing classes, aspiring writers are told that if the characters they create are not engaging, their novels and stories will not sell. But this does not mean that engaging characters guarantee a sale-publishers and agents often reject manuscripts that emphasize character to the exclusion of other elements.
- (E)In the movie industry, a film's success is judged in terms of its profit relative to its cost. This is misguided, because under this criterion an expensive movie that sells just as many tickets as a lower-budget movie would be less successful than the lower-budget movie, which is clearly counter intuitive.


Question: The conclusion drawn above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed to be true at Tromen University?

Choices:
- (A)French Literature 205 is a required course forFrench-literature majors.
- (B)Only biology majors are allowed to take Biology 218.
- (C)There are more biology majors than there are French-literature majors.
- (D)There are more French-literature majors than there are biology majors.
- (E)It is not possible to major in both biology and French literature.


Question: If the critic's statements are true, which one of the following must also be true?

Choices:
- (A)Any book worthy of serious study is a literary classic.
- (B)A book is a literary classic only if it is worthy of serious study.
- (C)There are no literary classics worthy of serious study.
- (D)Some books worthy of serious study do not reveal anything significant about the human condition.
- (E)Some books that reveal something significant about the human condition are not literary classics.


Question: The answer to which one of the following questions would most help in evaluating the argument?

Choices:
- (A)Was the ratio of the head size of the recently discovered dinosaur to its body size the same as that for T. rexl
- (B)At what stage in its life did the recently discovered dinosaur die?
- (C)Was T. rex the largest and heaviest prehistoric predator?
- (D)Was the species to which the recently discovered dinosaur belonged related to T. rex?
- (E)Did the recently discovered dinosaur prey on species as large as those that T. rex preyed on?


Question: The flawed reasoning exhibited by the argument above is most similar to that exhibited by which one of the following?

Choices:
- (A)Soccer players suffer more leg injuries, on average, than any other athletes at this university. Linda Wilson has suffered more leg injuries than any other soccer player at this university. Thus, Linda Wilson is the athlete at this university who has suffered the most leg injuries.
- (B)Teachers at our school have won more teaching awards, on average, than teachers at any other school in this city. Janna Patel is the teacher who has won the most awards in the city. So Janna Patel is the best teacher at our school.
- (C)The Olson Motor Company manufactures the three best-selling automobile models in the country. The Decade is the Olson Motor Company's best-selling model. Thus the Decade is the best-selling model in the country.
- (D)In this city the highest-paid police officer earns more than the highest-paid firefighter, and the lowest-paid police officer earns more than the lowest-paid firefighter. So in this city police officers earn more, on average, than firefighters do.
- (E)Falling Fast is the film that is currently earning the most at the box office in the country. The most successful film in the country is typically the one that is showing in the most theaters. So Falling Fast is probably the film that is currently showing in the most theaters.


Question: The principle stated above, if valid, most helps to justify the reasoning in which one of the following arguments?

Choices:
- (A)Joe made a legitimate offer to buy Sandy's car and Sandy has not rejected the offer. Thus, there was a valid contract.
- (B)Kenta accepted Gus's offer to buy a shipmentof goods, but Gus, unknown to Kenta, made the offer in jest. Thus, the contract was not valid.
- (C)Frank's offer to buy Mindy's business from her was legitimate. Thus, if Mindy is a reasonable person, she will accept the offer.
- (D)Hai's offer to sell artworks to Lea was made in such a way that no one in Lea's position would have reasonably believed it to be made in jest. Thus, if Lea accepts the offer, they have a valid contract.
- (E)The only offer that Sal made to Veronica was not a legitimate one. Thus, regardless of whether Sal made the offer in jest, there is no valid contract between them.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the scientist's argument?

Choices:
- (A)A number of animal species that inhabit the islands are not found in the Americas.
- (B)Genetic analysis indicates that the iguana species on the islands are different in several respects from those found in the Americas.
- (C)Documented cases of iguanas rafting long distances between land masses are uncommon.
- (D)Fossils of iguana species closely related to those that inhabit the islands have been found in Australia.
- (E)The lineages of numerous plant and animal species found in Australia or in South America date back to a period prior to the fragmentation of Gondwana.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the scientist argument?

Choices:
- (A)Takes for granted that greatness can be attained only by military conquest
- (B)Takes for granted that the largest tomb found so far must be the largest that was built
- (C)Does not show how the recently discovered tomb compares with other tombs from the same period that have been found in other regions
- (D)Fails to evaluate the significance of the fact that Alexander empire did not survive his death
- (E)Takes for granted that archaeologists can determine the size of the tomb from its remains