Question: That we should learn the lessons of history figures in the argument in which one of the following ways?

Choices:
- (A)It sets out a problem the argument as a whole is designed to resolve.
- (B)It is compatible with accepting the argument's conclusion and with denying it.
- (C)It is a position that the argument simply takes for granted is false.
- (D)It expresses the position the argument as a whole is directed toward discrediting.
- (E)It is an assumption that is required in order to establish the argument's conclusion.


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

Choices:
- (A)confuses a sufficient condition for adopting ethical guidelines for politicians with a necessary condition for adopting such guidelines
- (B)rejects a proposal on the grounds that an inadequate argument has been given for it
- (C)fails to adequately address the possibility that other city politicians would resist Sigerson's proposal
- (D)rejects a proposal on the grounds that the person offering it is unfamiliar with the issues it raises
- (E)overlooks the fact that Sigerson's proposal would apply only to the future conduct of city politicians


Question: The argument requires the assumption that

Choices:
- (A)some gardening books that recommend tilling the soil and adding compost before starting a new garden are not flawed
- (B)gardeners should not add compost to the soil unless they have a thorough understanding of composting
- (C)an explanation of the basics of composting must include an explanation of the difference between hot and cold composting
- (D)everyone who understands the difference between hot and cold composting understands at least the basics of composting
- (E)no gardening book that includes an explanation of at least the basics of composting is flawed


Question: Which one of the following, if true, does most to explain why the estimates remain virtually unchanged?

Choices:
- (A)The mass of galaxies is thought to make up only a tiny percentage of the universe's total mass.
- (B)The overwhelming majority of galaxies are so far from Earth that their mass can be only roughly estimated.
- (C)The number of galaxies that astronomers believe exist tends to grow as the instruments used to detect galaxies become more sophisticated.
- (D)Theories about how galaxies are formed are rarely affected by estimates of the universe's total mass.
- (E)There is no consensus among astronomers on the proper procedures for estimating the universe's total mass.


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

Choices:
- (A)it repudiates a claim merely on the grounds that an inadequate argument has been given for it
- (B)it treats a change that is required for virtual elimination of society's most vexing social ills as a change that will guarantee the virtual elimination of those ills
- (C)it fails to consider that, even if an argument's conclusion is false, some of the assumptions used to justify that conclusion may nonetheless be true
- (D)it distorts the opponent's argument and then attacks this distorted argument
- (E)it uses the key term "government" in one sense in a premise and in another sense in the conclusion


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

Choices:
- (A)Even some cars that receive regular preventive maintenance break down, requiring costly repairs.
- (B)The columnist's city has a much smaller population and economy than the other cities did when they began devoting resources to economic development planning.
- (C)Most motorists who fail to perform preventive maintenance on their cars do so for nonfinancial reasons.
- (D)Qualified economic development advisers generally demand higher salaries than many city councils are willing to spend.
- (E)Cities that have earned large returns due to hiring economic development advisers did not earn any returns at all in the advisers' first few years of employment.


Question: Which one of the following most accurately describes the role played in the editorial's argument by the statement that cell-phone use would be far more upsetting on airplanes than it is on buses and trains?

Choices:
- (A)It is the main conclusion of the argument.
- (B)It is a claim that the argument tries to rebut.
- (C)It is a premise that indirectly supports the main conclusion of the argument by supporting a premise for that conclusion.
- (D)It is a conclusion for which support is provided and that itself is used in turn to directly support the argument's main conclusion.
- (E)It provides background information that plays no role in the reasoning in the argument.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most helps to support the science writer's argument?

Choices:
- (A)The inability of Alzheimer's patients to eliminate the protein BA from the brain is due to a deficiency in the brain's immune system.
- (B)Acetylsalicylic acid reduces the production of immune cells in the brain.
- (C)The activity of microglia results in a decrease in the buildup of protein deposits in the brain.
- (D)The protein BA directly interferes with the cognitive functions of the brain.
- (E)Immune reactions by microglia occur in certain diseases of the brain other than Alzheimer's.


Question: The principles stated by the lawyer most strongly support which one of the following judgments?

Choices:
- (A)Rey gave his friend Sunok a key to the store where he worked and asked her to use the store owners' computer to look up their friend Jim's phone number, which Rey kept on the computer. Because Sunok had Rey's permission, her action was justified.
- (B)Police department investigators accessed the electronic accounting files of the central computer owned by a consulting firm that was on trial for fraudulent business practices without seeking permission from the firm's owners. Contrary to the investigators' reasonable beliefs, however, the files ultimately provided no evidence of wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the investigators' action was justified.
- (C)A police officer accessed, without Natalie's permission, files on the computer that Natalie owned and used exclusively in the operation of her small business. Since the police officer's search of the files on Natalie's computer produced no evidence usable in any legal proceeding against Natalie, the police officer's action was clearly not justified.
- (D)Customs officials examined all of the files stored on a laptop computer confiscated from an importer whom they suspected of smuggling. Because there were reasonable grounds for believing that the computer had typically been used in the operation of the importer's legitimate business, the customs officials' action was justified.
- (E)Against the company owner's wishes, a police officer accessed some of the files on one of the company's computers. Although the computer was typically used in the operation of the company's business, the particular files accessed by the police officer were personal letters written by one of the company's employees. Thus, the police officer's unauthorized use of the computer was not justified.


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

Choices:
- (A)Leather tanned using the conventional process is not lower in quality than is leather tanned using biological catalysts.
- (B)The biological catalysts that can be used in the tanning process are less costly by weight than are calcium oxide and sodium sulfide.
- (C)New technological innovations have recently made the use of biological catalysts in the tanning process much more cost effective.
- (D)Disposal of tanning waste produced with biological catalysts does not cost significantly more than disposal of the same amount of waste produced with the conventional process.
- (E)The labor costs associated with tanning leather using biological catalysts are not any greater than the labor costs associated with the conventional tanning process.


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

Choices:
- (A)I should not have played that practical joke on you yesterday. Even if it was not contemptuous, I should have realized that it would bring significant harm to someone.
- (B)I have no reason to think that the practical joke I want to play would harm anyone. So, since the joke would show no contempt for the person the joke is played on, it would not be wrong for me to play it.
- (C)Because of the circumstances, it would be wrong for me to play the practical joke I had intended to play on you. Even though it would not show contempt for anyone, it could easily bring you significant harm.
- (D)It would have been wrong for me to play the practical joke that I had intended to play on you. Even though I did not have reason to think that it would significantly harm anyone, I did think that it would show contempt for someone.
- (E)Someone was harmed as a result of my practical joke. Thus, even though it did not show contempt for the person I played the joke on, I should not have played it.


Question: Which one of the following, if assumed, enables the economics professor's conclusion to be properly drawn?

Choices:
- (A)Any company that refuses to accept coupons issued by a competitor when doing so would satisfy some of the company's potential customers is motivated solely by the desire to hurt that competitor.
- (B)Any company that wishes to hurt a competitor by refusing to accept coupons issued by that competitor will refuse to accept them even when accepting them would cost nothing and would satisfy its potential customers.
- (C)At least one company has refused to accept coupons issued by its major local competitor simply in order to hurt that competitor, even though those coupons were accepted by all other local competitors.
- (D)Any company that accepts its major competitor's coupons helps its competitor by doing so, even if it also satisfies its own actual or potential customers.
- (E)If accepting coupons issued by a competitor would not enable a company to satisfy its actual or potential customers, then that company's refusal to accept the coupons is motivated by the desire to satisfy customers.


Question: The science writer's statements, if true, most strongly support which one of the following?

Choices:
- (A)If a problem can be formulated in such a way as to make a scientific solution feasible, scientists will usually be called upon to solve that problem.
- (B)Any problem a scientist can solve can be formulated in such a way as to make a scientific solution feasible.
- (C)Scientists would probably have a lower success rate with research problems if their grounds for selecting such problems were less narrow.
- (D)Most of the problems scientists are called upon to solve are problems that politicians and business leaders want solved, but whose formulation the scientists have helped to guide.
- (E)The only reason for the astounding success rate of science is that the problems scientists are called upon to solve are usually selected by the scientists themselves.


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

Choices:
- (A)During times of the year when automobile traffic increases, gas prices also increase. Increases in gas prices lead to increases in consumer complaints. Thus, increased automobile traffic causes increased consumer complaints.
- (B)The most common species of birds in this region are migratory. Moreover, most migratory birds have left this region by the end of November. Hence, few birds remain in this region during the winter.
- (C)It is not surprising that most speeding tickets in this region are issued to drivers of sports cars. After all, most drivers who are not interested in driving fast do not buy sports cars.
- (D)Most nature photographers find portrait photography boring. Moreover, most portrait photographers especially enjoy photographing dignitaries. Thus, most nature photographers find photographing dignitaries especially boring.
- (E)Most snow-removal companies run lawn-care services during the summer. Also, most companies that run lawn-care services during the summer hire additional workers in the summer. Thus, most snow-removal companies hire additional workers in the summer.


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

Choices:
- (A)Those who convince others that they are capable of succeeding usually have few self-doubts.
- (B)Genuine confidence is often a by-product of pretended self-confidence.
- (C)Success is usually more a matter of luck or determination than of skill.
- (D)Many people who behave in a self-confident manner are genuinely confident about their abilities.
- (E)Self-doubt can hamper as well as aid the development of the skills necessary for success.


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

Choices:
- (A)The company will downsize unless more stock is issued. Furthermore, if the company downsizes, the shareholders will demand a change. Since no more stock is being issued, we can be sure that the shareholders will demand a change.
- (B)Rodriguez will donate her paintings to the museum only if the new wing is named after her. The only other person the new wing could be named after is the museum's founder, Wu. But it was decided yesterday that the gardens, not the new wing, would be named after Wu. So Rodriguez will donate her paintings to the museum.
- (C)Reynolds and Khripkova would not make suitable business partners, since they are constantly squabbling, whereas good business partners know how to get along with each other most of the time and, if they quarrel, know how to resolve their differences.
- (D)Lopez will run in tomorrow's marathon. Lopez will win the marathon only if his sponsors do a good job of keeping him hydrated. But his sponsors are known to be poor at keeping their athletes hydrated. So it is probable that Lopez will not win the marathon.
- (E)The new course in microeconomics is offered either in the fall or in the spring. The new course will be offered in the spring if there is a qualified instructor available. Since the economics department currently lacks a qualified instructor for such courses, however, the course will not be offered in the spring.


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

Choices:
- (A)Rational consumers who do not expect that the benefits outweigh the cost and difficulty of acquiring detailed information about a product they might purchase usually do not bother to acquire such information.
- (B)Whenever it is rational not to acquire detailed information about a product, it would be irrational to bother to acquire such information.
- (C)The benefits of acquiring detailed information about a product one might purchase usually do not outweigh the cost and difficulty of doing so.
- (D)Rational consumers usually expect that the benefits of acquiring detailed information about a product they might purchase would not outweigh the cost and difficulty of doing so.
- (E)Consumers who do not bother to acquire complete detailed information about a product they might purchase do not expect that the benefits of acquiring such information will outweigh the cost and difficulty of doing so.


Question: The reasoning in the mayor's argument is most vulnerable to which one of the following criticisms?

Choices:
- (A)It bases a projection only on conservative estimates rather than considering a wider range of estimates.
- (B)It takes for granted that the options it considers are mutually exclusive.
- (C)It fails to consider the possibility that the rate of increase in traffic will start to diminish after ten years.
- (D)It fails to address the issue of the cost of traffic gridlock to the city's economy.
- (E)It presents a choice that is limited to two options, without giving reasons for not considering any other options


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

Choices:
- (A)The tomb in which the hippopotamus was found was not the tomb of a child.
- (B)Earthenware figures were never used as children's roys in ancient Egypt.
- (C)The tomb in which the hippopotamus was found was not reentered from the time of burial until archaeologists opened it.
- (D)The hippopotamus' legs were not broken 1hrough some natural occurrence after it was placed in the tomb.
- (E)The hippopotamus was originally placed upside down in the tomb.


Question: Each of the following, if true, strengthens the lawyer's argumoot EXCEPT:

Choices:
- (A)Most jurors are less likely to understand instructions given in convoluted, legalistic language than instructions given in simple, easily comprehensible language.
- (B)Most jurors do not have an adequate understanding of their role after being given jury instructions in convoluted, legalistic language.
- (C)Jury instructions formulated in simple, easily comprehensible language can adequately descrthe the role of the jurors.
- (D)The details of the role of the jurors cannot be specified with complete precision in simple, easily comprehensible language.
- (E)Jurors do not need to know the precise details of their role in order to have an adequate understanding of that role.


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

Choices:
- (A)All neurochemical changes produce corresponding psychological changes.
- (B)improvements in a patient's behavior produced by "talk" therapy occur only through chemical changes in the brain's neurochemistry.
- (C)Talk therapy has not been effective at bringing about psychological change.
- (D)If chemical changes in the brain's neurochemistry correspond to improvemeots in patient behavior, then psychology and neuroscience will eventually be indistinguishable.
- (E)Direct intervention in the brain's neurochemistry is likely to become a less expensive way of treating psychological disorders than is "talk" therapy.


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

Choices:
- (A)Stomach ulcers caused by H pylori and tuberculosis can both be effectively treated with antibiotics.
- (B)Cases of tuberculosis usually last longer than ulcers caused by H pylori.
- (C)People who harbor M tuberculosis derive no benefit from its presence.
- (D)There are more people who harbor M tuberculosis than people who harbor H pylori.
- (E)There are more people who harbor H pylori than people who harbor M tuberculosis.


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

Choices:
- (A)All of the apartments on the lower floors of the building have scenic views.
- (B)All of the apartments in the building have scenic views.
- (C)Most of the apartments in the building are studio apartments.
- (D)Most of the apartments with scenic views are on the upper floors of the building.
- (E)Most of the apartments on the upper floors of the building are studio apartments.


Question: Which one of the following principles, if valid, would most help to justif Y Mike's reasoning?

Choices:
- (A)Using the possessions of others without their permission is not always theft.
- (B)Generally one should tell the truth, but there are cases in which it is permissible not to.
- (C)If people have used your property without your permission, it is not wrong for you to use their property without their permission.
- (D)It is permissible to treat people in a way that is siruilar to the way in which they have treated others.
- (E)Using another person's property is wrong if the person is harmed by that use.


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

Choices:
- (A)offers anecdotal evidence insufficient to support a general claim
- (B)gives reasons that do not address the point made in Wexell's argmnent
- (C)attacks the person making the argument rather than the substance of the argument
- (D)concludes that a claim is tilise merely on the grounds that the evidence for it is insufficient
- (E)takes a condition that is sufficient for the conclusion to be true as one that is necessary for the conclusion to be true


Question: The example presented above most closely conforms to which one of the following propositions?

Choices:
- (A)The presumption that something has order and coherence can lead one to irubue it with order and coherence.
- (B)One is less apt to reach a false understanding of what someone says than to make no sense out of it at all.
- (C)Dreams are often just collections ofiruages and ideas without coherent structures.
- (D)Interpreting another person's dream requires that one understand the dream as a coherent narrative.
- (E)People often invent clever and coherent stories to explain their behavior to other people.


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

Choices:
- (A)Computers cannot currently be made taster unless their CPU chips are made smaller.
- (B)Even if CPU chips are made slightly less sophisticated, they cannot currently be made much smaller.
- (C)If both the size and the sophistication of a CPU chip are decreased, the speed of that chip will decrease.
- (D)Few, if any, computer manufacturers believe that computers can be made significantly faster.
- (E)Increasing the sophistication of a CPU chip without increasing its size will proportionally increase its speed.


Question: The reasoning in the argument above is most vulnerable to criticism. on the grOl.mds that it involves a confusion between

Choices:
- (A)kinds of things and the things that are ofthose kinds
- (B)a condition necessary for a phenomenon and one that is sufficient for it
- (C)a cause and an effect
- (D)a correlation between two phenomena and a causal relationship between them
- (E)changes in our knowledge of objects and changes in the objects themselves


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

Choices:
- (A)Using a product may be environmentally unsound even if the product is a renewable resource and contains no chemical additive.
- (B)A practice is not environmentally sound if it significantly reduces the amount of oxygen entering the atmosphere.
- (C)A practice is environmentally sound if it helps to protect rain forests that contribute large amounts of oxygen to the atmosphere.
- (D)If the environmental benefits ofa practice outweigh the environmental costs, that practice can be legitimately considered environmentally sound.
- (E)If the practices of an industry threaten a vital resource, those practices should be banned.


Question: Morgenstern's argument is flawed in that it

Choices:
- (A)fails to take into account that unhappiness can vary in intensity or significance
- (B)relies on an assumption that is tantamount to assuming that the conclusion is true
- (C)mischaracterize what Brooks says
- (D)conllates two different types of risk
- (E)reaches a generalization on the basis of a single case


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

Choices:
- (A)This year, most of the Canadian films that were shown at international film festivals won prizes at the Lac Nichoutec Film Festival.
- (B)Most of the Canadian Films produced this year were shown at the Lac Nichoutec Film Festival.
- (C)Some of the films that won prizes at international film festivals this year were Canadian films.
- (D)This year, not every film that won a prize at the Lac Nichoutec Film Festival was also shown at an international film festival.
- (E)This year, at least one Film that won a prize at an international Film festival was not shown at the Lac Nichoutec Film Festival.


Question: The reasoning in the commentator's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it overlooks the possibility that

Choices:
- (A)widespread cynicism is beneficial to the wellbeing of society
- (B)cynicism about the motives of powerful people increases with the am01mt of information one has about them
- (C)the work of contemporary journalists reflects a cynicism that is not really genuine
- (D)any accurate description of human bebavior portrays it as selfish
- (E)cynicism of this type on the part of journalists has always had a negative effect on the well-being of society


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

Choices:
- (A)John's injured knee does not cause him a lot of pain, so he does not want to undergo the pain of surgery to heal it. But the surgery would enable him to exercise regularly again. Thus John should have the surgery.
- (B)Since its fishing season lasts only six months, Laketown Fishing Company prefers renting boats to buying its own. But since boats can be used for other purposes during the fishing season, it has made the wrong decision.
- (C)Max's mechanic thinks there is a crack in the left cylinder head of Max's car and wants to remove the engine to check. Such a diagnostic engine removal would cost about $175, even if the cylinder head does not need replacement But if the cylinder head is cracked and is not replaced, the engine will be ruined. So Max should have the mechanic check for the crack.
- (D)Because of dental problems, Leona cut her consumption of candy. Consequently, she learned to enjoy fruit more. Thus, dental problems, which can lead to other health problems, led in her case to an improved diet and better health overall.
- (E)Bulk Fruit Company is deciding whether to market a new hybrid fruit. It is enthusiastic about the idea, since research suggests that people will come to like this fruit. therefore, it is in the long-term interest of the company to market the hybrid fruit.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, provides the most support for the president's prediction?

Choices:
- (A)Ditalgame has spent millions of dollars developing the new copy protection feature , and the company can recoup these costs only if its sales increase substantially.
- (B)Over the last several years, the market for computer games has grown steadily, but Ditalgame's share of that market has shrunk considerably.
- (C)The copy protection feature causes a copied game to be playable just long enough for most people to come to enjoy it so much that they decide they have to have it.
- (D)Game Review Monthly, the most commonly read magazine among people who frequently copy computer games, generally gives favorable reviews to Ditalgame games.
- (E)Computer games produced by Ditalgame are copied more frequently than computer games


Question: Which one of the following most accurately expresses the overall conclusion of the columnist's argument?

Choices:
- (A)A society would never willingly accept a system in which, in lieu of paper money, the government keeps track of every transaction electronically.
- (B)it is reasonable for people to distrust a government that has too much power.
- (C)New technology may soon make it possible for an economy to operate without paper money.
- (D)People are right to be unwilling to give the government the power it would need to operate an economy without paper money.
- (E)Even though it may be technologically feasible, no government will be able to operate an economy without the use of paper money.


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

Choices:
- (A)The description that Marxism gives of certain historical phenomena in the economic sphere is as rigorous as it is claimed to be.
- (B)The aims of science are incompatlble with the aims of those who would seek to transform society by political means.
- (C)Only bodies of thought consisting purely of rigorous description are scientific theories.
- (D)Scientific theories cannot be correctly interpreted to be, or to imply, political programs.
- (E)The means of production will inevitably become socialized regardless of any political programs designed to make that occur.


Question: The dialogue most supports the claim that Daniel and Carrie are committed to disagreeing with each other about the truth of which one of the following statements?

Choices:
- (A)No one can be morally required to do something that is impossible to do.
- (B)Some actions that are performed with the right motivations are not morally good.
- (C)All actions that fulfill moral obligations are performed in order to fulfill moral obligations.
- (D)An action performed with the wrong motivations cannot be morally good.
- (E)If a person's motivations for acting are based on a sense of duty, then that person's action is morally good.


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

Choices:
- (A)infers that a part has a certain quality merely on the grounds that the whole to which it belongs has that quality
- (B)draws a general conclusion about government waste on the basis of a single instance of such waste
- (C)attacks the mayor's character rather than assessing the strength of the evidence supporting the mayor's claim
- (D)puts forward evidence that presupposes an important part of the claim that the argument attempts to support
- (E)rejects a position on the grounds that the motives of the person who has advanced the position were not disinterested


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

Choices:
- (A)In poor weather, only half as many planes are allowed to land each hour on any one runway at the airport as are allowed to land on it io good weather.
- (B)When the weather at the airport is good it is likely that there are planes landing on two adjacent runways at any given time.
- (C)If any two of the airport's runways are used simultaneously, serious delays result.
- (D)Airlines using the airport base their schedules on the assumption that more than 30 planes an hour will be allowed to land at the airport
- (E)In good weather, there are few if any seriously delayed flights at the airport.


Question: Which one of the followiog, if true, would do most to resolve the apparent discrepancy descrthed above?

Choices:
- (A)Early humans were much more likely to groom themselves than are the members of other primate species.
- (B)Early humans developed languages, which provided a more effective way of maintaining social cohesion than social grooming.
- (C)Early humans were not as extensively covered with hair as are other primates, and consequently they had less need for social grooming.
- (D)While early humans probably lived io large groups, there is strong evidence that they hunted io small groups.
- (E)Many types of primates other than humans have fairly large neocortex regions and display frequent social grooming.


Question: The flawed reasoning in which one oflbe following arguments most closely resembles the flawed reasoning in the argument above?

Choices:
- (A)If the people who inhabited the valley for so long had been invaded, or iflbere had been a dramatic climatic change, there would have been chaoges in the valley's architecture. But architecture in the valley remained the same throughout their stay. Thus, the valley people must not have been invaded at any time during their stay.
- (B)Many people fear that iflbe opposition party wins the election and keeps its promise to cut wages dramatically, workers in key industries will strike. But because the workers have promised not to strike, these workers must think the party will not keep its promise of a dramatic wage cut.
- (C)If the company had succeeded in selling its subsidiaries and used the cash to purchase the new patent, its stock price would have doubled in the last two years. But the price oflbe stock did not increase in that time. Thus, the company must have failed to sell its subsidiaries.
- (D)City residents were expected to show a great deal of support for the rebels iflbe battle was won and the jailed rebel leaders freed. Residents have shown a great deal of support or the rebels for the last three days. Therefore, the rebels must have won the battle.
- (E)Iflbe television station's new wealber forecasting equipment had been worth the investment, the accuracy of its forecasts would have risen, along wilb its ratings. But the station's ratings actually decreased. Thus, the new equipment is no improvement on the old.


Question: Which one of the following most accurately descrthes the argumentative technique employed above?

Choices:
- (A)rejecting a factic on the grounds that it constitutes an attack on the character of a person and has no substance in :fact
- (B)rejecting a factic on the grounds that the factic makes it virtually imposSlble for the group to reach a consensus on the issue in question
- (C)conditionally advocating a factic on the grounds that it results in an accusation that is less offensive than the alternatives
- (D)conditionally advocating a factic on the grounds that it results in an argument that would help the group to reach a consensus on the issue in question
- (E)conditionally advocating a factic on the grounds that it results in an argument for which one could not consistently accept the premise but deny the conclusion


Question: Which one of the following most accurately descrthes a flaw in the reasoning of the argument?

Choices:
- (A)The argument uses evidence drawn from a sample that is unlikely to be representative of the general population.
- (B)The argument presumes the truth of the conclusion that it sets out to prove.
- (C)The argument rejects a claim by attacking the proponents of the claim rather than addressing the claim itself.
- (D)The argument fails to make a needed distinction between how people should have voted and how they actually voted.
- (E)The argument defends a claim solely on the grounds that most people believe it.


Question: Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justiJY the editorial's argument?

Choices:
- (A)It is never possible to regulate misinformation without restricting people's access to accurate information.
- (B)Even if information is regulated, accurate information is often indistinguishable from misinfonnation.
- (C)Regulation of information makes it easy for people to distinguish between accurate information and misinformation.
- (D)It is acceptable for people to have access to a vast array of misinformation only if accurate information is never overlooked as a result
- (E)It is usually more desirable for people to have access to useless, unregulated misinformation than it is for them to have access only to accurate but regulated information.


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

Choices:
- (A)The previous club president had also invited speakers without first consulting other club members.
- (B)At the time the previous club president hired the tax accountant, most club members did not expect to be consulted about such matters.
- (C)Dr. Hines accepted the president's invitation to speak at the club's annual awards banquet.
- (D)The club president has more discretion in hiring an accountant than in hiring a speaker.
- (E)The club's previous president acted appropriately in hiring the tax accountant without first consulting other club members.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the company spokesperson's argument?

Choices:
- (A)Household Products did not evaluate whether the Filterator X water filter significantly improved the taste of drinking water.
- (B)Most Filterator X owners have no way to determine how effectively the product removes chemical contaminants from water.
- (C)People whose household water contsins chemical contsminants are more likely than other people to buy a Filterator X water filter.
- (D)Very few people who own a Filterator X read Household Products on a consistent basis.
- (E)Household Products' evaluations of Filterator X water ::tilters have been consistently negative


Question: Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the argument?

Choices:
- (A)Music is inferior to the other arts.
- (B)Either the artist's claim is incorrect, or most great music is not great art.
- (C)Like some great music, some great painting and sculpture may fail to imitate nature.
- (D)Some elements of nature cannot be represented adequately by great art.
- (E)Sounds that do not imitate nature are not great music.


Question: Of the following, which one, if true, is the strongest counter Patricia can make to Tamara's objection?

Choices:
- (A)Many poor Japanese during the Tokugawa period also had houses constructed with intentionally squeaky floors.
- (B)As part of their secret training, ninjas learned to walk on squeaky floors without making a sound.
- (C)The wealthy made up a small portion of Japan's population during the Tokugawa period.
- (D)The fighting prowess of ninjas was exaggerated to mythic proportions in the years following the Tokngawa period.
- (E)There were very few ninjas at any time other than during the Tokugawa period.


Question: The philosopher's argument requires the assumption that

Choices:
- (A)one cannot be a moral agent if one lacks a concern for the consequences of actions
- (B)desiring to conform to a principle requires free will
- (C)nobody who acts without taking the consequences of the action into consideration is free
- (D)it is impossible to have desires without also being a moral agent
- (E)it is impossible to perform morally worthy actions without at some time conforming to a principle


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

Choices:
- (A)Many university libraries have begun to charge higher and higher fines for overdue books and periodicals as a way of passing on increased journal subscription costs to library users.
- (B)A university library's acquisition budget usually represents only a small fraction of its total operating budget.
- (C)Publishing a scholarly journal is an expensive enterprise, and publishers of such journals cannot survive financially if they consistently lose money.
- (D)Most subscnbers to scholarly journals are individuals, not hbraries, and the subscription rates for individuals have generally remained unchanged for the past several years.
- (E)The majority of scholarly journals are published no more than four times a year.


Question: Which one of the following most accurately states the argument's overall conclusion?

Choices:
- (A)Terrence Gurney is mistaken when he suggests that the wide appeal of his bocks has prevented him from being given due credit for his literIII)' achievements.
- (B)Terrence Gurney's books are not significant literary achievements.
- (C)Even though Terrence Gurney's books tell interesting stories, his writing is flat and leaves no lasting impression on the reader.
- (D)Terrence Gurney has not been given due credit for his literary achievements because his books appeal to such a wide audience.
- (E)Terrence Gurney should have received some praise for his literary achievements despite the fact that his writing is flat and leaves no lasting impression on the reader.


Question: Assuming that the scientists' current belief about Earth's atmosphere at the time life began is correct, which one of the following, if true, would most help to explain how ligh1ning could have produced the first nino acids on Earth?

Choices:
- (A)Meteorite impacts at the time life began on Earth temporarily created a reducing atmosphere around the impact site.
- (B)A single amino acid could have been sufficient to begin the formation of life on Earth.
- (C)Earth's atmosphere has changed significantly since life first began.
- (D)Ligh1ning was less common on Earth at the time life began than it is now.
- (E)Asteroids contain amino acids, and some of these amino acids could survive an asteroid's impact with Earth.


Question: Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justiJY the reasoning in the art critic's argument?

Choices:
- (A)The Woemer Journalism Award for criticism should not be given to a writer who portrays utilitarian objects as works of art.
- (B)Reviews of objects cannot appropriately be considered to be criticism unless the objects reveal important truths about the culture that produced them.
- (C)Unless a review is written for the purpose of revealing important truths about the writer's culture, that review should not be considered to be criticism.
- (D)The Woerner JournalismAward for criticism should not be given to writers who do not consider themselves to be critics.
- (E)All writing that reveals important truths about a culture should be considered to be criticism.


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

Choices:
- (A)Mail-order sales have been decreasing for companies that do not offer unlimited free shipping.
- (B)The company did not widely advertise its change in poliey.
- (C)The company's profits frOIn mail-order sales have increased since the change in poliey.
- (D)The company's change in poliey occurred well after its competitors started offering unlimited free shipping.
- (E)Most companies offer free shipping only on mailorder purehases over $50.


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

Choices:
- (A)Many mountain climbers claim that their sport is safe because mishaps, though often fatal, are rare. However, mountain climbing is very risky: although the number of mishaps is small, so is the number of mountain climbers. Hence, the chance of a fatal mishap during mountain climbing is not as slim as it may seem.
- (B)Eating a serving of vegetables just once will not improve your health. It is nonetheless prudent to do so, for eating vegetables every day will make you much healthier over time.
- (C)Skydivers always use two parachutes: a main chute and an auxiliary one in case the main chute malfunctions. Thus, the risk of a fatal mishap is low. Nonetheless, it is foolish to skydive, for though the risk is small, the rewards from skydiving are also small.
- (D)The risk of serious injury when bungee jumping is quite low. Nonetheless, it is reckless to engage in that activity, for the injuries that would result in the case of an accident are so extreme that it is not worth the risk.
- (E)People complain about having to wear seat belts because they believe the chances of traffic accidents are slim. This is true; on any given trip it is unlikely that a collision will occur. However, it is till unwise to ride in a car without a seat belt, for the effort it takes to put one on is minimal.


Question: The principle stated by the university president, ifvalid, most helps to justitY which one of the following actions?

Choices:
- (A)A university denies a grant application from a fucuity member for work on a solurion to a tiunous mathematical puzzle that has no relation to practical concerns.
- (B)A government agency funds a research project in astrophysics designed to determine whether there are theoretical limits on the magnitude of planets in distant solar systems.
- (C)A university funds a research position in the pbysics department that involves no teaching but has the responsibility for managing all the grant applications by members of the physics fucuity.
- (D)A foundation decides not to fund a research proposal in applied mathematics that sought to model certain poorly understood aspects of economic behavior.
- (E)A research institute funds an investigation into the mathematical properties offolded structures that is likely to aid in understanding the structure of proteins that cause disease.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the study's findiogs?

Choices:
- (A)Office workers who have the most control over their own work tend to do significantly less typing than do those who have the least control over their own work.
- (B)Feeling a lack of control over one's own work teods to put one under emotional stress that makes one more susceptible to nerve disorders.
- (C)The keyboards on which office workers type teod to put typists' arms and hands in positions that promote the development of carpal tunnel syndrome.
- (D)Among office workers who rarely use keyboards, the rate of carpal tunnel syndrome is much higher for those who feel that they lack control over their own work.
- (E)Office workers who have the most control over their own work tend to perform repetitive motions other than typing more often than do office workers with the least control over their own work.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, justifies the given application of the principle above?

Choices:
- (A)Any employee of a telemarketing agency is likely to be able to detennine whether trying to talk someone into buying the product of a client of the agency after the person has said that he or she does not want to will likely engender nimosity toward the client.
- (B)Some employees oftelemarketing agencies are unlikely to be certain about whether trying to talk someone into buying the product of a client of the agency after the person has said that he or she does not want to will likely engenderanimosity toward the client.
- (C)Any employee of a telemarketing agency who tries to get someone to buy the product of a client of the agency after the person has said that he or she does not want to will engender animosity toward the client.
- (D)Some people that an employee of a telemarketing agency calls to ask them to buy the product of a client of the agency will refuse to do so even though they are not predisposed to dislike the client.
- (E)People who are already predisposed to dislike the client of a te1emarketiug agency are more likely to refuse to buy the product of that client than are people who are predisposed to like the client.


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

Choices:
- (A)No celestial body can simultaneously be a moon and a planet.
- (B)Not all celestial bodies that have an atmosphere and orbit the sun are true planets.
- (C)If Pluto had not been ejected from its orbit around Neptune, Pluto would not have its current orbit around the sun and would still be a moon.
- (D)The size of a celestial body in orbit around the sun is not relevant to determining whether or not it is a true planet.
- (E)For a celestial body to be a true planet it must have formed in orbit around the sun exclusively.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, would most help to resolve the apparent conflict presented above?

Choices:
- (A)Early humans had a significantly lower metabolic rate than anatomically modem humans,allowing them to expend their fat reserves more efficiently.
- (B)The brains of the earliest known humans were 30 percent smaller than the anatomically modem human brain.
- (C)Prehistoric savanna and woodland areas offered more reliable and abundant resources than they do today.
- (D)The techniques used to explore the archaeology of prehistoric shore sites have only recently been developed.
- (E)Gathering food in shore enviromnents required a significantly greater expenditure of calories by early humans than did gathering food in other environments.


Question: The editors' dialogue provides the most support for the claim that they disagree with each other about whether

Choices:
- (A)a photograph's composition should be related to a statement that it makes
- (B)a photograph that is not attractive can still be a good photograph
- (C)a photograph that makes no statement can still be attractive
- (D)attractiveness by itself can make a photograph a good photograph
- (E)attractive composition and prettiness are the same feature


Question: The conclusion of the university president's argument can be properly drawn ifwhich one of the following is assumed?

Choices:
- (A)The university will not maintain the quality of the education it provides ifit increases its enrollment.
- (B)The university will not need to reduce spending next year if it increases its enrollment.
- (C)The university will increase its enrollmentifit markets its programs more aggressively.
- (D)The university will not maintain the quality of the education it provides if it reduces spending next year.
- (E)The university will not need to reduce spending next year if it markets its programs more aggressively.


Question: Which one of the following statements logically follows from the information above?

Choices:
- (A)Most of the city's residents will continue to recycle even if a sorting requirement is implemented.
- (B)If the city starts requiring residents to sort their recyclables, then all of the residents who continue to recycle will sort their recyclables.
- (C)Implementing the sorting requirement would not cause the city's annual cost of sending garbage to its landfill to exceed its current annual cost of sorting recyclables.
- (D)The amount of recyclables going to the city's landfill will increase if the sanitation department stays within its budget.
- (E)If the city implements the sorting requirement, the sanitation department will stay within its budget.


Question: Which one of the following is a questionable reasoning technique employed in the argument?

Choices:
- (A)appealing to evidence that tends to undermine rather than support the argument's conclusion
- (B)appealing to evidence that presupposes the truth of the argument's conclusion
- (C)inferting solely from an effeet produeed by an action that a purpose of the action is to produce that effect
- (D)inferting solely from the claim that the behavior of a meerut sentinel is not entirely selfish that this behavior is entirely altruistic
- (E)concluding that a claim is false on the grounds that insufficient evidence has been offi:red to support it


Question: Their dialogue provides the most support for the claim that Alex and Jolene disagree with each other over whether

Choices:
- (A)most owners ofshrirnp farms eventually abandon their farms
- (B)shrimp farming often yields a quick, easy profit
- (C)shrimp farming hardly ever damages the environment
- (D)abandonment of a shrimp farm results in damage to the environment
- (E)some shrimp farmers are environmentally irrespousible


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

Choices:
- (A)No one who lives in a house both owns it and pays rent on it So, since my next-door neighbors pay rent on their house, it must be that they do not own it.
- (B)No one who lives in a house both owns it and pays rent on it. My next-door neighbors own their house. Therefore, it must be that they do not pay rent on it.
- (C)My neighbors have not paid any rent on their house. Since anyone who lives in a house but does not rent it owns it, it must be that they own it.
- (D)My next-door neighbors do not own their house. Since no one who lives in a house both O'WIlS it and pays rent on it, it must be that my next-door neighbors pay rent on their heuse.
- (E)Anyone who lives in a house but does not own it pays rent on it. My next-door neighbors do not own their house. Therefore, it must be that they pay rent on it.


Question: The argument's reasoning is vulnerable to criticism because the argument overlooks the possibility that

Choices:
- (A)the consumption of fther in many countries is rising appreciably
- (B)the risk of many types of cancer is reduced by high-fther diets
- (C)fther is difficult for many people to include in their diets
- (D)the fther in fruits and vegetables and the fther in cereals have cancer-fighting properties to different degrees
- (E)foods containing fther also contain other substances that, when consumed, tend to prevent colon cancer


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

Choices:
- (A)Humans did not evolve from chimpanzees, but rather from some extinct species.
- (B)The assumption that something like human language must exist in some species from which humans evolved has no clearcut linguistic implications for chimpanzees.
- (C)The communicative systems of chimpanzees are cruder than human language.
- (D)Human language is a by-product of human intelligence, which chimpanzees lack.
- (E)The evolution of human language began after the disappearance of an extinct species from which both humans aod chimpanzees evolved.


Question: Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the technician's statements?

Choices:
- (A)The conditions under which laboratory mice are kept are not likely to change in the near future.
- (B)If laboratory mice were kept under better conditions, it would be appropriate to use them for research aimed at improving human health.
- (C)Research using laboratory mice that is aimed at improving human health is compromised by the conditions under which the mice are kept.
- (D)Those who conduct research aimed at improving human health will develop new research techniques.
- (E)Laboratory mice that are used for research that is not directly related to human health are not usually kept in small cages.


Question: In order to evaluate the argument above, it is necessary to determine whether

Choices:
- (A)"production cost" in the definition of dumping refers to the cost of producing the product in the country where it originates or in the country where it is sold
- (B)there is agreement among experts about whether dumping is harmful to the economy of the country in which products are sold for less than production cost
- (C)shrimp producers from Country F charge more for shrimp that they sell within their own country than for shrimp that they sell in Country G
- (D)shrimp producers from Country F will eventually go out of business if they continue to sell shrimp in Country G for less than production cost
- (E)shrimp producers from Country F are selling shrimp in Country G for considerably less than production cost or just slightly less


Question: Which one of the following, if true, does the most to resolve the apparent discrepancy described by the scientist?

Choices:
- (A)Rock on the surface of Venus remains solid at much higher temperatures than does rock on Earth.
- (B)The surface of Venus is relatively thin, allowing internally produced heat to radiate into space.
- (C)The interior of Venus undergoes greater fluctuations in temperature than does that of Earth.
- (D)Though Venus lacks active volcanoes and heat-diffusing fissures, it has surface movement somewhat like that of Earth.
- (E)The atmosphere of Venus is significantly hotter than that of Earth.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the analogy used in the argument?

Choices:
- (A)The profits that a company makes in a given year are, in part, returned to the owners of the company.
- (B)Managers who routinely donate a certain percentage of corporate profits to charity do so with the owners' tacit consent.
- (C)Company managers often donate part of their own income to charities or other philanthropic organizations.
- (D)Any charity that accepts corporate donations needs to be able to account for how that money is spent.
- (E)Charities often solicit contributions from companies as well as private individuals.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most justifies the above application of the principle?

Choices:
- (A)Since there are relatively few snake charmers and they each capture relatively few snakes per year, snake charmers have a minimal effect on wild populations.
- (B)Many attempts to prosecute snake charmers under this law have failed because prosecutors lacked adequate knowledge of the procedures used to capture snakes.
- (C)Very few, if any, snake charmers are aware that there is a law that prohibits the capture of wild snakes.
- (D)Snake populations are much less threatened than the populations of several other species for which capture is legal.
- (E)Snake charmers capture wild snakes only because they believe they would be unable to earn a living otherwise.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the difference between the goals of movie executives and those of television executives?

Choices:
- (A)More people are willing to see a film more than once than are willing to watch a television show more than once.
- (B)There is no analog in television to the large profits that owners of movie theaters make by selling refreshments to their customers.
- (C)The average cost of producing an hour of film is much greater than the average cost of producing an hour of television.
- (D)Television shows make their profits from sponsors, who are chiefly concerned with the purchasing power of the people who watch a television show.
- (E)Over half of the most popular television shows are shows that viewers do not have to pay to watch.


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

Choices:
- (A)rejects an argument because of its source without evaluating the argument's logical strength
- (B)concludes that a claim is false merely on the grounds that it has not been shown to be true
- (C)draws an inference on the basis of a sample that is likely to be unrepresentative
- (D)fails to address the possibility that many people buy herbal teas containing ginseng because they enjoy drinking the tea
- (E)fails to address the possibility that some ingredients other than ginseng in the herbal teas containing ginseng counteract the effects of stress


Question: The scientists' conjectures, if true, provide the most support for which one of the following statements?

Choices:
- (A)The microbes' activity will soon diminish as the organic molecules in exposed sediments are depleted.
- (B)Every organism that generates carbon dioxide reproduces more quickly at high temperatures.
- (C)If global warming occurs, it will be exacerbated by the activity of the microbes.
- (D)The microbes do not remove any element other than oxygen from the atmosphere.
- (E)A significant portion of the carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere was produced by the microbes.


Question: The reasoning in which one of the following arguments most closely resembles that in the argument above?

Choices:
- (A)Some studies have provided evidence that taking a vitamin E supplement every day reduces one's risk of heart attack. However, it has not been conclusively established that vitamin E supplements are safe for all people. So we should not recommend that everyone take vitamin E supplements every day.
- (B)Governments are within their rights to tax tobacco heavily and spend this tax revenue on education. If these taxes become too high, however, people might smoke less, thereby reducing the funding thus generated for education. So such taxes might eventually have to be supplemented by other sources of revenue.
- (C)A consumer is better off when limiting purchases to what he or she truly needs and saving or investing any remaining income. If everyone did this, however, the economy would be thrown into a severe recession, thereby making saving and investing impossible for most people. So we should not recommend this spending pattern to everyone.
- (D)If legislators spent less time campaigning, they would have more time to do the jobs for which they were elected. But if they did not spend so much time campaigning, they probably would not get reelected. So it is not surprising that legislators spend so much time campaigning.
- (E)If we restrict land development in wilderness areas, we help preserve many of the species that now inhabit these areas. But we also thereby reduce the proliferation of the admittedly smaller number of species, such as deer, that flourish in developed areas. So it is not always clear which areas should be designated as wilderness areas.


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

Choices:
- (A)Any particular individual will be allergic to some breeds of cat but not to others.
- (B)No cat is capable of causing an allergic reaction in all types of allergy sufferers.
- (C)Not all cats are identical with respect to the proteins contained in their skin secretions and saliva.
- (D)The allergic reactions of some people who are allergic to cats are more intense than the allergic reactions of other allergy sufferers.
- (E)There is no way to predict whether a given cat will produce an allergic reaction in a particular allergy sufferer.


Question: Which one of the following most accurately describes how the statement that most people are taught to be cautious interpreters of language functions in the cartographer's argument?

Choices:
- (A)It is offered as an analogical case that helps to clarify the meaning of the argument's conclusion.
- (B)It is a conclusion drawn from the claim that education in the sophisticated use of maps is almost nonexistent.
- (C)It is part of a distinction drawn in order to support the argument's conclusion.
- (D)It is offered as support for the contention that maps have certain relevant similarities to language.
- (E)It is the conclusion drawn in the argument.


Question: The reasoning in the journalist's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds?

Choices:
- (A)It fails to address adequately the possibility that the critique of the book called into question other claims made in the book in addition to the claim that the drug has dangerous side effects.
- (B)It takes for granted that anyone even remotely associated with a company that manufactures a drug is unable to fairly weigh evidence concerning possible dangerous side effects of that drug.
- (C)It overlooks the possibility that the author of the book was biased for personal reasons in favor of the claim that the drug has dangerous side effects.
- (D)It fails to address adequately the possibility that someone who has personal reasons to deny a claim may nonetheless provide legitimate grounds for denying that claim.
- (E)It overlooks the possibility that even if a critique does not provide legitimate grounds to reject a claim, this failure need not be the result of any personal biases of the author.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most helps to justify the publisher's prediction?

Choices:
- (A)The game can be purchased directly from the publisher as well as from retailers.
- (B)It takes several weeks for most players to complete the game.
- (C)The publisher's games are among the most popular computer games on the market.
- (D)Most people who complete the game do not play it extensively afterward.
- (E)Some people buy and complete the game and then give it away to a friend.


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

Choices:
- (A)whether cocker spaniels are more likely than dogs of other breeds to stray from their owners
- (B)whether there are more cocker spaniels registered to addresses in Flynn Heights than any other breed of dog
- (C)whether the city's animal control officers find more stray dogs in and around Flynn Heights than in any other part of the city
- (D)whether the number of pets owned, per capita, is greater for residents of Flynn Heights than for residents of any other neighborhood
- (E)whether residents of Flynn Heights are more likely to license their dogs than residents of other neighborhoods are


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

Choices:
- (A)For each photograph, the emotion that the subjects agreed was being expressed was the emotion that the person photographed was, in fact, feeling.
- (B)One's emotional disposition is not influenced by one's culture.
- (C)Some behaviors that are present in people from widely disparate cultures are nonetheless culturally influenced.
- (D)If there is a behavior common to people of widely disparate cultures, then there is probably a genetic predisposition to that behavior.
- (E)The people whose faces were depicted in the photographs were not all from the same culture.


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

Choices:
- (A)Local codes and national codes must not overlap with each other.
- (B)Local codes may be less strict, but not more strict, than national codes.
- (C)Any behavior required by national codes is also required by local codes.
- (D)Ignorance of the difference between two codes is not an adequate excuse for noncompliance.
- (E)A behavior that is in compliance with one law is not necessarily in compliance with another.


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

Choices:
- (A)It would have been better to buy a tree last summer rather than this summer.
- (B)The tree purchased this summer is struggling to survive this summer's drought.
- (C)If a tree had been purchased last summer, it would be better able to survive this summer's drought.
- (D)A tree purchased last summer would have established roots.
- (E)Trees with established roots can better withstand droughts.


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

Choices:
- (A)Every party member at the convention is a delegate to the convention.
- (B)At least some speakers at the convention are neither delegates nor party members.
- (C)At least some speakers at the convention are delegates to the convention.
- (D)All speakers at the convention are government officials.
- (E)Every government official at the convention is a party member.


Question: Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion argued for above?

Choices:
- (A)The current focus of research into artificial intelligence will produce devices no more capable of displaying true intelligence than a person would be who lacked emotions and other noncognitive responses.
- (B)If the current focus of research into artificial intelligence is not radically changed, this research will not be able to produce machines capable of true intelligence.
- (C)Despite progress in creating machines of great computational sophistication, current research into artificial intelligence has failed to fulfill its objectives.
- (D)The capacity to express noncognitive responses such as emotion is at least as important for true intelligence as is computational sophistication.
- (E)If a machine is not capable of producing humanlike noncognitive responses, then it cannot be regarded as truly intelligent.


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

Choices:
- (A)relies on a sample that is likely to be unrepresentative of the population with which the conclusion is concerned
- (B)takes for granted that parents do not enjoy the same sort of children's television shows that children themselves enjoy
- (C)takes for granted that the educational value of a television show should be the only consideration for a parent trying to decide whether a child should watch the show
- (D)fails to rule out the possibility that parents' ratings of the shows based on their own enjoyment coincide closely with the educational psychologists' views of the shows' educational values
- (E)takes for granted that educational psychologists are the only people who can judge the educational value of children's television shows with a high degree of accuracy


Question: The dialogue provides the most support for the claim that Justine and Simon disagree with each other about which one of the following?

Choices:
- (A)If the lawsuit against Pellman had gone to trial, it is likely that Pellman would have lost in court.
- (B)Pellman's corporate leaders were able to accurately estimate their chances of winning in court.
- (C)If Pellman's legal fees for going to trial would have been more costly than the settlement, then settling the lawsuit was the most cost-effective solution for the corporation.
- (D)If Pellman's corporate leaders had expected that the legal fees for going to trial would have been less costly than the settlement, they would have taken the lawsuit to trial.
- (E)If Pellman's corporate leaders had expected to win in court, then they would not have settled the lawsuit out of court for $1 million.


Question: Which one of the following most accurately describes the role played in the astrologer's argument by the statement that scientific studies cannot be used to disprove a correlation between personality type and any other phenomenon?

Choices:
- (A)It is a claim offered as support for a conclusion that is in turn offered as support for the overall conclusion drawn in the argument.
- (B)It is a conclusion for which support is offered and that in turn is offered as support for the overall conclusion drawn in the argument.
- (C)It is the overall conclusion drawn in the argument.
- (D)It summarizes a position that the argument as a whole is directed toward discrediting.
- (E)It provides a specific instance of the general principle that the argument as a whole is directed toward establishing.


Question: Which one of the following, if assumed, enables the conclusion of the ethicist's argument to be properly drawn?

Choices:
- (A)People should not be regarded as subject to praise or blame for actions that were caused by conditions beyond their control.
- (B)Whether an act is one for which the person doing it is genuinely responsible is not determined by how much information others possess about that act.
- (C)We can be justified in praising or blaming a person for an action only when we regard that action as freely performed.
- (D)The responsibility a person bears for an action is not a matter of degree; however, our inclination to blame or praise whoever performed the action varies with the amount of information available.
- (E)If we do not know much about the events leading up to any given action, we will regard that action as freely performed.


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

Choices:
- (A)overlooks the possibility that if crying has a tendency to reduce emotional stress, this tendency might arise because of something other than the shedding of tears
- (B)confuses a condition that is required for the production of a given phenomenon with a condition that in itself would be sufficient to cause the production of that phenomenon
- (C)fails to adequately address the possibility that, even if one phenomenon causally contributes to a second phenomenon, the second phenomenon may causally influence the first as well
- (D)fails to adequately distinguish between two distinct factors that are jointly responsible for causing a given phenomenon
- (E)takes for granted that because certain substances are present whenever a condition occurs, those substances are a cause of that condition


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

Choices:
- (A)If a tire's pressure is too low, the tire will wear out prematurely, and if a tire wears out prematurely, a likely cause is that the pressure was too low. So if a car owner checks the tire pressure regularly, the tires will not wear out prematurely.
- (B)If a tire's pressure is too low, the tire will wear out prematurely. But tire pressure will become too low only if the car owner neglects to check the pressure regularly. So a tire will wear out prematurely if the car owner neglects to check the pressure regularly.
- (C)Tires wear out prematurely if car owners neglect to check the tire pressure regularly. Unless car owners are unaware of this fact, they check the tire pressure regularly. So car owners need to be made aware of the consequences of neglecting to check the tire pressure.
- (D)If a tire's pressure is too low, the tire will wear out prematurely. But tire pressure will become too low if the car owner neglects to check the pressure regularly. Therefore, if the car owner neglects to check the pressure regularly, a tire will wear out prematurely.
- (E)If a tire's pressure is too low, the tire will wear out prematurely. But it will also wear out prematurely if it is often driven on gravel roads. Therefore, if a tire is often driven on gravel roads, keeping its pressure from becoming too low will not help it to last longer.


Question: The technique Amar uses in responding to Sarah's argument is to

Choices:
- (A)question whether Sarah's recommendation can be put into practice
- (B)point out that Sarah used a crucial term in two distinct senses
- (C)allude to a factor that supposedly strengthens the case for Sarah's recommendation
- (D)contend that Sarah's recommendation has an important negative consequence
- (E)maintain that Sarah overlooks important lessons from past policies


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

Choices:
- (A)The decision as to whether an artwork merits restoration or not should depend on its greatness as judged by aesthetic standards alone.
- (B)An artwork possesses aesthetic value only if there are people who observe and appreciate it.
- (C)It is acceptable to risk future damage to an artwork if the purpose is to enable it to be appreciated in its original form.
- (D)It is right to spend large amounts of money on the restoration of an old artwork if this restoration makes the artwork accessible to large numbers of people.
- (E)A picture that has become encrusted with grime over a long period can no longer be regarded as the same work of art as that painted by the artist.


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

Choices:
- (A)White-footed mice are very rarely found in unfragmented forests.
- (B)The population density for most species of small animals increases when a continuous area of forest becomes fragmented.
- (C)Forest fragmentation reduces the number and variety of animal species that an area can support.
- (D)Efforts to stop the fragmentation of forests can have a beneficial effect on human health.
- (E)Deer ticks reach their highest population densities in small forest patches


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

Choices:
- (A)overlooks the possibility that injuries sustained by bicyclists in accidents on roads with bicycle lanes are as serious, on average, as those sustained by bicyclists in accidents on roads without such lanes
- (B)fails to address the possibility that there are more bicyclists riding on roads with bicycle lanes than there are riding on roads without such lanes
- (C)takes for granted that any road alteration that enhances the safety of bicyclists also enhances the safety of motorists
- (D)concludes that adding bicycle lanes to roads will fail to enhance the safety of bicyclists on the grounds that only some roads that currently have such lanes are safe
- (E)takes statistical evidence that fails to support a conclusion concerning the safety of bicyclists as evidence that proves the opposite conclusion


Question: Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the statements above?

Choices:
- (A)In the city with the worst air pollution today, the air quality is better than it was 30 years ago.
- (B)No city has worse air pollution today than it did 30 years ago.
- (C)Most of the public outcries against pollution came from people in the cities that had the most polluted air.
- (D)The most polluted cities today are not the cities that were the most polluted 30 years ago.
- (E)Public criticism led to an improvement in the air quality of the cities that had the most polluted air 30 years ago.


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

Choices:
- (A)concludes that one party is not blameworthy merely because another party is blameworthy
- (B)attempts to promote a particular behavior simply by showing that many people engage in that behavior
- (C)attacks a position based solely on the character of the people who hold that position
- (D)tries to show that a position is false simply by pointing out an undesirable consequence of holding that position
- (E)treats a necessary condition for blameworthiness as though it were a sufficient condition for blameworthiness


Question: Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain why the doctors' recommendation to some cancer patients differs from the general recommendation regarding vitamin C?

Choices:
- (A)Some kinds of cancer cells absorb large amounts of vitamin C, which interferes with the oxidation mechanism by which many cancer therapies kill cancer cells.
- (B)Vitamin C has not been shown to reduce people's risk of developing cancer, even at the very high dosage levels recommended by some doctors.
- (C)Cancer cells that are susceptible to certain types of cancer therapies are not likely to be affected by the presence of vitamin C.
- (D)The better the overall health of cancer patients while undergoing therapy, the more likely they are to experience a full recovery.
- (E)Certain side effects of cancer therapies that are detrimental to patients' overall health are not affected by vitamin C.


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

Choices:
- (A)Mechanical monitoring devices have not already been installed in areas where air pollution is a serious problem.
- (B)Copper particles are a component of air pollution in several locales.
- (C)Experiments have shown that lichens thrive in areas where air pollution is minimal.
- (D)Lichens can easily be grown in laboratories.
- (E)Lichens absorb all other significant air pollutants in a manner similar to their absorption of copper.


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

Choices:
- (A)Neither migratory birds nor humans have an innate homing sense.
- (B)There is as yet little reason to accept that birds have an innate homing sense.
- (C)Studies testing whether the accuracy of birds' migratory patterns is due to an innate homing sense are inconclusive.
- (D)The ability to use landmarks to find one's way home is probably not an innate ability in birds.
- (E)It is as false to claim that humans have an innate sense of direction as it is to claim that birds have an innate homing sense.


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

Choices:
- (A)Laundry detergents that are advertised as ecologically friendly contain much lower amounts of surfactants, on average, than do other laundry detergents.
- (B)There is no reason to suppose that most of the ingredients in laundry detergents not advertised as ecologically friendly harm the environment significantly.
- (C)Different kinds of laundry detergents contain different kinds of surfactants, which differ in the degree to which they could potentially harm aquatic life.
- (D)There is reason to suppose that ingredients in laundry detergents other than surfactants harm the environment more than surfactants do.
- (E)Laundry detergents advertised as environmentally friendly are typically less effective than other detergents, so that larger amounts must be used.


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

Choices:
- (A)Draining the lake would not cause the region's tourism economy to suffer.
- (B)Four years ago was the only time that poison was used against the pike in the lake.
- (C)The poison added to the lake four years ago was not successful in ridding the lake of the pike.
- (D)Four years ago, fishery officials did not consider any options other than using poison.
- (E)Salmon and trout populations in the Lake Davis area are essential to the region's economy.


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

Choices:
- (A)Many people assume that personal conflicts are inevitable.
- (B)Even when there is more evidence of good qualities than of bad ones, people find it easier to ascribe bad qualities than good ones.
- (C)It is irrational to allow a single instance to turn one's suspicion that a friend is unreliable into a feeling of certainty.
- (D)Personal conflicts are not inevitable.
- (E)Unlike a suspicion that a friend is unreliable, a belief that someone is reliable is normally built up only after many years of personal interaction.


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

Choices:
- (A)Fresh ingredients should be used in cooking whenever possible.
- (B)Only the tastiest ingredients should ever be used in cooking.
- (C)Ingredients that should never be used in cooking are generally neither tasty nor healthful.
- (D)Parsley that is not both tasty and healthful should never be used in cooking.
- (E)In cooking, dried ingredients are inferior to fresh ingredients.


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

Choices:
- (A)During the 800-year period studied, seal hunting practices did not vary substantially between different groups of Native peoples in North America.
- (B)The body size of northern fur seals is not strongly correlated with the overall health of the seals.
- (C)Before the 800-year period studied, the average body size of northern fur seals fluctuated dramatically.
- (D)Native peoples in North America made an effort to limit their hunting of northern fur seals in order to prevent depletion of seal populations.
- (E)Hunting by Native peoples in North America did not significantly reduce the northern fur seal population over the 800-year period studied.


Question: Which one of the following, if true, would most help to resolve the apparent inconsistency in the mayor's claims about new recycling projects?

Choices:
- (A)The vehicles that pick up materials for recycling create less pollution than would be caused by incinerating those materials.
- (B)The great costs of new recycling projects would prevent other pollution-reducing projects from being undertaken.
- (C)The mayor's city has nearly exhausted its landfill space and therefore must incinerate much of its garbage.
- (D)More recycling would give industries in the mayor's city a greater incentive to use recycled materials in their manufacturing processes.
- (E)People who recycle feel less justified in consuming more than they need than do people who do not recycle.


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

Choices:
- (A)Everyone suspects self-righteous people of being, in actuality, unethical.
- (B)Ellsworth has been accused of unethical business practices before.
- (C)Hypocrites often hide behind righteous indignation.
- (D)Ellsworth is in fact innocent of all wrongdoing.
- (E)Everyone expects self-righteous people to be easily offended.


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

Choices:
- (A)presumes, without providing justification, that there is no cause of decreasing voter turnout other than the belief that few important problems can be solved by government action
- (B)presumes, without providing justification, that there are no political solutions to the most important problems
- (C)infers that important problems can be seriously addressed if people's attitudes do change from the premise that these problems cannot be addressed if people's attitudes do not change
- (D)undermines its claim that people no longer believe there are political solutions to important problems by suggesting that people are dissatisfied with politicians
- (E)presumes, without providing justification, that voter apathy prevents the attitudinal changes that result in finding solutions to important problems


Question: Which one of the following, if true, would most help to support the iconoclastic geophysicist's claim?

Choices:
- (A)Several asteroid strikes within a short period could produce both volcanic activity that warms the oceans and atmospheric debris that blocks sunlight, and such changes could cause mass extinctions.
- (B)If asteroids repeatedly pummel the same spots, the beating may affect the flow of molten rock inside the earth, which would affect the degree to which continents drift around the earth's surface.
- (C)The impact craters that form a halo-like swath across the Northern Hemisphere were the result of a single cluster of meteors striking the earth.
- (D)Lumpy masses within the earth cause gravitational interactions with approaching asteroids that force them into specific orbits before impact.
- (E)No similar pattern of impact craters was created during any other period of the earth's history.


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

Choices:
- (A)All Acme employees can afford housing within a 30-minute commute of Milltown.
- (B)The chairperson of Acme has good financial reasons for wanting to move the company to Ocean View.
- (C)None of Acme's employees except the chairperson are in favor of moving the company to Ocean View.
- (D)Currently, most Acme employees have a commute of less than 30 minutes.
- (E)Acme's move to Ocean View will not be accompanied by a significant pay raise for Acme employees.


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

Choices:
- (A)in the educator's initial contact with a student, the educator should be as undemanding as possible
- (B)students who have a secure grasp of the fundamentals of a subject are likely to make progress in that subject
- (C)educators who are not achieving the goals they intended should revise their teaching methods
- (D)teaching new students is rewarding but much more difficult than teaching more advanced students
- (E)the success of a student's overall educational experience depends above all upon that student's initial educational experience


Question: The scientist's argument proceeds by

Choices:
- (A)reasoning that because an event has not occurred, that event has a low probability of occurring
- (B)drawing a conclusion that implicitly contradicts one of the premises that the argument accepts
- (C)taking for granted that dependable predictions about the future cannot ever be made simply on the basis of the present facts
- (D)inferring that since an event that is taken to be likely on a given hypothesis has not occurred, the hypothesis is probably false
- (E)making a prediction far into the future based on established human tendencies


Question: The argument is flawed in that it

Choices:
- (A)takes for granted that the speech could not be inappropriate if it was not inflammatory
- (B)fails to adequately address the possibility that inflammatory speeches may be appropriate for some audiences
- (C)favors the university president's side in a dispute simply because of the president's privileged standing
- (D)concludes that Riley's claim is false merely on the grounds that Riley has something to gain if the claim is accepted as true
- (E)fails to adequately address the possibility that Riley's animosity toward the university president is well founded


Question: Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its pattern of reasoning to that used by the radio producer?

Choices:
- (A)We should either buy blinds for the windows or make full-length curtains. Blinds would be very expensive to purchase. Thus, if cost is our greatest concern, we should make curtains.
- (B)We should either make curtains for the windows or buy blinds. Since the windows are not standard sizes, if we buy blinds we will have to special order them. Since we do not have time to wait for special orders, we should make the curtains.
- (C)For the living room windows, we can make curtains or valances or both. We want to have privacy; and while curtains provide privacy, valances do not. So we should make curtains but not valances.
- (D)Since we have very little fabric, we will have to either buy more, or make valances instead of curtains. However, if we use this fabric to make valances, then we will have to buy blinds. Since it would be hard to buy fabric that matches what we already have, we should buy blinds.
- (E)We should either buy blinds or make curtains for the windows. If we buy blinds but do not make valances, the windows will look bare. We should not have bare windows. So if we do not make the curtains, we should make the valances.


Question: The art historian's argument depends on assuming which one of the following?

Choices:
- (A)The type of canvas and other materials that Cassatt used in most of her work were readily available to others.
- (B)None of Cassatt's works is painted using a brush style that is not exhibited in any of her known works.
- (C)Cassatt's work generally had a characteristic subject matter that distinguished it from the work of other painters of her era.
- (D)The most characteristic feature of Cassatt's work is her brush style.
- (E)No painter other than Cassatt would be able to match Cassatt's brush style perfectly.


Question: The flawed nature of the argument above can most effectively be demonstrated by noting that, by parallel reasoning, we could conclude that

Choices:
- (A)every fish has fur since no cat lacks fur and no cat is a fish
- (B)some cats lack fur since every dog has fur and no cat is a dog
- (C)no dog has fur since every cat has fur and no cat is a dog
- (D)every cat is a fish since no cat is a dog and no dog is a fish
- (E)no fish is a dog since every dog is a mammal and no fish is a mammal


Question: On the basis of their statements, it can be inferred that Alissa and Greta disagree on which one of the following?

Choices:
- (A)whether the city will need to cease funding local children's television programming if it continues funding the children's museum
- (B)whether the mayor has spoken truthfully about what will need to happen if the city does not cease funding local children's television programming
- (C)whether the city should cease funding local children's television programming if continuing to fund it would mean that the city would have to cease funding the children's museum
- (D)whether local children's television programming provides a beneficial educational experience to a greater number of children in the city than does the children's museum
- (E)whether the children's museum provides a rich educational experience for those children who visit it


Question: The conclusion of the argument is properly drawn if which one of the following completes the passage?

Choices:
- (A)the editors of the Messenger believe that giving an interviewee the right to approve an article before publication would compromise their editorial integrity
- (B)the Messenger has never before given an interviewee the right to approve an article before publication
- (C)most television stars are willing to grant interviews with the Messenger even if they are not given the right to approve the articles before publication
- (D)Hermann usually requests substantial changes to interview articles before approving them
- (E)Hermann believes that the Messenger frequently edits interviews in ways that result in unflattering portrayals of the interviewees


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

Choices:
- (A)bases its conclusion on claims that are inconsistent with each other
- (B)takes for granted that any presentation that is not ineffective is a good presentation
- (C)bases an endorsement of a product entirely on that product's popularity
- (D)fails to consider that a tool might not effectively perform its intended function
- (E)rejects a claim because of its source rather than its content


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

Choices:
- (A)The Cape Simmons Nature Preserve is one of the few areas of pristine wilderness in the region.
- (B)The companies drilling for oil at Alphin Bay never claimed that drilling there would not cause any environmental damage.
- (C)The editorialist believes that oil drilling should not be allowed in a nature preserve unless it would cause no environmental damage.
- (D)There have been no significant changes in oil drilling methods in the last five years.
- (E)Oil drilling is only one of several industrial activities that takes place at Alphin Bay.


Question: James's and Margaret's statements provide the most support for the claim that they disagree over the truth of which one of the following?

Choices:
- (A)A primary goal of any university is to serve the educational needs of its community.
- (B)Most universities adequately serve the educational needs of the communities in which they are located.
- (C)The main reason people have for attending a university is to prepare themselves for a career.
- (D)In a typical community, the primary educational need is to prepare community residents for careers.
- (E)The main reason people have for attending a university is the same as the main reason people have for attending a community college.


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

Choices:
- (A)Some of the people who are most efficient in the workplace are not among the most organized.
- (B)Most people whose organizational skills in the workplace are below average do not take seminars for building organizational skills in the workplace.
- (C)Most seminars for building organizational skills in the workplace are designed for people who have been selected for management training.
- (D)Most people who have taken a seminar for building organizational skills in the workplace have below-average organizational skills before they enroll in the seminar.
- (E)Most people who have taken a seminar for building organizational skills in the workplace consequently expend a great amount of time organizing their activities.


Question: The principle, if valid, most helps to justify which one of the following judgments concerning the problem?

Choices:
- (A)If a customer believed that the expiration date had passed but applied for the rebate anyway, the Thimble Corporation is not obligated to give a rebate to that customer.
- (B)Because some customers who knew that they were eligible for the rebate chose not to apply for it, the Thimble Corporation is not solely responsible for creating the unfair situation.
- (C)If there is a chance that any customers did not apply for the rebate because of an incorrect expiration date on their rebate coupon, the Thimble Corporation is obligated to try to identify them and offer them the rebate.
- (D)Because it cannot identify all of the customers who were adversely affected by the incorrect expiration date, the Thimble Corporation should deny the rebate to all of the customers who applied for it.
- (E)If a customer did not rely on an incorrect expiration date when applying for the rebate but was denied the rebate for any other reason, the Thimble Corporation is not obligated to offer that customer the rebate.


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

Choices:
- (A)There is no way to know what made Shakespeare different from his contemporaries.
- (B)The life of the average man in Elizabethan England is uninteresting.
- (C)Shakespeare was very different from the other men of his time.
- (D)A biography should always focus on what makes its subject distinctive.
- (E)What is most interesting about Shakespeare is what made him different from his contemporaries.


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

Choices:
- (A)Cream that has been whipped ineffectively generally becomes a thick, velvety substance rather than fluffy whipped cream.
- (B)The use of a special whipping-cream attachment in a blender does not suffice to whip cream completely effectively.
- (C)When attempting to whip cream in a blender, using a special whipping-cream attachment always produces a fluffier result than could be obtained without using such an attachment.
- (D)The use of a special whipping-cream attachment in a blender can reduce the total amount of air required to whip cream effectively in that blender.
- (E)The use of a blender, with or without any special attachments, is not the most common way to attempt to produce whipped cream.


Question: The reasoning in the astronomer's argument is flawed because the argument

Choices:
- (A)concludes, simply because there is no evidence in favor of a hypothesis, that there is evidence against that hypothesis
- (B)fails to justify its claim that the view being criticized is inherently implausible
- (C)reasons that a hypothesis is false simply because there is another hypothesis that is equally likely to be true
- (D)attempts to derive a conclusion from premises that contradict it
- (E)grants the truth of claims that are made by the advocates of the hypothesis but that do nothing to


Question: Which one of the following demonstrates most effectively by parallel reasoning that the argument in the advertisement is flawed?

Choices:
- (A)Similarly, you could conclude that you can expect to win the lottery if you carry a good-luck charm. After all, Annie, Francisco, and Sean carry good-luck charms, and these three people are lottery winners.
- (B)Similarly, you could conclude that Jesse should not expect to get food poisoning. After all, Jesse, Doris, and Christine all attended the company picnic, and only Christine has gotten food poisoning as a result.
- (C)Similarly, you could conclude that Eric, Diane, and Martin are the only employees who will be laid off. After all, any employee hired within the last year can expect to be laid off, and these three employees are the only ones who were hired within the last year.
- (D)Similarly, you could conclude that Ken, Norma, and Mary routinely drive faster than the speed limit. After all, if you routinely exceed the speed limit, you can expect to get a speeding ticket eventually, and these three people have gotten speeding tickets.
- (E)Similarly, you could conclude that Jack, Stephen, and Tina can expect to get jobs after they complete their university education. After all, these three people attend Perry University, and most people who graduated from Perry last year found jobs.


Question: Which one of the following considerations is LEAST relevant in evaluating the degree of practicability of the hope expressed by the activist above?

Choices:
- (A)whether the current methods of disposing of sewage sludge by dumping do environmental damage
- (B)whether the processes that are used to turn sewage into clean water and sewage sludge have been improved in recent decades
- (C)whether the cost of producing and using oil from sewage sludge would be economically sustainable
- (D)whether the burning of oil from sewage sludge would, in contrast to nuclear power production, produce gases that would have a harmful warming effect on climate worldwide
- (E)whether waste products that would be produced in deriving oil from sewage sludge and burning it would be as dangerous as those produced by the mining and use of nuclear fuel