GWD-1
Q3:
A product that represents a clear technological advance over competing products can generally command a high price. Because technological advances tend to be quickly surpassed and companies want to make large profits while they still can, many companies charge the greatest price the market will bear when they have such a product. But large profits on the mew product will give competitors a strong incentive to quickly match the mew product’s capabilities. Consequently, the strategy to maximize overall profit from a new product is to charge less than the greatest possible price.
In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
A. The first is an assumption that forms the basis for a course of action that the argument criticizes; the second presents the course of action endorsed by the argument.
B. The first is a consideration raised to explain the appeal of a certain strategy; the second is a consideration raised to call into question the wisdom of adopting that strategy.
C. The first is an assumption that has been used to justify a certain strategy; the second is a consideration that is used to cast doubt on that assumption.
D. The first is a consideration raised in support of a strategy the argument endorses; the second presents grounds in support of that consideration.
E. The first is a consideration raised to show that adopting a certain strategy is unlikely to achieve the intended effect; the second is presented to explain the appeal of that strategy.
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Q13:
In the United States, of the people who moved from one state to another when they retired, the percentage who retired to Florida has decreased by three percentage points over the past ten years. Since many local businesses in Florida cater to retirees, this decline is likely to have a noticeably negative economic effect on these businesses.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A. Florida attracts more people who move from one state to another when they retire than does any other state.
B. The number of people who move out of Florida to accept employment in other states has increased over the past ten years.
C. There are far more local businesses in Florida that cater to tourists than there are local businesses that cater to retirees.
D. The total number of people who retired and moved to another state for their retirement has increased significantly over the past ten years.
E. The number of people who left Florida when they retired to live in another state was greater last year than it was ten years ago.
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Q14:
That the application of new technology can increase the productivity of existing coal mines is demonstrated by the case of Tribnia’s coal industry. Coal output per miner in Tribnia is double what it was five years ago, even though no new mines have opened.
Which of the following can be properly concluded from the statement about coal output per miner in the passage?
A. If the number of miners working in Tribnian coal mines has remained constant in the past five years, Tribnia’s total coal production has doubled in that period of time.
B. Any individual Tribnian coal mine that achieved an increase in overall output in the past five years has also experienced an increase in output per miner.
C. If any new coal mines had opened in Tribnia in the past five years, then the increase in output per miner would have been even greater than it actually was.
D. If any individual Tribnian coal mine has not increased its output per miner in the past five years, then that mine’s overall output has declined or remained constant.
E. In Tribnia the cost of producing a given quantity of coal has declined over the past five years.
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Q15:
In parts of South America, vitamin-A deficiency is a serious health problem, especially among children. In one region, agriculturists are attempting to improve nutrition by encouraging farmers to plant a new variety of sweet potato called SPK004 that is rich in beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. The plan has good chances of success, since sweet potato is a staple of the region’s diet and agriculture, and the varieties currently grown contain little beta-carotene.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the prediction that the plan will succeed?
A. The growing conditions required by the varieties of sweet potato currently cultivated in the region are conditions in which SPK004 can flourish.
B. The flesh of SPK004 differs from that of the currently cultivated sweet potatoes in color and texture, so traditional foods would look somewhat different when prepared from SPK004.
C. There are no other varieties of sweet potato that are significantly richer in beta-carotene than SPK004 is.
D. The varieties of sweet potato currently cultivated in the region contain some important nutrients that are lacking in SPK004.
E. There are other vegetables currently grown in the region that contain more beta-carotene than the currently cultivated varieties of sweet potato do.
Q17:
The spacing of the four holes on a fragment of a bone flute excavated at a Neanderthal campsite is just what is required to play the third through sixth notes of the diatonic scale—the seven-note musical scale used in much of Western music since the Renaissance. Musicologists therefore hypothesize that the diatonic musical scale was developed and used thousands of years before it was adopted by Western musicians.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the hypothesis?
A. Bone flutes were probably the only musical instrument made by Neanderthals.
B. No musical instrument that is known to have used a diatomic scale is of an earlier date than the flute found at the Neanderthal campsite.
C. The flute was made from a cave-bear bone and the campsite at which the flute fragment was excavated was in a cave that also contained skeletal remains of cave bears.
D. Flutes are the simplest wind instrument that can be constructed to allow playing a diatonic scale.
E. The cave-bear leg bone used to make the Neanderthal flute would have been long enough to make a flute capable of playing a complete diatonic scale.
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Q18:
It is illegal to advertise prescription medications in Hedland except in professional medical journals or by mail directly to physicians. A proposed law would allow general advertising of prescription medications. Opponents object that, in general, laypersons lack the specialized knowledge to evaluate such advertisements and might ask their physicians for inappropriate medications. But since physicians have the final say as to whether to prescribe a medication for a patient, the objection provides no grounds for concern.
Which of the following would it be most useful to establish in order to evaluate the argument?
A. Whether nonprescription medications can interact with and block the action of any prescription medications that could be advertised to the general public
B. Whether most prescription medication advertisements directed at the general public would be advertisements for recently developed medications newly available by prescription
C. Whether prescription medication advertisements directed at the general public would appear on television and radio as well as in print
D. Whether physicians are more likely to pay attention to advertising directed to the general public than to advertising directed to physicians
E. Whether physicians are likely to succumb to pressure from patients to prescribe inappropriate medications作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 11:36
Q22:
City Official: At City Hospital, uninsured patients tend to have shorter stays and fewer procedures performed than do insured patients, even though insured patients, on average, have slightly less serious medical problems at the time of admission to the hospital than uninsured patients have. Critics of the hospital have concluded that the uninsured patients are mot receiving proper medical care. However, this conclusion is almost certainly false. Careful investigation has recently shown two things: insured patients have much longer stays in the hospital than necessary, and they tend to have more procedures performed than are medically necessary.
In the city official’s argument, the two boldface portions play which of the following roles?
A. The first states the conclusion of the city official’s argument; the second provides support for that conclusion.
B. The first is used to support the conclusion of the city official’s argument; the second states that conclusion.
C. The first was used to support the conclusion drawn by hospital critics; the second states the position that the city official’s argument opposes.
D. The first was used to support the conclusion drawn by hospital critics; the second provides support for the conclusion of the city official’s argument.
E. The first states the position that the city official’s argument opposes; the second states the conclusion of the city official’s argument.
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Q31:
Which of the following most logically completes the argument below?
Davison River farmers are currently deciding between planting winter wheat this fall or spring wheat next spring. Winter wheat and spring wheat are usually about equally profitable. Because of new government restrictions on the use of Davison River water for irrigation, per acre yields for winter wheat, though not for spring wheat, would be much lower than average. Therefore, planting spring wheat will be more profitable than planting winter wheat, since‗‗‗‗‗‗.
A. the smaller-than-average size of a winter wheat harvest this year would not be compensated for by higher winter wheat prices
B. new crops of spring wheat must be planted earlier than the time at which standing crops of winter wheat are ready to be harvested
C. the spring wheat that farmers in the Davison River region plant is well adapted to the soil of the region
D. spring wheat has uses that are different from those of winter wheat
E. planting spring wheat is more profitable than planting certain other crops, such as rye
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Q33:
A company plans to develop a prototype weeding machine that uses cutting blades with optical sensors and microprocessors that distinguish weeds from crop plants by differences in shade of color. The inventor of the machine claims that it will reduce labor costs by virtually eliminating the need for manual weeding.
Which of the following is a consideration in favor of the company’s implementing its plan to develop the prototype?
A. There is a considerable degree of variation in shade of color between weeds of different species.
B. The shade of color of some plants tends to change appreciably over the course of their growing season.
C. When crops are weeded manually, overall size and leaf shape are taken into account in distinguishing crop plants from weeds.
D. Selection and genetic manipulation allow plants of virtually any species to be economically bred to have a distinctive shade of color without altering their other characteristics.
E. Farm laborers who are responsible for the manual weeding of crops carry out other agricultural duties at times in the growing season when extensive weeding is not necessary.
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Q39:
Which of the following most logically completes the passage below?
Heavy rains during Centralia’s corn planting season prevented some farmers there from planting corn. It is now the planting season for soybeans, another of Centralia’s principal crops, and those fields originally intended for corn are dry enough for planting. Nonetheless, even though soybean prices are unusually high at present, the farmers will leave most of these fields empty rather than plant them with soybeans, since ‗‗‗‗‗‗.
A. the extensive rains have led to an increase in the price of corn
B. some Centralian farmers anticipate serious financial losses due to the extremely wet spring planting season
C. chemicals that were used to prepare the fields for corn planting would stunt the growth of soybeans
D. the majority of Centralia’s corn farmers were able to plant corn as they had intended, despite the wet planting season
E. many Centralian farmers grow both corn and soybeans
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Q40:
Until mow, only injectable vaccines against influenza have been available. Parents are reluctant to subject children to the pain of injections, but adults, who are at risk of serious complications from influenza, are commonly vaccinated. A new influenza vaccine, administered painlessly in a nasal spray, is effective for children. However, since children seldom develop serious complications from influenza, no significant public health benefit would result from widespread vaccination of children using the nasal spray.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. Any person who has received the injectable vaccine can safely receive the nasal-spray vaccine as well.
B. The new vaccine uses the same mechanism to ward off influenza as jnjectable vaccines do.
C. The injectable vaccine is affordable for all adults.
D. Adults do not contract influenza primarily from children who have influenza.
E. The nasal spray vaccine is mot effective when administered to adults.
GWD-3
Q2:
Hunter: Hunters alone are blamed for the decline in Greenrock National Forest’s deer population over the past ten years. Yet clearly, black bears have also played an important role in this decline. In the past ten years, the forest’s protected black bear population has risen sharply, and examination of black bears found dead in the forest during the deer hunting season showed that a number of them had recently fed on deer.
In the hunter’s argument, the boldface portion plays which of the following roles?
A. It is the main conclusion of the argument.
B. It is an objection that has been raised against the main conclusion of the argument.
C. It is a judgment that the argument opposes.
D. It is a finding that the argument seeks to explain.
E. It provides evidence in support of the main conclusion of the argument.
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Q8:
Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
Garnet and RenCo each provide health care for their employees. Garnet pays for both testing of its employees’ cholesterol levels and treatment of high cholesterol. This policy saves Garnet money, since high cholesterol left untreated for many years leads to conditions that require very expensive treatment. However, RenCo dose not have the same financial incentive to adopt such a policy, because ______.
A. early treatment of high cholesterol dose not entirely eliminate the possibility of a stroke later in life
B. the mass media regularly feature stories encouraging people to maintain diets that are low in cholesterol
C. RenCo has significantly more employees than Garnet has
D. RenCo’s employees are unlikely to have higher cholesterol levels than Garnet’s employees
E. the average length of time an employee stays with RenCo is less than it is with Garnet
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Q9:
Studies in restaurants show that the tips left by customers who pay their bill in cash tend to be larger when the bill is presented on a tray that bears a credit-card logo. Consumer psychologists hypothesize that simply seeing a credit-card logo makes many credit-card holders willing to spend more because it reminds them that their spending power exceeds the cash they have immediately available.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the psychologists’ interpretation of the studies?
A. The effect noted in the studies is not limited to patrons who have credit cards.
B. Patrons who are under financial pressure from their credit-card obligations tend to tip less when presented with a restaurant bill on a tray with credit-card logo than when the tray has no logo.
C. In virtually all of the cases in the studies, the patrons who paid bills in cash did not possess credit cards.
D. In general, restaurant patrons who pay their bills in cash leave larger tips than do those who pay by credit card.
E. The percentage of restaurant bills paid with given brand of credit card increases when that credit card’s logo is displayed on the tray with which the bill is prepared.
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Q16:
Economist: Tropicorp, which constantly seeks profitable investment opportunities, has been buying and clearing sections of tropical forest for cattle ranching, although pastures newly created there become useless for grazing after just a few years. The company has not gone into rubber tapping, even though greater profits can be made from rubber tapping, which leaves the forest intact. Thus, some environmentalists conclude that Tropicorp has not acted wholly out of economic self-interest. However, these environmentalists are probably wrong. The initial investment required for a successful rubber-tapping operation is larger than that needed for a cattle ranch. Furthermore, there is a shortage of workers employable in rubber-tapping operations, and finally, taxes are higher on profits from rubber tapping than on profits from cattle ranching.
In the economist’s argument, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
A. The first supports the conclusion of the economist’s argument; the second calls that conclusion into question.
B. The first states the conclusion of the economist’s argument; the second supports that conclusion.
C. The first supports the environmentalists’ conclusion; the second states that conclusion.
D. The first states the environmentalists’ conclusion; the second states the conclusion of the economist’s argument.
E. Each supports the conclusion of the economist’s argument.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 11:36
Q17:
Brochure: Help conserve our city’s water supply. By converting the landscaping in your yard to a water-conserving landscape, you can greatly reduce your outdoor water use. A water-conserving landscape is natural and attractive, and it also saves you money.
Criticism: For most people with yards, the savings from converting to a water-conserving landscape cannot justify the expense of new landscaping, since typically the conversion would save less than twenty dollars on a homeowner’s yearly water bills.
Which of the following, if true, provides the best basis for a rebuttal of the criticism?
A. Even homeowners whose yards do not have water-conserving landscapes can conserve water by installing water-saving devices in their homes.
B. A conventional landscape generally requires a much greater expenditure on fertilizer and herbicide than does a water-conserving landscape.
C. A significant proportion of the residents of the city live in buildings that do not have yards.
D. It costs no more to put in water-conserving landscaping than it does to put in conventional landscaping.
E. Some homeowners use more water to maintain their yards than they use for all other purposes combined.
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Q18:
Which of following most logically completes the argument?
The last members of a now-extinct species of a European wild deer called the giant dear lived in Ireland about 16,000 years ago. Prehistoric cave paintings in France depict this animal as having a large hump on its back. Fossils of this animal, however, do not show any hump. Nevertheless, there is no reason to conclude that the cave paintings are therefore inaccurate in this regard, since some prehistoric cave paintings in France also depict other animals as having a hump
A. fossils of the giant deer are much more common in Ireland than in France
B. animal humps are composed of fatty tissue, which dose not fossilize
C. the cave paintings of the giant deer were painted well before 16,000 years ago
D. only one currently existing species of deer has any anatomical feature that even remotely resembles a hump
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Q20:
Shipping Clerk: The five specially ordered shipments sent out last week were sent out on Thursday. Last week, all of the shipments that were sent out on Friday consisted entirely of building supplies, and the shipping department then closed for the weekend. Four shipments were sent to Truax Construction last week, only three of which consisted of building supplies.
If the shipping clerk’s statements are true, which of the following must also be true?
A. At least one of the shipments sent to Truax Construction last week was specially ordered.
B. At least one of last week’s specially ordered shipments did not consist of building supplies.
C. At least one of the shipments sent to Truax Construction was not sent out on Thursday of last week.
D. At least one of the shipments that were sent out on Friday of last week was sent to Truax Construction.
E. At least one of the shipments sent to Truax Construction last week was sent out before Friday.
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Q31:
Although most smoking-related illnesses are caused by inhaling the tar in tobacco smoke, it is addiction to nicotine that prevents most smokers from quitting. In
an effort to decrease the incidence of smoking-related illnesses, lawmakers in Sandonia plan to reduce the average quantity of nicotine per cigarette by half over the next five years. Unfortunately, smokers who are already addicted to nicotine tend to react to such reductions by smoking correspondingly more cigarettes.
The information above most strongly supports which of the following predictions about the effects of implementing the Sandonian government’s plan?
A. The average quantity of tar inhaled by Sandonian smokers who are currently addicted to nicotine will probably not decrease during the next five years.
B. Sandonian smokers who are not already addicted to nicotine will probably also begin to smoke more cigarettes during the next five years than they had previously.
C. The annual number of Sandonian smokers developing smoking-related illnesses will probably decrease during the next five years.
D. The proportion of Sandonians attempting to quit smoking who succeed in that attempt will probably decrease during the next five years.
E. The number of Sandonians who quit smoking during the next five years will probably exceed the number who quit during the last five years.
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Q32:
Newspaper editorial:
In an attempt to reduce the crime rate, the governor is getting tough on criminals and making prison conditions harsher. Part of this effort has been to deny inmates the access they formerly had to college-level courses. However, this action is clearly counter to the governor’s ultimate goal, since after being released form prison, inmates who had taken such courses committed far fewer crimes overall than other inmates.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. Not being able to take college-level courses while in prison is unlikely to deter anyone from a crime that he or she might otherwise have committed.
B. Former inmates are no more likely to commit crimes than are members of the general population.
C. The group of inmates who chose to take college-level courses were not already less likely than other inmates to commit crimes after being released.
D. Taking high school level courses in prison has less effect on an inmate’s subsequent behavior than taking college-level courses does.
E. The governor’s ultimate goal actually is to gain popularity by convincing people that something effective is being done about crime.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 11:37
Q38:
Kate: The recent decline in numbers of the Tennessee warbler, a North American songbird that migrates each fall to coffee plantations in South America, is due to the elimination of the dense tree cover that formerly was a feature of most South American coffee plantations.
Scott: The population of the spruce budworm, the warbler’s favorite prey in North America, has been dropping. This is a more likely explanation of the warbler’s decline.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls Scott’s hypothesis into question?
A. The numbers of the Baltimore oriole, a songbird that dose not eat budworms but is as dependent on South American coffee plantations as is the Tennessee warbler, are declining.
B. The spruce-budworm population has dropped because of a disease that can infect budworms but not Tennessee warblers.
C. The drop in the population of the spruce budworm is expected to be only temporary.
D. Many Tennessee warbler have begun migrating in the fall to places other than traditional coffee plantations.
E. Although many North American songbirds have declined in numbers, no other species has experienced as great a decline as has the Tennessee warbler.
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Q40:
Two centuries ago, Tufe Peninsula became separated form the mainland, isolating on the newly formed Tufe Island a population of Turfil sunflowers. This population’s descendants grow to be, on average, 40 centimeters shorter than Turfil sunflowers found on the mainland. Tufe Island is significantly drier than Tufe Peninsula was. So the current average height of Tufe’s Turfil sunflowers is undoubtedly at least partially attributable to changes in Tufe’s environmental conditions.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. There are no types of vegetation on Tufe Island that are known to benefit from dry conditions.
B. There were about as many Turfil sunflowers on Tufe Peninsula two centuries ago as there are on Tufe Island today.
C. The mainland’s environment has not changed in ways that have resulted in Turfil sunflowers on the mainland growing to be 40 centimeters taller than they did two centuries ago.
D. The soil on Tufe Island, unlike that on the mainland, lacks important nutrients that help Turfil sunflowers survive and grow tall in a dry environment.
E. The 40-centimeter height difference between the Turfil sunflowers on Tufe Island and those on the mainland is the only difference between the two populations.
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GWD-5
Q2: GWD-4-14
Guidebook writer: I have visited hotels throughout the country and have noticed that in those built before 1930 the quality of the original carpentry work is generally superior to that in hotels built afterward. Clearly carpenters working on hotels before 1930 typically worked with more skill, care, and effort than carpenters who have worked on hotels built subsequently.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the guidebook writer’s argument?
A. The quality of original carpentry in hotels is generally far superior to the quality of original carpentry in other structures, such as houses and stores.
B. Hotels built since 1930 can generally accommodate more guests than those built before 1930.
C. The materials available to carpenters working before 1930 were not significantly different in quality from the materials available to carpenters working after 1930.
D. The better the quality of original carpentry in a building, the less likely that building is to fall into disuse and be demolished.
E. The average length of apprenticeship for carpenters has declined significantly since 1930.
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Q3:
The average hourly wage of television assemblers in Vernland has long been significantly lower than that in neighboring Borodia. Since Borodia dropped all tariffs on Vernlandian televisions three years ago, the number of televisions sold annually in Borodia has not changed. However, recent statistics show a droip in the number of television assemblers in Borodia. Therefore, updated trade statistics will probably indicate that the number of televisions Borodia imports annually from Vernland has increased.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. The number of television assemblers in Vernland has increased by at least as much as the number of television assemblers in Borodia has decreased.
B. Televisions assembled in Vernland have features that televisions assembled in Borodia do not have.
C. The average number of hours it takes a Borodian television assembler to assemble a television has not decreased significantly during the past three years.
D. The number of televisions assembled annually in Vernland has increased significantly during the past three years.
E. The difference between the hourly wage of television assemblers in Vernland and the hourly wage of television assemblers in Borodia is likely to decrease in the next few years.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 11:37
Q8:
When a new restaurant, Martin’s Cafe, opened in Riverville last year, many people predicted that business at the Wildflower Inn, Riverville’s only other restaurant, would suffer from the competition. Surprisingly, however, in the year since Martin’s Cafe opened, the average number of meals per night served at the Wildflower Inn has increased significantly.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the increase?
A. Unlike the Wildflower Inn, Martin’s Cafe serves considerably more meals on weekends than it does on weekdays.
B. Most of the customers of Martin’s Cafe had never dined in Riverville before this restaurant opened, and on most days Martin’s Cafe attracts more customers than it can seat.
C. The profit per meal is higher, on average, for meals served at Martin’s Cafe than for those served at the Wildflower Inn.
D. The Wildflower Inn is not open on Sundays, and therefore Riverville residents who choose to dine out on that day must either eat at Martin’s Cafe or go to neighboring towns to eat.
E. A significant proportion of the staff at Martin’s Cafe are people who formerly worked at the Wildflower Inn and were hired away by the owner of Martin’s Cafe.
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Q13:
It is true of both men and women that those who marry as young adults live longer than those who never marry. This dose not show that marriage causes people to live longer, since, as compared with other people of the same age, young adults who are about to get married have fewer of the unhealthy habits that can cause a person to have a shorter life, most notably smoking and immoderate drinking of alcohol.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument above?
F. Marriage tends to cause people to engage less regularly in sports that involve risk of bodily harm.
G. A married person who has an unhealthy habit is more likely to give up that habit than a person with the same habit who is unmarried.
H. A person who smokes is much more likely than a nonsmoker to marry a person who smokes at the time of marriage, and the same is true for people who drink alcohol immoderately.
I. Among people who marry as young adults, most of those who give up an unhealthy habit after marriage do not resume the habit later in life.
J. Among people who as young adults neither drink alcohol immoderately nor smoke, those who never marry live as long as those who marry.
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Q15:
Lightbox, Inc., owns almost all of the movie theaters in Washington County and has announced plans to double the number of movie screens it has in the county within five years. Yet attendance at Lightbox’s theaters is only just large enough for profitability now and the county’s population is not expected to increase over the next ten years. Clearly, therefore, if there is indeed no increase in population, Lightbox’s new screens are unlikely to prove profitable.
Which of the following, if true about Washington County, most seriously weakens the argument?
A. Though little change in the size of the population is expected, a pronounced shift toward a younger, more affluent, and more entertainment-oriented population is expected to occur.
B. The sales of snacks and drinks in its movie theaters account for more of Lightbox’s profits than ticket sales do.
C. In selecting the mix of movies shown at its theaters, Lightbox’s policy is to avoid those that appeal to only a small segment of the moviegoing population.
D. Spending on video purchases, as well as spending on video rentals, is currently no longer increasing.
E. There are no population centers in the county that are not already served by at least one of the movie theaters that Lightbox owns and operates.
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Q16:
Maize contains the vitamin niacin, but not in a form the body can absorb. Pellagra is a disease that results from niacin deficiency. When maize was introduced into southern Europe from the Americas in the eighteenth century, it quickly became a dietary staple, and many Europeans who came to subsist primarily on maize developed pellagra. Pellagra was virtually unknown at that time in the Americas, however, even among people who subsisted primarily on maize.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the contrasting incidence of pellagra described above?
A. Once introduced into southern Europe, maize became popular with landowners because of its high yields relative to other cereal crops.
B. Maize grown in the Americas contained more niacin than maize grown in Europe did.
C. Traditional ways of preparing maize in the Americas convert maize’s niacin into a nutritionally useful form.
D. In southern Europe many of the people who consumed maize also ate niacin-rich foods.
E. Before the discovery of pellagra’s link with niacin, it was widely believed that the disease was an infection that could be transmitted from person to person.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 11:37
Q19:
Historian: In the Drindian Empire, censuses were conducted annually to determine the population of each village. Village census records for the last half of the 1600’s are remarkably complete. This very completeness makes one point stand out; in five different years, villages overwhelmingly reported significant population declines. Tellingly, each of those five years immediately followed an increase in a certain Drindian tax. This tax, which was assessed on villages, was computed by the central government using the annual census figures. Obviously, whenever the tax went up, villages had an especially powerful economic incentive to minimize the number of people they recorded; and concealing the size of a village’s population from government census takers would have been easy. Therefore, it is reasonable to think that the reported declines did not happen.
In the historian’s argument, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
A. The first supplies a context for the historian’s argument; the second acknowledges a consideration that has been used to argue against the position the historian seeks to establish.
B. The first presents evidence to support the position that the historian seeks to establish; the second acknowledges a consideration that has been used to argue against that position.
C. The first provides a context for certain evidence that supports the position that the historian seeks to establish; the second is that position.
D. The first is a position for which the historian argues; the second is an assumption that serves as the basis of that argument.
E. The first is an assumption that the historian explicitly makes in arguing for a certain position; the second acknowledges a consideration that calls that assumption into question.
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Q20:
Scientists typically do their most creative work before the age of forty. It is commonly thought that this happens because aging by itself brings about a loss of creative capacity. However, studies show that a disproportionately large number of the scientists who produce highly creative work beyond the age of forty entered their field at an older age than is usual. Since by the age of forty the large majority of scientists have been working in their field for at least fifteen years, the studies’ finding strongly suggests that the real reason why scientists over forty rarely produce highly creative work is not that they have simply aged but rather that they generally have spent too long in a given field.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
A. The first is the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second is an objection that has been raised against a position defended in the argument.
B. The first is a claim that has been advanced in support of a position that the argument opposes; the second is a finding that has been used in support of that position.
C. The first is an explanation that the argument challenges; the second is a finding that has been used in support of that explanation.
D. The first is an explanation that the argument challenges; the second is a finding on which that challenge is based.
E. The first is an explanation that the argument defends; the second is a finding that has been used to challenge that explanation.
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Q21:
In Teruvia, the quantity of rice produced per year is currently just large enough to satisfy domestic demand. Teruvia’s total rice acreage will not be expanded in the foreseeable future, nor will rice yields per acre increase appreciably. Teruvia’s population, however, will be increasing significantly for years to come. Clearly, therefore, Teruvia will soon have to begin importing rice.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. No pronounced trend of decreasing per capita demand for rice is imminent in Teruvia.
B. Not all of the acreage in Teruvia currently planted with rice is well suited to the cultivation of rice.
C. None of the strains of rice grown in Teruvia are exceptionally high-yielding.
D. There are no populated regions in Teruvia in which the population will not increase.
E. There are no major crops other than rice for which domestic production and domestic demand are currently in balance in Teruvia.
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Q26:
Healthy lungs produce a natural antibiotic that protects them from infection by routinely killing harmful bacteria on airway surfaces. People with cystic fibrosis, however, are unable to fight off such bacteria, even though their lungs produce normal amounts of the antibiotic. The fluid on a0.irway surfaces in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis has an abnormally high salt concentration; accordingly, scientists hypothesize that the high salt concentration is what makes the antibiotic ineffective.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the scientists’ hypothesis?
A. When the salt concentration of the fluid on the airway surfaces of healthy people is raised artificially, the salt concentration soon returns to normal.
B. A sample of the antibiotic was capable of killing bacteria in an environment with an unusually low concentration of salt.
C. When lung tissue from people with cystic fibrosis is maintained in a solution with a normal salt concentration, the tissue can resist bacteria.
D. Many lung infections can be treated by applying synthetic antibiotics to the airway surfaces.
E. High salt concentrations have an antibiotic effect in many circumstances.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 11:37
Q28:
Wind farms, which generate electricity using arrays of thousands of wind-powered turbines, require vast expanses of open land. County X and County Y have similar terrain, but the population density of County X is significantly higher than that of County Y. Therefore, a wind farm proposed for one of the two counties should be built in County Y rather than in County X.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the planner’s argument?
A. County X and County Y are adjacent to each other, and both are located in the windiest area of the state.
B. The total population of County Y is substantially greater than that of County X.
C. Some of the electricity generated by wind farms in County Y would be purchased by users outside the county.
D. Wind farms require more land per unit of electricity generated than does any other type of electrical-generation facility.
E. Nearly all of County X’s population is concentrated in a small part of the county, while County Y’s population is spread evenly throughout the country.
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Q29:
Over the past five years, the price gap between name-brand cereals and less expensive store-brand cereals has become so wide that consumers have been switching increasingly to store brands despite the name brands’ reputation for better quality. To attract these consumers back, several manufacturers of name-brand cereals plan to narrow the price gap between their cereals and store brands to less than what it was five years ago.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the likelihood that the manufacturers’ plan will succeed in attracting back a large percentage of consumers who have switched to store brands?
A. There is no significant difference among manufacturers of name-brand cereals in the prices they charge for their products.
B. Consumers who have switched to store-brand cereals have generally been satisfied with the quality of those cereals.
C. Many consumers would never think of switching to store-brand cereals because they believe the name brand cereals to be of better quality.
D. Because of lower advertising costs, stores are able to offer their own brands of cereals at significantly lower prices than those charged for name-brand cereals.
E. Total annual sales of cereals—including both name-brand and store-brand cereals—have not increased significantly over the past five years.
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Q30:
Which of the following most logically completes the argument?
The irradiation of food kills bacteria and thus retards spoilage. However, it also lowers the nutritional value of many foods. For example, irradiation destroys a significant percentage of whatever vitamin B1 a food may contain. Proponents of irradiation point out that irradiation is no worse in this respect than cooking. However, this fact is either beside the point, since much irradiated food is eaten raw, or else misleading, since _______.
A. many of the proponents of irradiation are food distributors who gain from food’s having a longer shelf life
B. it is clear that killing bacteria that may be present on food is not the only effect that irradiation has
C. cooking is usually the final step in preparing food for consumption, whereas irradiation serves to ensure a longer shelf life for perishable foods
D. certain kinds of cooking are, in fact, even more destructive of vitamin B1 than carefully controlled irradiation is
E. for food that is both irradiated and cooked, the reduction of vitamin B1 associated with either process individually is compounded
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Q31:
Studies in restaurants show that the tips left by customers who pay their bill in cash tend to be larger when the bill is presented on a tray that bears a credit-card logo. Consumer psychologists hypothesize that simply seeing a credit-card logo makes many credit-card holders willing to spend more because it reminds them that their spending power exceeds the cash they have immediately available.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the psychologists’ interpretation of the studies?
F. The effect noted in the studies is not limited to patrons who have credit cards.
G. Patrons who are under financial pressure from their credit-card obligations tend to tip less when presented with a restaurant bill on a tray with credit-card logo than when the tray has no logo.
H. In virtually all of the cases in the studies, the patrons who paid bills in cash did not possess credit cards.
I. In general, restaurant patrons who pay their bills in cash leave larger tips than do those who pay by credit card.
J. The percentage of restaurant bills paid with given brand of credit card increases when that credit card’s logo is displayed on the tray with which the bill is prepared.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 11:38
Q32:GWD-4-8
From 1980 to 1989, total consumption of fish in the country of Jurania increased by 4.5 percent, and total consumption of poultry products there increased by 9.0 percent. During the same period, the population of Jurania increased by 6 percent, in part due to immigration to Jurania from other countries in the region.
If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true on the basis of them?
F. During the 1980’s in Jurania, profits of wholesale distributors of poultry products increased at a greater rate than did profits of wholesale distributors of fish.
G. For people who immigrated to Jurania during the 1980’s, fish was less likely to be a major part of their diet than was poultry.
H. In 1989 Juranians consumed twice as much poultry as fish.
I. For a significant proportion of Jurania’s population, both fish and poultry products were a regular part of their diet during the 1980’s.
J. Per capita consumption of fish in Jurania was lower in 1989 than in 1980.
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Q33:
Wolves generally avoid human settlements. For this reason, domestic sheep, though essentially easy prey for wolves, are not usually attacked by them. In Hylantia prior to 1910, farmers nevertheless lost considerable numbers of sheep to wolves each year. Attributing this to the large number for wolves, in 1910 the government began offering rewards to hunters for killing wolves. From 1910 to 1915, large numbers of wolves were killed. Yet wolf attacks on sheep increased significantly.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the increase in wolf attacks on sheep?
A. Populations of deer and other wild animals that wolves typically prey on increased significantly in numbers from 1910 to 1915.
B. Prior to 1910, there were no legal restrictions in Hylantia on the hunting of wolves.
C. After 1910 hunters shot and wounded a substantial number of wolves, thereby greatly diminishing these wolves’ ability to prey on wild animals.
D. Domestic sheep are significantly less able than most wild animals to defend themselves against wolf attacks.
E. The systematic hunting of wolves encouraged by the program drove many wolves in Hylantia to migrate to remote mountain areas uninhabited by humans.
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Q38:
Nitrogen dioxide is a pollutant emitted by automobiles. Catalytic converters, devices designed to reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions, have been required in all new cars in Donia since 1993, and as a result, nitrogen dioxide emissions have been significantly reduced throughout most of the country. Yet although the proportion of new cars in Donia’s capital city has always been comparatively high, nitrogen dioxide emissions there have showed only an insignificant decline since 1993.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the insignificant decline in nitrogen dioxide emissions in Donia’s capital city?
A. More of the cars in Donia’s capital city were made before 1993 than after 1993.
B. The number of new cars sold per year in Donia has declined slightly since 1993.
C. Pollutants other than nitrogen dioxide that are emitted by automobiles have also been significantly reduced in Donia since 1993.
D. Many Donians who own cars made before 1993 have had catalytic converters installed in their cars.
E. Most car trips in Donia’s capital city are too short for the catalytic converter to reach its effective working temperature.
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Q40: GWD-4-20
Community activist: If Morganville wants to keep its central shopping district healthy, it should prevent the opening of a huge SaveAll discount department store on the outskirts of Morganville. Records from other small towns show that whenever SaveAll has opened a store outside the central shopping district of a small town, within five years the town has experienced the bankruptcies of more than a quarter of the stores in the shopping district.
The answer to which of the following would be most useful for evaluating the community activist’s reasoning?
A. Have community activists in other towns successfully campaigned against the opening of a SaveAll store on the outskirts of their towns?
B. Do a large percentage of the residents of Morganville currently do almost all of their shopping at stores in Morganville?
C. In towns with healthy central shopping districts, what proportion of the stores in those districts suffer bankruptcy during a typical five-year period?
D. What proportion of the employees at the SaveAll store on the outskirts of Morganville will be drawn from Morganville?
E. Do newly opened SaveAll stores ever lose money during their first five years of operation?作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:50
GWD-6
Q4:
In the past the country of Siduria has relied heavily on imported oil. Siduria recently implemented a program to convert heating systems from oil to natural gas. Siduria already produces more natural gas each year than it burns, and oil production in Sidurian oil fields is increasing at a steady pace. If these trends in fuel production and usage continue, therefore, Sidurian reliance on foreign sources for fuel should decline soon.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. In Siduria the rate of fuel consumption is rising no more quickly than the rate of fuel production.
B. Domestic production of natural gas is rising faster than is domestic production of oil in Siduria.
C. No fuel other than natural gas is expected to be used as a replacement for oil in Siduria.
D. Buildings cannot be heated by solar energy rather than by oil or natural gas.
E. All new homes that are being built will have natural-gas-burning heating systems.
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Q14:
Political Advertisement:
Mayor Delmont’s critics complain about the jobs that were lost in the city under Delmont’s leadership. Yet the fact is that not only were more jobs created than were eliminated, but the average pay for these new jobs has been higher than the average pay for jobs citywide every year since Delmont took office. So there can be no question that throughout Delmont’s tenure the average paycheck in this city has been getting steadily bigger.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument in the advertisement?
A. The average pay for jobs created in the city during the past three years was higher than the average pay for jobs created in the city earlier in Mayor Delmont’s tenure.
B. Average pay in the city was at a ten-year low when Mayor Delmont took office.
C. Some of the jobs created in the city during Mayor Delmont’s tenure have in the meantime been eliminated again.
D. The average pay for jobs eliminated in the city during Mayor Delmont’s tenure has been roughly equal every year to the average pay for jobs citywide.
E. The average pay for jobs in the city is currently higher than it is for jobs in the suburbs surrounding the city.
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Q15:
Capuchin monkeys often rub their bodies with a certain type of millipede. Laboratory tests show that secretions from the bodies of these millipedes are rich in two chemicals that are potent mosquito repellents, and mosquitoes carry parasites that debilitate capuchins. Some scientists hypothesize that the monkeys rub their bodies with the millipedes because doing so helps protect them from mosquitoes.
Which of the following, if true, provides the most support for the scientists’ hypothesis?
K. A single millipede often gets passed around among several capuchins, all of whom rub their bodies with it.
L. The two chemicals that repel mosquitoes also repel several other varieties of insects.
M. The capuchins rarely rub their bodies with the millipedes except during the rainy season, when mosquito populations are at their peak.
N. Although the capuchins eat several species of insects, they do not eat the type of millipede they use to rub their bodies.
O. The two insect-repelling chemicals in the secretions of the millipedes are carcinogenic for humans but do not appear to be carcinogenic for capuchins.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:50
Q16:
Historian: Newton developed mathematical concepts and techniques that are fundamental to modern calculus. Leibniz developed closely analogous concepts and techniques. It has traditionally been thought that these discoveries were independent. Researchers have, however, recently discovered notes of Leibniz’ that discuss one of Newton’s books on mathematics. Several scholars have argued that since the book includes a presentation of Newton’s calculus concepts and techniques, and since the notes were written before Leibniz’ own development of calculus concepts and techniques, it is virtually certain that the traditional view is false. A more cautious conclusion than this is called for, however. Leibniz’ notes are limited to early sections of Newton’s book, sections that precede the ones in which Newton’s calculus concepts and techniques are presented.
In the historian’s reasoning, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
A. The first provides evidence in support of the overall position that the historian defends; the second is evidence that has been used to support an opposing position.
B. The first provides evidence in support of the overall position that the historian defends; the second is that position.
C. The first provides evidence in support of an intermediate conclusion that is drawn to provide support for the overall position that the historian defends; the second provides evidence against that intermediate conclusion.
D. The first is evidence that has been used to support a conclusion that the historian criticizes; the second is evidence offered in support of the historian’s own position.
E. The first is evidence that has been used to support a conclusion that the historian criticizes; the second is further information that substantiates that evidence.
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Q20:
Five years ago, as part of a plan to encourage citizens of Levaska to increase the amount of money they put into savings, Levaska’s government introduced special savings accounts in which up to $3,000 a year can be saved with no tax due on the interest unless money is withdrawn before the account holder reaches the age of sixty-five. Millions of dollars have accumulated in the special accounts, so the government’s plan is obviously working.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A. A substantial number of Levaskans have withdrawn at least some of the money they had invested in the special accounts.
B. Workers in Levaska who already save money in long-term tax-free accounts that are offered through their workplace cannot take advantage of the special savings accounts introduced by the government.
C. The rate at which interest earned on money deposited in regular savings accounts is taxed depends on the income bracket of the account holder.
D. Many Levaskans who already had long-term savings have steadily been transferring those savings into the special accounts.
E. Many of the economists who now claim that the government’s plan has been successful criticized it when it was introduced.
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Q21:
An overwhelming proportion of the most productive employees at SaleCo’s regional offices work not eight hours a day, five days a week, as do other SaleCo employees, but rather ten hours a day, four days a week, with Friday off. Noting this phenomenon, SaleCo’s president plans to increase overall productivity by keeping the offices closed on Fridays and having all employees work the same schedule—ten hours a day, four days a week.
Which of the following, if true, provides the most reason to doubt that the president’s plan, if implemented, will achieve its stated purpose?
A. Typically, a SaleCo employee’s least productive hours in the workplace are the early afternoon hours.
B. None of the employees who work four days a week had volunteered to work that schedule, but all were assigned to it by their supervisors.
C. Working ten hours a day has allowed the most productive employees to work two hours alone each day in their respective offices relatively undisturbed by fellow employees.
D. Employees at SaleCo are compensated not on the basis of how many hours a week they work but on the basis of how productive they are during the hours they are at work.
E. Those SaleCo employees who have a four-day workweek do not take any of their office work to do at home on Fridays.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:51
Q28:
Which of the following most logically completes the argument below?
According to promotional material published by the city of Springfield, more tourists stay in hotels in Springfield than stay in the neighboring city of Harristown. A brochure from the largest hotel in Harristown claims that more tourists stay in that hotel than stay in the Royal Arms Hotel in Springfield. If both of these sources are accurate, however, the county’s “Report on Tourism” must be in error in indicating that _______.
A. more tourists stay in hotel accommodations in Harristown than stay in the Royal Arms Hotel
B. the Royal Arms Hotel is the only hotel in Springfield
C. there are several hotels in Harristown that are larger than the Royal Arms Hotel
D. some of the tourists who have stayed in hotels in Harristown have also stayed in the Royal Arms Hotel
E. some hotels in Harristown have fewer tourist guests each year than the Royal Arms Hotel has
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Q32:
Proposal: Carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere block the escape of heat into space. So emission of these “greenhouse” gases contributes to global warming. In order to reduce global warming, emission of greenhouse gases needs to be reduced. Therefore, the methane now emitted from open landfills should instead be burned to produce electricity.
Objection: The burning of methane generates carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere.
Which of the following, if true, most adequately counters the objection made to the proposal?
A. Every time a human being or other mammal exhales, there is some carbon dioxide released into the air.
B. The conversion of methane to electricity would occur at a considerable distance from the landfills.
C. The methane that is used to generate electricity would generally be used as a substitute for a fuel that does not produce any greenhouse gases when burned.
D. Methane in the atmosphere is more effective in blocking the escape of heat from the Earth than is carbon dioxide.
E. The amount of methane emitted from the landfills could be reduced if the materials whose decomposition produces methane were not discarded, but recycled.
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Q33:
Crowding on Mooreville’s subway frequently leads to delays, because it is difficult for passengers to exit from the trains. Subway ridership is projected to increase by 20 percent over the next 10 years. The Metroville Transit Authority plans to increase the number of daily train trips by only 5 percent over the same period. Officials predict that this increase is sufficient to ensure that the incidence of delays due to crowding does not increase.
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest grounds for the officials’ prediction?
A. By changing maintenance schedules, the Transit Authority can achieve the 5 percent increase in train trips without purchasing any new subway cars.
B. The Transit Authority also plans a 5 percent increase in the number of bus trips on routes that connect to subways.
C. For most commuters who use the subway system, there is no practical alternative public transportation available.
D. Most of the projected increase in ridership is expected to occur in off-peak hours when trains are now sparsely used.
E. The 5 percent increase in the number of train trips can be achieved without an equal increase in Transit Authority operational costs.
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Q38:
Three large companies and seven small companies currently manufacture a product with potential military applications. If the government regulates the industry, it will institute a single set of manufacturing specifications to which all ten companies will have to adhere. In this case, therefore, since none of the seven small companies can afford to convert their production lines to a new set of manufacturing specifications, only the three large companies will be able to remain in business.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the author’s argument relies?
A. None of the three large companies will go out of business if the government does not regulate the manufacture of the product.
B. It would cost more to convert the production lines of the small companies to a new set of manufacturing specifications than it would to convert the production lines of the large companies.
C. Industry lobbyists will be unable to dissuade the government from regulating the industry.
D. Assembly of the product produced according to government manufacturing specifications would be more complex than current assembly procedures.
E. None of the seven small companies currently manufactures the product to a set of specifications that would match those the government would institute if the industry were to be regulated.
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Q40:
It is theoretically possible that bacteria developed on Mars early in its history and that some were carried to Earth by a meteorite. However, strains of bacteria from different planets would probably have substantial differences in protein structure that would persist over time, and no two bacterial strains on Earth are different enough to have arisen on different planets. So, even if bacteria did arrive on Earth from Mars, they must have died out.
The argument is most vulnerable to which of the following criticisms?
A. It fails to establish whether bacteria actually developed on Mars.
B. It fails to establish how likely it is that Martian bacteria were transported to Earth.
C. It fails to consider whether there were means other than meteorites by which Martian bacteria could have been carried to Earth.
D. It fails to consider whether all bacteria now on Earth could have arisen from transported Martian bacteria.
E. It fails to consider whether there could have been strains of bacteria that originated on Earth and later died out.
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GWD-7
Q5:
Exposure to certain chemicals commonly used in elementary schools as cleaners or pesticides causes allergic reactions in some children. Elementary school nurses in Renston report that the proportion of schoolchildren sent to them for treatment of allergic reactions to those chemicals has increased significantly over the past ten years. Therefore, either Renston’s schoolchildren have been exposed to greater quantities of the chemicals, or they are more sensitive to them than schoolchildren were ten years ago.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
P. The number of school nurses employed by Renston’s elementary schools has not decreased over the past ten years.
Q. Children who are allergic to the chemicals are no more likely than other children to have allergies to other substances.
R. Children who have allergic reactions to the chemicals are not more likely to be sent to a school nurse now than they were ten years ago.
S. The chemicals are not commonly used as cleaners or pesticides in houses and apartment buildings in Renston.
T. Children attending elementary school do not make up a larger proportion of Renston’s population now than they did ten years ago.
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Q14:
Certain politicians in the country of Birangi argue that a 50 percent tax on new automobiles would halt the rapid increase of automobiles on Birangi’s roads and thereby slow the deterioration of Birangi’s air quality. Although most experts agree that such a tax would result in fewer Birangians buying new vehicles and gradually reduce the number of automobiles on Birangi’s roads, they contend that it would have little impact on Birangi’s air-quality problem.
Which of the following, if true in Birangi, would most strongly support the experts’ contention about the effect of the proposed automobile tax on Birangi’s air-quality problem?
A. Automobile emissions are the largest single source of air pollution.
B. Some of the proceeds from the new tax would go toward expanding the nonpolluting commuter rail system.
C. Currently, the sales tax on new automobiles is considerably lower than 50 percent.
D. Automobiles become less fuel efficient and therefore contribute more to air pollution as they age.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:52
Q17:
Of patients over 65 years old who survived coronary bypass surgery—a procedure widely prescribed for people with heart disease—only 75 percent benefited from the surgery. Thus it appears that for one in four such patients, the doctors who advised them to undergo this surgery, with its attendant risks and expense, were more interested in an opportunity to practice their skills and in their fee than in helping the patient.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the argument?
A. Many of the patients who receive coronary bypass surgery are less than 55 years old.
B. Possible benefits of coronary bypass surgery include both relief from troubling symptoms and prolongation of life.
C. Most of the patients in the survey decided to undergo coronary bypass surgery because they were advised that the surgery would reduce their risk of future heart attacks.
D. The patients over 65 years old who did not benefit from the coronary bypass surgery were as fully informed as those who did benefit from the surgery as to the risks of the surgery prior to undergoing it.
E. The patients who underwent coronary bypass surgery but who did not benefit from it were medically indistinguishable, prior to their surgery, from the patients who did benefit.
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Q18:
Although the earliest surviving Greek inscriptions written in an alphabet date from the eighth century B.C., a strong case can be made that the Greeks actually adopted alphabetic writing at least two centuries earlier. Significantly, the text of these earliest surviving Greek inscriptions sometimes runs from right to left and sometimes from left to right. Now, the Greeks learned alphabetic writing from the Phoenicians, and in the process they would surely have adopted whatever convention the Phoenicians were then using with respect to the direction of writing. Originally, Phoenician writing ran in either direction, but by the eighth century B.C. it had been consistently written from right to left for about two centuries.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
A. The first is the position that the argument seeks to establish; the second reports a discovery that has been used to support a position that the argument opposes.
B. The first is the position that the argument seeks to establish; the second presents an assumption on which the argument relies.
C. The first presents evidence that is used in support of the position that the argument seeks to establish; the second presents an assumption on which the argument relies.
D. The first is an objection raised against a position that the argument opposes; the second is the position that the argument seeks to establish.
E. The first is an objection raised against a position that the argument opposes; the second is evidence that has been used to support that position.
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Q21:
Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
Each species of moth has an optimal body temperature for effective flight, and when air temperatures fall much below that temperature, the moths typically have to remain inactive on vegetation for extended periods, leaving them highly vulnerable to predators. In general, larger moths can fly faster than smaller ones and hence have a better chance of evading flying predators, but they also have higher optimal body temperatures, which explains why ______.
A. large moths are generally able to maneuver better in flight than smaller moths
B. large moths are proportionally much more common in warm climates than in cool climates
C. small moths are more likely than large moths to be effectively camouflaged while on vegetation
D. large moths typically have wings that are larger in proportion to their body size than smaller moths do
E. most predators of moths prey not only on several different species of moth but also on various species of other insects作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:52
Q27:
A significant number of complex repair jobs carried out by Ace Repairs have to be reworked under the company’s warranty. The reworked jobs are invariably satisfactory. When initial repairs are inadequate, therefore, it is not because the mechanics lack competence; rather, there is clearly a level of focused concentration that complex repairs require that is elicited more reliably by rework jobs than by first-time jobs.
The argument above assumes which of the following?
A. There is no systematic difference in membership between the group of mechanics who do first-time jobs and the group of those who do rework jobs.
B. There is no company that successfully competes with Ace Repairs for complex repair jobs.
C. Ace Repairs’ warranty is good on first-time jobs but does not cover rework jobs.
D. Ace Repairs does not in any way penalize mechanics who have worked on complex repair jobs that later had to be reworked.
E. There is no category of repair jobs in which Ace Repairs invariably carries out first-time jobs satisfactorily.
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Q28: GWD-2-10
Environmentalist: The use of snowmobiles in the vast park north of Milville create sun acceptable levels of air pollution and should be banned.
Milville business spokesperson: Snowmobiling brings many out-of-towners to Milville in winter months, to the great financial benefit of many local residents. So, economics dictate that we put up with the pollution.
Environmentalist: I disagree: A great many cross-country skiers are now kept from visiting Milville by the noise and pollution that snowmobiles generate.
Environmentalist responds to the business spokesperson by doing which of the following?
A. Challenging an assumption that certain desirable outcome can derive from only one set of circumstances
B. Challenging an assumption that certain desirable outcome is outweighed by negative aspects associated with producing that outcome
C. Maintaining that the benefit that the spokesperson desires could be achieved in greater degree by a different means
D. Claiming that the spokesperson is deliberately misrepresenting the environmentalist’s position in order to be better able to attack it
E. Denying that an effect that the spokesperson presents as having benefited a certain group of people actually benefited those people
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Q30:
Printwell’s Ink Jet Division manufactures ink-jet printers and the ink cartridges they use. Sales of its ink-jet printers have increased. Monthly revenues from those sales, however, have not increased, because competition has forced Printwell to cut the prices of its printers. Unfortunately, Printwell has been unable to bring down the cost of manufacturing a printer. Thus, despite the increase in printer sales, the Ink Jet Division must be providing the company with much smaller than it used to.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A. Ink-jet printers in regular use frequently need new ink cartridges, and Printwell’s printers only accept Printwell’s ink cartridges.
B. Unlike some competing companies, Printwell sells all of its printers through retailers, and these retailers’ costs account for a sizable proportion of the printers’ ultimate retail price.
C. Some printer manufacturers have been forced to reduce the sale price of their ink-jet printers even more than Printwell has.
D. In the past year, no competing manufacturer of ink-jet printers has had as great an increase in unit sales of printers as Printwell has.
E. In the past year, sales of Printwell’s ink-jet printers have increased more than sales of any other type of printer made by Printwell.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:52
Q37:
Escalating worldwide demand for corn has led to a sharp increase in the market price of corn, and corn prices are likely to remain high. Corn is extensive used as feed for livestock, and because profit margins are tight in the livestock business, many farmers are expected to leave the business. With fewer suppliers, meat prices will surely rise. Nonetheless, observers expect an immediate short-term decrease in meat prices.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to justify the observers’ expectation?
A. The increase in corn prices is due more to a decline in the supply of corn than to a growth in demand for it.
B. Generally, farmers who are squeezed out of the livestock business send their livestock to market much earlier than they otherwise would.
C. Some people who ate meat regularly in the past are converting to diets that include little or no meat.
D. As meat prices rise, the number of livestock producers is likely to rise again.
E. Livestock producers who stay in the business will start using feed other than corn more extensively than they did in the past.
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Q38:
Journalist: Well-known businessman Arnold Bergeron has long been popular in the state, and he has often talked about running for governor, but he has never run. However, we have just learned that Bergeron has fulfilled the financial disclosure requirement for candidacy by submitting a detailed list of his current financial holdings to the election commission. So, it is very likely that Bergeron will be a candidate for governor this year.
The answer to which of the following questions would be most useful in evaluating the journalist’s argument?
A. Has anybody else who has fulfilled the financial disclosure requirement for the upcoming election reported greater financial holdings than Bergeron?
B. Is submitting a list of holdings the only way to fulfill the election commission’s financial disclosure requirements?
C. Did the information recently obtained by the journalists come directly from the election commission?
D. Have Bergeron’s financial holdings increased in value in recent years?
E. Had Bergeron also fulfilled the financial disclosure requirements for candidacy before any previous gubernatorial elections?
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Q41:
Magazine Publisher: Our magazine does not have a liberal bias. It is true that when a book review we had commissioned last year turned out to express distinctly conservative views, we did not publish it until we had also obtained a second review that took a strongly liberal position. Clearly, however, our actions demonstrate not a bias in favor of liberal views but rather a commitment to a balanced presentation of diverse opinions.
Determining which of the following would be most useful in evaluating the cogency of the magazine publisher’s response?
A. Whether any other magazines in which the book was reviewed carried more than one review of the book
B. Whether the magazine publishes unsolicited book reviews as well as those that it has commissioned
C. Whether in the event that a first review commissioned by the magazine takes a clearly liberal position the magazine would make any efforts to obtain further reviews
D. Whether the book that was the subject of the two reviews was itself written from a clearly conservative or a clearly liberal point of view
E. Whether most of the readers of the magazine regularly read the book reviews that the magazine publishes作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:53
GWD-8
GWD-8-Q3:
In the late 1980’s, the population of sea otters in the North Pacific Ocean began to decline. Of the two plausible explanations for the decline—increased predation by killer whales or disease—disease is the more likely. After all, a concurrent sharp decline in the populations of seals and sea lions was almost certainly caused by a pollution-related disease, which could have spread to sea otters, whereas the population of killer whales did not change noticeably.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the reasoning?
A. Killer whales in the North Pacific usually prey on seals and sea lions but will, when this food source is scarce, seek out other prey.
B. There is no indication that substantial numbers of sea otters migrated to other locations from the North Pacific in the 1980’s.
C. Along the Pacific coast of North America in the 1980’s, sea otters were absent from many locations where they had been relatively common in former times.
D. Following the decline in the population of the sea otters, there was an increase in the population of sea urchins, which are sea otters’ main food source.
E. The North Pacific populations of seals and sea lions cover a wider geographic area than does the population of sea otters.
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GWD-8-Q12:
A certain automaker aims to increase its market share by deeply discounting its vehicles’ prices for the next several months. The discounts will cut into profits, but because they will be heavily advertised the manufacturer hopes that they will attract buyers away from rival manufacturers’ cars. In the longer term, the automaker envisions that customers initially attracted by the discounts may become loyal customers.
In assessing the plan’s chances of achieving its aim, it would be most useful to know which of the following?
A. Whether the automaker’s competitors are likely to respond by offering deep discounts on their own products
B. Whether the advertisements will be created by the manufacturer’s current advertising agency
C. Whether some of the automaker’s models will be more deeply discounted than others
D. Whether the automaker will be able to cut costs sufficiently to maintain profit margins even when the discounts are in effect
E. Whether an alternative strategy might enable the automaker to enhance its profitability while holding a constant or diminishing share of the market
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GWD-8-Q13:
With a record number of new companies starting up in Derderia, and with previously established companies adding many new jobs, a record number of new jobs were created last year in the Derderian economy. This year, previously established companies will not be adding as many new jobs overall as such companies added last year. Therefore, unless a record number of companies start up this year, Derderia will not break its record for new jobs created.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument relies?
A. In a given year, new companies starting up create more new jobs on average than do previously established companies.
B. The number of people seeking employment is no larger this year than it was last year.
C. This year, the new companies starting up will not provide substantially more jobs per company than did new companies last year.
D. Previously established companies in Derderia will be less profitable this year than such companies were last year.
E. The number of jobs created in the Derderian economy last year was substantially larger than the number of jobs lost.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:53
GWD-8-Q14: GWD-2-11
Many people suffer an allergic reaction to certain sulfites, including those that are commonly added to wine as preservatives. However, since there are several wine makers who add sulfites to none of the wines they produce, people who would like to drink wine but are allergic to sulfites can drink wines produced by these wine makers without risking an allergic reaction to sulfites.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. These wine makers have been able to duplicate the preservative effect produced by adding sulfites by means that do not involve adding any potentially allergenic substances to their wine.
B. Not all forms of sulfite are equally likely to produce the allergic reactions.
C. Wine is the only beverage to which sulfites are commonly added.
D. Apart from sulfites, there are no substances commonly present in wine that give rise to an allergic reaction.
E. Sulfites are not naturally present in the wines produced by these wine makers in amounts large enough to produce an allergic reaction in someone who drinks these wines.
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GWD-8-Q19: GWD-2-12
Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
Concerned about financial well-being of its elderly citizens, the government of Runagia decided two years ago to increase by 20 percent the government-provided pension paid to all Runagians over 65. Inflation in the intervening period has been negligible, and the increase has been duly received by all eligible Runagians. Nevertheless, many of them are no better off financially than they were before the increase, in large part because ________.
A. They rely entirely on the government pension for their income
B. Runagian banks are so inefficient that it can take up to three weeks to cash a pension check
C. They buy goods whose prices tend to rise especially fast in times of inflation
D. The pension was increased when the number of elderly Runagians below the poverty level reached an all-time high
E. In Runagia children typically supplement the income of elderly parents, but only by enough to provide them with a comfortable living
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GWD-8-Q21:GWD-2-18
Last year all refuse collected by Shelbyville city services was incinerated. This incineration generated a large quantity of residue ash. In order to reduce the amount of residue ash Shelbyville generates this year to half of last year’s total, the city has revamped its collection program. This year city services will separate for recycling enough refuse to reduce the number of truckloads of refuse to be incinerated to half of last year’s number.
Which of the following is required for the revamped collection program to achieve its aim?
A. This year, no materials that city services could separate for recycling will be incinerated.
B. Separating recyclable materials from materials to be incinerated will cost Shelbyville less than half what it cost last year to dispose of the residue ash.
C. Refuse collected by city services will contain a larger proportion of recyclable materials this year than it did last year.
D. The refuse incinerated this year will generate no more residue ash per truckload incinerated than did the refuse incinerated last year.
E. The total quantity of refuse collected by Shelbyville city services this year will be no greater than that collected last year.[D]作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:53
GWD-8-Q22:
When storing Renaissance oil paintings, museums conform to standards that call for careful control of the surrounding temperature and humidity, with variations confined within narrow margins. Maintaining this environment is very costly, and recent research shows that even old oil paint is unaffected by wide fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Therefore, museums could relax their standards and save money without endangering their Renaissance oil paintings.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. Renaissance paintings were created in conditions involving far greater fluctuations in temperature and humidity than those permitted by current standards.
B. Under the current standards that museums use when storing Renaissance oil paintings, those paintings do not deteriorate at all.
C. Museum collections typically do not contain items that are more likely to be vulnerable to fluctuations in temperature and humidity than Renaissance oil paintings.
D. None of the materials in Renaissance oil paintings other than the paint are vulnerable enough to relatively wide fluctuations in temperature and humidity to cause damage to the paintings.
E. Most Renaissance oil paintings are stored in museums located in regions near the regions where the paintings were created.
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GWD-8-Q31: GWD-2-12’
Which of the following most logically completes the argument?
Yorco and Zortech are two corporations that employ large numbers of full-time workers who are paid by the hour. Publicly available records indicate that Yorco employs roughly the same number of such hourly wage workers as Zortech does but spends a far higher total sum per year on wages for such workers. Therefore, hourly wages must be higher, on average, at Yorco than at Zortech, since _____.
A. Zortech spends a higher total sum per year than Yorco does to provide its hourly wage workers with benefits other than wages
B. the work performed by hourly wage workers at Zortech does not require a significantly higher level of skill than the work performed by hourly wage workers at Yorco does
C. the proportion of all company employees who are hourly wage workers is significantly greater at Yorco than it is at Zortech
D. overtime work, which is paid at a substantially higher rate than work done during the regular work week, is rare at both Yorco and Zortech
E. the highest hourly wages paid at Yorco are higher than the highest hourly wages paid at Zortech
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GWD-8-Q33:
In order to withstand tidal currents, juvenile horseshoe crabs frequently burrow in the sand. Such burrowing discourages barnacles from clinging to their shells. When fully grown, however, the crabs can readily withstand tidal currents without burrowing, and thus they acquire substantial populations of barnacles. Surprisingly, in areas where tidal currents are very weak, juvenile horseshoe crabs are found not to have significant barnacle populations, even though they seldom burrow.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the surprising finding?
A. Tidal currents do not themselves dislodge barnacles from the shells of horseshoe crabs.
B. Barnacles most readily attach themselves to horseshoe crabs in areas where tidal currents are weakest.
C. The strength of the tidal currents in a given location varies widely over the course of a day.
D. A very large barnacle population can significantly decrease the ability of a horseshoe crab to find food.
E. Until they are fully grown, horseshoe crabs shed their shells and grow new ones several times a year.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:54
GWD-8-Q38:
Unless tiger hunting decreases, tigers will soon be extinct in the wild. The countries in which the tigers’ habitats are located are currently debating joint legislation that would ban tiger hunting. Thus, if these countries can successfully enforce this legislation, the survival of tigers in the wild will be ensured.
The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument
A. assumes without sufficient warrant that a ban on tiger hunting could be successfully enforced
B. considers the effects of hunting on tigers without also considering the effects of hunting on other endangered animal species
C. fails to take into account how often tiger hunters are unsuccessful in their attempts to kill tigers
D. neglects to consider the results of governmental attempts in the past to limit tiger hunting
E. takes the removal of an impediment to the tigers’ survival as a guarantee of their survival
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GWD-8-Q40:
From 1973 to 1976, total United States consumption of cigarettes increased 3.4 percent, and total sales of chewing tobacco rose 18.0 percent. During the same period, total United States population increased 5.0 percent.
If the statements above are true, which of the following conclusions can be properly drawn?
A. United States manufacturers of tobacco products had higher profits in 1976 than in 1973.
B. Per capita consumption of cigarettes in the United States was lower in 1976 than in 1973.
C. The proportion of nonsmokers in the United States population dropped slightly between 1973 and 1976.
D. United States manufacturers of tobacco products realize a lower profit on cigarettes than on chewing tobacco.
E. A large percentage of United States smokers switched from cigarettes to chewing tobacco between 1973 and 1976.
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GWD-9
GWD-9-Q8:
Many large department stores in Montalia now provide shopping carts for their customers. Since customers using shopping carts tend to buy more than those without shopping carts, most of these stores are experiencing strong sales growth, while most other department stores are not. Therefore, in order to boost sales, managers of Jerrod’s, Montalia’s premier department store, are planning to purchase shopping carts and make them available to the store’s customers next month.
Which of the following, if true, casts most doubt whether the managers’ plan, if implemented, will achieve its goal?
A. Since most customers associate shopping carts with low-quality discount stores, Jerrod’s high-quality image would likely suffer if shopping carts were introduced.
B. Because the unemployment rate has declined to very low levels, Jerrod’s now has to pay significantly higher wages in order to retain its staff.
C. A number of department stores that did not make shopping carts available to their customers have had to close recently due to falling profits.
D. Shopping carts are not very expensive, but they generally need to be replaced every few years.
E. Stores that make shopping carts available to their customers usually have to hire people to retrieve the carts from parking areas.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:54
GWD-9-Q12:
A mosquito bite can transmit to a person the parasite that causes malaria, and the use of mosquito nets over children’s beds can significantly reduce the incidence of malarial infection for children in areas where malaria is common. Yet public health officials are reluctant to recommend the use of mosquito nets over children’s beds in such areas.
Which of the following, if true, would provide the strongest grounds for the public health officials’ reluctance?
A. Early exposure to malaria increases the body’s resistance to it and results in a lesser likelihood of severe life-threatening episodes of malaria.
B. Mosquito bites can transmit to people diseases other than malaria.
C. Mosquito nets provide protection from some insect pests other than mosquitoes.
D. Although there are vaccines available for many childhood diseases, no vaccine has been developed that is effective against malaria.
E. The pesticides that are most effective against mosquitoes in regions where malaria is common have significant detrimental effects on human health.
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GWD-9-Q13:
Fact: Asthma, a bronchial condition, is much less common ailment than hay fever, an allergic inflammation of the nasal passages.
Fact: over 95 percent of people who have asthma also suffer from hay fever.
If the information given as facts above is true, which of the following must also be true?
A. Hay fever is a prerequisite for the development of asthma
B. Asthma is a prerequisite for the development of hay fever
C. Those who have neither hay fever nor asthma comprise less than 5 percent of the total population
D. The number of people who have both of these ailments is greater than the number of people who have only one of them
E. The percentage of people suffering from hay fever who also have asthma is lower than 95 percent.
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GWD-9-Q14:
The Eurasian ruffe, a fish species inadvertently introduced into North America’s Great Lakes in recent years, feeds on the eggs of lake whitefish, a native species, thus threatening the lakes’ natural ecosystem. To help track the ruffe’s spread, government agencies have produced wallet-sized cards about the ruffe. The cards contain pictures of the ruffe and explain the danger they pose; the cards also request anglers to report any ruffe they catch.
Which of the following, if true, would provide most support for the prediction that the agencies’ action will have its intended effect?
A. The ruffe has spiny fins that make it unattractive as prey.
B. Ruffe generally feed at night, but most recreational fishing on the Great Lakes is done during daytime hours.
C. Most people who fish recreationally on the Great Lakes are interested in the preservation of the lake whitefish because it is a highly prized game fish.
D. The ruffe is one of several nonnative species in the Great Lakes whose existence threatens the survival of lake whitefish populations there.
E. The bait that most people use when fishing for whitefish on the Great Lakes is not attractive to ruffe.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:54
GWD-9-Q16:
A diet high in saturated fats increases a person’s risk of developing heart disease. Regular consumption of red wine reduces that risk. Per-capita consumption of saturated fats is currently about the same in France as in the United States, but there is less heart disease there than in the United States because consumption of red wine is higher in France. The difference in regular red-wine consumption has been narrowing, but no similar convergence in heart-disease rates has occurred.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to account for the lack of convergence noted above?
A. Consumption of saturated fats is related more strongly to the growth of fatty deposits on artery walls, which reduce blood flow to the heart, than it is to heart disease directly.
B. Over the past 30 years, per-capita consumption of saturated fats has remained essentially unchanged in the United States but has increased somewhat in France.
C. Reports of the health benefits of red wine have led many people in the United States to drink red wine regularly.
D. Cigarette smoking, which can also contribute to heart disease, is only slightly more common in France than in the United States.
E. Regular consumption of red wine is declining dramatically among young adults in France, and heart disease typically does not manifest itself until middle age.
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GWD-9-Q20:
Which of the following most logically completes the reasoning?
Either food scarcity or excessive hunting can threaten a population of animals. If the group faces food scarcity, individuals in the group will reach reproductive maturity later than otherwise. If the group faces excessive hunting, individuals that reach reproductive maturity earlier will come to predominate. Therefore, it should be possible to determine whether prehistoric mastodons became extinct because of food scarcity or human hunting, since there are fossilized mastodon remains from both before and after mastodon populations declined, and ______.
A. there are more fossilized mastodon remains from the period before mastodon populations began to decline than from after that period
B. the average age at which mastodons from a given period reached reproductive maturity can be established from their fossilized remains
C. it can be accurately estimated from fossilized remains when mastodons became extinct
D. it is not known when humans first began hunting mastodons
E. climate changes may have gradually reduced the food available to mastodons
GWD-9-Q24:
For similar cars and drivers, automobile insurance for collision damage has always cost more in Greatport than in Fairmont. Police studies, however, show that cars owned by Greatport residents are, on average, slightly less likely to be involved in a collision than cars in Fairmont. Clearly, therefore, insurance companies are making a greater profit on collision-damage insurance in Greatport than in Fairmont.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. Repairing typical collision damage does not cost more in Greatport than in Fairmont.
B. There are no more motorists in Greatport than in Fairmont.
C. Greatport residents who have been in a collision are more likely to report it to their insurance company than Fairmont residents are.
D. Fairmont and Greatport are the cities with the highest collision-damage insurance rates.
E. The insurance companies were already aware of the difference in the likelihood of collisions before the publication of the police reports.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:55
GWD-9-Q28:
Editorial in Krenlandian Newspaper:
Krenland’s steelmakers are losing domestic sales because of lower-priced imports, in many cases because foreign governments subsidize their steel industries in ways that are banned by international treaties. But whatever the cause, the cost is ultimately going to be jobs in Krenland’s steel industry. Therefore, it would protect not only steel companies but also industrial employment in Krenland if our government took measures to reduce cheap steel imports.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the editorial’s argument?
A. Because steel from Krenland is rarely competitive in international markets, only a very small portion of Krenlandian steelmakers’ revenue comes from exports.
B. The international treaties that some governments are violating by giving subsidies to steelmakers do not specify any penalties for such violations.
C. For many Krenlandian manufacturers who face severe international competition in both domestic and export markets, steel constitutes a significant part of their raw material costs.
D. Because of advances in order-taking, shipping, and inventory systems, the cost of shipping steel from foreign producers to Krenland has fallen considerably in recent years.
E. Wages paid to workers in the steel industry in Krenland differ significantly from wages paid to workers in many of the countries that export steel to Krenland.
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GWD-9-Q30:
Criminologist: Some legislators advocate mandating a sentence of life in prison for anyone who, having twice served sentences for serious crimes, is subsequently convicted of a third serious crime. These legislators argue that such a policy would reduce crime dramatically, since it would take people with a proven tendency to commit crimes off the streets permanently. What this reasoning overlooks, however, is that people old enough to have served two prison sentences for serious crimes rarely commit more than one subsequent crime. Filling our prisons with such individuals would have exactly the opposite of the desired effect, since it would limit our ability to incarcerate younger criminals, who commit a far greater proportion of serious crimes.
In the argument as a whole, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
A. The first is a conclusion that the argument as a whole seeks to refute; the second is a claim that has been advanced in support of that conclusion.
B. The first is a conclusion that the argument as a whole seeks to refute; the second is the main conclusion of the argument.
C. The first is the main conclusion of the argument; the second is an objection that has been raised against that conclusion.
D. The first is the main conclusion of the argument; the second is a prediction made on the basis of that conclusion.
E. The first is a generalization about the likely effect of a policy under consideration in the argument; the second points out a group of exceptional cases to which that generalization does not apply.
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GWD-9-Q37:
Researchers took a group of teenagers who had never smoked and for one year tracked whether they took up smoking and how their mental health changed. Those who began smoking within a month of the study’s start were four times as likely to be depressed at the study’s end than those who did not begin smoking. Since nicotine in cigarettes changes brain chemistry, perhaps thereby affecting mood, it is likely that smoking contributes to depression in teenagers.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
A. Participants who were depressed at the study’s start were no more likely to be smokers at the study’s end than those who were not depressed.
B. Participants who began smoking within a month of the study’s start were no more likely than those who began midway through to have quit smoking by the study’s end.
C. Few, if any, of the participants in the study were friends or relatives of other participants.
D. Some participants entered and emerged from a period of depression within the year of the study.
E. The researchers did not track use of alcohol by the teenagers.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:55
GWD-9-Q38:
In January of last year the Moviemania chain of movie theaters started propping its popcorn in canola oil, instead of the less healthful coconut oil that it had been using until then. Now Moviemania is planning to switch back, saying that the change has hurt popcorn sales. That claim is false, however, since according to Moviemania’s own sales figures, Moviemania sold 5 percent more popcorn last year than in the previous year.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the argument against Moviemania’s claim?
A. Total sales of all refreshments at Moviemania’s movie theaters increased by less than 5 percent last year.
B. Moviemania makes more money on food and beverages sold at its theaters than it does on sales of movie tickets.
C. Moviemania’s customers prefer the taste of popcorn popped in coconut oil to that of popcorn popped in canola oil.
D. Total attendance at Moviemania’s movie theaters was more than 20 percent higher last year than the year before.
E. The year before last, Moviemania experienced a 10 percent increase in popcorn sales over the previous year.
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GWD-9-Q40:
Agricultural societies cannot exist without staple crops. Several food plants, such as kola and okra, are known to have been domesticated in western Africa, but they are all supplemental, not staple, foods. All the recorded staple crops grown in western Africa were introduced from elsewhere, beginning, at some unknown date, with rice and yams. Therefore, discovering when rice and yams were introduced into western Africa would establish the earliest date at which agricultural societies could have arisen there.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. People in western Africa did not develop staple crops that they stopped cultivating once rice and yams were introduced.
B. There are no plants native to western Africa that, if domesticated, could serve as staple food crops.
C. Rice and yams were grown as staple crops by the earliest agricultural societies outside of western Africa.
D. Kola and okra are better suited to growing conditions in western Africa than domesticated rice and yams are.
E. Kola and okra were domesticated in western Africa before rice and yams were introduced there.
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GWD-10
GWD-10-Q7
For similar cars and drivers, automobile insurance for collision damage has always cost more in Greatport than in Fairmont. Police studies, however, show that cars owned by Greatport residents are, on average, slightly less likely to be involved in a collision than cars in Fairmont. Clearly, therefore, insurance companies are making a greater profit on collision-damage insurance in Greatport than in Fairmont.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. Repairing typical collision damage does not cost more in Greatport than in Fairmont.
B. There are no more motorists in Greatport than in Fairmont.
C. Greatport residents who have been in a collision are more likely to report it to their insurance company than Fairmont residents are.
D. Fairmont and Greatport are the cities with the highest collision-damage insurance rates.
E. The insurance companies were already aware of the difference in the likelihood of collisions before the publication of the police reports.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:55
GWD-10-Q9
Although exposure to asbestos is the primary cause of mesothelioma, a slow-developing cancer, researchers believe that infection by the SV40 virus is a contributing cause, since in the United States 60 percent of tissue samples from mesotheliomas, but none from healthy tissue, contain SV40. SV40 is a monkey virus; however, in 1960 some polio vaccine was contaminated with the virus. Researchers hypothesize that this vaccine was the source of the virus found in mesotheliomas decades later.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the researchers’ hypothesis?
A. SV40 is widely used as a research tool in cancer laboratories.
B. Changes in the technique of manufacturing the vaccine now prevent contamination with SV40.
C. Recently discovered samples of the vaccine dating from 1960 still show traced of the virus.
D. In a small percentage of cases of mesothelioma, there is no history of exposure to asbestos.
E. In Finland, where the polio vaccine was never contaminated, samples from mesotheliomas do not contain SV40.
GWD-10-Q14
Yeasts capable of leavening bread are widespread, and in the many centuries during which the ancient Egyptians made only unleavened bread, such yeasts must frequently have been mixed into bread doughs accidentally. The Egyptians, however, did not discover leavened bread until about 3000 B.C. That discovery roughly coincided with the introduction of a wheat variety that was preferable to previous varieties because its edible kernel could be removed from the husk without first toasting the grain.
Which of the following, if true, provide the strongest evidence that the two developments were causally related?
A. Even after the ancient Egyptians discovered leavened bread and the techniques for reliably producing it were well known, unleavened bread continued to be widely consumed.
B. Only when the Egyptians stopped the practice of toasting grain were their stone-lined grain-toasting pits available for baking bread.
C. Heating a wheat kernel destroys its gluten, a protein that must be present in order for yeast to leaven bread dough.
D. The new variety of wheat, which had a more delicate flavor because it was not toasted, was reserved for the consumption of high officials when it first began to be grown.
E. Because the husk of the new variety of wheat was more easily removed, flour made from it required less effort to produce
GWD-10-Q15
Which of the following most logically completes the argument below?
Although the number of large artificial satellites orbiting the Earth is small compared to the number of small pieces of debris in orbit, the large satellites interfere more seriously with telescope observations because of the strong reflections they produce. Because many of those large satellites have ceased to function, the proposal recently been made to eliminate interference from nonfunctioning satellites by exploding them in space. This proposal, however, is ill conceived, since .
A. many nonfunctioning satellites remain in orbit for years
B. for satellites that have ceased to function, repairing them while they are in orbit would be prohibitively expensive
C. there are no known previous instances of satellites’ having been exploded on purpose
D. the only way to make telescope observations without any interference from debris in orbit is to use telescopes launched into extremely high orbits around the Earth
E. a greatly increased number of small particles in Earth’s orbit would result in a blanket of reflections that would make certain valuable telescope observations impossible作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:56
GWD-10-Q17
Editorial:
An arrest made by a Midville police officer is provisional until the officer has taken the suspect to the police station and the watch commander has officially approved the arrest. Such approval is denied if the commander judges that the evidence on which the provisional arrest is based is insufficient. A government efficiency expert has found that almost all provisional arrests meet standards for adequacy of evidence that watch commanders enforce. The expert therefore recommends that the watch commander’s approval should no longer be required since the officers’ time spent obtaining approval is largely wasted. This recommendation should be rejected as dangerous, however, since there is no assurance that the watch commanders’ standards will continue to be observed once approval is no longer required.
In the editorial, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
A. The first is a recommendation made by the editorial; the second acknowledges a potential objection against that recommendation.
B. The first is a proposal against which the editorial is directed; the second is a judgment reached by the editorial concerning that proposal.
C. The first provides evidence in support of a recommendation that the editorial supports; the second is the conclusion reached by the editorial.
D. The first is a position that the editorial challenges; the second is a judgment that was made in support of that challenged position.
E. The first is a recommendation that the editorial questions; the second provides evidence against that recommendation.
GWD-10-Q19
Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
A certain tropical island received food donations in the form of powdered milk for distribution to its poorest residents, who were thought to be malnourished. Subsequently, the rate of liver cancers among those islanders increased sharply. The donated milk was probably to blame: recent laboratory research on rats has shown that rats briefly exposed to the substances aflatoxin tend to develop liver cancer when fed casein, a milk protein. This result is relevant because .
A. in the tropics, peanuts, a staple of these island residents, support a mold growth that produces aflatoxin.
B. the liver is more sensitive to carcinogens, of which aflatoxin may be one, than most other bodily organs.
C. casein is not the only protein contained in milk.
D. powdered milk is the most appropriate form in which to send milk to a tropical destination.
E. the people who were given the donated milk had been screened for their ability to digest milk.
GWD-10-Q29：GWD-2-14
Smithtown University’s fund-raisers succeeded in getting donations from 80 percent of the potential donors they contacted. This success rate, exceptionally high for university fund-raisers, does not indicate that they were doing a good job. On the contrary, since the people most likely to donate are those who have donated in the past, good fund-raisers constantly try less-likely prospects in an effort to expand the donor base. The high success rate shows insufficient canvassing effort.
Which of the following, if true, provides more support for the argument?
A. Smithtown University’s fund-raisers were successful in their contacts with potential donors who had never given before about as frequently as were fund-raisers for other universities in their contacts with such people.
B. This year the average size of the donations to Smithtown University from new donors when the university’s fund-raisers had contacted was larger than the average size of donations from donors who had given to the university before.
C. This year most of the donations that came to Smithtown University from people who had previously donated to it were made without the university’s fund-raisers having made any contact with the donors.
D. The majority of the donations that fund-raisers succeeded in getting for Smithtown University this year were from donors who had never given to the university before.
E. More than half of the money raised by Smithtown University’s fund-raisers came from donors who had never previously donated to the university.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 12:59
GWD-10-Q30:GWD-2-17
The quality of unrefined olive oil is not actually defined in terms of acidity, yet extensive tests have shown that the less free oleic acid an unrefined olive oil contains per liter, the higher its quality. The proportion of free oleic acid that an olive oil contains is an accurate measure of the oil’s acidity.
If the statements above are all true, which of the following conclusions is best supported by them?
A. When an olive oil is refined, the concentration of oleic acid in the oil is reduced.
B. The quality of an unrefined olive oil can be determined only by accurately measuring its acidity.
C. If an unrefined olive oil is intermediate in acidity between two other unrefined olive oils, it will also be intermediate between them in quality.
D. Free oleic acid is the only acid that unrefined olive oil contains.
E. People who judge the quality of unrefined olive oils actually judge those oils by their acidity, which the judges can taste.
GWD-10-Q40
Insect infestations in certain cotton-growing regions of the world have caused dramatic increase in the price of cotton on the world market. By contrast, the price of soybeans has long remained stable. Knowing that cotton plants mature quickly, many soybean growers in Ortovia plan to cease growing soybeans and being raising cotton instead, thereby taking advantage of the high price of cotton to increase their income significantly, at least over the next several years.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the plan’s chances for success?
A. The cost of raising soybeans has increased significantly over the past several year and is expected to continue to climb.
B. Tests of a newly developed, inexpensive pesticide have shown it to be both environmentally safe and effective against the insects that have infested cotton crops.
C. In the past several years, there has been no sharp increase in the demand for cotton and for goods made out of cotton.
D. Few consumers would be willing to pay significantly higher prices for cotton goods than they are now paying.
E. The species of insect that has infested cotton plants has never been known to attack soybean plants.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:00
GWD-12
Q2:
Scientists are discussing ways to remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by increasing the amount that is absorbed by plant life. One plan to accomplish this is to establish giant floating seaweed farms in the oceans. When the seaweed plants die, they will be disposed of by being burned for fuel.
Which of the following, if true, would indicate the most serious weakness in the plan above?
U. Some areas of ocean in the Southern Hemisphere do not contain sufficient nutrients to support large seaweed farms.
V. When a seaweed plant is burned, it releases an amount of carbon dioxide comparable to the amount it has absorbed in its lifetime.
W. Even if seaweed farms prove effective, some people will be reluctant to switch to this new fuel.
X. Each year about seven billion tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere but only about five billion tons are absorbed by plant life.
Y. Seaweed farms would make more money by farming seaweed to sell as nutritional supplements than by farming seaweed to sell as fuel.
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Q11:
In general, jobs are harder to get in times of economic recession because many businesses cut back operations. However, any future recessions in Vargonia will probably not reduce the availability of teaching jobs at government-funded schools. This is because Vargonia has just introduced a legal requirement that education in government-funded schools be available, free of charge, to all Vargonian children regardless of the state of the economy, and that current student-teacher ratios not be exceeded.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
A. The current student-teacher ratio at Vargonia’s government-funded schools is higher than it was during the most recent period of economic recession.
B. During recent periods when the Vargonian economy has been strong, almost 25 percent of Vargonian children have attended privately funded schools, many of which charge substantial fees.
C. Nearly 20 percent more teachers are currently employed in Vargonia’s government-funded schools than had been employed in those schools in the period before the last economic recession.
D. Teachers in Vargonia’s government-funded schools are well paid relative to teachers in most privately funded schools in Vargonia, many of which rely heavily on part-time teachers.
E. During the last economic recession in Vargonia, the government permanently closed a number of the schools that it had funded.
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Q12: GWD-13-27
Which if the following, if true, most logically completes the argument?
Aroca County’s public schools are supported primarily by taxes on property. The county plans to eliminate the property tax and support schools with a new three percent sales tax on all retail items sold in the county. Three percent of current retail sales is less than the amount collected through property taxes, but implementation of the plan would not necessarily reduce the amount of money going to Aroca County public schools, because ______.
A. many Aroca County residents have already left the county because of its high property taxes
B. a shopping mall likely to draw shoppers from neighboring counties is about to open in Aroca County
C. at least some Aroca County parents are likely to use the money they will save on property taxes to send their children to private schools not funded by the county
D. a significant proportion of parents of Aroca County public school students do not own their homes and consequently do not pay property taxes
E. retailers in Aroca County are not likely to absorb the sales tax by reducing the pretax price of their goods作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:43
- Q15:
FastMart, a convenience store chain, is planning to add pancake syrup to the items it sells. FastMart stores do not have shelf space to stock more than one variety of syrup. Surveys of FastMart customers indicate that one-fourth of them prefer low-calorie syrup, while three-fourths prefer regular syrup. Since FastMart’s highest priority is to maximize sales, the obvious strategy for it is to stock regular syrup.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A: People buying pancake syrup at convenience stores, unlike those buying it at supermarkets, generally buy it only a few times.
B. People who prefer low-calorie syrup generally use about the same amount of syrup on their pancakes as those who prefer regular syrup.
C. Regular syrup does not sell for a higher price per unit than low-calorie syrup.
D. In general, customers who prefer regular syrup will buy low-calorie syrup if regular is unavailable, but those who prefer low-calorie will not buy regular syrup.
E. Sales of syrup are not expected to account for a large proportion of total dollar sales at the average FastMart store.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q16:
Certain genetically modified strains of maize produce a natural insecticide that protects against maize-eating insects. The insecticide occurs throughout the plant, including its pollen. Maize pollen is dispersed by the wind and often blows onto milkweed plants that grow near maize fields. Caterpillars of monarch butterflies feed exclusively on milkweed leaves. When, in experiments, these caterpillars were fed milkweed leaves dusted with pollen from modified maize plants, they died. Therefore, use of the modified maize inadvertently imperils monarch butterflies.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A. Per unit of volume, the natural insecticide produced by the genetically modified maize plants is less toxic to insects than are many commercial insecticides commonly used on maize plants.
B. Standard weed-control practices that have been used by farmers for decades have largely eliminated milkweed plants from certain areas where monarch-butterfly caterpillars were once common.
C. The experiments showed that the caterpillars were not harmed by contact with the pollen from the genetically modified plants unless they ingested it.
D. The maize-eating insects that the natural insecticide protects against do not feed on the pollen of the maize plant.
E. Airborne maize pollen tends to collect on the middle leaves of milkweed plants and monarch caterpillars feed only on the plant’s tender upper leaves.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:43
Q21: GWD-13-31
By competing with rodents for seeds, black ants help control rodent populations that pose a public health risk. However, a very aggressive species of blank ant, the Loma ant, which has recently invaded a certain region, has a venomous sting that is often fatal to humans. Therefore, the planned introduction into that region of ant flies, which prey on Loma ants, would benefit public health.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
A. Ant flies do not attack black ants other than Loma ants.
B. Loma ants are less effective than many bird species in competing with rodents for seeds.
C. Certain other species of black ants are more effective than Loma ants in competing with rodents for seeds.
D. The sting of Loma ants can also be fatal to rodents.
E. The use of pesticides to control Loma ants could have harmful effects on the environment.
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Q22:
Denoma, a major consumer-electronics maker, had a sizeable decline in sales revenue for its most recent fiscal year. This result appears surprising, because electronics retailers report that although their overall sales were considerably lower than in the previous year, their sales revenue from Denoma models actually grew, largely thanks to some innovative and popular models that Denoma introduced.
Which of the following, if true, does most to explain the apparently surprising result?
A. Because of the need to educate the public about its new models’ capabilities, Denoma’s advertising spending was higher than normal over the period.
B. For the period at issue, Denoma’s major competitors reported declines in revenue that were, in percentage terms, greater than Denoma’s.
C. A significant proportion of Denoma’s revenue comes from making components for other consumer-electronics manufacturers.
D. Unlike some of its major competitors, Denoma has no lines of business outside consumer electronics to provide revenue when retail sales of consumer electronics are weak.
E. During the period, consumer-electronics retailers sold remaining units of Denoma’s superseded models at prices that were deeply discounted from those models’ original prices.
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Q29:
The Earth’s rivers constantly carry dissolved salts into its oceans. Clearly, therefore, by taking the resulting increase in salt levels in the oceans over the past hundred years and then determining how many centuries of such increases it would have taken the oceans to reach current salt levels from a hypothetical initial salt-free state, the maximum age of the Earth’s oceans can be accurately estimated.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. The quantities of dissolved salts deposited by rivers in the Earth’s oceans have not been unusually large during the past hundred years.
B. At any given time, all the Earth’s rivers have about the same salt levels.
C. There are salts that leach into the Earth’s oceans directly from the ocean floor.
D. There is no method superior to that based on salt levels for estimating the maximum age of the Earth’s oceans.
E. None of the salts carried into the Earth’s oceans by rivers are used up by biological activity in the oceans.
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Q33:
Several of a certain bank’s top executives have recently been purchasing shares in their own bank. This activity has occasioned some surprise, since it is widely believed that the bank, carrying a large number of bad loans, is on the brink of collapse. Since the executives are well placed to know their bank’s true condition, it might seem that their share purchases show that the danger of collapse is exaggerated. However, the available information about the bank’s condition is from reliable and informed sources, and corporate executives do sometimes buy shares in their own company in a calculated attempt to calm worries about their company’s condition. On balance, therefore, it is likely that the executives of the bank are following this example.
In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
A. The first describes the circumstance the explanation of which is the issue that the argument addresses; the second states the main conclusion of the argument.
B. The first describes the circumstance the explanation of which is the issue the argument addresses; the second states a conclusion that is drawn in order to support the main conclusion of the argument.
C. The first provides evidence to defend the position that the argument seeks to establish against opposing positions; the second states the main conclusion of the argument.
D. The first provides evidence to support the position that the argument seeks to establish; the second states a conclusion that is drawn in order to support the argument’s main conclusion.
E. Each provides evidence to support the position that the argument seeks to establish.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:44
Q38:
Outbreaks of Rift Valley fever occur irregularly in East Africa, several years apart. When outbreaks do occur, they kill thousands of cattle. A livestock vaccine against the disease exists but is rarely used. It is too expensive for farmers to use routinely, and since it is not effective until a month after vaccination, administering it after an outbreak begins helps very little. Nevertheless, experts predict that use of the vaccine will increase significantly within the next few years.
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest justification for the experts’ prediction?
A. Rift Valley fever is spread by mosquitoes, but each outbreak is so widespread that it is impractical to control it by using insecticides.
B. When an outbreak of Rift Valley fever occurs, unaffected countries often refuse to import livestock from the countries affected by the outbreak.
C. It would take less than a month for producers of the vaccine to adjust their production operations to cope with a large increase in demand.
D. Many cattle farmers in East Africa are nomadic or live in remote villages, and such farmers, who have little access to modern veterinary medicine, are particularly hard hit by outbreaks of Rift Valley fever.
E. Recently published research has shown that certain identifiable climatic conditions are almost invariably followed, within two to five months, by an outbreak of Rift Valley fever.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q40:
Which of the following most logically completes the argument?
Researchers recently asked dozens of shoppers, chosen at random coming out of a FoodBasket supermarket, what they had purchased. The prices of the very same items at the nearest ShopperKing supermarket were totaled and compared with the FoodBasket total. The ShopperKing totals averaged five percent higher than the FoodBasket totals. Nevertheless, this result does not necessarily show that shoppers at ShopperKing would save money overall by shopping at FoodBasket instead, since ______.
A. shoppers who shop regularly at a given supermarket generally choose that store for the low prices offered on the items that they purchase most often
B. for shoppers with more than 20 items, the ShopperKing totals averaged more than five percent higher than the FoodBasket totals
C. many shoppers consider factors other than price in choosing the supermarket at which they shop most regularly
D. there is little variation from month to month in the overall quantity of purchases made at supermarkets by a given shopper
E. none of the people who conducted the research were employees of the FoodBasket supermarket作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:44
T-3
T-3-Q3.
Scientists have made genetic modifications to cotton to increase its resistance to insect pests. According to farmers’ report, the amount of insecticide needed per acre to control insect pests was only slightly lower for those who tried the modified seed than for those who did not. Therefore, since the modified seed costs more than ordinary seed without producing yields of higher market value, switching to the modified seed would be unlikely to benefit most cotton farmers economically.
Which of the following would it be most useful to know in order to evaluate the argument?
A. Whether farmers who tried the modified cotton seed had ever tried growing other crops from genetically modified seed.
B. Whether the insecticides typically used on ordinary cotton tend to be more expensive than insecticides typically used on other crops.
C. Whether for most farms who grow cotton it is their primary crop
D. Whether the farmers who have tried the modified speed planted as many acres of cotton, on average, as farmers using the ordinary seed did.
E. Whether most of the farmers who tried the modified seed did so because they had previously had to use exceptionally large quantities of insecticide.
T-3-Q8.
The number of applications for teaching positions in Newtown’s public schools was 5.7 percent lower in 1993 than in 1985 and 5.9 percent lower in 1994 than in 1985. despite a steadily growing student population and an increasing number of teacher resignations, however, Newtown does not face a shortage in the late 1990’s.
Which of the following, if true, would contribute most to an explanation of the apparent discrepancy above?
A. Many of Newtown’s public school students do not graduate from high school
B. New housing developments planned for Newtown are (shared) for occupancy in 1987 and are expected to increase the number of elementary school students in Newtown’s public
C. The Newtown school board does not contemplate increasing the ratio of students to teachers in the 1990’s.
D. Teachers’ colleges in and near Newtown produced lower graduates in 1994 than in 1993
E. In 1993 Newtown’s public schools received 40 percent more applications for teaching positions than there were positions available.
T-3-Q13.
The traditional treatment of strep infections has been a seven-day course of antibiotics, either penicillin or erythromycin. However, since many patients stop taking those drugs within three days, reinfection is common in cases where these drugs are prescribed. A new antibiotic requires only a three-day course of treatment. Therefore, reinfection will probably be less common in cases where the new antibiotic is prescribed than in cases where either penicillin or erythromycin is prescribed.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
A. Some of people who are allergic to penicillin are likely to be allergic to the new antibiotic.
B. A course of treatment with the new antibiotic costs about the same as a course of treatment with either penicillin or erythromycin.
C. The new antibiotic has been shown to be effective in eradicating bacterial infections other than strep.
D. Some physicians have already begun to prescribe the new antibiotic instead of penicillin or erythromycin for the treatment of some strep infections
E. Regardless of whether they take a traditional antibiotic or the new one, most patients feel fully recovered after taking the drug for three days.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:45
T-3-Q16.
In response to mounting public concern, an airplane manufacturers implement a program with well-publicized goal of reducing by half the total yearly amount of hazardous waste generated by its passenger-jet division. When the program began in 1994, the division’s hazardous waste was 90 pounds per production worker, last year it was 40 pounds per production worker. Clearly, therefore, charges that the manufacturer’s program has not met its goal are false.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. the amount of nonhazardous waste generated each year by the passenger-jet division has not increased significantly since 1984
B. at least as many passenger jets were produced by the division last year as had been produced in 1994
C. since 1994, other divisions in the company have achieved reductions in hazardous waste output that are at least equal to that achieved in the passenger-jet division.
D. The average number of weekly hours per production worker in the passenger-jet division was not significantly greater last year than it was in 1994.
E. The number of production workers assigned to the passenger-jet division was not significantly less in 1994 than it was last year.
T-3-Q21.
Driving the steep road to the mountaintop Inca ruins of Machu Picchu is potentially dangerous and hiking there is difficult. Now the Peruvian government is installing a cable car that will make access much easier, and hence results in a large increase in tourisms. However, since the presence of large numbers of tourists tends to accelerate the deterioration of a site, installation of a cable car is certain to result in harm to the ruins.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the argument?
A. The daily number of tourists that are expected to take the cable car to Machu Picchu is smaller than the original resident
B. The construction of the cable car terminal at Machu Picchu will require the use of potentially damaging heavy machinery at the site.
C. Machu Picchu is already one of the most popular tourist sites in Peru
D. Natural weathering will continue to be a more significant cause of the deterioration of Machu Picchu than tourist traffic
E. The cable car will replace the tour buses whose large wheels and corrosive exhaust at present do significant damage to the site.
T-3-Q23. GWD-13-32
Macrophages are cells that play a role in the response of the immune system of mice and other mammals to invasive organisms such as bacteria. Unlike other mice, mice that are genetically incapable of making these particular cells do not show elevated levels of nitrates when infected with bacteria.
The statements above, if true, provide the most support for which of the following conclusions?
A. Mice that are unable either to make macrophages or to make them in sufficient numbers will protect themselves from bacterial infections in some other way.
B. Mice that show elevated levels of nitrates can easily fight off most types of bacterial infections.
C. In mice, macrophages play a role in the production of nitrates or inhibit a process by which nitrates are broken down or otherwise eliminated.
D. When a healthy mouse becomes infected with an invasive organism, the number of macrophages in the mouse’s body decreases.
E. Injections of nitrates into mice that lack macrophages will not enhance the ability of these animals’ immune systems to fight off infection.
T-3-Q24.
Each year red-winged blackbirds stop in a certain region of Midland Province on their spring and fall migration. In the fall, they eat a significant portion of the province’s sunflower crop. This year Midland farmers sought permits to set out small amounts of poisoned rice during the blackbirds’ spring stop in order to reduce the fall blackbird population. Some residents voiced concern that the rice could threaten certain species of rare migratory birds. Nevertheless, the wildlife agency approved the permits.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to justify the wildlife agency’s approval of the permits, given the concern voiced by some residents?
A. In the region where the red-winged blackbirds stop, they are the first birds to be present in the spring.
B. The poison that farmers want to use does not kill birds but rather make them incapable of producing viable eggs.
C. Since rice is not raised in midland province, few species of birds native to the province normally eat rice.
D. Without the permit, any farmers shown to have set out poison for the blackbirds would be heavily fined
E. The poison that farmers got approval to use has no taste or smell that would make it detectable by birds.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:46
T-3-Q29.
The emission of sulfur dioxide when high-sulfur coal is burned is restricted by law. New coal-burning plants usually comply with the law by installing expensive equipment to filter sulfur dioxide from their emissions. These new plants could save money by installing instead less expensive cleaning equipment that chemically removes most sulfur from coal before combustion.
Which of the following, if known, would be most relevant to evaluating the claim above about how new-coal burning plants could save money?
A. Whether existing oil-burning plants are required to filter sulfur dioxide from their emissions.
B. Whether the expense of installing the cleaning equipment in a new plant is less than the expense of installing the cleaning equipment in an older plant.
C. Whether the process of cleaning the coal is more expensive than the process of filtering the emissions
D. Whether lawful emissions of sulfur dioxide form coal-burning plants are damaging the environment.
E. Whether existing plants that use the filtering equipment could replace this equipment with the cleaning equipment and still complete with new plants that install the cleaning equipment.
T-3-Q32.
A theory is either true or false. Galileo’s observations of Jupiter’s satellites showed that the Ptolemaic theory of the motion of celestial bodies is false. Therefore, since the Copernican theory of planetary motion is inconsistent with the Ptolemaic account, Galileo’s observations of Jupiter’s satellites proved the truth of the Copernican theory.
The argument above is open to the objection that it makes the questionable assumption that
A. Whoever first observed something inconsistent with the truth of the Ptolemaic theory should be credited with having proved that theory false.
B. There are some possible observations that would be inconsistent with the account given by the Copernican theory but consistent with the account given by the Ptolemaic theory.
C. The Ptolemaic and Copernican theories, being inconsistent, cannot both be based on exactly the same evidence
D. Numerous counterexamples were necessary in order to show the Ptolemaic theory to be false
E. The Ptolemaic and Copernican theories, being inconsistent, cannot both be false.
T-3-Q37.
Because mining and refining nickels is costly, researchers have developed an alternative method for extracting nickels using Streptanthus polygaloides, a plant that absorbs and stores nickel from the soil as it grows. The researchers incinerated a crop of Streptanthus they grow in nickel-rich soil. By chemically extracting nickel form the ash, they produced 100 pounds of nickel per acre of land at a total cost per pound slightly above that of current mining.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the conclusion that the use of Streptanthus to extract nickel will be commercially adopted?
A. The season in which the researchers grew Streptanthus was an unusually favorable one, with the right amount of precipitation to maximize the growth rate of Streptanthus.
B. Because lowering the concentration of nickel in the soil can make land much better for agriculture in general, a plot in which Streptanthus has been grown and harvested can be sold for substantially more than it cost
C. More air pollution is generated for each pound of nickel produced by extracting it from Streptanthus than is generated using conventional mining and refining
D. The land on which the researchers planted Streptanthus was unusually free of the various weeds that can compete with Streptanthus for water, nutrients, and sunlight.
E. It is extremely rare for soil to contain higher concentrations of nickel than the concentrations present in the researchers’ experimental plot.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:46
T-4
T-4-Q2
Twenty years ago, Balzania put in place regulations requiring operators of surface mines to pay for the reclamation of mined-out land. Since then, reclamation technology has not improved. Yet, the average reclamation cost for a surface coal mine being reclaimed today is only four dollars per ton of coal that the mine produced, less than half what it cost to reclaim surface mines in the years immediately after the regulations took effect.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to account for the drop in reclamation costs described?
A. Even after Balzania began requiring surface mine operators to pay reclamation costs, coal mines in Balzania continued to be less expensive to operate than coal mines in almost any other country.
B. In the twenty years since the regulations took effect, the use of coal as a fuel has declined from the level it was at in the previous twenty years.
C. Mine operators have generally ceased surface mining in the mountainous areas of Balzania because reclamation costs per ton of coal produced are particularly high for mines in such areas.
D. Even after Balzania began requiring surface mine operators to pay reclamation costs, surface mines continued to produce coal at a lower total cost than underground mines.
E. As compared to twenty years ago, a greater percentage of the coal mined in Balzania today comes from surface mines.
T-4-Q13 G-12-Q16:
Certain genetically modified strains of maize produce a natural insecticide that protects against maize-eating insects. The insecticide occurs throughout the plant, including its pollen. Maize pollen is dispersed by the wind and often blows onto milkweed plants that grow near maize fields. Caterpillars of monarch butterflies feed exclusively on milkweed leaves. When, in experiments, these caterpillars were fed milkweed leaves dusted with pollen from modified maize plants, they died. Therefore, use of the modified maize inadvertently imperils monarch butterflies.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A. Per unit of volume, the natural insecticide produced by the genetically modified maize plants is less toxic to insects than are many commercial insecticides commonly used on maize plants.
B. Standard weed-control practices that have been used by farmers for decades have largely eliminated milkweed plants from certain areas where monarch-butterfly caterpillars were once common.
C. The experiments showed that the caterpillars were not harmed by contact with the pollen from the genetically modified plants unless they ingested it.
D. The maize-eating insects that the natural insecticide protects against do not feed on the pollen of the maize plant.
E. Airborne maize pollen tends to collect on the middle leaves of milkweed plants and monarch caterpillars feed only on the plant’s tender upper leaves.
T-4-Q14 GWD-13-38
Frobisher, a sixteenth-century English explorer, had soil samples from Canada’s Kodlunarn Island examined for gold content. Because high gold content was reported, Elizabeth I funded two mining expeditions. Neither expedition found any gold there. Modern analysis of the island’s soil indicates a very low gold content. Thus the methods used to determine the gold content of Frobisher’s samples must have been inaccurate.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
F. The gold content of the soil on Kodlunarn Island is much lower today than it was in the sixteenth century.
G. The two mining expeditions funded by Elizabeth I did not mine the same part of Kodlunarn Island.
H. The methods used to assess gold content of the soil samples provided by Frobisher were different from those generally used in the sixteenth century.
I. Frobisher did not have soil samples from any other Canadian island examined for gold content.
J. Gold was not added to the soil samples collected by Frobisher before the samples were examined.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:47
T-4-Q15
TrueSave is a mail-order company that ships electronic products from its warehouses to customers worldwide. The company’s shipping manager is proposing that customer orders be packed with newer, more expensive packing materials that virtually eliminate damage during shipping. The manager argues that overall costs would essentially remain unaffected, since the extra cost of the new packing materials roughly equals the current cost of replacing products returned by customers because they arrived in damaged condition.
Which of the following would it be most important to ascertain in determining whether implementing the shipping manager’s proposal would have the argued-for effect on costs?
A. Whether the products shipped by TrueSave are more vulnerable to incurring damage during shipping than are typical electronic products.
B. Whether electronic products are damaged more frequently in transit than are most other products shipped by mail-order companies
C. Whether a sizable proportion of returned items are returned because of damage already present when those items were packed for shipping
D. Whether there are cases in which customers blame themselves for product damage that, though present on arrival of the product, is not discovered until later
E. Whether TrueSave continually monitors the performance of the shipping companies it uses to ship products to its customers
T-4-Q18 天山-7-17
As a large corporation in small country, Hachnut wants its managers to have international experience, so each year it sponsors management education abroad for its management trainees. Hachnut has found, however, that the attrition rate of graduates from this program is very high, with many of them leaving Hachnut to join competing firms soon after completing the program. Hachnut doe use performance during the program as criterion in deciding among candidates for management positions, but both this function and the goal of providing international experience could be achieved in other ways. Therefore, if the attrition problem cannot be successfully addressed, Hachnut should discontinue the sponsorship program.
In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
A. The first describes a practice that the argument seeks to justify; the second states a judgment that is used in support of a justification for that practice.
B. The first describes a practice that the argument seeks to explain; the second presents part of the argument’s explanation of that practice.
C. The first introduces a practice that the argument seeks to evaluate; the second provides grounds for holding that the practice cannot achieve its objective.
D. The first introduces a policy that the argument seeks to evaluate; the second provides grounds for holding that the policy is not needed.
E. The first introduces a consideration supporting a policy that the argument seeks to evaluate; the second provides evidence for concluding that the policy should be abandoned.
T-4-Q19
Aroca City currently funds its public schools through taxes on property. In place of this system, the city plans to introduce a sales tax of three percent on all retail sales in the city. Critics protest that three percent of current retail sales falls short of the amount raised for schools by property taxes. The critics are correct on this point. Nevertheless, implementing the plan will probably not reduce the money going to Aroca’s schools. Several large retailers have selected Aroca City as the site for huge new stores, and these are certain to draw large numbers of shoppers from neighboring municipalities, where sales are taxed at rates of six percent and more. In consequence, retail sales in Aroca City are bound to increase substantially.
In the argument given, the two potions in boldface play which of the following roles?
A. The first is an objection that has been raised against a certain plan; the second is a prediction that, if accurate, undermines the force of that objection.
B. The first is a criticism, endorsed by the argument, of a funding plan; the second is a point the argument makes in favor of adopting a alternative plan.
C. The first is a criticism, endorsed by the argument, of a funding plan; the second is the main reason cited by the argument for its endorsement of the criticism.
D. The first is a claim that the argument seeks to refute; the second is the main point used by the argument to show that the claim is false.
E. The first is a claim that the argument accepts with certain reservations; the second presents that claim in a rewarding that is not subject to those reservations.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:48
T-4-Q20 天山-7-22
The violent crime rate (number of violent crimes per 1,000 residents) in Meadowbrook is 60 percent higher now than it was four years ago. The corresponding increase for Parkdale is only 10 percent. These figures support the conclusion that residents of Meadowbrook are more likely to become victims of violent crime than are residents of Parkdale.
The argument above is flawed because it fails to take into account
A. Changes in the population density of both Meadowbrook and Parkdale over the past four years.
B. How the rate of population growth in Meadowbrook over the past four years compares to the corresponding rate for Parkdale
C. The ratio of violent to nonviolent crimes committed during the past four years in Meadowbrook and Parkdale
D. The violent crime rates in Meadowbrook and Parkdale four years ago
E. How Meadowbrooks’ expenditures for crime prevention over the past four years compare to Parkdale’s expenditures.
T-4-Q21
The OLEX Petroleum Company has recently determined that it could cut its refining costs by closing its Grenville refinery and consolidating all refining at its Tasberg refinery. Closing the Grenville refinery, however, would mean the immediate loss of about 1,2000 jobs in the Grenville area. Eventually the lives of more than 10,000 people would be seriously disrupted. Therefore, OLEX’s decision, announced yesterday, to keep Grenville open shows that at OLEX social concerns sometimes outweigh the desire for higher profits.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the argument given?
A. The Grenville refinery, although it operates at a higher cost than the Tasberg refinery, has nevertheless been moderately profitable for many years.
B. Even though OLEX could consolidate all its refining at the Tasberg plant, doing so at the Grenville plant would not be feasible.
C. The Tasberg refinery is more favorably situated than the Grenville refinery with respect to the major supply routes for raw petroleum.
D. If the Grenville refinery were ever closed and operations at the Tasberg refinery expanded, job openings at Tasberg would to the extent possible be filled with people formerly employed at Grenville.
E. Closure of the Grenville refinery would mean compliance, at enormous cost, with demanding local codes regulating the cleanup of abandoned industrial sites.
T-4-Q28
In Berinia, the age at which people could begin to drink alcohol legally used to be 18. In 1990, in an attempt to reduce alcohol consumption and thereby to reduce alcohol-related traffic deaths among Berinians under 21, the legal drinking age was raised to 21. Alcohol-related traffic deaths among people under 21 have decreased significantly since 1990. nevertheless, surveys show that people in that age-group drink just as much alcohol as they did before 1990.
Which of the following, if true of Berinia, most help to resolve the apparent discrepancy?
A. For the population as a whole, annual alcohol consumption is no lower now than it was in 1990
B. Alcohol consumption away from home, for example in bars and restaurants, is much lower among people under 21 than it was in 1990
C. The proportion of people under 21 who own a car is higher now than it was in 1990
D. Alcohol consumption is lower among people under 21 than among adults in most other age-groups.
E. Alcohol-related traffic deaths among people over 21 have increased slightly since 1990.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:48
T-4-Q32
Delta products, Inc., has recently switched at least partly from older technologies using fossil fuels to new technologies powered by electricity. The question has been raised whether it can be concluded that for a given level of output, Delta’s operation now causes less fossil fuel to be consumed than it did formerly. The answer, clearly, is yes, since the amount of fossil fuel used to fenerate the electricity needed to power the new technologies is less than the amount needed to power the older technologies, provided that the level of output is held constant.
In the argument given, the two boldface portions play which of the following roles?
A. The first identifies the content of the conclusion of the argument; the second provides support for that conclusion.
B. The first provides support for the conclusion of the argument; the second identifies the content of that conclusion.
C. The first states the position that the argument opposes; the second states the conclusion of the argument.
D. Each provides evidence that calls the conclusion of the argument into question.
E. Each provides support for conclusion of the argument.
T-4-Q34
In Kravonia, the average salary for jobs requiring a college degree has always been higher than the average salary for jobs that do not require a degree. Current enrollments in Kravonia’s colleges indicate that over the next four years the percentage of the Kravonian workforce with college degree will increase dramatically. Therefore, the average salary for all workers in Kravonia is likely to increase over the next four years.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. Kravonians with more than one college degree earn more, on average, than do Kravonians with only one college degree.
B. The percentage of Kravonians who attend college in order to earn higher salaries is higher now than it was several years ago.
C. The higher average salary for jobs requiring a college degree is not due largely to a scarcity among the Kravonian workforce of people with a college degree.
D. The average salary in Kravonia for jobs that do not require a college degree will not increase over the next four years.
E. Few members of the Kravonian workforce earned their degrees in other countries.
T-4-Q38
In one state, all cities and most towns have antismoking ordinances, a petition entitled “Petition for Statewide Smoking Restriction” is being circulated to voters by campaign workers who ask only, “Do you want to sign a petition for statewide smoking restriction?” The petition advocates a state law banning smoking in most retail establishments and in government offices that are open to the public.
Which of the following circumstances would make the petition as circulated misleading to voters who understand the proposal as extending the local ordinances statewide?
A. Health costs associated with smoking cause health insurance premiums to rise for everyone and so affect nonsmokers.
B. In rural areas of the state, there are relatively few retail establishments and government offices that are open to the public.
C. The state law would supersede the local antismoking ordinances, which contain stronger bans than the state law does.
D. There is considerable sentiment among voters in most areas of the state for restriction of smoking.
E. The state law would not affect existing local ordinances banning smoking in places where the fire authorities have determined that smoking would constitute a fire hazard.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:49
T-4-Q40 GWD-13-39
Which of the following most logically completes the argument below?
According to promotional material published by the city of Springfield, more tourists stay in hotels in Springfield than stay in the neighboring city of Harristown. A brochure from the largest hotel in Harristown claims that more tourists stay in that hotel than stay in the Royal Arms Hotel in Springfield. If both of these sources are accurate, however, the “Report on Tourism” for the region must be in error in stating that ______.
A. the average length of stay is longer at the largest hotel in Harristown than it is at the Royal Arms Hotel
B. there is only one hotel in Harristown that is larger than the Royal Arms Hotel
C. more tourists stay in hotels in Harristown than stay in the Royal Arms Hotel
D. the Royal Arms Hotel is the largest hotel in Springfield
E. the Royal Arms Hotel is the only hotel in Springfield
T-9
T-9-Q2.
Kernland imposes a high tariff on the export of unprocessed cashew nuts in order to ensure that the nuts are sold to domestic processing plants. If the tariff were lifted and unprocessed were sold at world market prices, more farmers could profit by growing cashews. However, since all the processing plants are in urban areas, removing the tariff would seriously hamper the government ‘s effort to reduce urban unemployment over the next five years.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A. Some of the by-products of processing cashews are used for manufacturing plants and plastics
B. Other countries in which cashews are processed subsidize their processing plants
C. More people in kernland are engaged in farming cashews than in processing them
D. Buying unprocessed cashews at lower than world market prices enables cashew processors in kernland to sell processed nuts at competitive prices
E. A lack of profitable crops is driving an increasing number of small farmers in kernland off their land and into the cities
T-9-Q3.
Business Consultant: some corporations shun the use of executive titles because they fear that the use of titles indicating position in the corporation tends to inhibit communication up and down the corporate hierarchy. Since an executive who uses a title is treated with more respect by outsiders, however, use of a title can facilitate an executive’s dealings with external businesses. The obvious compromise is for these executives to use their corporate titles externally but not internally, since even if it is widely known that the corporation’s executives use executive titles outside their organization, this knowledge does not by itself inhibit communication within the corporation.
In the consultant’s reasoning, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
A. The first presents an obstacle to achieving a certain goal; the second presents a reason for considering that goal to be undesirable.
B. The first is a consideration that has led to the adoption of a certain strategy; the second presents a reason against adopting that strategy.
C. The first describes a concern that the consultant dismisses as insignificant; the second is a consideration that serves as the basis for that dismissal.
D. The first is a belief for which the consultant offers support; the second is part of that support.
E. The first is a belief against which evidence is offered; the second is part of the evidence offered against that belief.
T-9-Q4.
In the years following an eight-cent increase in the federal tax on a pack of cigarettes, sales of cigarettes fell ten percent. In contrast, in the year prior to the tax increase, sales had fallen one percent. The volume of cigarette sales is therefore strongly related to the after-tax price of a pack of cigarettes.
The argument above requires which of the following assumptions?
A. During the year following the tax increase, the pretax price of a pack of cigarettes did not increase by as much as it had during the year prior to the tax increase.
B. The one percent fall in cigarette sales in the year prior to tax increases was due to a smaller tax increase.
C. The pretax price of a pack of cigarettes gradually decreased throughout the year before and the year after the tax increase.
D. For the year following the tax increase, the pretax price of a pack of cigarettes was not eight or more cents lower than it had been the previous year.
E. As the after-tax price of a pack of cigarettes rises, the pretax price also rises.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:49
T-9-Q8.
A sudden increase in the production of elephant ivory artifacts on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa occurred in the tenth century. Historians explain this increase as the result of an area opening up as a new source of ivory and argue on this basis that the important medieval trade between North Africa and East Africa began at this period.
Each of the following, if true, provides some support for the historians’ account described above EXCEPT?
A. In East Africa gold coins from Mediterranean North Africa have been found at a tenth-century but at no earlier sites.
B. The many surviving letters of pre-tenth-century North African merchants include no mention of business transactions involving East Africa.
C. Excavations in East Africa reveal a tenth-century change in architectural style to reflect North African patterns.
D. Documents from Mediterranean Europe and North Africa that date back earlier than the tenth century show knowledge of East African animals.
E. East African carvings in a style characteristic of the tenth century depict seagoing vessels very different from those used by local sailors but of a type common in the Mediterranean.
T-9-Q14. GWD-13-40
In response to viral infection, the immune systems of mice typically produce antibodies that destroy the virus by binding to proteins on its surface. Mice infected with a herpesvirus generally develop keratitis, a degenerative disease affecting part of the eye. Since proteins on the surface of cells in this part of the eye closely resemble those on the herpesvirus surface, scientists hypothesize that these cases of keratitis are caused by antibodies to herpesvirus.
Which of the following, if true, gives the greatest additional support to the scientists’ hypothesis?
A. Other types of virus have surface proteins that closely resemble proteins found in various organs of mice.
B. There are mice that are unable to form antibodies in response to herpes infections, and these mice contract herpes at roughly the same rate as other mice.
C. Mice that are infected with a herpesvirus but do not develop keratitis produce as many antibodies as infected mice that do develop keratitis.
D. There are mice that are unable to form antibodies in response to herpes infections, and these mice survive these infections without ever developing keratitis.
E. Mice that have never been infected with a herpesvirus can sometimes develop keratitis.
T-9-Q18.
The growing popularity of computer-based activities was widely expected to result in a decline in television viewing, since it had been assumed that people lack sufficient free time to maintain current television-viewing levels while spending increasing amounts of free time on the computer. That assumption, however, is evidently false: in a recent mail survey concerning media use, a very large majority of respondents who report increasing time spent per week using computer report no change in time spent watching television.
Which of the following would be most useful to determine in order to evaluate the argument?
A. Whether a large majority of the survey respondents reported watching television regularly
B. Whether the amount of time spent watching television is declining among people who report that they rarely or never use computers
C. Whether the type of television programs a person watches tends to changes as the amount of time spent per week using computer increases
D. Whether a large majority of the computer owners in the survey reported spending increasing amounts of time per week using computers
E. Whether the survey respondents’ reports of time spent using computers included time spent using computers at work.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:50
T-9-Q19. 天山-7-11
In 1992 outlaw fishing boats began illegally harvesting lobsters from the territorial waters of the country of Belukia. Soon after, the annual tonnage of lobster legally harvested in Belukian waters began declining; in 1996, despite there being no reduction in the level of legal lobster fishing activity, the local catch was 9,000 tons below pre-1992 levels. It is therefore highly likely that the outlaw fishing boats harvested about 9,000 tons of lobster illegally that year.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. The illegal lobster harvesting was not so expensive that the population of catchable lobsters in Belukia’s territorial waters had sharply declined by 1996
B. The average annual lobster catch, in tons, of an outlaw fishing boat is has increased steadily since 1992.
C. Outlaw fishing boats do not , as a group, harvest more lobsters than do licensed lobster-fishing boats.
D. The annual legal lobster harvest in Belukia in 1996 was not significantly less than 9,000 tons.
E. A significant proportion of Belukia’s operators of licensed lobster-fishing boats were out of business between 1992 and 1996
T-9-Q25.
Scientists typically do their most creative work before the age of forty. It is commonly thought that this happens because aging by itself brings about a loss of creative capacity. However, a study has found that almost all scientists who produce highly creative work beyond the age of forty entered their fields late and less than a dozen years before their creative breakthroughs. Since creative breakthroughs by scientists under forty also generally occur within a dozen years of the scientists’ entry into the field, the study’s finding strongly suggests that the real reason why scientists over forty rarely produce highly creative work is not due to age but rather because most have spent too long in their fields.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
A. The first is the position that the argument as a whole depends; the second is evidence that is advanced as part of that evidence.
B. The first and second are both claims that have been advanced in support of a position that the argument as a whole opposes.
C. The first is an explanation that the argument challenges; the second provides evidence in support of a competing explanation that the argument defends.
D. The first is an explanation that the argument challenges; the second is evidence that has been used against an alternative explanation that the argument defends.
E. The first is an explanation that the argument defends; the second is evidence that has been used to challenge that explanation.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:51
T-9-Q28. 天山-7-13
Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium transmitted to humans by deer ticks. Generally deer ticks pick up the bacterium while in the larval stage from feeding on infected white-footed mice. However, certain other species on which the larvae feed do not harbor the bacterium. Therefore, if the population of these other species were increased, the number of ticks acquiring the bacterium and hence the number of people contracting Lyme disease would likely decline.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
A. Ticks do not suffer any adverse consequences from carrying the bacterium that causes Lyme disease in humans.
B. There are no known cases of a human’s contracting Lyme disease through contact with white-footed mice.
C. A deer tick feeds only once while in the larval stage.
D. A single host animal can be the source of bacterium for many tick larvae.
E. None of the other species on which deer tick larvae feed harbor other bacteria that ticks transmit to humans
T-9-Q32.
Ecologists: the Scottish Highlands were once the site of extensive forests, but these forests have mostly disappeared and been replaced by peat bogs. The common view is that the Highland’s deforestation was caused by human activity, especially agriculture. However, agriculture began in the Highlands less than 2,000 years ago. Peat bogs, which consist of compressed decayed vegetable matter, build up by only about one foot per 1000 years, and, throughout the Highlands, remains of trees in peat bogs are almost all at depth great than four feet. Since climate changes that occurred between 7,000 years and 4,000 years ago favored the development of peat bogs rather than the survival of forests, the deforestation was more likely the result of natural processes than of human activity.
In the ecologist’s argument, the two portions in boldfaces play which of the following roles?
A. The first is evidence that has been used in support of a position that the argument rejects; the second is a finding that the ecologist uses to counter the evidence.
B. The first is evidence that, in light of the evidence provided in the second, serves as grounds for the ecologist’s rejection of a certain position
C. The first is a position that the ecologist rejects; the second is evidence that has been used in support of that position.
D. The first is a position that the ecologist rejects; the second provides evidence in support of that rejection.
E. The first is a position for which the ecologist argues; the second provides evidence to support that position.
T-9-Q33.
Which of the following, if true , most logically completes the passage?
A recent poll found that over 80 percent of the residents of Nalmed Province favored a massive expansion of the commuter rail system as a means of significantly easing congestion on the province’s highways and were willing to help pay for the expansion through an increase in their taxes. Nevertheless, the poll results indicate that expansion of the rail system, if successfully completed, would be unlikely to achieve its goal of easing congestion, because .
A. most of people in favor of expanding the rail system reported less congestion during their highway commute as the primary benefit they would experience.
B. of the less than 20 percent of residents not counted as favoring the expansion, about half claimed to have no opinion one way or the other.
C. the twice-daily periods of peak congestion caused by people commuting in cars have grown from about an hour each to almost two and a half hours each in the past 20 years.
D. expanding the commuter rail system will require the construction of dozens of miles of new railroads.
E. the proposed expansion to the commuter rail system will make it possible for some people who both live and work at suburban locations to commute by rail.
T-9-Q40.
For most people, the left half of the brain controls linguistic capabilities, but some people have their language centers in the right half. When a language center of the brains is damaged, for example, by a stroke, linguistic capabilities are impaired in some way. Therefore, people who have suffered a serious stroke on the left side of the brain without suffering any such impairment must have their language centers in the right half.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the reasoning in the argument above depends?
A. No part of a person’s brain that is damaged by a stroke never recovers
B. Impairment of linguistic capabilities does not occur in people who have not suffered any damage to any language center of the brain.
C. Strokes tend to impair linguistic capabilities more severely than does any other cause of damage to language centers in the brain.
D. If there are language centers on the left side of the brain, any serious stroke affecting that side of the brain damages at least one of them.
E. It is impossible to determine which side of the brain contains a person’s language centers if the person has not suffered damage to either side of the brain.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:51
GWD-28
28-7: In 1960’s studies of rats, scientists found that crowding increases the number of attacks among the animals significantly. But in recent experiments in which Rhesus monkeys were placed in crowded conditions, although there was an increase in instances of “coping” behavior – such as submissive gestures and avoidance of dominant individuals – attacks did not become any more frequent. Therefore it is not likely that, for any species of monkey, crowding increases aggression as significantly as was seen in rats.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
A: All the observed forms of coping behavior can be found among rhesus monkeys living in uncrowded conditions.
B: In the studies of rats, nondominant individuals were found to increasingly avoid dominant individuals when the animals were in crowded conditions.
C: Rhesus monkeys respond with aggression to a wider range of stimuli than any other monkeys do.
D: Some individual monkeys in the experiment were involved in significantly more attacks than the other monkeys were.
E: Some of the coping behavior displayed by rhesus monkeys is similar to behavior rhesus monkeys use to bring to an end an attack that has begun.
28-9: Early in the twentieth century, Lake Konfa became very polluted. Recently fish populations have recovered as release of industrial pollutants has declined and the lake’s waters have become cleaner. Fears are now being voiced that the planned construction of an oil pipeline across the lake’s bottom might revive pollution and cause the fish population to decline again. However, a technology for preventing leaks is being installed. Therefore, provided this technology is effective, those fears are groundless.
The argument depends on assuming which of the following?
A: Apart from development related to the pipeline, there will be no new industrial development around the lake that will create renewed pollution in its waters.
B: Other than the possibility of a leak, there is no realistic pollution threat posed to the lake by the pipeline’s construction
C: There is no reason to believe that the leak-preventing technology would be ineffective when installed in the pipeline in Lake Konfa.
D: Damage to the lake’s fish populations would be the only harm that a leak of oil from the pipeline would cause.
E: The species of fish that are present in Lake Konfa now are the same as those that were in the lake before it was affected by pollution.
28-11: Trancorp currently transports all its goods to Burland Island by truck. The only bridge over the channel separating Burland from the mainland is congested, and trucks typically spend hours in traffic. Trains can reach the channel more quickly than trucks, and freight cars can be transported to Burland by barges that typically cross the channel in an hour. Therefore, to reduce shipping time, Trancorp plans to switch to trains and barges to transport goods to Burland.
Which of the following would be most important to know in determining whether Trancorp’s plan, if implemented, is likely to achieve its goal?
A: Whether transportation by train and barge would be substantially less expensive than transportation by truck.
B: Whether there are boats that can make the trip between the mainland and Burland faster than barges can
C: Whether loading the freight cars onto barges is very time consuming.
D: Whether the average number of vehicles traveling over the bridge into Burland has been relatively constant in recent years?
E: Whether most trucks transporting goods into Burland return to the mainland empty?作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:52
28-16: Paper&Print is a chain of British stores selling magazines, books, and stationery products. In Britain, magazines’ retail prices are set by publishers, and the retailer’s share of a magazine’s retail price is 25 percent. Since Paper&Print’s margin on books and stationery products is much higher, the chain’s management plans to devote more of its stores’ shelf space to books and stationery products and reduce the number of magazine titles that its stores carry.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly argues that the plan, if put into effect, will not increase Paper&Print’s profits?
A: Recently magazine publishers, seeking to increase share in competitive sectors of the market, have been competitively cutting the retail prices of some of the largest circulation magazines.
B: In market research surveys, few consumers identify Paper&Print as a book or stationery store but many recognize and value the broad range of magazines it carries.
C: The publisher’s share of a magazine’s retail price is 50 percent, and the publisher also retains all of the magazine’s advertising revenue.
D: Consumers who subscribe to a magazine generally pay less per issue than they would if they bought the magazine through a retail outlet such as Paper&Print.
E: Some of Paper& Print’s locations are in small towns and represent the only retail outlet for books within the community.
28-17: In the nation of Partoria, large trucks currently account for 6 percent of miles driven on Partoria’s roads but are involved in 12 percent of all highway fatalities. The very largest trucks – those with three trailers – had less than a third of the accident rate of single- and double-trailer trucks. Clearly, therefore, one way for Partoria to reduce highway deaths would be to require shippers to increase their use of triple-trailer trucks.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A: Partorian trucking companies have so far used triple-trailer trucks on lightly traveled sections of major highways only.
B: No matter what changes Partoria makes in the regulation of trucking, it will have to keep some smaller roads off-limits to all large trucks.
C: Very few fatal collisions involving trucks in Partoria are collisions between two trucks.
D: In Partoria, the safety record of the trucking industry as a whole has improved slightly over the past ten years.
E: In Partoria, the maximum legal payload of a triple-trailer truck is less than three times the maximum legal payload of the largest of the single-trailer trucks
28-18: Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
Concerned about financial well-being of its elderly citizens, the government of Runagia decided two years ago to increase by 20 percent the government-provided pension paid to all Runagians over 65. Inflation in the intervening period has been negligible, and the increase has been duly received by all eligible Runagians. Nevertheless, many of them are no better off financially than they were before the increase, in large part because ______.
A: They rely entirely on the government pension for their income
B: Runagian banks are so inefficient that it can take up to three weeks to cash a pension check
C: They buy goods whose prices tend to rise especially fast in times of inflation
D: The pension was increased when the number of elderly Runagians below the poverty level reached an all-time high
E: In Runagia children typically supplement the income of elderly parents, but only by enough to provide them with a comfortable living
28-19: Plankton generally thrive in areas of the ocean with sufficient concentrations of certain nitrogen compounds near the surface where plankton live. Nevertheless, some areas, though rich in these nitrogen compounds, have few plankton. These areas have particularly low concentrations of iron, and oceanographers hypothesize that this shortage of iron prevents plankton from thriving. However, an experimental release of iron compounds into one such area failed to produce a thriving plankton population, even though local iron concentrations increased immediately.
Which of the following, if true, argues most strongly against concluding, on the basis of the information above, that the oceanographers’ hypothesis is false?
A: Not all of the nitrogen compounds that are sometimes found in relatively high concentrations in the oceans are nutrients for plankton.
B: Certain areas of the ocean support an abundance of plankton despite having particularly low concentrations of iron.
C: The release of the iron compounds did not increase the supply of nitrogen compounds in the area.
D: A few days after the iron compounds were released, ocean currents displaced the iron-rich water from the surface.
E: The iron compounds released into the area occur naturally in areas of the ocean where plankton thrive.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:52
28-23: Goronian lawmaker: Goronia’s Cheese Importation Board, the agency responsible for inspecting all wholesale shipments of cheese entering Goronia from abroad and rejecting shipments that fail to meet specified standards, rejects about one percent of the cheese that it inspects. Since the health consequences and associated costs of not rejecting that one percent would be negligible, whereas the cost of maintaining the agency is not, the agency’s cost clearly outweighs the benefits it provides.
Knowing the answer to which of the following would be most useful in evaluating the lawmaker’s argument?
A: Are any of the types of cheeses that are imported into Goronia also produced in Goronia?
B: Has the Cheese Importation Board, over the last several years, reduced its operating costs by eliminating inefficiencies within the agency itself?
C: Does the possibility of having merchandise rejected by the Cheese Importation Board deter many cheese exporters from shipping substandard cheese to Goronia?
D: Are there any exporters of cheese to Goronia whose merchandise is never rejected by the Cheese Importation Board?
E: How is the cheese rejected by the Cheese Importation Board disposed of?
28-28: Which of the following most logically completes the argument?
A certain cultivated herb is one of a group of closely related plants that thrive in soil with high concentrations of metals that are toxic to most other plants. Agronomists studying the herb have discovered that it produces large amounts of histidine, an amino acid that, in test-tube solutions, renders these metals chemically inert. Possibly, therefore, the herb’s high histidine production is what allows it to grow in metal-rich soils, a hypothesis that would gain support if ______.
A: histidine is found in all parts of the plant – roots, stem, leaves, and flowers
B: the herb’s high level of histidine production is found to be associated with an unusually low level of production of other amino acids
C: others of the closely related group of plants are also found to produce histidine in large quantities
D: cultivation of the herb in soil with high concentrations of the metals will, over an extended period, make the soil suitable for plants to which the metals are toxic
E: the concentration of histidine in the growing herb declines as the plant approaches maturity
28-29: Lofgren’s disease has been observed frequently in commercially raised cattle but very rarely in chickens. Both cattle and chickens raised for meat are often fed the type of feed that transmits the virus that causes the disease. Animals infected with the virus take more than a year to develop symptoms of Lofgren’s disease, however, and chickens commercially raised for meat, unlike cattle, are generally brought to market during their first year of life.
Which of the following is most strongly supported by the information provided?
A: The virus that causes Lofgren’s disease cannot be transmitted to human beings by chickens.
B: There is no way to determine whether a chicken is infected with the Lofgren’s disease virus before the chicken shows symptoms of the disease.
C: A failure to observe Lofgren’s disease in commercial chicken populations is not good evidence that chickens are immune to the virus that causes this disease.
D: An animal that has been infected with the virus that causes Lofgren’s disease but that has not developed symptoms cannot transmit the disease to an uninfected animal of the same species.
E: The feed that chickens and cattle are fed is probably not the only source of the virus that causes Lofgren’s disease.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:53
28-32: A prominent investor who holds a large stake in the Burton Tool Company has recently claimed that the company is mismanaged, citing as evidence the company’s failure to slow production in response to a recent rise in its inventory of finished products. It is doubtful whether an investor’s sniping at management can ever be anything other than counterproductive, but in this case it is clearly not justified. It is true that an increased inventory of finished products often indicates that production is outstripping demand, but in Burton’s case it indicates no such thing. Rather, the increase in inventory is entirely attributable to products that have already been assigned to orders received from customers.
In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
A: The first states the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second provides evidence to undermine the support for the position being opposed.
B: The first states the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second is evidence that has been used to support the position being opposed.
C: The first states the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second states the conclusion of the argument as a whole.
D: The first is evidence that has been used to support a position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second provides information to undermine the force of that evidence.
E: The first is evidence that has been used to support a position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second states the conclusion of the argument as a whole.
28-38: A significant number of complex repair jobs carried out by Ace Repairs have to be reworked under the company’s warranty. The reworked jobs are invariably satisfactory. When initial repairs are inadequate, therefore, it is not because the mechanics lack competence; rather, there is clearly a level of focused concentration that complex repairs require that is elicited more reliably by rework jobs than by first-time jobs.
The argument above assumes which of the following?
A: There is no systematic difference in membership between the group of mechanics who do first-time jobs and the group of those who do rework jobs.
B: There is no company that successfully competes with Ace Repairs for complex repair jobs.
C: Ace Repairs’ warranty is good on first-time jobs but does not cover rework jobs
D: Ace Repairs does not in any way penalize mechanics who have worked on complex repair jobs that later had to be reworked.
E: There is no category of repair jobs in which Ace Repairs invariably carries out first-time jobs satisfactorily.
28-40: In Kravonia, the average salary for jobs requiring a college degree has always been higher than the average salary for jobs that do not require a degree. Current enrollments in Kravonia’s colleges indicate that over the next four years the percentage of the Kravonian workforce with college degrees will increase dramatically. Therefore, the average salary for all workers in Kravonia is likely to increase over the next four years.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A: Kravonians with more than one college degree earn more, on average, than do Kravonians with only one college degree.
B: The percentage of Kravonians who attend college in order to earn higher salaries is higher now than it was several years ago.
C: The higher average salary for jobs requiring a college degree is not due largely to a scarcity among the Kravonian workforce of people with a college degree.
D: The average salary in Kravonia for jobs that do not require a college degree will not increase over the next four years.
E: Few members of the Kravonian workforce earned their degrees in other countries作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:53
GWD-31
10: The Hyksos invaded the Nile Delta of Egypt and ruled it from 1650 B.C. Their origin is uncertain, but archaeologists hypothesize that they were Canaanites. In support of this hypothesis, the archaeologists point out that excavations of Avans, the Hyksos capital in Egypt, have uncovered large numbers of artifacts virtually Identical to artifacts produced in Ashkelon, and Ashkelon was a major city of Canaan at the time of the Hyksos’ invasion.
In order to evaluate the force of the archaeologists’ evidence, it would useful to determine which of the following?
A: Whether artifacts from Ashkelon were widely traded to non-Canaanite cities?
B: Whether significant numbers of artifacts that do not resemble artifacts produced in Ashkelon have been found at Avans?
C: Whether Avans was the nearest Hyksos city in Egypt to Canaan?
D: Whether Ashkelon after 1550 B.C. continued to produce artifacts similar to those found at Avans?
E: whether any artifacts produced by the Hyksos after 1550 B.C .have been found in Egypt
12: Secret passwords are often used to control access to computers. When employees As (?) their initials or birth dates. To improve security, employers should assign randomly generated passwords to employees rather than allowing employees to make up their own.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the conclusion drawn above?
A: If passwords are generated randomly, it is theoretically possible that employees will be assigned passwords that they might have selected on their own.
B: Randomly generated passwords are so difficult for employees to recall that they often record the passwords in places where the passwords could be easily seen by others.
C: Computer systems protected by passwords are designed to ignore commands that are entered by employees or others who use invalid passwords.
D: In general, the higher the level of security maintained at the computer system, the more difficult it is for unauthorized users to obtain access to the system.
E: Control of physical access to computers by the use of locked doors and guards should be used in addition to passwords in order to maintain security
16: In recent years, networks of fiber-optic cable have been replacing electrical wire for transmitting telecommunications signals. Signals running through fiber-optic cables deteriorate, and so the signals must be run through a piece of equipment called a regenerator before being transmitted father. Light-Line is the leading manufacturer of signal regenerators. Therefore, Light-line is one of the companies that will most benefit if new long-distance fiber-optic telecommunications networks are constructed.
Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the prediction about light-ling’s prospects?
A: Telecommunications signals sent along electrical wires can travel much farther than signals transmitted through fiber-optic before needing to be regenerated.
B: Expanding its production of regenerators will require Light-line to spend proportionately more on labor and materials.
C: The volume of signals that a fiber-optic cable can carry is several thousand times greater than the volume that can be carried by an electrical wire of similar size.
D: There are technologies that enable telecommunications signals to be transmitted without either wire or fiber-optic cable.
E: Several manufacturers are developing regenerator technologies that will allow signals to be transmitted many times farther than at present before requiring regeneration.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:54
17: It is crucially important to farmers that the herbicides they use to control weeds not (?) damage their crops. One very effective herbicide is safe for corn, but soybeans are damaged even by the herbicide’s residue, which remains in the soil more than a year after the herbicide is applied. Soybeans and corn are not sown together in the same filed; nevertheless, most farmers are reluctant to use the herbicide on their corn.
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest justification for the farmers’ reluctance?
A: The residue of the herbicide in the soil a year after application is not enough to control most weeds effectively.
B: To maintain the nutrients in the soil, corn and soybeans are often planted in a field in alternate years.
C: The demand for soybeans is growing faster than is the demand for corn.
D: For maximum yield, soybean plants are grown closer together to each other than are corn plants.
E: The application of herbicides is less critical for soybean than for corn crops.
19: Sonya: The government of Copeland is raising the cigarette tax. Copeland’s cigarette prices will still be reasonably low, so cigarette consumption will probably not be affected much. Consequently, government revenue from the tax will increase.
Raoul: True, smoking is unlikely to decrease, because Copeland’s cigarette prices will still not be high. They will, however, no longer be the lowest in the region, so we might begin to see substantial illegal sales of smuggled cigarettes in Copeland.
Raoul responds to Sonya’s argument by doing which of the following?
A: Questioning the support for Sonya’s conclusion by distinguishing carefully between No change and no decrease
B: calling Sonya’s conclusion into question by pointing to a possible effect of a certain change.
C: Arguing that Sonya’s conclusion would be better supported if Sonya could cite a precedent for what she predicts will happen.
D: showing that a cause that Sonya claims will be producing a certain effect is not the only cause that could produce that effect
E: pointing out that a certain initiative is not bold enough to have the predicts it will have
26: Which of the following, if true, most logically completes the argument?
Aroca county’s public schools are supported primarily by taxes on property. The county plans to eliminate the property tax and support schools with a now three percent sales tax on all retail items sold in the county. Three percent of current retail sales is less than the amount collected through property taxes, but implementation of the plan would not necessarily reduce the amount of money going to Aroca county public schools, because______.
A: many former Aroca county residents left the county because of its high property taxes
B: a shopping mall likely to draw shoppers from neighboring counties ,which have much higher sales-tax rates, is about to open in Aroca county
C: at least some Aroca county parents are likely to use the money they will save on property taxes to send their children to private schools not funded by the county
D: all of the money they that is collected in property taxes currently goes to be the public schools
E: retailers in Aroca County are not likely to absorb the sales tax by reducing the pretax price of their goods作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:55
29: Rail Executive: Five years ago we discontinued train service between Lamberton and its suburbs because low ridership caused total fares collected to be substantially lower than the cost of operating the service. it is true that recent population growth in the suburban communities suggests increased potential ridership, nevertheless since most of the newer residents own automobiles, restoring the train service this year would still result in serious deficits.
Which of the following, if true casts the most serious doubt on the rail executive’s argument?
A: once train service along a given route has been discontinued, there are substantial start-up costs associated with restoring service along that route.
B: most of the new residents of Lumberton’s suburbs do not need to travel into Lamberton regularly for shopping or recreation
C: if train service were restored this with increased hours of service there would not be an increase in total ridership
D: A survey conducted last year showed that few people living in Lamberton or its suburbs support increased public funding for mass transportation
E: Recently there have been sharp increases in parking fees in Lamberton and in highway tolls on major commuter routes.
GWD-17
Q9:
Press Secretary: Our critics claim that the President’s recent highway project cancellations demonstrate a vindictive desire to punish legislative districts controlled by opposition parties. They offer as evidence the fact that 90 percent of the projects canceled were in such districts. But all of the canceled projects had been identified as wasteful in a report written by respected nonpartisan auditors. So the President’s choice was clearly motivated by sound budgetary policy, not partisan politics.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the press secretary’s argument depends?
A. Canceling highway projects was not the only way for the President to punish legislative districts controlled by opposition parties.
B. The scheduled highway projects identified as wasteful in the report were not mostly projects in districts controlled by the President’s party.
C. The number of projects canceled was a significant proportion of all the highway projects that were to be undertaken by the government in the near future.
D. The highway projects canceled in districts controlled by the President’s party were not generally more expensive than the projects canceled in districts controlled by opposition parties.
E. Reports by nonpartisan auditors are not generally regarded by the opposition parties as a source of objective assessments of government projects.
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Q11:
Some species of Arctic birds are threatened by recent sharp increases in the population of snow geese, which breed in the Arctic and are displacing birds of less vigorous species. Although snow geese are a popular quarry for hunters in the southern regions where they winter, the hunting season ends if and when hunting has reduced the population by five percent, according to official estimates. Clearly, dropping this restriction would allow the other species to recover.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the argument?
A. Hunting limits for snow geese were imposed many years ago in response to a sharp decline in the population of snow geese.
B. It has been many years since the restriction led to the hunting season for snow geese being closed earlier than the scheduled date.
C. The number of snow geese taken by hunters each year has grown every year for several years.
D. As their population has increased, snow geese have recolonized wintering grounds that they had not used for several seasons.
E. In the snow goose’s winter habitats, the goose faces no significant natural predation.
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Q13:
Editorial in Krenlandian Newspaper:
Krenland’s steelmakers are losing domestic sales because of lower-priced imports, in many cases because foreign governments subsidize their steel industries in ways that are banned by international treaties. But whatever the cause, the cost is ultimately going to be jobs in Krenland’s steel industry. Therefore, it would protect not only steel companies but also industrial employment in Krenland if our government took measures to reduce cheap steel imports.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the editorial’s argument?
A. Because steel from Krenland is rarely competitive in international markets, only a very small portion of Krenlandian steelmakers’ revenue comes from exports.
B. The international treaties that some governments are violating by giving subsidies to steelmakers do not specify any penalties for such violations.
C. For many Krenlandian manufacturers who face severe international competition in both domestic and export markets, steel constitutes a significant part of their raw material costs.
D. Because of advances in order-taking, shipping, and inventory systems, the cost of shipping steel from foreign producers to Krenland has fallen considerably in recent years.
E. Wages paid to workers in the steel industry in Krenland differ significantly from wages paid to workers in many of the countries that export steel to Krenland.
Q15:
From 1980 to 1989, total consumption of fish in the country of Jurania increased by 4.5 percent, and total consumption of poultry products there increased by 9.0 percent. During the same period, the population of Jurania increased by 6 percent, in part due to immigration to Jurania from other countries in the region.
If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true on the basis of them?
A. During the 1980’s in Jurania, profits of wholesale distributors of poultry products increased at a greater rate than did profits of wholesale distributors of fish.
B. For people who immigrated to Jurania during the 1980’s, fish was less likely to be a major part of their diet than was poultry.
C. In 1989 Juranians consumed twice as much poultry as fish.
D. For a significant proportion of Jurania’s population, both fish and poultry products were a regular part of their diet during the 1980’s.
E. Per capita consumption of fish in Jurania was lower in 1989 than in 1980.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:57
Q16:
Researchers took a group of teenagers who had never smoked and for one year tracked whether they took up smoking and how their mental health changed. Those who began smoking within a month of the study’s start were four times as likely to be depressed at the study’s end than those who did not begin smoking. Since nicotine in cigarettes changes brain chemistry, perhaps thereby affecting mood, it is likely that smoking contributes to depression in teenagers.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
A. Participants who were depressed at the study’s start were no more likely to be smokers at the study’s end than those who were not depressed.
B. Participants who began smoking within a month of the study’s start were no more likely than those who began midway through to have quit smoking by the study’s end.
C. Few, if any, of the participants in the study were friends or relatives of other participants.
D. Some participants entered and emerged from a period of depression within the year of the study.
E. The researchers did not track use of alcohol by the teenagers.
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Q19:
A diet high in saturated fats increases a person’s risk of developing heart disease. Regular consumption of red wine reduces that risk. Per-capita consumption of saturated fats is currently about the same in France as in the United States, but there is less heart disease there than in the United States because consumption of red wine is higher in France. The difference in regular red-wine consumption has been narrowing, but no similar convergence in heart-disease rates has occurred.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to account for the lack of convergence noted above?
A. Consumption of saturated fats is related more strongly to the growth of fatty deposits on artery walls, which reduce blood flow to the heart, than it is to heart disease directly.
B. Over the past 30 years, per-capita consumption of saturated fats has remained essentially unchanged in the United States but has increased somewhat in France.
C. Reports of the health benefits of red wine have led many people in the United States to drink red wine regularly.
D. Cigarette smoking, which can also contribute to heart disease, is only slightly more common in France than in the United States.
E. Regular consumption of red wine is declining dramatically among young adults in France, and heart disease typically does not manifest itself until middle age.
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Q23:
Because visual inspection cannot reliably distinguish certain skin discolorations from skin cancers, dermatologists at clinics have needed to perform tests of skin tissue taken from patients. At Westville Hospital, dermatological diagnostic costs were reduced by the purchase of a new imaging machine that diagnoses skin cancer in such cases as reliably as the tissue tests do. Consequently, even though the machine is expensive, a dermatological clinic in Westville is considering buying one to reduce diagnostic costs.
Which of the following would it be most useful for the clinic to establish in order to make its decision?
A. Whether the visits of patients who require diagnosis of skin discolorations tend to be shorter in duration at the clinic than at the hospital
B. Whether the principles on which the machine operates have been known to science for a long time
C. Whether the machine at the clinic would get significantly less heavy use than the machine at the hospital does
D. Whether in certain cases of skin discoloration, visual inspection is sufficient to make a diagnosis of skin cancer
E. Whether hospitals in other parts of the country have purchased such imaging machines作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:57
Q30:
In a study conducted in Pennsylvania, servers in various restaurants wrote “Thank you” on randomly selected bills before presenting the bills to their customers. Tips on these bills were an average of three percentage points higher than tips on bills without the message. Therefore, if servers in Pennsylvania regularly wrote “Thank you” on restaurant bills, their average income from tips would be significantly higher than it otherwise would have been.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument relies?
A. The “Thank you” messages would have the same impact on regular patrons of a restaurant as they would on occasional patrons of the same restaurant.
B. Regularly seeing “Thank you” written on their bills would not lead restaurant patrons to revert to their earlier tipping habits.
C. The written “Thank you” reminds restaurant patrons that tips constitute a significant part of the income of many food servers.
D. The rate at which people tip food servers in Pennsylvania does not vary with how expensive a restaurant is.
E. Virtually all patrons of the Pennsylvania restaurants in the study who were given a bill with “Thank you” written on it left a larger tip than they otherwise would have.
Answer:
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Q34:
During the month of May, crabs arrive on Delaware’s beaches to lay eggs. Certain shorebirds depend on these eggs for food during their annual spring migration to their northern breeding grounds. Delaware’s crab population has declined recently. This decline, however, poses no serious threat to the migrating shorebird populations: by remaining longer in Delaware, the birds will be able to eat enough crab eggs to allow them to complete their migration.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A. No other food available to the birds on Delaware’s beaches is as nutritious and accessible as are crab eggs.
B. The decline in the number of crabs on Delaware’s beaches is due to the harvesting of crabs by humans.
C. There are more crabs on Delaware’s beaches than in any other area that the migrating birds pass through.
D. The crabs do not conceal their eggs.
E. The earlier in the season the shorebirds complete their migration, the more likely they are to breed successfully.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 13:58
Q39:
Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
On the whole, scientists do their most creative work before age forty, a tendency that has been taken to show that aging carries with it a loss of creative capacity. An alternative explanation is that by age forty most scientists have worked in their field for fifteen or more years and that by then they have exhausted the opportunity for creative work in that field. Supporting this explanation is the finding that ______.
A. the average age of recipients of scientific research grants is significantly greater than forty
B. a disproportionately large number of the scientists who produce highly creative work beyond age forty entered their field at an older age than is common
C. many scientists temper their own expectations of what they can achieve in their research work by their belief that their creativity will decline as they age
D. scientists who are older than forty tend to find more satisfaction in other activities, such as teaching and mentoring, than they do in pursuing their own research
E. there is a similar diminution of creativity with age in nonscientific fields, such as poetry and musical composition
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Q41:
Last year a record number of new manufacturing jobs were created. Will this year bring another record? Well, any new manufacturing job is created either within an existing company or by the start-up of a new company. Within existing firms, new jobs have been created this year at well below last year’s record pace. At the same time, there is considerable evidence that the number of new companies starting up this year will be no higher than it was last year and there is no reason to think that the new companies starting up this year will create more jobs per company than did last year’s start-ups. So clearly, the number of new jobs created this year will fall short of last year’s record.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
A. The first provides evidence in support of the main conclusion of the argument; the second is a claim that argument challenges.
B. The first is a generalization that the argument seeks to establish; the second is a conclusion that the argument draws in order to support that generalization.
C. The first is a generalization that the argument seeks to establish; the second is a judgment that has been advanced in order to challenge that generalization.
D. The first is presented as obvious truth on which the argument is based; the second is a claim that has been advanced in support of a position that the argument opposes.
E. The first is presented as obvious truth on which the argument is based; the second is a judgment advanced in support of the main conclusion of the argument.
Answer:
GWD-18
Q12:
Some species of Arctic birds are threatened by recent sharp increases in the population of snow geese, which breed in the Arctic and are displacing birds of less vigorous species. Although snow geese are a popular quarry for hunters in the southern regions where they winter, the hunting season ends if and when hunting has reduced the population by five percent, according to official estimates. Clearly, dropping this restriction would allow the other species to recover.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the argument?
A. Hunting limits for snow geese were imposed many years ago in response to a sharp decline in the population of snow geese.
B. It has been many years since the restriction led to the hunting season for snow geese being closed earlier than the scheduled date.
C. The number of snow geese taken by hunters each year has grown every year for several years.
D. As their population has increased, snow geese have recolonized wintering grounds that they had not used for several seasons.
E. In the snow goose’s winter habitats, the goose faces no significant natural predation.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 14:03
Q20:
Environmental organizations want to preserve the land surrounding the Wilgrinn Wilderness Area from residential development. They plan to do this by purchasing that land from the farmers who own it. That plan is ill-conceived: if the farmers did sell their land, they would sell it to the highest bidder, and developers would outbid any other bidders. On the other hand, these farmers will never actually sell any of the land, provided that farming it remains viable. But farming will not remain viable if the farms are left unmodernized, and most of the farmers lack the financial resources modernization requires. And that is exactly why a more sensible preservation strategy would be to assist the farmers to modernize their farms to the extent needed to maintain viability.
In the argument as a whole, the two boldface proportions play which of the following roles?
A. The first presents a goal that the argument rejects as ill-conceived; the second is evidence that is presented as grounds for that rejection.
B. The first presents a goal that the argument concludes cannot be attained; the second is a reason offered in support of that conclusion.
C. The first presents a goal that the argument concludes can be attained; the second is a judgment disputing that conclusion.
D. The first presents a goal, strategies for achieving which are being evaluated in the argument; the second is a judgment providing a basis for the argument’s advocacy of a particular strategy.
E. The first presents a goal that the argument endorses; the second presents a situation that the argument contends must be changed if that goal is to be met in the foreseeable future.
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Q22:
In each of the past five years, Barraland’s prison population has increased. Yet, according to official government statistics, for none of those years has there been either an increase in the number of criminal cases brought to trial, or an increase in the rate at which convictions have been obtained. Clearly, therefore, the percentage of people convicted of crimes who are being given prison sentences is on the increase.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A. In Barraland the range of punishments that can be imposed instead of a prison sentence is wide.
B. Over the last ten years, overcrowding in the prisons of Barraland has essentially been eliminated as a result of an ambitious program of prison construction.
C. Ten years ago, Barraland reformed its criminal justice system, imposing longer minimum sentences for those crimes for which a prison sentence had long been mandatory.
D. Barraland has been supervising convicts on parole more closely in recent years, with the result that parole violations have become significantly less frequent.
E. The number of people in Barraland who feel that crime is on the increase is significantly greater now than it was five years ago.
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Q28:
Five years ago, as part of a plan to encourage citizens of Levaska to increase the amount of money they put into savings, Levaska’s government introduced special savings accounts in which up to $3,000 a year can be saved with no tax due on the interest unless money is withdrawn before the account holder reaches the age of sixty-five. Millions of dollars have accumulated in the special accounts, so the government’s plan is obviously working.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A. A substantial number of Levaskans have withdrawn at least some of the money they had invested in the special accounts.
B. Workers in Levaska who already save money in long-term tax-free accounts that are offered through their workplace cannot take advantage of the special savings accounts introduced by the government.
C. The rate at which interest earned on money deposited in regular savings accounts is taxed depends on the income bracket of the account holder.
D. Many Levaskans who already had long-term savings have steadily been transferring those savings into the special accounts.
E. Many of the economists who now claim that the government’s plan has been successful criticized it when it was introduced.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 14:03
Q30:
The ancient Nubians inhabited an area in which typhus occurs, yet surprisingly few of their skeletons show the usual evidence of this disease. The skeletons do show deposits of tetracycline, an antibiotic produced by a bacterium common in Nubian soil. This bacterium can flourish on the dried grain used for making two staples of the Nubian diet, beer and bread. Thus, tetracycline in their food probably explains the low incidence of typhus among ancient Nubians.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument relies?
A. Infectious diseases other than typhus to which the ancient Nubians were exposed are unaffected by tetracycline.
B. Tetracycline is not rendered ineffective as an antibiotic by exposure to the processes involved in making bread and beer.
C. Typhus cannot be transmitted by ingesting bread or beer contaminated with the infectious agents of this disease.
D. Bread and beer were the only items in the diet of the ancient Nubians which could have contained tetracycline.
E. Typhus is generally fatal.
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Q38:
A survey of entrepreneurs who started companies last year shows that while virtually all did substantial preparatory research and planning, only half used that work to produce a formal business plan. Since, on average, the entrepreneurs without formal plans secured the capital they needed in half the time of those with plans, these survey results indicate that, in general, formal plans did not help the entrepreneurs who produced them to secure the capital they needed.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A. Companies started by entrepreneurs who had used formal business plans to attract investment were on the whole as profitable in their first year as were companies started by entrepreneurs who had not produced such plans.
B. In surveys of entrepreneurs who have attempted without success to raise sufficient capital, more than half of the respondents indicate that they have produced a formal business plan.
C. Among the entrepreneurs surveyed, those who did not produce formal business plans sought and received a much larger proportion of their capital from investors with whom they had a long-standing business relationship.
D. The entrepreneurs surveyed who did not produce a formal business plan spent nearly as much time doing preparatory research and planning as the entrepreneurs who produced plans.
E. The entrepreneurs who produced business plans generally reported later that the process of writing the plan had increased their confidence that their company would succeed.
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Q40:
Until now, only injectable vaccines against influenza have been available. Parents are reluctant to subject children to the pain of injections, but adults, who are at risk of serious complications from influenza, are commonly vaccinated. A new influenza vaccine, administered painlessly in a nasal spray, is effective for children. However, since children seldom develop serious complications from influenza, no significant public health benefit would result from widespread vaccination of children using the nasal spray.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. Any person who has received the injectable vaccine can safely receive the nasal-spray vaccine as well.
B. The new vaccine uses the same mechanism to ward off influenza as injectable vaccines do.
C. The injectable vaccine is affordable for all adults.
D. Adults do not contract influenza primarily from children who have influenza.
E. The nasal spray vaccine is not effective when administered to adults.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 14:03
GWD-19
Q8:
Many large department stores in Montalia now provide shopping carts for their customers. Since customers using shopping carts tend to buy more than those without shopping carts, most of these stores are experiencing strong sales growth, while most other department stores are not. Therefore, in order to boost sales, managers of Jerrod’s, Montalia’s premier department store, are planning to purchase shopping carts and make them available to the store’s customers next month.
Which of the following, if true, casts most doubt whether the managers’ plan, if implemented, will achieve its goal?
K. Since most customers associate shopping carts with low-quality discount stores, Jerrod’s high-quality image would likely suffer if shopping carts were introduced.
L. Because the unemployment rate has declined to very low levels, Jerrod’s now has to pay significantly higher wages in order to retain its staff.
M. A number of department stores that did not make shopping carts available to their customers have had to close recently due to falling profits.
N. Shopping carts are not very expensive, but they generally need to be replaced every few years.
O. Stores that make shopping carts available to their customers usually have to hire people to retrieve the carts from parking areas.
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Q12:
A mosquito bite can transmit to a person the parasite that causes malaria, and the use of mosquito nets over children’s beds can significantly reduce the incidence of malarial infection for children in areas where malaria is common. Yet public health officials are reluctant to recommend the use of mosquito nets over children’s beds in such areas.
Which of the following, if true, would provide the strongest grounds for the public health officials’ reluctance?
A. Early exposure to malaria increases the body’s resistance to it and results in a lesser likelihood of severe life-threatening episodes of malaria.
B. Mosquito bites can transmit to people diseases other than malaria.
C. Mosquito nets provide protection from some insect pests other than mosquitoes.
D. Although there are vaccines available for many childhood diseases, no vaccine has been developed that is effective against malaria.
E. The pesticides that are most effective against mosquitoes in regions where malaria is common have significant detrimental effects on human health.
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Q13:
Fact: Asthma, a bronchial condition, is much less common ailment than hay fever, an allergic inflammation of the nasal passages.
Fact: Over 95 percent of people who have asthma also suffer from hay fever.
If the information given as facts above is true, which of the following must also be true?
F. Hay fever is a prerequisite for the development of asthma.
G. Asthma is a prerequisite for the development of hay fever.
H. Those who have neither hay fever nor asthma comprise less than 5 percent of the total population.
I. The number of people who have both of these ailments is greater than the number of people who have only one of them.
J. The percentage of people suffering from hay fever who also have asthma is lower than 95 percent.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 14:03
Q14:
The Eurasian ruffe, a fish species inadvertently introduced into North America’s Great Lakes in recent years, feeds on the eggs of lake whitefish, a native species, thus threatening the lakes’ natural ecosystem. To help track the ruffe’s spread, government agencies have produced wallet-sized cards about the ruffe. The cards contain pictures of the ruffe and explain the danger they pose; the cards also request anglers to report any ruffe they catch.
Which of the following, if true, would provide most support for the prediction that the agencies’ action will have its intended effect?
A. The ruffe has spiny fins that make it unattractive as prey.
B. Ruffe generally feed at night, but most recreational fishing on the Great Lakes is done during daytime hours.
C. Most people who fish recreationally on the Great Lakes are interested in the preservation of the lake whitefish because it is a highly prized game fish.
D. The ruffe is one of several nonnative species in the Great Lakes whose existence threatens the survival of lake whitefish populations there.
E. The bait that most people use when fishing for whitefish on the Great Lakes is not attractive to ruffe.
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Q16:
A diet high in saturated fats increases a person’s risk of developing heart disease. Regular consumption of red wine reduces that risk. Per-capita consumption of saturated fats is currently about the same in France as in the United States, but there is less heart disease there than in the United States because consumption of red wine is higher in France. The difference in regular red-wine consumption has been narrowing, but no similar convergence in heart-disease rates has occurred.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to account for the lack of convergence noted above?
F. Consumption of saturated fats is related more strongly to the growth of fatty deposits on artery walls, which reduce blood flow to the heart, than it is to heart disease directly.
G. Over the past 30 years, per-capita consumption of saturated fats has remained essentially unchanged in the United States but has increased somewhat in France.
H. Reports of the health benefits of red wine have led many people in the United States to drink red wine regularly.
I. Cigarette smoking, which can also contribute to heart disease, is only slightly more common in France than in the United States.
J. Regular consumption of red wine is declining dramatically among young adults in France, and heart disease typically does not manifest itself until middle age.
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Q20:
Which of the following most logically completes the reasoning?
Either food scarcity or excessive hunting can threaten a population of animals. If the group faces food scarcity, individuals in the group will reach reproductive maturity later than otherwise. If the group faces excessive hunting, individuals that reach reproductive maturity earlier will come to predominate. Therefore, it should be possible to determine whether prehistoric mastodons became extinct because of food scarcity or human hunting, since there are fossilized mastodon remains from both before and after mastodon populations declined, and ______.
A. there are more fossilized mastodon remains from the period before mastodon populations began to decline than from after that period
B. the average age at which mastodons from a given period reached reproductive maturity can be established from their fossilized remains
C. it can be accurately estimated from fossilized remains when mastodons became extinct
D. it is not known when humans first began hunting mastodons
E. climate changes may have gradually reduced the food available to mastodons作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 14:04
Q24:
For similar cars and drivers, automobile insurance for collision damage has always cost more in Greatport than in Fairmont. Police studies, however, show that cars owned by Greatport residents are, on average, slightly less likely to be involved in a collision than cars in Fairmont. Clearly, therefore, insurance companies are making a greater profit on collision-damage insurance in Greatport than in Fairmont.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
a) Repairing typical collision damage does not cost more in Greatport than in Fairmont.
b) There are no more motorists in Greatport than in Fairmont.
c) Greatport residents who have been in a collision are more likely to report it to their insurance company than Fairmont residents are.
d) Fairmont and Greatport are the cities with the highest collision-damage insurance rates.
e) The insurance companies were already aware of the difference in the likelihood of collisions before the publication of the police reports.
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Q28:
Editorial in Krenlandian Newspaper:
Krenland’s steelmakers are losing domestic sales because of lower-priced imports, in many cases because foreign governments subsidize their steel industries in ways that are banned by international treaties. But whatever the cause, the cost is ultimately going to be jobs in Krenland’s steel industry. Therefore, it would protect not only steel companies but also industrial employment in Krenland if our government took measures to reduce cheap steel imports.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the editorial’s argument?
F. Because steel from Krenland is rarely competitive in international markets, only a very small portion of Krenlandian steelmakers’ revenue comes from exports.
G. The international treaties that some governments are violating by giving subsidies to steelmakers do not specify any penalties for such violations.
H. For many Krenlandian manufacturers who face severe international competition in both domestic and export markets, steel constitutes a significant part of their raw material costs.
I. Because of advances in order-taking, shipping, and inventory systems, the cost of shipping steel from foreign producers to Krenland has fallen considerably in recent years.
J. Wages paid to workers in the steel industry in Krenland differ significantly from wages paid to workers in many of the countries that export steel to Krenland.
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Q30:
Criminologist: Some legislators advocate mandating a sentence of life in prison for anyone who, having twice served sentences for serious crimes, is subsequently convicted of a third serious crime. These legislators argue that such a policy would reduce crime dramatically, since it would take people with a proven tendency to commit crimes off the streets permanently. What this reasoning overlooks, however, is that people old enough to have served two prison sentences for serious crimes rarely commit more than one subsequent crime. Filling our prisons with such individuals would have exactly the opposite of the desired effect, since it would limit our ability to incarcerate younger criminals, who commit a far greater proportion of serious crimes.
In the argument as a whole, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
A. The first is a conclusion that the argument as a whole seeks to refute; the second is a claim that has been advanced in support of that conclusion.
B. The first is a conclusion that the argument as a whole seeks to refute; the second is the main conclusion of the argument.
C. The first is the main conclusion of the argument; the second is an objection that has been raised against that conclusion.
D. The first is the main conclusion of the argument; the second is a prediction made on the basis of that conclusion.
E. The first is a generalization about the likely effect of a policy under consideration in the argument; the second points out a group of exceptional cases to which that generalization does not apply.作者: imjar 时间: 2010-7-26 14:04
Q37:
Researchers took a group of teenagers who had never smoked and for one year tracked whether they took up smoking and how their mental health changed. Those who began smoking within a month of the study’s start were four times as likely to be depressed at the study’s end than those who did not begin smoking. Since nicotine in cigarettes changes brain chemistry, perhaps thereby affecting mood, it is likely that smoking contributes to depression in teenagers.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
A. Participants who were depressed at the study’s start were no more likely to be smokers at the study’s end than those who were not depressed.
B. Participants who began smoking within a month of the study’s start were no more likely than those who began midway through to have quit smoking by the study’s end.
C. Few, if any, of the participants in the study were friends or relatives of other participants.
D. Some participants entered and emerged from a period of depression within the year of the study.
E. The researchers did not track use of alcohol by the teenagers.
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Q38:
In January of last year the Moviemania chain of movie theaters started propping its popcorn in canola oil, instead of the less healthful coconut oil that it had been using until then. Now Moviemania is planning to switch back, saying that the change has hurt popcorn sales. That claim is false, however, since according to Moviemania’s own sales figures, Moviemania sold 5 percent more popcorn last year than in the previous year.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the argument against Moviemania’s claim?
A. Total sales of all refreshments at Moviemania’s movie theaters increased by less than 5 percent last year.
B. Moviemania makes more money on food and beverages sold at its theaters than it does on sales of movie tickets.
C. Moviemania’s customers prefer the taste of popcorn popped in coconut oil to that of popcorn popped in canola oil.
D. Total attendance at Moviemania’s movie theaters was more than 20 percent higher last year than the year before.
E. The year before last, Moviemania experienced a 10 percent increase in popcorn sales over the previous year.
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Q40:
Agricultural societies cannot exist without staple crops. Several food plants, such as kola and okra, are known to have been domesticated in western Africa, but they are all supplemental, not staple, foods. All the recorded staple crops grown in western Africa were introduced from elsewhere, beginning, at some unknown date, with rice and yams. Therefore, discovering when rice and yams were introduced into western Africa would establish the earliest date at which agricultural societies could have arisen there.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. People in western Africa did not develop staple crops that they stopped cultivating once rice and yams were introduced.
B. There are no plants native to western Africa that, if domesticated, could serve as staple food crops.
C. Rice and yams were grown as staple crops by the earliest agricultural societies outside of western Africa.
D. Kola and okra are better suited to growing conditions in western Africa than domesticated rice and yams are.
E. Kola and okra were domesticated in western Africa before rice and yams were introduced there.作者: williams 时间: 2010-7-27 06:27
many thanks !!!作者: LSAT@GMAT 时间: 2010-7-28 23:04
欢迎上来讨论哦作者: LSAT@GMAT 时间: 2010-7-29 16:06
many thanks!
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