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123. When a group of children who have been watching television programs that include acts of violence is sent to play with a group of children who have been watching programs that do not include acts of violence, the children who have been watching violent programs commit a much greater number of violent acts in their play than do the children who have been watching nonviolent programs. Therefore, children at play can be prevented from commiting violent acts by not being allowed to watch violence on television.

The argument in the passage assumes which one of the following?

A. Television has a harmful effect on society.
B. Parents are responsible for the acts of their children.
C. Violent actions and passive observation of violent actions are not related.
D. There are no other differences between the two groups of children that might account for the difference in violent behavior.
E. Children who are treated violently will respond with violence.

参考答案：D
This question requires to be identified an assumption that would allow the argument’s conclusion to be properly drawn. As the argument is stated, there is a logical fallacy in the line of reasoning and need to be fixed by the assumption. The fallacy here is: Denial of the antecedent. (原名题之否命题不必然成立)
Premiss: Watching acts of violence in TV, the children commit much a greater number of violent acts in play.
Conclusion: Not being allowed to watch violence on television, children at play can be prevented from committing violent acts.
There should be many ways to address this fallacy to make the argument established. One of them is to make an assumption by utilizing the contra productive (逆否命题). It makes good sense that if the contra productive of an conclusion is sound, the conclusion itself will be sound naturally. Here let’s get down to the conclusion above, its contra productive is:
“If children’s violent acts can not be prevented, they must have been allowed to watch violent acts on TV;”
Since this is the only thing we can conclude, no any other things account for it. (D) offers what we are looking for.
(A) is way too much out of scope, we only know from the information we have been given in the passage that children watching too much violent acts developed a greater number of violent behavior, we don’t know and can’t conclude that the TV as a whole harms the society. Phrase this out.
(B) Parents’ responsibility over the matters has no bearing on the causality we discuss here.
(C) is opposite from what we learn from the passage. We are try to establish the causality between observation of violent action and violent action committed by children, the fact they are related is the first thing we can ensure from the passage.
(E) this may be correct, but just as (B), how the way the children are treated relates to their corresponding action is not the issue at point.


124. It is repeatedly claimed that the dumping of nuclear waste poses no treat to people living nearby. If this claim could be made with certainty, there would be no reason for not locating sites in areas of dense population. But the policy of dumping nuclear waste only in the more sparsely populated regions indicates, at the very least, some misgiving about safety on the part of those responsible for policy.

Which one of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the argument?

A. Evacuation plants in the event of an accident could not be guaranteed to work perfectly except where the population is small.
B. In the event of an accident, it is certain that fewer people would be harmed in a sparsely populated than in a densely populated area.
C. Dumping of nuclear waste poses fewer economic and bureaucratic problems in sparsely populated than in densely populated areas.
D. There are dangers associated with chemical waste, and it, too, is dumped away from areas of dense population.
E. Until there is no shred of doubt that nuclear dumps are safe, it makes sense to situate them where they pose the least threat to the public.

the answer is c.
as the passage suggests, the author thinks there must be considerations of safety in the choose of dumping places. So the answer should give another reason instead of that.
A, B, D and E are all concerned about safety, and only c tell us that the shopping of places is out of a concern of cost .so C is the right answer.

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125. A society’s infant mortality rate is an accepted indicator of that society’s general health status. Even though in some localities in the United States the rate is higher than in many developing countries. In the United States, overall the rate has been steadily declining. This declines does not necessarily indicate, however, that babies in the United States are now, on the average, healthier at birth than they were in the past.

Which one of the following reasons, if true, most strongly supports the claim made above about the implications of the decline?

A. The figure for infant mortality is compiled as an overall rate and thus masks deficiencies in particular localities.
B. Low birth weight is a contributing factor in more than half of the infant deaths in the United States.
C. The United States has been developing and his achieved extremely sophisticated technology for saving premature and low-birth-weight babies, most of whom require extended hospital stays.
D. In eleven states of the United States, the infant mortality rate declined last year.
E. Babies who do not receive adequate attention from a caregiver fail to thrive and so they gain weight slowly.

as the passage suggests, the decline, in the author's opinion, does not indicate that the babies are healthier than b4.so ,in support of this conclusion ,we must show that though the babies are not healthier but they survive.
A is skeptical about the accuracy of the statistics .
B gives us a piece of irrelevant information.
D is also irrelevant. So is e.
C tells us why unhealthy babies can survive and the death rate declines.
C is the right answer.


126. The public is well aware that high blood cholesterol levels raise the risk of stroke caused by blood clots, but a recent report concludes that people with low blood cholesterol levels are at increased risk of the other lethal type of stroke---cerebral hemorrhage, caused when a brain artery busts. The report suggests that because blood cholesterol plays a vita role in maintaining cell membranes, low blood cholesterol weakens artery walls, making them prone to rupture. The conclusion thus supports a long-standing contention by Japanese researchers that Western diets better protect against cerebral hemorrhage than do non-Western diets.

The argument is based on which one of the following assumption?

A. Western diets are healthier than non-Western diets.
B. Western diets result in higher blood cholesterol levels than do non-Western diets.
C. High blood cholesterol levels preclude the weakening of artery walls.
D. Cerebral hemorrhages are more dangerous than strokes caused by blood clots.
E. People who have low blood pressure are at increased risk of cerebral hemorrhage.

The passage provides us with information of the relationship between stroke and the level of blood cholesterol. but the conclusion is about the relationship between diet and hemorrhage. so there is a gap here. We must find the bridge. Only B, the right answer, closes the gap.

Test 8

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127. Anthropologists assert that cultures advance only when independence replaces dependence---that is, only when imposition by outsiders is replaced by initiative from within. In other words, the natives of a culture are the only ones who can move that culture forward. Non-natives may provide valuable advice, but any imposition of their views threatens independence and thus progress. If one looks at individual schools as separate cultures, therefore, the key to educational progress is obvious:

which one of the following best completes the passage?

A. individual schools must be independent of outside imposition
B. some schools require more independence than others, depending on the initiative of their staffs and students
C. school systems officials must tailor their initiatives for change to each individual school in the system
D. outsiders must be prevented from participation in schools’ efforts to advance
E. the more independent a school is, the more educational progress it will make

答案:A
A可由文中可得到: cultures advance必要条件是 when independence replaces dependence---that is, only when imposition by outsiders is replaced by initiative from within, 而问题问的是: educational progress, 所以根据cultures advance的必要条件可以推出A, Assumption: individual schools as separate cultures

B，C，E无
D错误，因为: Non-natives may provide valuable advice


128. The public in the United States has in the past been conditioned to support a substantial defense budget by the threat of confrontation with the Eastern bloc. Now that that threat is dissolving, along with the Eastern bloc itself, it is doubtful whether the public can be persuaded to support an adequate defense budget.

Which one of the following indicates a weakness in the position expressed above?

A. It presupposes that public opinion can be manipulated indefinitely, without the public’s becoming aware of that manipulation.
B. It refers to past and present events that do not have a causal connection with public support of the budget.
C. It assumes as fact what it seeks to establish by
D. It fails to give any reason for the judgment it reaches.
E. It hinges on the term “adequate”, the precise meaning of which requires reevaluation in the new context.

答案:E
A. 不关题意
B. 错误, causal connection文中有
C. 无
D. 错误, reason文中有
E. 因为在开始文中只提到a substantial defense budget , 而后面却说的是support an adequate defense budget. “adequate”在这里是一个概念很模糊的词,因为很多可以说成adequate,而很少也可以说成adequate, 这主要看被要求的情况.并且public有可能不支持很大数量的defense budget,却有可能支持很小数量的defense budget.

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129. Behind the hope that computers can replace teachers is the idea that the student’s understanding of the subject being taught consists in knowing facts and rules, the job of a teacher being to make the facts and rules explicit and convey them to the students, either by practice drills or by coaching. If that were indeed the way the mind works, the teacher could transfer facts and rules to the computer, which could replace the teacher as drillmaster and coach. But since understanding does not consist merely of knowing facts and rules, but of the grasp of the general concepts underlying them, the hope that the computer will eventually replace the teacher is fundamentally misguided.

Which one of the following, if true, would most seriously undermine the author’s conclusion that computers will not eventually be able to replace teachers?

A. Computers are as good as teachers at drilling students on facts and rules.
B. The job of a teacher is to make students understand the general concepts underlying specific facts and rules.
C. It is possible to program computers so that they can teach the understanding of general concepts that underlie specific facts and rules.
D. Because they are not subject to human error, computers are better than teachers at conveying facts and rules.
E. It is not possible for students to develop an understanding of the concepts underlying facts and rules through practice drills and coaching.

答案:C

A. 不是主要的weaken
B. 不关题意
C. 因为Premise: The computers cannot make students to grasp of the general concepts underlying them Conclusion: The computer will not eventually replace the teacher，而C直接补上了这个空缺
D. 不关题意
E. 反，正好支持了作者的观点


130. The mind and the immune system have been shown to be intimately linked, and scientists are consistently finding that doing good deeds benefits one’s immune system. The bone marrow and spleen, which produce the white blood cells needed to fight infection, are both connected by neural pathways to the brain. Recent research as shown that they activity of these white blood cells is stimulated by beneficial chemicals produced by the brain as a result of magnanimous behavior.

The statements above, if true, support the view that

A. good deeds must be based on unselfish motives lack of magnanimity is the cause of most serious illnesses.
B. magnanimous behavior can be regulated by the presence of absence of certain chemicals in the brain.
C. magnanimous behavior can be regulated by the presence or absence of certain chemicals in the brain.
D. magnanimity is beneficial to one’s own interests
E. the number of white blood cells will increase radically if behavior is consistently magnanimous

Reference:
In my view, the reasoning in this argument is that:
magnanimous behaviorà beneficial chemicals produced by the brainà they activity of these white blood cellsà fight infection
So, the correct answer is D.
A is out of scope. Because unselfish motives is not mentioned in this argument.
B and C have the same mistake. From the above reasoning , it is clear that because of magnanimous behavior, some beneficial chemicals were produced by the brain. But the statement of B and C fail to convince us that magnanimous behavior can be regulated by the presence of absence of certain chemicals in the brain.
E is out of scope. The argument fails to establish the casual relationship between the number of white blood and the rate of magnanimous behavior.

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131. To become an expert on a musical instrument, a person must practice. If a person practice a musical instrument for three hours each day, they will eventually become expert on that instrument. Therefore, if a person is an expert on a musical instrument, that person must have practiced for at least three hours each day.

Which one of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the reasoning above?

A. The conclusion fails to take into account that people who practice for three hours every day might not yet have reached a degree of proficiency that everyone would consider expert.
B. The conclusion fails to take into account that practicing for less than three hours each day may be enough for some people to become experts.
C. the conclusion fails to take into account that if a person has not practiced for at least three hours a day, the person has not become an expert.
D. The conclusion fails to take into account that three consecutive hours of daily practice is not recommended by all music teachers.
E. The conclusion fails to take into account that few people have the spare time necessary to devote three hours daily to practice.

Reference:
In my view, the reasoning in this argument is that:
a person practice a musical instrument for three hours each dayà they will eventually become expert
Under this circumstance , it is obvious that the fact that a person practice a musical instrument for three hours each day is sufficient to reach the sound conclusion that they will eventually become expert on that instrument. But this fact is not the necessary factor relevant to the conclusion that they will eventually become expert on that instrument.
After this analysis, we can make clear the logical flaw in this argument.
a person is an expert on a musical instrumentà person must have practiced for at least three hours each day

So, we can easily find the correct answer is B.


Questions 132-133
Nature constantly adjusts the atmospheric carbon level. An increase in the level causes the atmosphere to hold more heat, which causes more water to evaporate from the oceans, which causes increased rain. Rain washes some carbon from the air into the oceans, where it eventually becomes part of the seabed. A decrease in atmosphere carbon causes decreased evaporation from the oceans, which cause less rain, and thus less carbon is washed into the oceans. Yet some environmentalists worry that burning fossil fuels may raise atmospheric carbon to a dangerous level. It is true that a sustained increase would threaten human life. But the environmentalists should relax---nature will continually adjust the carbon level.

132. Each of the following can be inferred from the information in the passage EXCEPT:

A. A decrease in the level of atmospheric heat causes a decrease in the amount of carbon that rain washes into the oceans from the air.
B. An increase in the level of carbon in the atmosphere causes increased evaporation of ocean water.
C. An increase in the level of atmospheric heat causes increased rainfall.
D. A decrease in the level of carbon in the atmosphere causes decreased evaporation of ocean water.
E. A decrease in the level of atmospheric heat causes a decrease in the level of carbon in the atmosphere.

Reference:
In my view, the reasoning in this argument is that:
On the one hand:
An increase in the level of carbon à more heatà more water to evaporate from the oceansà increased rainà washes more carbon from the air into the oceansà becomes part of the seabed
On the other hand:
A decrease in atmosphere carbonàless heatà decreased evaporation from the oceansàless rainà washes less carbon from the air into the oceans

Hence, it is obvious that the correct answer is E.

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133. Which one of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument in the passage?

A. Plant life cannot survive without atmospheric carbon.
B. It is not clear that breathing excess carbon in the atmosphere will have a negative effect on human life.
C. Carbon is part of the chemical “blanket” that keeps the Earth warm enough to sustain human life.
D. Breathing by animals releases almost 30 times as much carbon as does the burning of fossil fuels.
E. The natural adjustment process, which occurs over millions of years, allow wide fluctuations in the carbon level in the short term.

Reference:
In my view, the reasoning in this argument is that:
nature will continually adjust the carbon levelà a sustained increase in the level of carbon would not threaten human life.
The statement of E points out that even the nature will continually adjust the carbon level, wide fluctuations in the carbon level in the short term will exert the remarkable negative to the human life.(Common sense tells us that the life of human is often less than 100 years)
So, E is the correct chose.

A. is out of scope.
B. to some extend, support the argument. Because we can not assure that breathing excess carbon in the atmosphere will have a negative effect on human life, even the excess carbon may not have the a negative effect on human life. Another logical flaw in the statement of B is out of scope.
C. to some extend, support the argument.
D is out of scope. If so , we should kill more animals to prevent the “Green House”.


134. The more television children watch, the less competent they are in mathematical knowledge. More than a third of children in the United States watch television for more than five hours a day; in South Korea the figure is only 7 percent. But whereas less than 15 percent of children in the United States understand advanced measurement and geometric concepts, 40 percent of South Korean children are competent in these areas. Therefore, if United States children are to do well in mathematics, they must watch less television.

Which one of the following is an assumption upon in advanced measurement and geometric concepts than are South Korean children?

A. Children in the United States are less interested in advanced measurement and geometric concepts than are South Korean children.
B. South Korean children are more disciplined about doing schoolwork than are
C. Children who want to do well in advanced measurement and geometry will watch less television.
D. A child’s ability in advanced measurement and geometry increases if he or she watches less than one hour of television a day.
E. The instruction in advanced measurement and geometric concepts available to children in the United States is not substantially worse than that available to South Korean children.

In my view, the reasoning in this argument is that:
More than a third of children in the United States watch television for more than five hours a day; in South Korea the figure is only 7 percent. But whereas less than 15 percent of children in the United States understand advanced measurement and geometric concepts, 40 percent of South Korean children are competent in these areasà The more television children watch, the less competent they are in mathematical knowledge

Under this circumstance, it is obvious that the arguer establish the casual relationship between the television children watch and the competent they are in mathematical knowledge.
We can anticipate the correct answer of assumption from two directions. For one thing, the answer should assure the casual relationship between the television children watch and the competent they are in mathematical knowledge. For another, the answer should rule out other possibility that may lead to the more competent the children in South Korea are in mathematical knowledge.

After this anticipation, we can find that E is the sound chose. Because E rules out other possibility that may result in the more competent the children in South Korea are in mathematical knowledge.

A is out of scope. We cannot assure the casual relationship between the interest of children and the competent they are in mathematical knowledge.
B is out of scope too. The reasoning that the fact that South Korean children are more disciplined about doing schoolwork can result in the more competent the children in South Korea are in mathematical knowledge is open to doubt.
C is puzzle. At first glance, C may be the correct answer. But after a careful examination, we will find that C is incorrect. We cannot ensure the casual relationship between the televisions the children watch and the competent they are in mathematical knowledge either.
Such as, the students who want to crack GMAT will play less basketball. But we cannot guarantee the casual relationship between the ability of the students cracking GMAT and the activity of playing basketball.
D is out of scope. It is possible that more children in South Korea who watch television less than five hours but more than one hour a day than the children in US. If so , D has no effect on this argument.

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135. In a new police program, automobile owners in some neighborhoods whose cars are not normally driven between 1 A.M. and 5 A.M. can display a special decal in the cars’ windows and authorize police to stop the cars during those hours to check the drivers’ licenses. The theft rate for cars bearing such decals is much lower than had been usual for cars in those neighborhoods.

If it is concluded from the statements above that automobile theft has been reduced by the program, which one of the following would be most important to answer in evaluating that conclusion?

A. Are owners who are cautious enough to join the program taking other special measures to protect their cars against theft?
B. In how many neighborhoods is the police program operating?
C. Are cars in neighborhoods that are actively participating in the program sometimes stolen during daylight hours?
D. Will owners who have placed decals on their cars’ windows but who find it necessary to drive between 1 A.M. and 5 A. M. Be harassed by police?
E. Are the neighborhoods in which the program has been put into effect a representative cross section of neighborhoods with respect to the types of automobiles owned by residents?

Reference:

In my view, the reasoning in this argument is that:
automobile owners in some neighborhoods whose cars are not normally driven between 1 A.M. and 5 A.M. can display a special decal in the cars’ windows and authorize police to stop the cars during those hours to check the drivers’ licensesà The theft rate for cars bearing such decals is much lower than had been usual for cars in those neighborhoods

The hidden assumption is that the decrease in the theft rate for cars bearing such decals is due to the program.

Which is the best choice to evaluate the conclusion? It seems to me that the correct statement can either support or weaken the argument. That is to say, the answer is the two-side sword to the argument.

After this analysis, we can find that A is just choice.
If owners who are cautious enough to join the program taking other special measures to protect their cars against theft, A will weaken the argument. If not, A obviously support the argument.
Hence, A is the answer.

B is out of scope. The number of neighborhoods who is the police program operating is not mentioned in this argument.
C is out of scope too. Whether cars in neighborhoods that are actively participating in the program sometimes stolen during daylight hours has no influence in evaluating this conclusion.
D is false. If so , the answer may opposite the main presume in this argument.
E is out of scope.

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参考答案：

1-5 DCCBA 6-10 ECBAB
11-15 BECBC 16-20 BCEBC
21-25 BBAEC 26-30 CEABD
31-35 BBCDD 36-40 BAAEA
41-45 ECBCB 46-50 EACBC
51-55 BCCDC 56-60 EAEAE
61-65 CBDDC 66-70 ACBAB
71-75 ECABC 76-80 BDAED
81-85 CADDD 86-90 ADAEC
91-95 EDDCC 96-100 BBBCB
101-105 BBDEA 106-110 BECBB
111-115 ECACB 116-120 BBBED
121-125 EDDCC 126-130 BAECD
131-135 BEEEA

samuelxie

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leslielu

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