Datasets:

metaeval

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reclor

like 6

In rheumatoid arthritis, the body' s immune system misfunctions by attacking healthy cells in the joints causing the release of a hormone that in turn causes pain and swelling. This hormone is normally activated only in reaction to injury or infection. A new arthritis medication will contain a protein that inhibits the functioning of the hormone that causes pain and swelling in the joints.

train_0

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

Patient: Pharmacists maintain that doctors should not be permitted to sell the medicine that they prescribe because doctors would then be tempted to prescribe unnecessary medicines in order to earn extra income. But pharmacists have a financial interest in having a monopoly on the sale of prescription medicines, so their objection to the sale of medicines by doctors cannot be taken seriously.

train_1

The patient's argument proceeds by

Paula will visit the dentist tomorrow morning only if Bill goes golfing in the morning. Bill will not go golfing unless Damien agrees to go golfing too. However, Damien has decided not to go golfing. Ttherefore, Paula will not be visiting the dentist tomorrow morning.

train_2

The pattern of reasoning displayed above most closely parallels which of the following?

Some theorists argue that literary critics should strive to be value-neutral in their literary criticism. These theorists maintain that by exposing the meaning of literary works without evaluating them, critics will enable readers to make their own judgments about the works' merits. But literary criticism cannot be completely value-neutral. Thus, some theorists are mistaken about what is an appropriate goal for literary criticism.

train_3

The argument's conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?

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.

train_4

If the shipping clerk's statements are true, which of the following must also be true?

Firms adopting "profit-related-pay" (PRP) contracts pay wages at levels that vary with the firm' s profits. In the metalworking industry last year, firms with PRP contracts in place showed productivity per worker on average 13 percent higher than that of their competitors who used more traditional contracts.

train_5

If, on the basis of the evidence above, it is argued that PRP contracts increase worker productivity, which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken that argument?

Astronomer: Mount Shalko is the perfect site for the proposed astronomical observatory. The summit would accommodate the complex as currently designed, with some room left for expansion. There are no large cities near the mountain, so neither smog nor artificial light interferes with atmospheric transparency. Critics claim that Mount Shalko is a unique ecological site, but the observatory need not be a threat to endemic life-forms. In fact, since it would preclude recreational use of the mountain, it should be their salvation. It is estimated that 20, 000 recreational users visit the mountain every year, posing a threat to the wildlife.

train_6

Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the astronomer's argument?

Opponents of peat harvesting in this country argue that it would alter the ecological balance of our peatrich wetlands and that, as a direct consequence of this, much of the country' s water supply would be threatened with contamination. But this cannot be true, for in Ireland, where peat has been harvested for centuries, the water supply is not contaminated. We can safely proceed with the harvesting of peat.

train_7

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

Shortly after the power plant opened and began discharging its wastewater into the river, there was a decrease in the overall number of bass caught by anglers downstream from the plant.

train_8

Each of the following, if true, could explain the decrease described above EXCEPT:

Any sale item that is purchased can be returned for store credit but not for a refund of the purchase price. Every home appliance and every piece of gardening equipment is on sale along with selected construction tools.

train_9

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

Detective: Laser-printer drums are easily damaged, and any nick in a drum will produce a blemish of similar dimensions on each page produced by that printer. So in matching a blemish on a page with a nick on a drum, we can reliably trace a suspicious laser-printed document to the precise printer on which it was produced.

train_10

Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the detective's argument?

Biologist: A careful study of the behavior of six individual chameleons concluded that lizards such as chameleons bask in the sun not only for warmth but also to regulate their production of vitamin D. Critics of the study -- although correct in observing that its sample size was very small -- are wrong to doubt its results. After all, the study' s author is well regarded professionally and has been doing excellent work for years.

train_11

The reasoning in the biologist's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument

The use of space-based satellites to study environmental conditions on Earth is an important development in the conservation movement' s history. Environmental problems may now be observed long before they otherwise would be noticed, allowing for intervention before they reach the crisis stage. It is no wonder that environmentalists fail to consider both that spacecraft may damage the ozone layer and that this damage could be serious enough to warrant discontinuing spaceflight.

train_12

The reasoning above most closely conforms to which one of the following principles?

Department store manager: There is absolutely no reason to offer our customers free gift wrapping again this holiday season. If most customers take the offer, it will be expensive and time-consuming for us. On the other hand, if only a few customers want it, there is no advantage in offering it.

train_13

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the department store manager's argument?

A study conducted over a 6-month period analyzed daily attendance and average length of visit at the local art museum. The results showed that when the museum was not featuring a special exhibition, attendance tended to be lower but patrons spent an average of 45 minutes longer in the museum than when it was featuring a special exhibition.

train_14

Each of the following, if true, could help to explain the differing average lengths of visits to the museum EXCEPT:

Traveler: Southern Airways has a far worse safety record than Air Dacentaria over the past few years, in terms of both the frequency of accidents and the severity of accidents. Ttherefore, although Air Dacentaria is slightly more expensive, I will choose it over Southern Airways for my flight from Pederton to Dacenta, since it is worth paying extra to have a safer flight.

train_15

Which of the following, if true, casts the most serious doubt on the traveler's argument?

In a study, pairs of trained dogs were placed side by side and given a command such as "sit. " After both obeyed the command, one dog was given a treat while its partner was given no reward at all. Over time, the dogs who went unrewarded began to disobey the command. This shows that dogs have an aversion to being treated unfairly.

train_16

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

The advanced technology of ski boots and bindings has brought a dramatic drop in the incidence of injuries that occur on the slopes of ski resorts: from 9 injuries per 1, 000 skiers in 1950 to 3 in 1980. As a result, the remainder of ski-related injuries, which includes all injuries occurring on the premises of a ski resort but not on the slopes, rose from 10 percent of all ski-related injuries in 1950 to 25 percent in 1980. The incidence of these injuries, including accidents such as falling down steps, increases with the amount of alcohol consumed per skier.

train_17

Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the passage?

Environmentalist: An increased number of oil spills and the consequent damage to the environment indicate the need for stricter safety standards for the oil industry. Since the industry refuses to take action, it is the national government that must regulate industry safety standards. In particular, the government has to at least require oil companies to put double hulls on their tankers and to assume financial responsibility for accidents. Industry representative: The industry alone should be responsible for devising safety standards because of its expertise in handling oil and its understanding of the cost entailed. Implementing the double-hull proposal is not currently feasible because it creates new safety issues. Furthermore, the cost would be burdensome to the industry and consumers.

train_18

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

Fossilized teeth of an extinct species of herbivorous great ape have on them phytoliths, which are microscopic petrified remains of plants. Since only phytoliths from certain species of plants are found on the teeth, the apes' diet must have consisted only of those plants.

train_19

The argument assumes which one of the following?

Life on Earth depends on water. Unfortunately, water is the world' s most threatened natural resource as a result of unrelenting pollution. In the near future, wars will be fought over clean drinking water, as climate change reduces the amount of potable water and pollution taints the drinking water. However, this trend can be broken. Citizens around the globe can aggressively lobby their governments to invest in sustainable energy sources, cleanup polluted waterways, and implement regulations to prevent commercial dumping. Citizens can also have a lasting impact by recycling and taking other steps to reduce their household' s biological footprint. As long as citizens actively respond, then the crisis can be mitigated.

train_20

What is the argument's primary purpose?

Tony: Few anarchists have ever performed violent actions. These few are vastly outnumbered by the violent adherents of other political ideologies. Ttherefore, the special association in the public mind between anarchism and political violence is unwarranted. Keisha: Anarchists have always been few in number, whereas other ideologies have often spawned mass movements. Ttherefore, the proportion of anarchists who are violent is possibly greater than the proportion of adherents of other ideologies who are violent.

train_21

Keisha responds to Tony's argument in which one of the following ways?

Journalist: <b> Every election year at this time the state government releases the financial disclosures that potential candidates must make in order to be eligible to run for office. </b> Among those making the required financial disclosure this year is a prominent local businessman, Arnold Bergeron. There has often been talk in the past of Mr. Bergeron' s running for governor, not least from Mr. Bergeron himself. <b> This year it is likely he finally will </b>, since those who have discounted the possibility of a Bergeron candidacy have always pointed to the necessity of making financial disclosure as the main obstacle to such a candidacy.

train_22

In the journalist's argument, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?

Leona: If the average consumption of eggs in the United States were cut in half, an estimated 5, 000 lives might be saved each year. Thomas: How can that be? That would mean that if people adopt this single change in diet for ten years, the population ten years from now will be greater by 50, 000 people than it otherwise would have been.

train_23

Which one of the following is a statement that Leona could offer Thomas to clarify her own claim and to address the point he has made?

The conventional process for tanning leather uses large amounts of calcium oxide and sodium sulfide. Tanning leather using biological catalysts costs about the same as using these conventional chemicals if the cost of waste disposal is left out of the comparison. However, nearly 20 percent less waste is produced with biological catalysts, and waste disposal is a substantial part of the overall cost of tanning. It is ttherefore less costly to tan leather if biological catalysts are used instead.

train_24

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

A summer day is "pleasant" if there are intermittent periods of wind and the temperature stays below 84 degree F (29 degree C) all afternoon. A summer day with high humidity levels is "oppressive" either if the temperature stays above 84 degree F (29 degree C) all afternoon or if there is no wind.

train_25

Which one of the following summer weather reports most closely conforms to the principles stated above?

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 growth of this herb have discovered that it produces large amounts of histidine, an amino acid that, in test-tube solutions, renders these metals chemically inert. Hence, the herb's high histidine production must be the key feature that allows it to grow in metal-rich soils.

train_26

In evaluating the argument, it would be most important to determine which of the following?

Maria won this year' s local sailboat race by beating Sue, the winner in each of the four previous years. We can conclude from this that Maria trained hard.

train_27

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

Two lakes in the Pawpaw mountains, Quapaw and Highwater, were suffering from serious declines in their fish populations ten years ago. Since that time, there has been a moratorium on fishing at Quapaw Lake, and the fish population there has recovered. At Highwater Lake, no such moratorium has been imposed, and the fish population has continued to decline. Thus, the ban on fishing is probably responsible for the rebound in the fish population at Quapaw Lake.

train_28

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

Buying elaborate screensavers -- programs that put moving images on a computer monitor to prevent damage -- can cost a company far more in employee time than it saves in electricity and monitor protection. Employees cannot resist spending time playing with screensavers that flash interesting graphics across their screens.

train_29

Which one of the following most closely conforms to the principle illustrated above?

The simultaneous and apparently independent development in several ancient cultures of a myth of creatures who were half human and half horse parallels the increased use of horses in these cultures. But despite the nobility and gentleness traditionally ascribed to the horse, the mythical half-horse, half-humans were frequently portrayed as violent and savage. Many human cultures use myth to express unconscious thoughts, so these mythical creatures obviously reflect people' s unconscious fear of the horse.

train_30

The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument

The growing popularity of computer-based activities was widely predicted to result in a corresponding decline in television viewing. Recent studies have found that, in the United States, people who own computers watch, on average, significantly less television than people who do not own computers. In itself, however, this finding does very little to show that computer use tends to reduce television viewing time, since __.

train_31

Which of the following most logically completes the argument?

Adjusted for inflation, the income earned from wool sales by a certain family of Australian sheep farmers grew substantially during the period from 1840 to I860. This is because the price for wool sold on the international market was higher than the price paid on domestic markets and the percentage and amount of its wool that this family sold internationally increased dramatically during that period. But even though the family generated more income from selling their wool, they failed to enjoy a commensurate increase in prosperity.

train_32

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

Even though she thought the informant was untrustworthy, the journalist promised not to reveal his identity so long as the information he provided did not tum out to be false. However, she will publicly reveal the informant' s identity if she is ordered to do so by a judge or her editor. After all, the information concerns safety violations at the power plant. Thus, the journalist will surely reveal the informant' s identity even if the information is accurate.

train_33

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

A group of 1, 000 students was randomly selected from three high schools in a medium-sized city and asked the question, "Do you plan to finish your high school education? "More than 89 percent answered "Yes. " This shows that the overwhelming majority of students want to finish high school, and that if the national dropout rate among high school students is high, it cannot be due to a lack of desire on the part of the students.

train_34

The reasoning of the argument above is questionable because the argument

H. G Wells' s great dramatic novel The Time Machine is classified as science fiction simply because it takes place in the future. But this classification is inappropriate because Wells' s book possesses something that great dramatic novels have and science fiction generally lacks -- compelling characters that enable the reader to become absorbed in their plight and not just in the author' s representation of the future of technology.

train_35

The argument's conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?

The interview is an essential part of a successful hiring program because, with it, job applicants who have personalities that are unsuited to the requirements of the job will be eliminated from consideration.

train_36

The argument above logically depends on which of the following assumptions?

Dario: The government should continue to grant patents for all new drug compounds. Patents promote innovation by rewarding pharmaceutical companies for undertaking the costly research needed to develop new drugs. Cynthia: Promoting innovation is certainly important. For this reason, patents should be granted only for truly innovative drugs, not for minor variants of previously existing drugs. Since it is much less expensive to tweak an existing drug than to develop a wholly new one, pharmaceutical companies tend to focus primarily on the cheaper alternative.

train_37

Dario and Cynthia disagree over whether

Bardis: Extensive research shows that television advertisements affect the buying habits of consumers. Some people conclude from this that violent television imagery sometimes causes violent behavior. But the effectiveness of television advertisements could be a result of those televised images being specifically designed to alter buying habits, whereas television violence is not designed to cause violent behavior. Hence we can safely conclude that violent television imagery does not cause violence.

train_38

The reasoning in Bardis's argument is flawed because that argument

A luxury apartment condo recently opened up along the Biltmore's waterfront. Within the first two months, 80% of the standard units in the first ten of the condo's twelve stories were sold. Nonetheless, only two of the eight penthouses, all of which are located in the top two stories of the building, have sold. In order to sell the remaining six penthouses, the corporation that owns the property, should drop the rate of the penthouses by 20%.

train_39

Which of the following, if true, would argue against the proposal above?

The first publicly available fantasy football league was launched in 1997, and within three years, every major football media website had launched their own sites. From 2000 until 2015, viewership for the National Football League rose by 27 percent, and it is currently the most popular televised sport in the United States. Fantasy football heavily contributed to the increased viewership since fantasy players had a vested interest in nearly every game.

train_40

Upon which one of the following assumptions does the author's argument rely?

A newspaper article on Britain' s unions argued that their strength was declining. The article' s evidence was the decreasing number and size of strikes, as if the reason for the unions' existence was to organize strikes. Surely, in a modern industrial society, the calling of a strike is evidence that the negotiating position of the union was too weak. Strong unions do not need to call strikes. They can concentrate their efforts on working with others in the labor market to achieve common goals, such as profitable and humane working conditions.

train_41

The argument criticizing the newspaper article is directed toward establishing which one of the following as its main conclusion?

On the first day of the course, a philosophy professor told the class that no student has ever earned an A without reading all of the mandatory books. Jorge read all of the mandatory books and suggested course materials for his philosophy course. Ttherefore, Jorge will earn an A in his philosophy course.

train_42

What mistake does the argument commit in its reasoning?

Politician: We should impose a tariff on imported fruit to make it cost consumers more than domestic fruit. Otherwise, growers from other countries who can grow better fruit more cheaply will put domestic fruit growers out of business. This will result in farmland' s being converted to more lucrative industrial uses and the consequent vanishing of a unique way of life.

train_43

The politician's recommendation most closely conforms to which one of the following principles?

Only an expert in some branch of psychology could understand why Patrick is behaving irrationally. But no expert is certain of being able to solve someone else' s problem. Patrick wants to devise a solution to his own behavioral problem.

train_44

Which one of the following conclusions can be validly drawn from the passage?

Sponges attach to the ocean floor, continually filtering seawater for food and ejecting water they have just filtered to avoid reingesting it. Tubular and vase-shaped sponges can eject filtered water without assistance from surrounding ocean currents and thus are adapted to slow-moving, quiet waters. Because of their shape, however, these sponges cannot live in strong currents, since strong currents would dislodge them. Both of these varieties of sponge were widespread during the late Jurassic period.

train_45

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

Government department head: We already have a code of ethics that companies doing business with the department are urged to abide by. The fact that virtually all of the companies have agreed to abide by it indicates that it is successful. Ttherefore, neither stronger ethics regulations nor enforcement mechanisms are necessary to ensure ethical behavior by companies doing business with the department.

train_46

Which of the following, if true, casts most doubt on the department head's conclusion?

After examining the options, the budget committee discovered that QI' s office-phone system would be inexpensive enough to be within the cost limit that had been set for the committee. However, Corelink' s system must also be inexpensive enough to be within the limit, since it is even less expensive than QI' s system.

train_47

The reasoning in the argument above is most closely paralleled by that in which one of the following?

Doctors in Britain have long suspected that patients who wear tinted eyeglasses are abnormally prone to depression and hypochondria. Psychological tests given there to hospital patients admitted for physical complaints like heart pain and digestive distress confirmed such a relationship. Perhaps people whose relationship to the world is psychologically painful choose such glasses to reduce visual stimulation, which is perceived as irritating. At any rate, it can be concluded that when such glasses are worn, it is because the wearer has a tendency to be depressed or hypochondriacal.

train_48

The argument assumes which one of the following?

In 1988 the government of Country X began using a new computer program to determine the number of people employed in that country. The program simply tallied the number of paychecks per pay period issued by employers in X, and used that figure as its estimate of employment. The government reported that, compared with the immediately preceding quarter, there was a large increase in the number of people employed for the first quarter for which the program was used.

train_49

Which one of the following can be properly concluded from the information above, together with the fact that in the first quarter for which the program was used, some employers in X issued separate paychecks for the regular hours an employee worked, for the employee's overtime, and for bonuses and commissions?

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 ttherefore highly likely that the outlaw fishing boats harvested about 9, 000 tons of lobster illegally that year.

train_50

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

In a recent study, one group of participants watched video recordings of themselves running on treadmills, and a second group watched recordings of other people running on treadmills. When contacted later, participants in the first group reported exercising, on average, 1 hour longer each day than did the other participants. This shows that watching a recording of yourself exercising can motivate you to exercise more.

train_51

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

Archaeologist: After the last ice age, groups of paleohumans left Siberia and crossed the Bering land bridge, which no longer exists, into North America. Archaeologists have discovered in Siberia a cache of Clovis points -- the distinctive stone spear points made by paleohumans. This shows that, contrary to previous belief, the Clovis point was not invented in North America.

train_52

Which one of the following, if true, would most strengthen the archaeologist's argument?

A recent study involved feeding a high-salt diet to a rat colony. A few months after the experiment began, standard tests of the rats' blood pressure revealed that about 25 percent of the colony had normal, healthy blood pressure, about 70 percent of the colony had high blood pressure, and 5 percent of the colony had extremely high blood pressure. The conclusion from these results is that high-salt diets are linked to high blood pressure in rats.

train_53

The answer to which one of the following questions is most relevant to evaluating the conclusion drawn above?

Carl: Researchers who perform operations on animals for experimental purposes are legally required to complete detailed pain protocols indicating whether the animals will be at risk of pain and, if so, what steps will be taken to minimize or alleviate it. Yet when human beings undergo operations, such protocols are never required. If lawmakers were as concerned about human beings as they seem to be about animals, there would be pain protocols for human beings too. Debbie: But consider this: a person for whom a doctor wants to schedule surgery can simply be told what pain to expect and can then decide whether or not to undergo the operation. So you see, pain protocols are unnecessary for human beings.

train_54

Debbie attempts to counter Carl' s argument by

Literary historian: William Shakespeare, a humble actor, could have written the love poetry attributed to him. But the dramas attributed to him evince such insight into the minds of powerful rulers that they could only have been written by one who had spent much time among them; Francis Bacon associated with rulers, but Shakespeare did not.

train_55

Which one of the following logically follows from the literary historian's claims?

Engine noise from boats travelling through killer whales' habitats ranges in frequency from 100 hertz to 3, 000 hertz, an acoustical range that overlaps that in which the whales communicate through screams and squeals. Though killer whales do not seem to behave differently around running boat engines, engine noise from boats can be loud enough to damage their hearing over time. Ttherefore, __.

train_56

Which one of the following most logically completes the argument?

Almost all of the books published in the past 150 years were printed on acidic paper. Unfortunately, every kind of acidic paper gradually destroys itself due to its very acidity. This process of deterioration can be slowed if the books are stored in a cool, dry environment. Techniques, which are now being developed, to deacidify books will probably be applied only to books with historical significance.

train_57

If all of the statements in the passage above are true, which one of the following must also be true?

When politicians describe their opponents' positions, they typically make those positions seem implausible and unattractive. In contrast, scholars try to make opposing positions seem as plausible and attractive as possible. Doing so makes their arguments against those positions more persuasive to their professional colleagues. Politicians should take note: they could persuade more voters with their arguments if they simply followed the scholars in charitably formulating their opponents' positions.

train_58

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

Crops can be traded on the futures market before they are harvested. If a poor corn harvest is predicted, prices of corn futures rise; if a bountiful corn harvest is predicted, prices of corn futures fall. This morning meteorologists are predicting much-needed rain for the corn-growing region starting tomorrow. Ttherefore, since adequate moisture is essential for the current crop' s survival, prices of corn futures will fall sharply today.

train_59

Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument above?

Numismatist: In medieval Spain, most gold coins were minted from gold mined in West Africa, in the area that is now Senegal. The gold mined in this region was the purest known. Its gold content of 92 percent allowed coins to be minted without refining the gold, and indeed coins minted from this source of gold can be recognized because they have that gold content. The mints could refine gold and produced other kinds of coins that had much purer gold content, but the Senegalese gold was never refined. As a preliminary to negotiating prices, merchants selling goods often specified that payment should be in the coins minted from Senegalese gold.

train_60

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain this preference?

Advertisement: Attention homeowners! All the pests in your yard will die within minutes of being treated by JTE pesticide. What' s better, JTE pesticide is not harmful to the birds or small animals that make your yard their home. By using JTE, you can eliminate the pests in your yard and keep the rabbits and birds.

train_61

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

It is pointless to debate the truth of the law of noncontradiction, a fundamental logical principle according to which two statements that contradict each other cannot both be true. For a debate to be productive, participants must hold some basic principles in common. But the principles held in common in a debate over the law of noncontradiction would be much less certain than that law, so it matters little whether the law of noncontradiction can be defended on the basis of those principles.

train_62

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

Film historians have made two major criticisms of Depression-era filmmakers: first, that they were too uncritical of the economic status quo; and second, that they self-indulgently created films reflecting their own dreams and desires. However, these filmmakers made their movies with an eye to profit, and so they provided what their audiences most wanted in a film: a chance to imagine being wealthy enough not to have a care in the world. Thus, the second criticism cannot be accurate.

train_63

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

The Interstate Bridge over the Apache River, built in the 1950s, shows a substantial amount of rust: as much as 45% of its surface is coated in rust. Community activists have argued that <b> the bridge presents a hazard: it is likely to collapse in places where it has rusted through. </b> Professors of mechanical engineering at the local university did an extensive analysis of the bridge. These professors and their graduate students determined that 98% of the rust on the bridge exists on the surface only, and actually seals the underlying steel from the corrosive influence of the elements. The results of this academic study suggest that <b> the bridge is safe for continued use. </b>

train_64

In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

Kim: Some people claim that the battery-powered electric car represents a potential solution to the problem of air pollution. But they forget that it takes electricity to recharge batteries and that most of our electricity is generated by burning polluting fossil fuels. Increasing the number of electric cars on the road would require building more generating facilities since current facilities are operating at maximum capacity. So even if all of the gasoline-powered cars on the roads today were replaced by electric cars, it would at best be an exchange of one source of fossil-fuel pollution for another.

train_65

The main point made in Kim's argument is that

The television show Henry was not widely watched until it was scheduled for Tuesday evenings immediately after That' s Life, the most popular show on television. During the year after the move, Henry was consistently one of the ten most-watched shows on television. Since Henry' s recent move to Wednesday evenings, however, it has been watched by far fewer people. We must conclude that Henry was widely watched before the move to Wednesday evenings because it followed That' s Life and not because people especially liked it.

train_66

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

The Bluetail Moonbeam, endemic to the streams and rivers of Asia, is regularly imported into the United States by companies wishing to breed it for food. An infectious virus has been threatening Bluetail Moonbeam stocks in the United States. Even before a Bluetail Moonbeam develops any symptoms, biologists can establish the presence of the infection by an inexpensive test for antibodies in the fish' s blood. Yet, after the instance of infection, antibodies take about four weeks to appear in the fish' s blood, and the test will find no results before then. Catching a live Bluetail Moonbeam and shipping it to the United States takes a little more than a week. Once the Bluetail Moonbeam is in captivity, shippers can eliminate all new sources of infection, but unfortunately, some Bluetail Moonbeams might be infected days or even hours before being caught. Thus, even running the antibody test on each Bluetail Moonbeam entering the country would still allow infected fish into the American stocks.

train_67

Which of the following, if performed by the government, could logically be expected to overcome the problem with the plan to limit the spread of this virus in the Bluetail Moonbeam?

Several companies will soon offer personalized electronic news services, delivered via cable or telephone lines and displayed on a television. People using these services can view continually updated stories on those topics for which they subscribe. Since these services will provide people with the information they are looking for more quickly and efficiently than printed newspapers can, newspaper sales will decline drastically if these services become widely available.

train_68

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

Some environmentalists question the prudence of exploiting features of the environment, arguing that there are no economic benefits to be gained from forests, mountains, or wetlands that no longer exist. Many environmentalists claim that because nature has intrinsic value it would be wrong to destroy such features of the environment, even if the economic costs of doing so were outweighed by the economic costs of not doing so.

train_69

Which one of the following can be logically inferred from the passage?

Unprecedented industrial growth in the country of Remo has created serious environmental problems because factories there lack adequate pollution-control systems. Remo is developing a clean growth plan that includes environmental regulations that will require the installation of such systems. Since no companies in Remo currently produce pollution-control systems, the plan, if implemented, will create significant opportunities for foreign exporters to market pollution-control systems.

train_70

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

Rhizobium bacteria living in the roots of bean plants or other legumes produce fixed nitrogen, which is one of the essential plant nutrients and which for nonlegume crops, such as wheat, normally must be supplied by applications of nitrogen-based fertilizer. So if biotechnology succeeds in producing wheat strains whose roots will play host to Rhizobium bacteria, the need for artificial fertilizers will be reduced.

train_71

The argument above makes which one of the following assumptions?

Wirth: All efforts to identify a gene responsible for predisposing people to manic-depression have failed. In fact, nearly all researchers now agree that there is no "manic-depression gene. " Ttherefore, if these researchers are right, any claim that some people are genetically predisposed to manic-depression is simply false. Chang: I do not dispute your evidence, but I take issue with your conclusion. Many of the researchers you refer to have found evidence that a set of several genes is involved and that complex interactions among these genes produce a predisposition to manic-depression.

train_72

The point at issue between Wirth and Chang is whether

Some visitors to the park engage in practices that seriously harm the animals. Surely, no one who knew that these practices seriously harm the animals would engage in them. So it must be concluded that some of the visitors do not know that these practices seriously harm the animals.

train_73

The pattern of reasoning exhibited by which one of the following arguments is most similar to that exhibited by the argument above?

Beck: Our computer program estimates municipal automotive use based on weekly data. Some staff question the accuracy of the program' s estimates. But because the figures it provides are remarkably consistent from week to week, we can be confident of its accuracy.

train_74

The reasoning in Beck's argument is flawed in that it

Researcher: Every year approximately the same number of people die of iatrogenic "disease" -- that is, as a direct result of medical treatments or hospitalization -- as die of all other causes combined. Ttherefore, if medicine could find ways of preventing all iatrogenic disease, the number of deaths per year would decrease by half.

train_75

The reasoning in the researcher's argument is flawed because the argument fails to consider that

Before the printing press, books could be purchased only in expensive manuscript copies. The printing press produced books that were significantly less expensive than the manuscript editions. The public' s demand for printed books in the first years after the invention of the printing press was many times greater than demand had been for manuscript copies. This increase demonstrates that there was a dramatic jump in the number of people who learned how to read in the years after publishers first started producing books on the printing press.

train_76

Which one of the following statements, if true, casts doubt on the argument?

A recent study monitored the blood pressure of people petting domestic animals in the laboratory. The blood pressure of some of these people lowered while petting the animals. Ttherefore, for any one of the people so affected, owning a pet would result in that person having a lower average blood pressure.

train_77

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

Among the many temptations of the digital age, manipulation of photographs has proved particularly troublesome for science. Recently, a journal of cellular biology began using a software tool to examine the digital images submitted along with articles for publication. It discovered that dozens of authors had submitted digital images that had been manipulated in ways that violated the journal' s guidelines. Clearly, scientific fraud is a widespread problem among the authors submitting to that journal.

train_78

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

Teachers should not do anything to cause their students to lose respect for them. And students can sense when someone is trying to hide his or her ignorance. Ttherefore, a teacher who does not know the answer to a question a student has asked should not pretend to know the answer.

train_79

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

Insurance Company X is considering issuing a new policy to cover services required by elderly people who suffer from diseases that afflict the elderly. Premiums for the policy must be low enough to attract customers. Ttherefore, Company X is concerned that the income from the policies would not be sufficient to pay for the claims that would be made.

train_80

Which of the following strategies would be most likely to minimize Company X's losses on the policies?

Restaurant critic: Most people agree that the food at Marva' s Diner is exceptional, while the food at the more popular Traintrack Inn is fairly ordinary. This discrepancy should come as no surprise, since the Traintrack Inn' s more convenient location is by itself almost enough to guarantee a steady flow of customers .

train_81

Which one of the following is a principle that, if valid, most helps to justify the restaurant critic's reasoning?

Hospitals, universities, labor unions, and other institutions may well have public purposes and be quite successful at achieving them even though each of their individual staff members does what he or she does only for selfish reasons.

train_82

Which one of the following generalizations is most clearly illustrated by the passage?

MetroBank made loans to ten small companies, in amounts ranging from $1, 000 to $100, 000. These ten loans all had graduated payment plans, i. e. , the scheduled monthly loan payment increased slightly each month over the five-year term of the loan. Nonetheless, the average payment received by MetroBank for these ten loans had decreased by the end of the five-year term.

train_83

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

A recent survey showed that 50 percent of people polled believe that elected officials should resign if indicted for a crime, whereas 35 percent believe that elected officials should resign only if they are convicted of a crime. Ttherefore, more people believe that elected officials should resign if indicted than believe that they should resign if convicted.

train_84

The reasoning above is flawed because it

On May first, in order to reduce the number of overdue books, a children's library instituted a policy of forgiving fines and giving bookmarks to children returning all of their overdue books. On July first there were twice as many overdue books as there had been on May first, although a record number of books had been returned during the interim.

train_85

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the apparent inconsistency in the results of the library's policy?

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. Ttherefore, museums could relax their standards and save money without endangering their Renaissance oil paintings.

train_86

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

As advances in medical research and technology have improved the ability of the medical profession to diagnose and treat a wide variety of illnesses and injuries, life spans have increased and overall health has improved. Yet, over the past few decades there has been a steady and significant increase in the rate of serious infections.

train_87

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

In Yasukawa' s month-long study of blackbirds, the percentage of smaller birds that survived the duration of the study exceeded the percentage of larger birds that survived. However, Yasukawa' s conclusion that size is a determinant of a blackbird' s chances of survival over a month-long period is probably mistaken, since smaller blackbirds are generally younger than larger ones.

train_88

The statements above, if true, support which one of the following inferences?

Editorial: Contrary to popular belief, teaching preschoolers is not especially difficult, for they develop strict systems (e. g. , for sorting toys by shape), which help them to learn, and they are always intensely curious about something new in their world.

train_89

Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the editorial's argument?

Miguel has four family members who plan to come to his graduation on Sunday afternoon, but it is likely that only three of them will be allowed to attend. Normally graduation is held in the football stadium, where there is no limit on the number of family members who can attend. However, the ceremony is relocated to the gymnasium if it rains, and each graduate receives just three admission tickets for use by family members.

train_90

The conclusion of the argument is most strongly supported if which one of the following is assumed?

We can learn about the living conditions of a vanished culture by examining its language. Thus, it is likely that the people who spoke Proto-Indo-European, the language from which all IndoEuropean languages descended, lived in a cold climate, isolated from ocean or sea, because ProtoIndo-European lacks a word for "sea, "yet contains words for "winter, ""snow, " and "wolf. "

train_91

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

Guitar strings often go "dead"-become less responsive and bright in tone-after a few weeks of intense use. A researcher whose son is a classical guitarist hypothesized that dirt and oil, rather than changes in the material properties of the string, were responsible.

train_92

Which of the following investigations is most likely to yield significant information that would help evaluate the researcher's hypothesis?

In some countries, national planners have attempted to address the problems resulting from increasing urbanization by reducing migration from rural areas. But some economists have suggested an alternative approach. These economists assert that planners could solve these problems effectively by trading goods or services produced by a predominantly urban population in order to obtain the agricultural products that were previously produced domestically.

train_93

Which one of the following, if true, would provide the most support for the economists' assertion?

Nutrition education in schools once promoted daily consumption of food from each of the "four food groups": milk, meat, fruit and vegetables, and breads and cereals. This recommendation was, however, dangerous to health.

train_94

Each of the following, if true, provides support for the critique above EXCEPT:

Ethicist: Utilitarianism argues that it is good and right to act in the best interests of all entities involved, and says the best action is that which serves the maximum number of those entities. For example, making vaccination of children a requirement is considered utilitarianism because __.

train_95

Which of the following most logically completes the argument?

One should apologize only to a person one has wronged, and only for having wronged that person. To apologize sincerely is to acknowledge that one has acted wrongfully. One cannot apologize sincerely unless one intends not to repeat that wrongful act. To accept an apology sincerely is to acknowledge a wrong, but also to vow not to hold a grudge against the wrongdoer.

train_96

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

Art critic: Nowadays, museum visitors seldom pause to look at a work of art for even a full minute. They look, perhaps take a snapshot, and move on. This tells us something about how our relationship to art has changed over time. People have become less willing to engage with works of art than they once were.

train_97

The art critic's argument depends on the assumption that

If we are to expand the exploration of our solar system, our next manned flight should be to Phobos, one of Mars' s moons, rather than to Mars itself. The flight times to each are the same, but the Phobos expedition would require less than half the fuel load of a Mars expedition and would, ttherefore, be much less costly. So, it is clear that Phobos should be our next step in space exploration.

train_98

Which one of the following, if true, would most help to explain the difference in fuel requirements?

The position that punishment should be proportional to how serious the offense is but that repeat offenders should receive harsher punishments than first-time offenders is unsustainable. It implies that considerations as remote as what an offender did years ago are relevant to the seriousness of an offense. If such remote considerations were relevant, almost every other consideration would be too. But this would make determining the seriousness of an offense so difficult that it would be impossible to apply the proportionality principle.

train_99

The statement that considerations as remote as what an offender did years ago are relevant to the seriousness of an offense plays which one of the following roles in the argument?