context stringlengths 79 829 | id_string stringlengths 16 18 | answers listlengths 5 5 | label int64 0 4 | question stringlengths 23 302 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Archaeologist: A large corporation has recently offered to provide funding to restore an archaeological site and to construct facilities to make the site readily accessible to the general public. The restoration will conform to the best current theories about how the site appeared at the height of the ancient civilization that occupied it. This offer should be rejected, however, because many parts of the site contain unexamined evidence. | 199610_1-LR1_5_5 | [
"The ownership of archaeological sites should not be under the control of business interests.",
"Any restoration of an archaeological site should represent only the most ancient period of that site's history.",
"No one should make judgments about what constitutes the height of another civilization.",
"Only th... | 4 | Which one of the following principles, if valid, justifies the archaeologist's argument? |
Besides laying eggs in her own nest, any female wood duck will lay an egg in the nest of another female wood duck if she sees the other duck leaving her nest. Under natural nesting conditions, this parasitic behavior is relatively rare because the ducks' nests are well hidden. However, when people put up nesting boxes to help the ducks breed, they actually undercut the ducks' reproductive efforts. These nesting boxes become so crowded with extra eggs that few, if any, of the eggs in those boxes hatch. | 199610_1-LR1_6_6 | [
"Female wood ducks will establish nests in nest boxes only when natural nesting sites are not available.",
"Nesting female wood ducks who often see other female wood ducks are the most successful in their breeding efforts.",
"The nesting boxes for wood ducks have less space for eggs than do natural nesting site... | 3 | The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following? |
The crux of creativity resides in the ability to manufacture variation on a theme. If we look at the history of science, for instance, we see that every idea is built upon a thousand related ideas. Careful analysis leads us to understand that what we choose to call a new theme or a new discovery is itself always and without exception some sort of variation, on a deep level, of previous themes. | 199610_1-LR1_7_7 | [
"A lack of ability to manufacture a variation on a previous theme connotes a lack of creativity.",
"No scientific idea is entirely independent of all other ideas.",
"Careful analysis of a specific variation can reveal previous themes of which it is a variation.",
"All great scientific discoverers have been ab... | 4 | If all of the statements in the passage are true, each of the following must also be true EXCEPT: |
Millions of female bats rear their pups in Bracken Cave. Although the mothers all leave the cave nightly, on their return each mother is almost always swiftly reunited with her own pup. Since the bats' calls are their only means of finding one another, and a bat pup cannot distinguish the call of its mother from that of any other adult bat, it is clear that each mother bat can recognize the call of her pup. | 199610_1-LR1_8_8 | [
"derive a general conclusion about all members of a group from facts known about representative members of that group",
"establish the validity of one explanation for a phenomenon by excluding alternative explanations",
"support, by describing a suitable mechanism, the hypothesis that a certain phenomenon can o... | 1 | The argument seeks to do which one of the following? |
Someone who gets sick from eating a meal will often develop a strong distaste for the one food in the meal that had the most distinctive flavor, whether or not that food caused the sickness. This phenomenon explains why children are especially likely to develop strong aversions to some foods. | 199610_1-LR1_9_9 | [
"Children are more likely than adults to be given meals composed of foods lacking especially distinctive flavors.",
"Children are less likely than adults to see a connection between their health and the foods they eat.",
"Children tend to have more acute taste and to become sick more often than adults do.",
"... | 2 | Which one of the following, if true, provides the strongest support for the explanation? |
Premiums for automobile accident insurance are often higher for red cars than for cars of other colors. To justify these higher charges, insurance companies claim that, overall, a greater percentage of red cars are involved in accidents than are cars of any other color. If this claim is true, then lives could undoubtedly be saved by banning red cars from the roads altogether. | 199610_1-LR1_10_10 | [
"accepts without question that insurance companies have the right to charge higher premiums for higher-risk clients",
"fails to consider whether red cars cost the same to repair as cars of other colors",
"ignores the possibility that drivers who drive recklessly have a preference for red cars",
"does not spec... | 2 | The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument |
A certain credit-card company awards its customers bonus points for using its credit card. Customers can use accumulated points in the purchase of brand name merchandise by mail at prices lower than the manufacturers' suggested retail prices. At any given time, therefore, customers who purchase merchandise using the bonus points spend less than they would spend if they purchased the same merchandise in retail stores. | 199610_1-LR1_11_11 | [
"The merchandise that can be ordered by mail using the bonus points is not offered at lower prices by other credit-card companies that award bonus points.",
"The bonus points cannot be used by the credit card customers in the purchase of brand name merchandise that is not available for purchase in retail stones."... | 3 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
It is probably not true that colic in infants is caused by the inability of those infants to tolerate certain antibodies found in cow's milk, since it is often the case that symptoms of colic are shown by infants that are fed breast milk exclusively. | 199610_1-LR1_12_12 | [
"A study involving 500 sets of twins has found that if one infant has colic, its twin will probably also have colic.",
"Symptoms of colic generally disappear as infants grow older, whether the infants have been fed breast milk exclusively or have been fed infant formula containing cow's milk.",
"In a study of 5... | 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument? |
Yolanda: Gaining access to computers without authorization and manipulating the data and programs they contain is comparable to joyriding in stolen cars; both involve breaking into private property and treating it recklessly. Joyriding, however, is the more dangerous crime because it physically endangers people, whereas only intellectual property is harmed in the case of computer crimes. Arjun: I disagree! For example, unauthorized use of medical records systems in hospitals could damage data systems on which human lives depend, and therefore computer crimes also cause physical harm to people. | 199610_1-LR1_13_13 | [
"whether joyriding physically endangers human lives",
"whether the unauthorized manipulation of computer data involves damage to private property",
"whether damage to physical property is more criminal than damage to intellectual property",
"whether the unauthorized use of computers is as dangerous to people ... | 3 | An issue in dispute between Yolanda and Arjun is |
Yolanda: Gaining access to computers without authorization and manipulating the data and programs they contain is comparable to joyriding in stolen cars; both involve breaking into private property and treating it recklessly. Joyriding, however, is the more dangerous crime because it physically endangers people, whereas only intellectual property is harmed in the case of computer crimes. Arjun: I disagree! For example, unauthorized use of medical records systems in hospitals could damage data systems on which human lives depend, and therefore computer crimes also cause physical harm to people. | 199610_1-LR1_13_14 | [
"fails to maintain a distinction made in Yolanda's argument",
"denies Yolanda's conclusion without providing evidence against it",
"relies on the actuality of a phenomenon that he has only shown to be possible",
"mistakes something that leads to his conclusion for something that is necessary for his conclusio... | 2 | The reasoning in Arjun's response is flawed because he |
A report of a government survey concluded that Center City was among the ten cities in the nation with the highest dropout rate from its schools. The survey data were obtained by asking all city residents over the age of 19 whether they were high school graduates and computing the proportion who were not. A city school of official objected that the result did not seem accurate according to the schools' figures. | 199610_1-LR1_14_15 | [
"take into account instances of respondents' dropping out that occurred before the respondents reached high school",
"ask residents whether they had completed their high school work in fewer than the usual number of years",
"distinguish between residents who had attended the city's schools and those who had rec... | 2 | The school official can most properly criticize the reasoning by which the survey report reached its result for failure to do which one of me following? |
Brown dwarfs—dim red stars that are too cool to burn hydrogen—are very similar in appearance to red dwarf stars, which are just hot enough to burn hydrogen. Stars, when first formed, contain substantial amounts of the element lithium. All stars but the coolest of the brown dwarfs are hot enough to destroy lithium completely by converting it to helium. Accordingly, any star found that contains no lithium is not one of these coolest brown dwarfs. | 199610_1-LR1_15_16 | [
"None of the coolest brown dwarfs has ever been hot enough to destroy lithium.",
"Most stars that are too cool to burn hydrogen are too cool to destroy lithium completely.",
"Brown dwarfs that are not hot enough to destroy lithium are hot enough to destroy helium.",
"Most stars, when first formed, contain rou... | 0 | The argument depends on assuming which one of the following? |
Whenever a company loses a major product-liability lawsuit, the value of the company's stocks falls significantly within hours after the announcement. Cotoy has long been involved in a major product-liability lawsuit, and its stocks fell significantly in value today. Therefore, we can be sure that an unfavorable judgment against Cotoy in that lawsuit was announced earlier today. | 199610_1-LR1_16_17 | [
"Whenever a business treats its customers discourteously, its customers begin to shop elsewhere. Shopwell wants to keep all of its customers; therefore, its employees will never treat customers discourteously.",
"Whenever the large airlines decrease fares, the financial stability of smaller competing airlines is ... | 3 | Which one of me following contains flawed reasoning that most closely parallels that in the argument above? |
In recent years the climate has been generally cool in northern Asia. But during periods when the average daily temperature and humidity in northern Asia were slightly higher than their normal levels the yields of most crops grown there increased significantly. In the next century, the increased average daily temperature and humidity attained during those periods are expected to become the norm. Yet scientists predict that the yearly yields of most of the region's crops will decrease during the next century. | 199610_1-LR1_17_18 | [
"Crop yields in southern Asia are expected to remain constant even after the average daily temperature and humidity there increase from recent levels.",
"Any increases in temperature and humidity would be accompanied by higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, which is vital to plant respiration.",
"The cli... | 2 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox in the information above? |
No one in the French department to which Professor Alban belongs is allowed to teach more than one introductory level class in any one term. Moreover, the only language classes being taught next term are advanced ones. So it is untrue that both of the French classes Professor Alban will be teaching next term will be introductory level classes. | 199610_1-LR1_18_19 | [
"The Morrison Building will be fully occupied by May and since if a building is occupied by May the new tax rates apply to it, the Morrison Building will be taxed according to the new rates.",
"The revised tax code does not apply at all to buildings built before 1900, and only the first section of the revised cod... | 3 | The pattern of reasoning displayed in the argument above is most closely paralleled by that in which one of the following arguments? |
Some people have been promoting a new herbal mixture as a remedy for the common cold. The mixture contains, among other things, extracts of the plants purple coneflower and goldenseal. A cold sufferer, skeptical of the claim that the mixture is an effective cold remedy, argued, "Suppose that the mixture were an effective cold remedy. Since most people with colds wish to recover quickly, it follows that almost everybody with a cold would be using it. Therefore, since there are many people who have colds but do not use the mixture, it is obviously not effective." | 199610_1-LR1_19_20 | [
"Enough of the mixture is produced to provide the required doses to almost everybody with a cold.",
"The mixture does not have side effects severe enough to make many people who have colds avoid using it.",
"The mixture is powerful enough to prevent almost everybody who uses it from contracting any further cold... | 2 | Each of the following is an assumption required by the skeptical cold sufferer's argument EXCEPT: |
Some people have been promoting a new herbal mixture as a remedy for the common cold. The mixture contains, among other things, extracts of the plants purple coneflower and goldenseal. A cold sufferer, skeptical of the claim that the mixture is an effective cold remedy, argued, "Suppose that the mixture were an effective cold remedy. Since most people with colds wish to recover quickly, it follows that almost everybody with a cold would be using it. Therefore, since there are many people who have colds but do not use the mixture, it is obviously not effective." | 199610_1-LR1_19_21 | [
"finding a claim to be false on the grounds that it would if true have consequences that are false",
"accepting a claim on the basis of public opinion of the claim",
"showing that conditions necessary to establish the truth of a claim are met",
"basing a generalization on a representative group of instances",... | 0 | Which one of the following most accurately describes the method of reasoning the cold sufferer uses to reach the conclusion of the argument? |
To hold criminals responsible for their crimes involves a failure to recognize that criminal actions, like all actions, are ultimately products of the environment that forged the agent's character. It is not criminals but people in the law-abiding majority who by their actions do most to create and maintain this environment. Therefore, it is law-abiding people whose actions, and nothing else, make them alone truly responsible for crime. | 199610_1-LR1_20_22 | [
"it exploits an ambiguity in the term \"environment\" by treating two different meanings of the word as though they were equivalent",
"it fails to distinguish between actions that are socially acceptable and actions that are socially unacceptable",
"the way it distinguishes criminal from crimes implicitly denie... | 4 | The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that |
Chronic back pain is usually caused by a herniated or degenerated spinal disk. In most cases the disk will have been damaged years before chronic pain develops, and in fact an estimated one in five people over the age of 30 has a herniated or degenerated disk that shows no chronic symptoms. If chronic pain later develops in such a case, it is generally brought about by a deterioration of the abdominal and spinal muscles caused by insufficient exercise. | 199610_1-LR1_21_23 | [
"Four out of five people over the age of 30 can be sure they will never develop chronic back pain.",
"People who exercise their abdominal and spinal muscles regularly are sure to be free from chronic back pain.",
"Patients rarely suffer even mild and fleeting back pain at the time that a spinal disk first becom... | 4 | The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following? |
Each December 31 in Country Q, a tally is made of the country's total available coal supplies—that is, the total amount of coal that has been mined throughout the country but not consumed. In 1991 that amount was considerably lower than it had been in 1990. Furthermore, Country Q has not imported or exported coal since 1970. | 199610_1-LR1_22_24 | [
"In Country Q, more coal was mined in 1990 than was mined in 1991.",
"In Country Q, the amount of coal consumed in 1991 was greater than the amount of coal mined in 1991.",
"In Country Q, the amount of coal consumed in 1990 was greater than the amount of coal consumed in 1991.",
"In Country Q, the amount of c... | 1 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true on the basis of them? |
Tom: Employers complain that people graduating from high school too often lack the vocational skills required for full-time employment. Therefore, since these skills are best acquired on the job, we should require high school students to work at part-time jobs so that they acquire the skills needed for today's job market. Mary: There are already too few part-time jobs for students who want to work, and simply requiring students to work will not create jobs for them. | 199610_1-LR1_23_25 | [
"It analyzes an undesirable result of undertaking the course of action that Tom recommends.",
"It argues that Tom has mistaken an unavoidable trend for an avoidable one.",
"It provides information that is inconsistent with an explicitly stated premise in Tom's argument.",
"It presents a consideration that und... | 3 | Which one of the following most accurately describes how Mary's response is related to Tom's argument? |
Critic: People today place an especially high value on respect for others; yet, in their comedy acts, many of today's most popular comedians display blatant disrespect for others. But when people fail to live up to the very ideals they hold in highest esteem, exaggeration of such failings often forms the basis of successful comedy. Thus the current popularity of comedians who display disrespect in their acts is hardly surprising. | 199610_4-LR2_1_1 | [
"People who enjoy comedians who display disrespect in their acts do not place a high value on respect for others.",
"Only comedians who display blatant disrespect in their acts are currently successful.",
"Many people disapprove of the portrayal of blatant disrespect for others in comedy acts.",
"People who v... | 3 | The critic's argument depends on which one of the following assumptions? |
The law firm of Sutherlin, Pérez, and Associates is one of the most successful law firms whose primary specialization is in criminal defense cases. In fact, the firm has a better than 90 percent acquittal rate in such cases. Dalton is an attorney whose primary specialization is in divorce cases, so Dalton certainly cannot be a member of Sutherlin, Pérez, and Associates. | 199610_4-LR2_2_2 | [
"offers in support of its conclusion pieces of evidence that are mutually contradictory",
"overlooks the possibility that a person can practice law without being a member of a law firm",
"concludes that someone is not a member of a group on the grounds that that person does not have a characteristic that the gr... | 2 | The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument |
Opponents of allowing triple-trailer trucks to use the national highway system are wrong in claiming that these trucks are more dangerous than other commercial vehicles. In the western part of the country, in areas where triple-trailers are now permitted on some highways, for these vehicles the rate of road accident fatalities per mile of travel is lower than the national rate for other types of commercial vehicles. Clearly, triple-trailers are safer than other commercial vehicles. | 199610_4-LR2_3_3 | [
"It takes two smaller semitrailers to haul as much weight as a single triple-trailer can.",
"Highways in the sparsely populated West are much less heavily traveled and consequently are far safer than highways in the national system as a whole.",
"Opponents of the triple-trailers also once opposed the shorter tw... | 1 | Which one of the following, if true, most substantially weakens the argument? |
Whittaker: There can be no such thing as the number of medical school students who drop out before their second year, because if they drop out, they never have a second year. Hudson: By your reasoning I cannot help but become rich, because there is similarly no such thing as my dying before my first million dollars is in the bank. | 199610_4-LR2_4_4 | [
"showing that a relevantly analogous argument leads to an untenable conclusion",
"citing a specific example to counter Whittaker's general claim",
"pointing out that Whittaker mistakes a necessary situation for a possible situation",
"claiming that what Whittaker says cannot be true because Whittaker acts as ... | 0 | Hudson responds to Whittaker by |
A newly developed light bulb is much more cost-effective than conventional light bulbs: it costs only about 3 times what a conventional light bulb costs but it lasts up to 10 times as long as a conventional light bulb. Despite the manufacturer's intense efforts to publicize the advantages of the new bulb, one analyst predicts that these new bulbs will prove to sell very poorly. | 199610_4-LR2_5_5 | [
"The light generated by the new bulb is in the yellow range of the spectrum, a type of artificial light most people find unappealing.",
"Most people who purchase light bulbs prefer to buy inexpensive light bulbs rather than more durable but expensive light bulbs.",
"A manufacturer of one brand of conventional l... | 3 | Each of the following, if true, provides support for the analyst's prediction EXCEPT: |
The Rienzi, a passenger ship, sank as a result of a hole in its hull, possibly caused by sabotage. Normally, when a holed ship sinks as rapidly as the Rienzi did, water does not enter the ship quickly enough for the ship to be fully flooded when it reaches the ocean floor. Full flooding can be achieved, however, by sabotage. Any ship that sinks deep into the ocean when not fully flooded will implode. Deep-sea photographs, taken of the sunken Rienzi where it rests on the ocean floor, reveal that the Rienzi did not implode. | 199610_4-LR2_6_6 | [
"The Rienzi was so constructed as to reduce the risk of sinking by impact.",
"If the Rienzi became fully flooded, it did so only after it reached the ocean floor.",
"If the Rienzi was not sunk by sabotage, water flooded into it unusually fast.",
"If the Rienzi had sunk more slowly, it would have imploded.",
... | 2 | Which one of the following must be true on the basis of the information above? |
For every 50 dogs that contract a certain disease, one will die from it. A vaccine exists that is virtually 100 percent effective in preventing this disease. Since the risk of death from complications of vaccination is one death per 5,000 vaccinations, it is therefore safer for a dog to receive the vaccine than not to receive it. | 199610_4-LR2_7_7 | [
"the total number of dogs that die each year from all causes taken together",
"whether the vaccine is effective against the disease in household pets other than dogs",
"the number of dogs that die each year from diseases other than the disease in question",
"the likelihood that a dog will contract another dis... | 4 | Which one of the following would it be most helpful to know in order to evaluate the argument? |
The symptoms of mental disorders are behavioral, cognitive, or emotional problems. Some patients with mental disorders can be effectively treated with psychotherapy. But it is now known that in some patients mental disorders result from chemical imbalances affecting the brain. Thus these patients can be effectively treated only with medication that will reduce or correct the imbalance. | 199610_4-LR2_8_8 | [
"Treatment by psychotherapy can produce no effective reduction in or correction of chemical imbalances that cause mental disorders.",
"Treatment with medication always shows faster results for patients with mental disorders than does treatment with psychotherapy.",
"Most mental disorders are not the result of c... | 0 | The argument depends on assuming which one of the following? |
Curator: The decision to restore the cloak of the central figure in Veronese's painting from its present red to the green found underneath is fully justified. Reliable x-ray and chemical tests show that the red pigment was applied after the painting had been completed, and that the red paint was not mixed in Veronese's workshop. Hence it appears likely that an artist other than Veronese tampered with Veronese's painting after its completion. Art critic: But in a copy of Veronese's painting made shortly after Veronese died, the cloak is red. It is highly unlikely that a copyist would have made so major a change so soon after Veronese's death. | 199610_4-LR2_9_9 | [
"It is the main point toward which the argument as a whole is directed.",
"It is a subsidiary conclusion that supports the argument's main conclusion.",
"It is a clarification of a key term of the argument.",
"It is a particular instance of the general position to be defended.",
"It is a reiteration of the ... | 1 | The assertion that a later artist tampered with Veronese's painting serves which one of the following functions in the curator's argument? |
Curator: The decision to restore the cloak of the central figure in Veronese's painting from its present red to the green found underneath is fully justified. Reliable x-ray and chemical tests show that the red pigment was applied after the painting had been completed, and that the red paint was not mixed in Veronese's workshop. Hence it appears likely that an artist other than Veronese tampered with Veronese's painting after its completion. Art critic: But in a copy of Veronese's painting made shortly after Veronese died, the cloak is red. It is highly unlikely that a copyist would have made so major a change so soon after Veronese's death. | 199610_4-LR2_9_10 | [
"The copy of Veronese's painting that was made soon after the painter's death is indistinguishable from the original.",
"No painting should be restored before the painting is tested with technologically sophisticated equipment.",
"The proposed restoration will fail to restore Veronese's painting to the appearan... | 2 | The art critic's response to the curator would provide the strongest support for which one of the following conclusions? |
John works five days each week except when on vacation or during weeks in which national holidays occur. Four days a week he works in an insurance company; on Fridays he works as a blacksmith. Last week there were no holidays, and John was not on vacation. Therefore, he must have worked in the insurance company on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday last week. | 199610_4-LR2_10_11 | [
"John never takes a vacation of more than one week in length.",
"Every day last week that John worked, he worked for an entire workday.",
"John does not take vacations in weeks in which national holidays occur.",
"Last week John worked neither on Saturday nor on Sunday.",
"There were no days last week on wh... | 3 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
After several attempts to distract his young parrot from chewing on furniture, George reluctantly took an expert's advice and gently hit the parrot's beak whenever the bird started to chew furniture. The bird stopped chewing furniture, but it is now afraid of hands and will sometimes bite. Since chewing on the furniture would not have hurt the bird, George should not have hit it. When Carla's puppy escaped from her yard, it bounded into a busy street. Although Carla does not generally approve of physical discipline, she hit the puppy sharply with her hand. Now the puppy enters the street only when accompanied by Carla, so Carla was justified in disciplining the puppy. | 199610_4-LR2_11_12 | [
"When disciplining an animal physically, a trainer should use an object such as a rolled up newspaper to avoid making the animal frightened of hands.",
"When training an animal, physical discipline should be used only when such discipline is necessary to correct behavior that could result in serious harm to the a... | 1 | Which one of the following principles, if established, would justify the judgments about George's and Carla's actions? |
Mature white pines intercept almost all the sunlight that shines on them. They leave a deep litter that dries readily, and they grow to prodigious height so that, even when there are large gaps in a stand of such trees, little light reaches the forest floor. For this reason white pines cannot regenerate in their own shade. Thus, when in a dense forest a stand of trees consists of nothing but mature white pines, it is a fair bet that ____. | 199610_4-LR2_12_13 | [
"the ages of the trees in the stand do not differ from each other by much more than the length of time it takes a white pine to grow to maturity",
"the land on which the stand is now growing had been cleared of all trees at the time when the first of the white pines started growing",
"competition among the tree... | 0 | Which one of the following most logically concludes the argument? |
Advertisement: A leading economist has determined that among people who used computers at their place of employment last year, those who also owned portable ( "laptop" ) computers earned 25 percent more on average than those who did not. It is obvious from this that owning a laptop computer led to a higher-paying job. | 199610_4-LR2_13_14 | [
"It attempts to support a sweeping generalization on the basis of information about only a small number of individuals.",
"Its conclusion merely restates a claim made earlier in the argument.",
"It concludes that one thing was caused by another although the evidence given is consistent with the first thing's ha... | 2 | Which one of the following identifies a reasoning error in the argument? |
Rhonda will see the movie tomorrow afternoon only if Paul goes to the concert in the afternoon. Paul will not go to the concert unless Ted agrees to go to the concert. However, Ted refuses to go to the concert. So Rhonda will not see the movie tomorrow afternoon. | 199610_4-LR2_14_15 | [
"If Janice comes to visit, Mary will not pay the bills tomorrow. Janice will not come to visit unless she locates a babysitter. However, Janice has located a babysitter, so she will visit Mary.",
"Gary will do his laundry tomorrow only if Peter has to go to work. Unless Cathy is ill, Peter will not have to go to ... | 1 | The pattern of reasoning displayed above is most closely paralleled in which one of the following? |
Private industry is trying to attract skilled research scientists by offering them high salaries. As a result, most research scientists employed in private industry now earn 50 percent more than do comparably skilled research scientists employed by the government. So, unless government-employed research scientists are motivated more by a sense of public duty than by their own interests, the government is likely to lose its most skilled research scientists to private industry, since none of these scientists would have problems finding private-sector jobs. | 199610_4-LR2_15_16 | [
"Government research scientists are less likely to receive acknowledgment for their research contributions than are research scientists in the private sector.",
"None of the research scientists currently employed by the government earns more than the highest-paid researchers employed in the private sector.",
"T... | 3 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
Using fossil energy more efficiently is in the interest of the nation and the global environment, but major improvements are unlikely unless proposed government standards are implemented to eliminate products or practices that are among the least efficient in their class. Objection: Decisions on energy use are best left to the operation of the market. | 199610_4-LR2_16_17 | [
"It would be unrealistic to expect society to make the changes necessary to achieve maximum energy efficiency all at once.",
"There are products, such as automobiles, that consume energy at a sufficient rate that persons who purchase and use them will become conscious of any unusual energy inefficiency in compari... | 4 | Which one of the following, if true, most directly undermines the objection above? |
Dobson: Some historians claim that the people who built a ring of stones thousands of years ago in Britain were knowledgeable about celestial events. The ground for this claim is that two of the stones determine a line pointing directly to the position of the sun at sunrise at the spring equinox. There are many stones in the ring, however, so the chance that one pair will point in a celestially significant direction is large. Therefore, the people who built the ring were not knowledgeable about celestial events . | 199610_4-LR2_17_18 | [
"The failure of cited evidence to establish a statement is taken as evidence that statement is false.",
"Dobson's conclusion logically contradicts some of the evidence presented in support of it.",
"Statements that absolutely establish Dobson's conclusion are treated as if they merely give some support to that ... | 0 | Which one of the following is an error of reasoning in Dobson's argument? |
Nearly all mail that is correctly addressed arrives at its destination within two business days of being sent. In fact, correctly addressed mail takes longer than this only when it is damaged in transit. Overall, however, most mail arrives three business days or more after being sent. | 199610_4-LR2_18_19 | [
"A large proportion of the mail that is correctly addressed is damaged in transit.",
"No incorrectly addressed mail arrives within two business days of being sent.",
"Most mail that arrives within two business days of being sent is correctly addressed.",
"A large proportion of mail is incorrectly addressed.",... | 3 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following must be true? |
The report released by the interior ministry states that within the past 5 years the national land-reclamation program has resulted in a 19 percent increase in the amount of arable land within the country. If these figures are accurate, the program has been a resounding success. Senator Armand, a distinguished mathematician and a woman of indisputable brilliance, maintains, however, that the reclamation program could not possibly have been successful. Clearly, therefore, the figures cited in the report cannot be accurate. | 199610_4-LR2_19_20 | [
"Albert's father claims that Albert does not know where the spare car keys are hidden. Yesterday, however, Albert reported that he had discovered the spare car keys in the garage toolbox, so his father's claim cannot be true.",
"Gloria's drama teacher claims that her policy is to give each student the opportunity... | 4 | The argument above exhibits an erroneous pattern of reasoning most similar to that exhibited by which one of the following? |
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." Therefore, 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. | 199610_4-LR2_20_21 | [
"efforts to identify a gene or set of several genes responsible for predisposing people to manic-depression have all failed",
"it is likely that researchers will ever be able to find a single gene that predisposes people to manic-depression",
"nearly all researchers now agree that there is no manic-depression g... | 3 | The point at issue between Wirth and Chang is whether |
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." Therefore, 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. | 199610_4-LR2_20_22 | [
"It presupposes only one possibility where more than one exists.",
"It depends on separate pieces of evidence that contradict each other.",
"It relies on the opinion of experts in an area outside the experts' field of expertise.",
"It disallows in principle any evidence that would disconfirm its conclusion.",... | 0 | Which one of the following most accurately expresses Chang's criticism of Wirth's argument? |
Garbage dumps do not harm wildlife. Evidence is furnished by the Masai-Mara reserve in Kenya, where baboons that use the garbage dumps on the reserve as a food source mature faster and have more offspring than do baboons on the reserve that do not scavenge on garbage. | 199610_4-LR2_21_23 | [
"The baboons that feed on the garbage dump are of a different species from those that do not.",
"The life expectancy of baboons that eat garbage is significantly lower than that of baboons that do not eat garbage.",
"The cholesterol level of garbage-eating baboons is dangerously higher than that of baboons that... | 3 | Each of the following statements, if true, casts doubt on the argument EXCEPT: |
Marianne is a professional chess player who hums audibly while playing her matches, thereby distracting her opponents. When ordered by chess officials to cease humming or else be disqualified from professional chess, Marianne protested the order. She argued that since she was unaware of her humming, her humming was involuntary and that therefore she should not be held responsible for it. | 199610_4-LR2_22_24 | [
"Chess players who hum audibly while playing their matches should not protest if their opponents also hum.",
"Of a player's actions, only those that are voluntary should be used as justification for disqualifying that player from professional chess.",
"A person should be held responsible for those involuntary a... | 1 | Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to support Marianne's argument against the order? |
Marianne is a professional chess player who hums audibly while playing her matches, thereby distracting her opponents. When ordered by chess officials to cease humming or else be disqualified from professional chess, Marianne protested the order. She argued that since she was unaware of her humming, her humming was involuntary and that therefore she should not be held responsible for it. | 199610_4-LR2_22_25 | [
"The officials of chess have little or no authority to control the behavior of its professional players outside of matches.",
"Many of the customs of amateur chess matches are not observed by professional chess players.",
"Not all of a person's involuntary actions are actions of which that person is unaware.",
... | 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most undermines Marianne's argument against the order? |
Smoking in bed has long been the main cause of home fires. Despite a significant decline in cigarette smoking in the last two decades, however, there has been no comparable decline in the number of people killed in home fires. | 199610_4-LR2_23_26 | [
"Compared to other types of home fires, home fires caused by smoking in bed usually cause relatively little damage before they are extinguished.",
"Home fires caused by smoking in bed often break out after the home's occupants have fallen asleep.",
"Smokers who smoke in bed tend to be heavy smokers who are less... | 1 | Each one of the following statements, if true over the last two decades, helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy above EXCEPT: |
When politicians resort to personal attacks, many editorialists criticize these attacks but most voters pay them scant attention. Everyone knows such attacks will end after election day, and politicians can be excused for mudslinging. Political commentators, however, cannot be. Political commentators should be engaged in sustained and serious debate about ideas and policies. In such a context, personal attacks on opponents serve not to beat those opponents but to cut off the debate. | 199612_2-LR1_1_1 | [
"Personal attacks on opponents serve a useful purpose for politicians.",
"Political commentators should not resort to personal attacks on their opponents.",
"Editorialists are right to criticize politicians who resort to personal attacks on their opponents.",
"The purpose of serious debate about ideas and pol... | 1 | Which one of the following most accurately states the main point of the argument? |
Throughout the Popoya Islands community pressure is exerted on people who win the national lottery to share their good fortune with their neighbors. When people living in rural areas win the lottery they invariably throw elaborate neighborhood feasts, often wiping out all of their lottery winnings. However, in the cities, lottery winners frequently use their winnings for their own personal investment rather than sharing their good fortune with their neighbors. | 199612_2-LR1_2_2 | [
"Twice as many Popoyans live in rural areas as live in the city.",
"Popoyan city dwellers tend to buy several lottery tickets at a time, but they buy tickets less frequently than do rural dwellers.",
"Lottery winners in rural areas are notified of winning by public posting of lists of winners, but notification ... | 2 | Which one of the following, if true, contributes most to an explanation of the difference between the behavior of lottery winners in rural areas and those in cities? |
A new medication for migraine seems effective, but there is concern that the medication might exacerbate heart disease. If patients with heart disease take the medication under careful medical supervision, however, harmful side effects can definitely be averted. The concern about those side effects is thus unfounded. | 199612_2-LR1_3_3 | [
"The new medication actually is effective when taken by patients with heart disease.",
"No migraine sufferers with heart disease will take the new medication except under careful medical supervision.",
"Most migraine sufferers who have taken the new medication in trials also had heart disease.",
"The new medi... | 1 | The argument depends on which one of the following assumptions? |
The highest-ranking detectives in the city's police department are also the most adept at solving crimes. Yet in each of the past ten years, the average success rate for the city's highest-ranking detectives in solving criminal cases has been no higher than the average success rate for its lowest-ranking detectives. | 199612_2-LR1_4_4 | [
"The detectives who have the highest success rate in solving criminal cases are those who have worked as detectives the longest.",
"It generally takes at least ten years for a detective to rise from the lowest to the highest ranks of the city's detective force.",
"Those detectives in the police department who a... | 3 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox? |
Irrigation runoff from neighboring farms may well have increased the concentration of phosphorus in the local swamp above previous levels, but the claim that the increase in phosphorus is harming the swamp's native aquatic wildlife is false; the phosphorus concentration in the swamp is actually less than that found in certain kinds of bottled water that some people drink every day. | 199612_2-LR1_5_5 | [
"makes exaggerations in formulating the claim against which it argues",
"bases its conclusion on two contradictory claims",
"relies on evidence the relevance of which has not been established",
"concedes the very point that it argues against",
"makes a generalization that is unwarranted because the sources ... | 2 | The argument is vulnerable to criticism on the ground that it |
Copyright laws protect the rights of writers to profits earned from their writings, whereas patent laws protect inventors' rights to profits earned from their inventions. In Jawade, when computer-software writers demanded that their rights to profit be protected, the courts determined that information written for a machine does not fit into either the copyright or the patent category. Clearly, therefore, the profit rights of computer-software writers remain unprotected in Jawade. | 199612_2-LR1_6_6 | [
"Computer-software writers are not an influential enough group in Jawade for the government to consider modifying existing copyright laws in order to protect this group's profit rights.",
"No laws exist, other than copyright laws and patent laws, that would protect the profit rights of computer-software writers i... | 1 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? |
Brownlea's post office must be replaced with a larger one. The present one cannot be expanded. Land near the present location in the center of town is more expensive than land on the outskirts of town. Since the cost of acquiring a site is a significant part of the total construction cost, the post office clearly could be built more cheaply on the outskirts of town. | 199612_2-LR1_7_7 | [
"The new post office will have to be built in accordance with a demanding new citywide building code.",
"If the new post office is built on the outskirts of town, it will require a parking lot, but if sited near the present post office it will not.",
"If the new post office is built on the outskirts of town, cu... | 1 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the argument's stated conclusion? |
In the past, the railroads in Ostronia were run as regional monopolies and operated with little regard for what customers wanted. In recent years, with improvements to the Ostronian national highway network, the railroad companies have faced heavy competition from long-distance trucking companies. But because of government subsidies that have permitted Ostronian railroad companies to operate even while incurring substantial losses, the companies continue to disregard customers' needs and desires. | 199612_2-LR1_8_8 | [
"If the government of Ostronia ceases to subsidize railroad companies, few of those companies will continue to operate.",
"Few companies in Ostronia that have received subsidies from the government have taken the needs and desires of their customers into account.",
"Without government subsidies, railroad compan... | 4 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true on the basis of them? |
Although Damon had ample time earlier in the month to complete the paper he is scheduled to present at a professional conference tomorrow morning, he repeatedly put off doing it. Damon could still get the paper ready in time, but only if he works on it all evening without interruption. However, his seven-year-old daughter's tap-dance recital takes place this evening, and Damon had promised both to attend and to take his daughter and her friends out for ice cream afterward. Thus, because of his procrastination, Damon will be forced to choose between his professional and his family responsibilities. | 199612_2-LR1_9_9 | [
"providing evidence that one event will occur in order to establish that an alternative event cannot occur",
"showing that two situations are similar in order to justify the claim that someone with certain responsibilities in the first situation has similar responsibilities in the second situation",
"invoking s... | 4 | The argument proceeds by |
The increase in the price of jet fuel is due to a sharp decrease over the past year in the supply of jet fuel available relative to demand. Nonetheless, the amount of jet fuel available for sale is larger today than it was last year. | 199612_2-LR1_10_10 | [
"The demand for jet fuel has increased over the past year.",
"The fuel efficiency of jet engines has increased over the past year.",
"The number of jet airline flights has decreased over the past year.",
"The cost of refining petroleum for jet fuel has increased over the past year.",
"The supply of petroleu... | 0 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following conclusions can be properly drawn on the basis of them? |
Alan:Government subsidies have been proposed in Cariana to encourage farmers in Rochelle, the country's principal agricultural region, to implement certain new farming techniques. Unless these techniques are implemented, erosion of productive topsoil cannot be controlled. Unfortunately, farmers cannot afford to shoulder the entire cost of the new techniques, which are more expensive than those currently used. Therefore, without subsidies, agricultural output in Rochelle will inevitably decline. Betty:But erosion in Rochelle is caused by recurring floods, which will end next year once Cariana completes the hydroelectric dam it is building across the region's major river. Therefore, Rochelle's total agricultural output will stabilize at its present level even without subsidies. | 199612_2-LR1_11_11 | [
"Building a dam across Rochelle's major river will not reduce any recurrent flooding that occurs in regions of Cariana other than Rochelle.",
"The new farming techniques that must be implemented to control soil erosion in Rochelle are not well suited to other regions of Cariana.",
"The current yearly output, if... | 2 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which Betty's argument depends? |
Alan:Government subsidies have been proposed in Cariana to encourage farmers in Rochelle, the country's principal agricultural region, to implement certain new farming techniques. Unless these techniques are implemented, erosion of productive topsoil cannot be controlled. Unfortunately, farmers cannot afford to shoulder the entire cost of the new techniques, which are more expensive than those currently used. Therefore, without subsidies, agricultural output in Rochelle will inevitably decline. Betty:But erosion in Rochelle is caused by recurring floods, which will end next year once Cariana completes the hydroelectric dam it is building across the region's major river. Therefore, Rochelle's total agricultural output will stabilize at its present level even without subsidies. | 199612_2-LR1_11_12 | [
"showing that one premise in Alan's argument is inconsistent with another premise in his argument",
"making additional claims that, if correct, undermine a premise in Alan's argument",
"demonstrating that Alan's conclusion is true but not for the reasons Alan gives to support it",
"presenting evidence indicat... | 1 | Betty uses which one of the following argumentative techniques in countering Alan's argument? |
Astronomers have long thought that the irregularity in the orbit of the planet Neptune was adequately explained by the gravitational pull exerted on Neptune by the planet Pluto. The most recent observations of Pluto, however, indicate that this planet is much too small to exert the amount of gravitational pull on Neptune that astronomers once thought it did. | 199612_2-LR1_12_13 | [
"Neptune is somewhat larger than scientists once believed it to be.",
"The orbit on Neptune is considerably more irregular than scientists once thought it was.",
"There exists another, as yet undiscovered planet with an orbit beyond that of Pluto.",
"The gravitational pull of Pluto is not the sole cause of Ne... | 3 | If the statements above are true, they provide the most support for which one of the following? |
In most corporations the salaries of executives are set by a group from the corporation's board of directors. Since the board's primary mission is to safeguard the economic health of the corporation rather than to make its executives rich, this way of setting executives' salaries is expected to prevent excessively large salaries. But, clearly, this expectation is based on poor reasoning. After all, most members of a corporation's board are themselves executives of some corporation and can expect to benefit from setting generous benchmarks for executives' salaries. | 199612_2-LR1_13_14 | [
"most corporate executives, thanks to their generous salaries, are not financially dependent on money earned as board members",
"most corporate executive might be less generous in setting their own salaries than the board members actually setting them are",
"many board members might let their self-interest as e... | 2 | The point made by the author is that the most common way of setting executives' salaries might not keep those salaries in bounds because |
In most corporations the salaries of executives are set by a group from the corporation's board of directors. Since the board's primary mission is to safeguard the economic health of the corporation rather than to make its executives rich, this way of setting executives' salaries is expected to prevent excessively large salaries. But, clearly, this expectation is based on poor reasoning. After all, most members of a corporation's board are themselves executives of some corporation and can expect to benefit from setting generous benchmarks for executives' salaries. | 199612_2-LR1_13_15 | [
"in medical malpractice suits, giving physicians not directly involved in a suit a major role in determining the damages due to successful plaintiffs",
"in a legislature, allowing the legislators to increase their own salaries only if at least two-thirds of them vote in favor of an increase",
"on a factory floo... | 0 | Which one of the following practices is vulnerable to a line of criticism most parallel to that used in the argument in the passage? |
Consumer advocate:One advertisement that is deceptive, and thus morally wrong, states that "gram for gram, the refined sugar used in our chocolate pies is no more fattening than the sugars found in fruits and vegetables." This is like trying to persuade someone that chocolate pies are not fattening by saying that, calorie for calorie, they are no more fattening than celery. True, but it would take a whole shopping cart full of celery to equal a chocolate pie's worth of calories. Advertiser: This advertisement cannot be called deceptive. It is, after all, true. | 199612_2-LR1_14_16 | [
"It is morally wrong to seek to persuade by use of deceptive statements.",
"A true statement should be regarded as deceptive only if the person making the statement believes it to be false, and thus intends the people reading or hearing it to acquire a false belief.",
"To make statements that impart only a smal... | 4 | Which one of the following principles, if established, would do most to support the consumer advocate's position against the advertiser's response? |
Members of the Amazonian Akabe people commonly take an early-morning drink of a tea made from the leaves of a forest plant. Although they greatly enjoy this drink, at dawn they drink it only in small amounts. Anthropologists hypothesize that since this tea is extraordinarily high in caffeine, the explanation for the Akabe's not drinking more of it at dawn is that high caffeine intake would destroy the surefootedness that their daily tasks require. | 199612_2-LR1_15_17 | [
"The drink is full of nutrients otherwise absent from the Akabe diet.",
"The Akabe also drink the tea in the evening, after their day's work is done.",
"The leaves used for the tea contain a soluble narcotic.",
"Akabe children are introduced to the tea in only a weak form.",
"When celebrating, the Akabe dri... | 2 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously calls the anthropologists' explanation into question? |
All of the cargo ships of the Blue Star Line are over 100 meters long, and all of its passenger ships are under 100 meters long. Most of the ships of the Blue Star Line were built before 1980. All of the passenger and cargo ships of the Gold Star line were built after 1980, and all are under 100 meters long. The dockside facilities of Port Tropica, which is open only to ships of these two lines, can accommodate only those ships that are less than 100 meters long. The S.S. Coral is a cargo ship that is currently docked at Port Tropica. | 199612_2-LR1_16_18 | [
"The S.S. Coral was built after 1980.",
"The S.S. Coral belongs to the Blue Star Line.",
"Port Tropica is served only by cargo ships.",
"Port Tropica is not served by ships of the Blue Star Line.",
"All of the ships of the Blue Star Line are older than any of the ships of the Gold Star Line."
] | 0 | If the statements above are true, which one of the following must be true on the basis of them? |
Spectroscopic analysis has revealed the existence of frozen nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide on the surface of Pluto. Such ices have a tendency to vaporize, producing an atmosphere. Since the proportion of any gas in such an atmosphere depends directly on how readily the corresponding ice vaporizes, astronomers have concluded that the components of Pluto's atmosphere are nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane, in order of decreasing abundance. | 199612_2-LR1_17_19 | [
"There is no more frozen nitrogen on the surface of Pluto than there is either frozen carbon monoxide or methane.",
"Until space probes reach Pluto, direct analysis of the atmosphere is impossible.",
"There is no frozen substance on the surface of Pluto that vaporizes more readily than methane but less readily ... | 2 | The astronomers' argument relies on which one of the following assumptions? |
Ann will either take a leave of absence from Technocomp and return in a year or else she will quit her job there; but she would not do either one unless she were offered a one-year teaching fellowship at a prestigious university. Technocomp will allow her to take a leave of absence if it does not find out that she has been offered the fellowship, but not otherwise. Therefore, Ann will quit her job at Technocomp only if Technocomp finds out she has been offered the fellowship. | 199612_2-LR1_18_20 | [
"Technocomp will find out about Ann being offered the fellowship only if someone informs on her.",
"The reason Ann wants the fellowship is so she can quit her job at Technocomp.",
"Technocomp does not allow any of its employees to take a leave of absence in order to work for one of its competitors.",
"Ann wil... | 3 | Which one of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion above to be properly drawn? |
If a mechanical aerator is installed in a fish pool, the water in the pool can be properly aerated. So, since John's fish pool does not have a mechanical aerator, it must be that his pool is not properly aerated. Without properly aerated water, fish cannot thrive. Therefore, any fish in John's fish pool will not thrive. | 199612_2-LR1_19_21 | [
"If alum is added to pickle brine, brine can replace the water in the pickles. Therefore, since Paula does not add alum to her pickle brine, the water in the pickles cannot be replaced by brine. Unless their water is replaced with brine, pickles will not stay crisp. Thus, Paula's pickles will not stay crisp.",
"I... | 0 | Which one of the following arguments contains an error of reasoning that is also contained in the argument above? |
Antinuclear activist: The closing of the nuclear power plant is a victory for the antinuclear cause. It also represents a belated acknowledgment by the power industry that they cannot operate such plants safely. Nuclear power plant manager: It represents no such thing. The availability of cheap power from nonnuclear sources, together with the cost of mandated safety inspections and safety repairs, made continued operation uneconomic. Thus it was not safety considerations but economic considerations that dictated the plant's closing. | 199612_2-LR1_20_22 | [
"fails to acknowledge that the power industry might now believe nuclear power plants to be unsafe even though this plant was not closed for safety reasons",
"overlooks the possibility that the sources from which cheap power is available might themselves be subject to safety concerns",
"mistakes the issue of wha... | 4 | The reasoning in the manager's argument is flawed because the argument |
Antinuclear activist: The closing of the nuclear power plant is a victory for the antinuclear cause. It also represents a belated acknowledgment by the power industry that they cannot operate such plants safely. Nuclear power plant manager: It represents no such thing. The availability of cheap power from nonnuclear sources, together with the cost of mandated safety inspections and safety repairs, made continued operation uneconomic. Thus it was not safety considerations but economic considerations that dictated the plant's closing. | 199612_2-LR1_20_23 | [
"The plant had reached the age at which its operating license expired.",
"The mandate for inspections and repairs mentioned by the manager was recently enacted as a result of pressure from antinuclear groups.",
"The plant would not have closed if cheap power from nonnuclear sources had not been available.",
"... | 1 | Which one of the following, if true, most strongly supports the activist's claim of victory? |
Statistician: Changes in the Sun's luminosity correlate exceedingly well with average land temperatures on Earth. Clearly—and contrary to accepted opinion among meteorologists—the Sun's luminosity essentially controls land temperatures on Earth. Meteorologist:I disagree. Any professional meteorologist will tell you that in a system as complicated as that giving rise to the climate, no significant aspect can be controlled by a single variable. | 199612_2-LR1_21_24 | [
"supporting a conclusion about a specific case by invoking a relevant generalization",
"producing a single counterexample that establishes that a generalization is false as stated",
"reanalyzing a correlation as reflecting the multiple effects of a single cause",
"rejecting a conclusion because it is a propos... | 0 | The rejection by the meteorologist of the statistician's conclusion employs which one of the following techniques of argumentation? |
Statistician: Changes in the Sun's luminosity correlate exceedingly well with average land temperatures on Earth. Clearly—and contrary to accepted opinion among meteorologists—the Sun's luminosity essentially controls land temperatures on Earth. Meteorologist:I disagree. Any professional meteorologist will tell you that in a system as complicated as that giving rise to the climate, no significant aspect can be controlled by a single variable. | 199612_2-LR1_21_25 | [
"rejects a partial explanation, not because it is incorrect, but only because it is not complete",
"fails to distinguish phenomena that exist independently of a particular system from phenomena that exist only as part of the system",
"calls into question the existence of a correlation when the only real issue i... | 4 | The reasoning in the meteorologist's counterargument is questionable because that argument |
Everyone sitting in the waiting room of the school's athletic office this morning at nine o'clock had just registered for a beginners tennis clinic. John, Mary, and Teresa were all sitting in the waiting room this morning at nine o'clock. No accomplished tennis player would register for a beginners tennis clinic. | 199612_3-LR2_1_1 | [
"None of the people sitting in the school's athletic office this morning at nine o'clock had ever played tennis.",
"Everyone sitting in the school's athletic office this morning at nine o'clock registered only for a beginners tennis clinic.",
"John, Mary, and Teresa were the only people who registered for a beg... | 4 | It the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true on the basis of them? |
Most people who ride bicycles for pleasure do not ride until the warm weather of spring and summery arrives. Yet it is probably more effective to advertise bicycles earlier in the year. Most bicycles are purchased in the spring, but once shoppers are ready to shop for a bicycle, they usually have already decided which brand and model of bicycle they will purchase. By then it is generally too late to induce them to change their minds. | 199612_3-LR2_2_2 | [
"bicycle advertisements are probably more effective if they appear before the arrival of warm spring weather",
"most bicycle purchasers decide on the brand and model of bicycle that they will buy before beginning to shop for a bicycle",
"more bicycles are purchased in the spring than at any other time of year",... | 0 | The main point of the argument is that |
During 1991 the number of people in the town of Bayburg who received municipal food assistance doubled, even though the number of people in Bayburg whose incomes were low enough to qualify for such assistance remained unchanged. | 199612_3-LR2_3_3 | [
"In 1990 the Bayburg Town Council debated whether or not to alter the eligibility requirements for the food assistance program but ultimately decided not to change them.",
"In 1990 the Bayburg social service department estimated the number of people in Bayburg who might be eligible for the food assistance program... | 4 | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above? |
Campaigning for election to provincial or state office frequently requires that a candidate spend much time and energy catering to the interests of national party officials who can help the candidate to win office. The elected officials who campaign for reelection while they are in office thus often fail to serve the interests of their local consistencies. | 199612_3-LR2_4_4 | [
"Catering to the interests of national party officials sometimes conflicts with serving the interests of a provincial or state official's local constituencies.",
"Only by catering to the interests of national party officials can those who hold provincial or state office win reelection.",
"The interests of local... | 0 | Which one of the following is an assumption made by the argument? |
Since Professor Smythe has been head of the department, the most distinguished member of the faculty has resigned, fewer new courses have been developed, student enrollment has dropped, and the reputation of the department has gone down. These facts provide conclusive evidence that Professor Smythe was appointed to undermine the department. | 199612_3-LR2_5_5 | [
"overlooks the fact that something can have the reputation for being of poor quality without being of poor quality",
"bases a general claim on a few exceptional instances",
"assumes that because an action was followed by a change, the action was undertaken to bring about that change",
"fails to distinguish be... | 2 | The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument |
Books about architectural works, unless they are not intended for a general audience, ought to include discussions of both the utility and the aesthetic appeal of each of the buildings they consider. If they do not, they are flawed. Morton's book on Italian Baroque palaces describes these palaces' functional aspects, but fails to mention that the main hall of a palace he discusses at length has a ceiling that is one of the truly breathtaking masterpieces of Western art. | 199612_3-LR2_6_6 | [
"Morton's description of the palaces' utility is inaccurate.",
"Morton's book does not discuss aspects of the palaces other than utility and aesthetic appeal.",
"Morton's book is intended for a general audience.",
"The passage discussing the palace plays a very important role in helping to establish the overa... | 2 | If the statements above are true, it would be necessary to establish which one of the following in order to conclude that Morton's book is flawed? |
Of all the photographs taken of him at his wedding, there was one that John and his friends sharply disagreed about. His friends all said that this particular picture did not much resemble him, but John said that on the contrary it was the only photograph that did. | 199612_3-LR2_7_7 | [
"It, unlike the other photographs of John, showed him in the style of dress he and his friends usually wear rather than the formal clothes he wore at the ceremony.",
"It was the only photograph taken of John at his wedding for which the photographer has used a flash.",
"It was a black-and-white photograph, wher... | 3 | Which one of the following, if true about the photograph, most helps to explain John's disagreement with his friends? |
Eva: A "smart highway" system should be installed, one that would monitor areawide traffic patterns and communicate with computers in vehicles or with programmable highway signs to give drivers information about traffic congestion and alternate routes. Such a system, we can infer, would result in improved traffic flow in and around cities that would do more than improve drivers' tempers; it would decrease the considerable loss of money and productivity that now results from traffic congestion. Louis: There are already traffic reports on the radio. Why would a "smart highway" system be any better? | 199612_3-LR2_8_8 | [
"on \"smart highways\" there would not be the breakdowns of vehicles that currently cause traffic congestion",
"traffic lights, if coordinated by the system, would assure a free flow of traffic",
"traffic flow in and around cities is not now so congested that significant improvement is impossible",
"the type ... | 2 | Eva's argument depends on the assumption that |
Eva: A "smart highway" system should be installed, one that would monitor areawide traffic patterns and communicate with computers in vehicles or with programmable highway signs to give drivers information about traffic congestion and alternate routes. Such a system, we can infer, would result in improved traffic flow in and around cities that would do more than improve drivers' tempers; it would decrease the considerable loss of money and productivity that now results from traffic congestion. Louis: There are already traffic reports on the radio. Why would a "smart highway" system be any better? | 199612_3-LR2_8_9 | [
"Bad weather, which radio stations report, would cause traffic to slow down whether or not a \"smart highway\" system was in operation.",
"It would be less costly to have radio stations that give continual, lengthier traffic reports than to install a \"smart highway\" system.",
"Radio reports can take note of c... | 1 | If Eva responded to Luis by saying that the current one-minute radio reports are too short to give a sufficient description of overall patterns of traffic congestion, which one of the following, if true, would most strengthen Luis's challenge? |
The term "sex" and "gender" are often used interchangeably. But "sex" more properly refers to biological differences of male and female, while "gender" refers to society's construction of a system that identifies what is masculine and feminine. Unlike the set of characteristics defining biological sex, the set of traits that are associated with gender does not sort people into two nonoverlapping groups. The traits characterize people in a complex way, so that a person may have both "masculine" and "feminine" traits. | 199612_3-LR2_9_10 | [
"Distinctions based on gender are frequently arbitrary.",
"Gender traits are not determined at birth.",
"Masculine gender traits are highly correlated with maleness.",
"The terms \"sex\" and \"gender\" are not properly interchangeable.",
"Society rather than the individual decides what is considered proper ... | 3 | Which one of the following statements best expresses a main point of the argument? |
Raising the tax rate on essential goods—a traditional means of increasing government revenues—invariably turns low- and middle-income taxpayers against the government. Hence government officials have proposed adding a new tax on purchases of luxury items such as yachts, private planes, jewels, and furs. The officials claim that this tax will result in a substantial increase in government revenues while affecting only the wealthy individuals and corporations who can afford to purchase such items. | 199612_3-LR2_10_11 | [
"Will luxury goods be taxed at a higher rate than that at which essential goods are currently taxed?",
"Will the revenues generated by the proposed tax be comparable to those that are currently being generated by taxes on essential goods?",
"Will sales of the luxury items subject to the proposed tax occur at cu... | 2 | The answer to which one of the following questions would be the most relevant in evaluating the accuracy of the government officials' prediction? |
In a study of the relationship between aggression and television viewing in nursery school children, many interesting interactions among family styles, aggression, and television viewing were found. High aggression occurred in both high-viewing and low-viewing children and this seemed to be related to parental lifestyle. High-achieving, competitive, middle-class parents, whose children did not watch much television, had more aggressive children than parents who planned their lives in an organized, child-centered way, which included larger amounts of television viewing. | 199612_3-LR2_11_12 | [
"Low levels of television viewing often lead to high levels of aggression among children.",
"The level of aggression of a child cannot be predicted from levels of television viewing alone.",
"If high-achieving, competitive, parents were more child-centered, their children would be less aggressive.",
"High lev... | 1 | Which one of the following conclusions is best supported by the passage? |
One of the effects of lead poisoning is an inflammation of the optic nerve, which causes those who have it to see bright haloes around light sources. In order to produce the striking yellow effects in his "Sunflowers" paintings, Van Gogh used Naples yellow, a pigment containing lead. Since in his later paintings, Van Gogh painted bright haloes around the stars and sun, it is likely that he was suffering from lead poisoning caused by ingesting the pigments he used. | 199612_3-LR2_12_13 | [
"In Van Gogh's later paintings he painted some things as he saw them.",
"Van Gogh continued to use paints containing lead after having painted the \"Sunflowers\" paintings.",
"Van Gogh did not have symptoms of lead poisoning aside from seeing bright haloes around light sources.",
"The paints Van Gogh used in ... | 0 | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument relies? |
Politician: The mandatory jail sentences that became law two years ago for certain crimes have enhanced the integrity of our system of justice, for no longer are there two kinds of justice, the kind dispensed by lenient judges and the kind dispensed by severe ones. Public advocate:But with judges stripped of discretionary powers, there can be no leniency even where it would be appropriate. So juries now sometimes acquit a given defendant solely because the jurors feel that the mandatory sentence would be too harsh. Those juries, then, do not return an accurate verdict on the defendant's guilt. This is why it is imperative that the legislation instituting mandatory jail sentences be repealed. | 199612_3-LR2_13_14 | [
"trying to show that the politician's conclusion merely paraphrases the politician's evidence",
"claiming that the politician's evidence, properly analyzed, has no bearing on the conclusion the politician derives from it",
"arguing that leniency is not a trait of individuals but that, rather, it is a property o... | 3 | The public advocate responds to the politician's argument by doing which one of the following? |
Politician: The mandatory jail sentences that became law two years ago for certain crimes have enhanced the integrity of our system of justice, for no longer are there two kinds of justice, the kind dispensed by lenient judges and the kind dispensed by severe ones. Public advocate:But with judges stripped of discretionary powers, there can be no leniency even where it would be appropriate. So juries now sometimes acquit a given defendant solely because the jurors feel that the mandatory sentence would be too harsh. Those juries, then, do not return an accurate verdict on the defendant's guilt. This is why it is imperative that the legislation instituting mandatory jail sentences be repealed. | 199612_3-LR2_13_15 | [
"Juries should always consider whether the sum of the evidence leaves any reasonable doubt concerning the defendant's guilt, and in all cases in which it does, they should acquit the defendant.",
"A system of justice should clearly define what the specific actions are that judges are to perform within the system.... | 4 | Which one of the following principles, if valid, provides the politician with the strongest basis for countering the public advocates' argument? |
Researchers studying artificial sweeteners have long claimed that the perception of sweetness is determined by the activation of a single type of receptor on the tongue called a sweetness receptor. They have also claimed that any given individual molecule of substance can activate at most one sweetness receptor and that the fewer molecules that are required to activate a receptor, the sweeter that substance will be perceived to be. Now, the researchers claim to have discovered a substance of which only one molecule is needed to activate any sweetness receptor. | 199612_3-LR2_14_16 | [
"The more sweetness receptors a person has on his or her tongue, the more likely it is that that person will find sweet sensations pleasurable.",
"In sufficient quantity, the molecules of any substance can activate a sweetness receptor.",
"No substance will be found that is perceived to be sweeter than the subs... | 2 | Which one of the following conclusions is most strongly supported by the researchers' claims, if all of those claims are true? |
An editorial in the Grandburg Daily Herald claims that Grandburg's voters would generally welcome the defeat of the political party now in control of the Grandburg City Council. The editorial bases its claim on a recent survey that found that 59 percent of Grandburg's registered voters think that the party will definitely be out of power after next year's city council elections. | 199612_3-LR2_15_17 | [
"The way voters feel about a political party at a given time can reasonably be considered a reliable indicator of the way they will continue to feel about that party, barring unforeseeable political developments.",
"The results of surveys that gauge current voter sentiment toward a given political party can legit... | 3 | Which one of the following is a principle that, if established, would provide the strongest justification for the editorial's conclusion? |
Prolonged exposure to nonionizing radiation— electromagnetic radiation at or below the frequency of visible light—increases a person's chances of developing soft-tissue cancer. Electric power lines as well as such electrical appliances as electric blankets and video-display terminals are sources of nonionizing radiation. | 199612_3-LR2_16_18 | [
"People will short-term exposure to nonionizing radiation are not at risk of developing soft-tissue cancers.",
"Soft-tissue cancers are more common than other cancers.",
"Soft-tissue cancers are frequently cured spontaneously when sources of nonionizing radiation are removed from the patient's home.",
"Certai... | 3 | Which one of the following conclusions is best supported by the statements above? |
In the first decade following the founding of the British Labour party, the number of people regularly voting for Labour increased fivefold. The number of committed Labour voters increased a further fivefold during the party's second decade. Since the increase was thus the same in the first as in the second decade, the often-made claim that the Labour party gained more voters in the party's second decade than in its first is clearly false. | 199612_3-LR2_17_19 | [
"fails to specify dates necessary to evaluate the truth of the conclusion, even though the argument depends on distinguishing between two time periods",
"draws a conclusion that cannot be true if all the data advanced in its support are true",
"relies on statistical evidence that, strictly speaking, is irreleva... | 1 | The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument |
A number of seriously interested amateur astronomers have tested the new Exodus refractor telescope. With it, they were able to observe in crisp detail planetary features that were seen only as fuzzy images in their 8-inch (approximately 20-centimeter) Newtonian telescopes, even though the 8-inch telescopes, with their wider apertures, gather more light than the 4-inch (approximately 10-centimeter) Exodus. Given these amateur astronomers' observational findings, any serious amateur astronomer ought to choose the Exodus if she or he is buying a telescope for planetary observation. | 199612_3-LR2_18_20 | [
"evaluating the credibility of claims made by a particular group",
"detailing the ways in which a testing situation approximates the conditions of ordinary use",
"placing a phenomenon in a wider context in order to explain it",
"supporting a recommendation to a group on the basis of the experience of a subset... | 3 | The argument proceeds by |
A number of seriously interested amateur astronomers have tested the new Exodus refractor telescope. With it, they were able to observe in crisp detail planetary features that were seen only as fuzzy images in their 8-inch (approximately 20-centimeter) Newtonian telescopes, even though the 8-inch telescopes, with their wider apertures, gather more light than the 4-inch (approximately 10-centimeter) Exodus. Given these amateur astronomers' observational findings, any serious amateur astronomer ought to choose the Exodus if she or he is buying a telescope for planetary observation. | 199612_3-LR2_18_21 | [
"Telescopes of certain types will not perform well unless they have been precisely collimated, a delicate adjustment requiring deftness.",
"Image quality is only one of several different factors that, taken together, should determine the choice of a telescope for planetary observation.",
"Many serious amateur a... | 1 | Which one of the following most seriously weakens the argument? |
Anatomical bilateral symmetry is a common trait. It follows, therefore, that it confers survival advantages on organisms. After all, if bilateral symmetry did not confer such advantages, it would not be common. | 199612_3-LR2_19_22 | [
"Since it is Sawyer who is negotiating for the city government, it must be true that the city takes the matter seriously. After all, if Sawyer had not been available, the city would have insisted that the negotiations be deferred.",
"Clearly, no candidate is better qualified for the job than Trumbull. In fact, ev... | 2 | The pattern of reasoning in which one of the following arguments is most similar to that in the argument above? |
Electrical engineers have repeatedly demonstrated that the best solid-state amplifiers are indistinguishable from the best vacuum-tube amplifiers with respect to the characteristics commonly measured in evaluating the quality of an amplifier's musical reproduction. Therefore, those music lovers who insist that recorded music sounds better when played with the best vacuum-tube amplifier than when played with the best solid-state amplifier must be imagining the difference in quality that they claim to hear. | 199612_3-LR2_20_23 | [
"Many people cannot tell from listening to it whether a recording is being played with a very good solid-state amplifier or a very good vacuum-tube amplifier.",
"The range of variation with respect to the quality of musical reproduction is greater for vacuum-tube amplifiers than for solid-state amplifiers.",
"S... | 2 | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument? |
Explanation must be distinguished from justification. Every human action potentially has an explanation; that is, with sufficient knowledge it would be possible to give an accurate description of the causes of that action. An action is justified only when the person performing the action has sufficient reasons for the action. According to many psychologists, even when there is a justification for an action, that justification often forms no part of the explanation. The general principle, however, is that only an action whose justification, that is, the reasons for the action, forms an essential part of its explanation is rational. | 199612_3-LR2_21_24 | [
"When a human action is justified, that action has no explanation.",
"If there are any reasons among the causes of an action, then that action is rational.",
"Some psychologists believe that the justification for an action never forms an essential part of its explanation.",
"There are actions whose causes can... | 4 | If the statements in the passage are correct, which one of the following can be properly concluded from them? |
At the company picnic, all of the employees who participated in more than four of the scheduled events, and only those employees, were eligible for the raffle held at the end of the day. Since only a small proportion of the employees were eligible for the raffle, most of the employees must have participated in fewer than four of the scheduled events. | 199612_3-LR2_22_25 | [
"Only third- and fourth-year students are allowed to keep cars on campus. Since one quarter of the third-year students keep cars on campus and one half of the fourth-year students keep cars on campus, it must be that fewer third-year students than fourth-year students keep cars on campus.",
"Only those violin stu... | 4 | Which one of the following arguments exhibits a flawed pattern of reasoning most like that exhibited by the argument above? |
Sea turtle hatchlings leaving their hatching grounds on Florida beaches reach ocean currents by swimming to the northeast, as defined by the north of the Earth's magnetic field. Florida hatchlings placed in a large indoor tank also swim toward the northeast. But when the tank is surrounded by an artificial magnetic field twice as strong as the Earth's field and opposite in direction, the hatchlings swim in the direction opposite to that in which they swim without the artificial magnetic field. | 199702_1-LR1_1_1 | [
"Once baby sea turtles reach the open sea, they join groups of adults in the North Atlantic.",
"The direction in which ocean currents flow is determined by the magnetic field of the Earth.",
"Baby sea turtles are able to sense the magnetic field of the Earth.",
"No sea turtle ever returns to the beach where i... | 2 | The information in the statements above most strongly supports which one of the following? |
Twenty percent of the population of Springhill has been to Italy at least once in the last five years, and thirty percent of the population of Springhill has been to France at least once in the last five years. Therefore, half of the population of Springhill has been to Europe at least once in the last five years. | 199702_1-LR1_2_2 | [
"some of the population of Springhill has been neither to Italy nor to France in the last five years",
"some of the population of Springhill has been both to Italy and to France in the last five years",
"some of the population of Springhill has been either to Italy or to France in the last five years, but not t... | 1 | The argument is faulty because it ignores the possibility that |
McBride: The proposed new fuel-efficiency standards, if implemented, will discourage the manufacture of full-size cars. This prospect is troubling because when a subcompact and a full-size car collide, the people in the subcompact are more likely to be seriously injured than if theirs had also been a full-size car. The new fuel-efficiency standards should therefore be opposed. Leggett: But whenever any two cars collide, it is more likely that someone will be seriously injured if one of the cars is a full-size car than if neither car is full-size. So the new fuel-efficiency standards should be supported precisely because they discourage the manufacture of full-size cars. | 199702_1-LR1_3_3 | [
"The manufacture of full-size cars should be discouraged.",
"Fuel conservation is less important than safety in case of a collision.",
"When a full-size car and a subcompact car collide, the occupants of the full-size car are less likely than the occupants of the subcompact car to be seriously injured.",
"Red... | 0 | McBride's and Leggett's statements commit them to disagreeing about the truth of which one of the following? |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.