Questions 1-2 are based on the following.
We have heard a good deal in recent years about the declining importance of the two major political parties. It is the mass media, we are told, that decide the outcome of elections, not the power of the parties. But it is worth noting that no independent or third-party candidate has won any important election in recent years, and in the last nationwide campaign, the two major parties raised and spent more money than ever before in support of their candidates and platforms. It seems clear that reports of the imminent demise of the two-party system are premature at best.
1. Which of the following is an assumption made in the argument above?
(A) The amount of money raised and spent by a political party is one valid criterion for judging the influence of the party.
(B) A significant increase in the number of third-party candidates would be evidence of a decline in the importance of the two major parties.
(C) The two-party system has contributed significantly to the stability of the American political structure.
(D) The mass media tend to favor an independent or third-party candidate over a candidate from one of the two major parties.
(E) The mass media are relatively unimportant in deciding the outcome of most elections.
2. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument above?
(A) The percentage of voters registered as independents is higher today than ever before.
(B) In a recent presidential campaign, for the first time ever, an independent candidate was invited to appear in a televised debate with the major-party candidates.
(C) Every current member of the U.S. Senate was elected as the candidate of one of the two major parties.
(D) In a recent opinion poll, most voters stated that a candidate’s party affiliation was an insignificant factor in judging his or her fitness for office.
(E) In the last four years, the outcome of several statewide elections has been determined by the strength of the third-party vote.
3. Psychologists conducted a series of experiments to test the effect upon schoolchildren of violence in films. In the first experiment, grammar school children were shown a film that included scenes of a male teenager engaging in violent acts against others, such as punching, pushing, and kicking. During a free-play session following the film viewing, 42 percent of the children were observed to engage in one or more violent acts similar to those in the film. In a second experiment, a different group of children was shown a similar film featuring a female teenager. Only 14 percent of the children were observed behaving violently afterward. The psychologists concluded that children are more likely to imitate violent behavior on film when a male model is shown than when a female model is shown.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the psychologists’ conclusion?
(A) In both experiments, the victims of the filmed violence included both males and females.
(B) In the second experiment, 28 percent of the children appeared upset during the viewing the violent film scenes.
(C) The first group included 19 male students and 20 female students; the second group included 20 male students and 21 female students.
(D) In the first group, 58 percent of the children appeared bored during the showing of the film, and 12 percent fell asleep.
(E) The percentage of children known to have discipline problems prior to the experiment was greater in the first group than in the second group.
4. Mainline Airways was bought by its employees six years ago. Three years ago, Mainline hired QualiCo Advertising Agency to handle its promotions and advertising division. Today Mainline’s profits are over 20 percent higher than they were five years ago and 10 percent higher than they were three years ago. Employee ownership and a good advertising agency have combined to make Mainline more profitable.
Which of the following best describes the weak point in the argument above?
(A) It fails to establish a causal connection between the change in ownership at Mainline Airways and the hiring of QualiCo, on the one hand, and the rise in Mainline’s profits, on the other.
(B) It presents no evidence showing that employee-owned airlines are any more profitable than other airlines.
(C) It assumes that the profits of Mainline Airways will continue to rise.
(D) It gives no exact figures for the current profits of Mainline Airways.
(E) It fails to explain how the profits of Mainline Airways are calculated.
5. At many colleges today, regulations have been imposed that forbid the use in speech or print of language that “offends” or “insults” the members of any group, especially women and racial, ethnic, and religious minorities. Although these regulations are defended in the name of “democracy,” they restrict freedom of speech and the press in a way that opposes the true spirit of democracy.
The argument above attempts to prove its case primarily by
(A) impugning the credentials of an opponent
(B) providing examples that support a theoretical principle
(C) taking advantage of inconsistencies in the definition of “democracy”
(D) revealing a contradiction in an opposing point of view
(E) appealing to the patriotic feelings of its audience
6. In 1980, a Danish ten-?re coin minted in 1747 was sold at auction for $8,000. Eleanor Bixby owns another Danish ten-?re coin minted in 1747. When she puts it on the market next week, it will fetch a price over $18,000.
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion drawn above?
(A) Since 1980, the average price for rare coins has increased by over 150 percent.
(B) There are only four coins like the one in question in the entire world.
(C) Since 1980, the consumer price index has risen by over 150 percent.
(D) In 1986, a previously unknown cache of one hundred coins just like the one in question was found.
(E) Thirty prominent, wealthy coin collectors are expected to bid for Bixby’s coin.
7. Merco has been in business longer than Nolen. Inc, Olean Industries was founded years before the Potter Company, and the Potter Company was started years after the Quarles Corporation. Nolen, Inc., and the Quarles Corporation were founded in the same year.
If the information above is true, which of the following must also be true?
(A) Olean Industries has been in business for more years than Merco.
(B) Olean Industries has been in business for more years than the Quarles Corporation.
(C) Nolen, Inc., has not been in business for as many years as Olean Industries.
(D) Merco has been in business for more years than the Potter Company.
(E) Nolen, Inc., has not been in business for as many years as the Potter Company.
8. Which of the following best completes the passage below?
A primary factor in perpetuating the low salaries of women workers has been their segregation in the so-called pink-collar occupations, such as nursing, teaching, library science, and secretarial work. Partly because these jobs have traditionally been held by women, their salary levels have been depressed, and, despite increased attempts to unionize these workers in recent years, their pay continues to lag. Moreover, although a large percentage of women than ever before are now entering and remaining in the job market, most continue to gravitate toward the pink-collar fields, despite the lower salaries. It seems clear, therefore, that if the average salaries of women workers are to approach those of men, ______
(A) labor unions must redouble their efforts to improve the lot of working women
(B) society’s perception of pink-collar jobs as less important and less demanding than other jobs must be changed
(C) more men must be encouraged to enter fields traditionally occupied by women
(D) the number of jobs in the pink-collar fields relative to the size of the work force as a whole must be markedly increased
(E) more women must enter occupations other than those traditionally reserved for them
9. Determining the authenticity of purported pre-Columbian artifacts is never easy. Carbon-14 dating of these artifacts is often impossible due to contamination by radioactive palladium (which occurs naturally in the soils of Central and South America). However, historians and anthropologists have evolved two reliable criteria, which, utilized in combination, have proven effective for dating these artifacts. First, because authentic pre-Columbian artifacts characteristically occur in a coarse, granular matrix that is shifted by major earthquakes, they often exhibit the unique scratch patterns known as gridding. In addition, true pre-Columbian artifacts show a darkening in surface color that is caused by centuries of exposure to the minute amounts of magnesium in the soil of the Americas.
The criteria above would be LEAST useful in judging the authenticity of which of the following?
(A) An ax head of black obsidian, unearthed from a kitchen midden
(B) A pottery bowl with a red ocher design, found in the ruins of a temple
(C) A set of gold ear weights, ornamented with jasper pendants
(D) A black feather cape from a king’s burial vault
(E) A multicolored woven sash found near the gravesite of a slave
Questions 10-11 are based on the following.
From time to time, the press indulges in outbursts of indignation over the use of false or misleading information by the U.S. government in support of its policies and programs. No one endorses needless deception. But consider this historical analogy. It is known that Christopher Columbus, on his first voyage to the New World, deliberately falsified the log to show a shorter sailing distance for each day out than the ships had actually traveled. In this way, Columbus was able to convince his skeptical sailors that they had not sailed past the point at which they expected to find the shores of India. Without this deception, Columbus’s sailors might well have mutinied, and the New World might never have been discovered.
10. The author of the passage above assumes each of the following EXCEPT:
(A) Government deception of the press is often motivated by worthy objectives.
(B) Without government deception, popular support for worthwhile government policies and programs might well fade.
(C) Attacks on the government by the press are often politically motivated.
(D) Deception for deception’s sake should not be condoned.
(E) A greater good may sometimes require acceptance of a lesser evil.
11. Which of the following is the main weakness of the historical analogy drawn in the passage above?
(A) The sailors in Columbus’s crew never knew that they had been deceived, while government deception is generally uncovered by the press.
(B) A ship’s log is a record intended mainly for use by the captain, while press reports are generally disseminated for use by the public at large.
(C) The members of a ship’s crew are selected by the captain of the ship, while those who work in the press are self-selected.
(D) The crew of a ship is responsible for the success of a voyage, while the press is not responsible for the use others make of the factual information it publishes.
(E) In a democracy, the people are expected to participate in the nation’s political decision making, while the members of a ship’s crew are expected simply to obey the orders of the captain.
12. Which of the following best completes the passage below?
Monarch butterflies, whose average life span is nine months, migrate from the midwestern United States to selected forests outside Mexico City. It takes at least three generations of monarchs to make the journey, so the great-great-grandchildren who finally arrive in the Mexican forests have never been there before. Yet they return to the same trees their forebears left. Scientists theorize that monarchs, like homing pigeons, map their routes according to the earth’s electromagnetic fields. As a first step in testing this theory, lepidopterists plan to install a low-voltage transmitter inside one grove of “butterfly trees” in the Mexican forests. If the butterflies are either especially attracted to the grove with the transmitter or especially repelled by it, lepidopterists will have evidence that______
(A) monarch butterflies have brains, however minuscule
(B) monarch butterflies are sensitive to electricity
(C) low-voltage electricity can affect butterflies, whether positively or adversely
(D) monarchs map their routes according to the earth’s electromagnetic fields
(E) monarchs communicate in intergenerationally via electromagnetic fields
13. In general, a professional athlete is offered a million-dollar contract only if he or she has just completed an unusually successful season. However, a study shows that an athlete signing such a contract usually suffers a decline in performance the following season. This study supports the theory that a million-dollar contract tends to weaken an athlete’s desire to excel by diminishing his or her economic incentive.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion drawn above?
(A) On the average, athletes whose contracts call for relatively small salaries with possible bonuses for outstanding achievement perform better than other athletes.
(B) Athletes are generally offered million-dollar contracts mainly because of the increased ticket sales and other revenues they generate.
(C) Many professional athletes have careers marked by year-to-year fluctuations in their overall levels of performance.
(D) On the average, higher-salaried athletes tend to have longer and more successful professional careers than do lower-salaried athletes.
(E) Six of the ten leading batters in the National League this season signed million-dollar contracts during the off-season.
14. Dr. A: The new influenza vaccine is useless at best and possibly dangerous. I would never use it on a patient.
Dr. B: But three studies published in the Journal of Medical Associates have rated that vaccine as unusually effective.
Dr. A: The studies must have been faulty because the vaccine is worthless.
In which of the following is the reasoning most similar to that of Dr. A?
(A) Three of my patients have been harmed by that vaccine during the past three weeks, so the vaccine is unsafe.
(B) Jerrold Jersey recommends this milk, and I don’t trust Jerrold Jersey, so I won’t buy this milk.
(C) Wingzz tennis balls perform best because they are far more effective than any other tennis balls.
(D) I’m buying Vim Vitamins. Doctors recommend them more often than they recommend any other vitamins, so Vim Vitamins must be good.
(E) Since University of Muldoon graduates score about 20 percent higher than average on the GMAT, Sheila Lee, a University of Muldoon graduate, will score about 20 percent higher than average when she takes the GMAT.
15. Bill: Smoke-detecting fire alarms can save lives. I believe that every apartment in this city should be required by law to be equipped with a smoke detector.
Joe: I disagree with your proposal. Smoke detectors are just as important for safety in private houses as they are in apartment.
From this exchange, it can be inferred that Joe has interpreted Bill’s statement to mean that
(A) the city should be responsible for providing smoke detectors for apartments
(B) residences outside the city should not be equipped with smoke detectors
(C) only apartments should be equipped with smoke detectors
(D) the risk of fire is not as great in private houses as it is in apartments
(E) the rate of death by fire is unusually high in the city in question
16. In 1986, the city of Los Diablos had 20 days on which air pollution reached unhealthful amounts and a smog alert was put into effect. In early 1987, new air pollution control measures were enacted, but the city had smog alerts on 31 days that year and on 39 days the following year. In 1989, however, the number of smog alerts in Los Diablos dropped to sixteen. The main air pollutants in Los Diablos are ozone and carbon monoxide, and since 1986 the levels of both have been monitored by gas spectrography.
Which of the following statements, assuming that each is true, would be LEAST helpful in explaining the air pollution levels in Los Diablos between 1986 and 1989?
(A) The 1987 air pollution control measures enacted in Los Diablos were put into effect in November of 1988.
(B) In December of 1988 a new and far more accurate gas spectrometer was invented.
(C) In February of 1989, the Pollution Control Board of Los Diablos revised the scale used to determine the amount of air pollution considered unhealthful.
(D) In 1988 the mayor of Los Diablos was found to have accepted large campaign donations from local industries and to have exempted those same industries from air pollution control measures.
(E) Excess ozone and carbon monoxide require a minimum of two years to break down naturally in the atmosphere above a given area.
17. In a marketing study, consumers were given two unlabeled cartons of laundry detergent. One carton was bright green and yellow; the other was drab brown and gray. After using the detergent in the two cartons for one month, 83 percent of the consumers in the study reported that the detergent in the bright green and yellow carton cleaned better. This study shows that packaging has a significant impact on consumers’ judgment of the effectiveness of a laundry detergent.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion drawn in the marketing study?
(A) The detergent in the bright carton contained bleach crystals; the detergent in the drab carton did not.
(B) The detergents in the two cartons were the same.
(C) The detergents in the two cartons were different, but they had both been laboratory tested.
(D) The detergent in the drab carton was a popular name brand; the detergent in the bright carton was generic.
(E) The detergent in the drab carton was generic; the detergent in the bright carton was a popular name brand.
18. Don’s, a chain of supermarkets, has entered into an agreement in which Rose Computers will sell Don’s an unlimited number of its least expensive PC’s at one-fourth the regular wholesale price. In return, Don’s has agreed to purchase all of its scanners and other electronic information-processing equipment from Rose or from Omicron, Rose Computers’ parent company, for the next ten years. Don’s will offer a Rose PC free to any school that turns in Don’s register receipts totaling $100,000 within the next six months. The vice-president in charge of advertising for Don’s expects that the computer giveaway will obviate the need for a massive new advertising campaign for the next six months and that Don’s can make up the expenditures for the PC’s by writing them off its income taxes as charitable donations.
The plans formulated by Don’s assume each of the following EXCEPT:
(A) The prices that Rose or Omicron charges Don’s for information-processing equipment over the next ten years will be lower than those charged by other companies.
(B) The tax laws will not be changed to exclude or lessen the value of charitable donations as tax write-offs.
(C) Schools will be sufficiently attracted by Don’s computer giveaway offer that teachers will urge students to shop at Don’s.
(D) Rose will be able to supply Don’s with a sufficient number of PC’s to meet the demand generated by schools that collect Don’s receipts totaling $100,000.
(E) The effect of the computer giveaway offer on Don’s business will be comparable to that of a major advertising campaign.
19. Manufacturers of household appliances are still urging the public to purchase food processors. The various manufacturers’ advertisements all point out that the prices of these appliances are now lower than ever and that each food processor comes with a lifetime service warranty. In addition, many manufacturers offer sizable rebates to customers who purchase food processors within a given time period. With these incentives, the advertisements contend, people can hardly afford not to purchase food processors.
Which answer choice is a logically prior issue that the manufacturers’ advertisements fail to address?
(A) Whether the cost of repairs to the food processors over the years will cancel out the savings currently being offered
(B) Whether potential customers have enough uses for food processors to justify purchasing them
(C) Whether the heads of the companies manufacturing food processors own food processors themselves
(D) Whether the food processors currently being advertised will be outdated within the next five years
(E) Whether accessories and replacement parts will be readily available at retail outlets
20. Since the invention of digital readout, machine designers have rushed to replace conventional dials and gauges with digital units. Yet the digital gauge has drawbacks in some situations. Since it presents an exact numeric value, it must be decoded and analyzed by a human operator; its meaning cannot be read in an instantaneous scanning. An analog dial or gauge can be marked with red to alert the operator when a value is entering a danger zone; a digital gauge cannot. And it is difficult to tell whether a digital readout is increasing or decreasing over time, while the up or down movement of a pointer on an analog gauge can be quickly and easily observed.
The author of the passage above would probably recommend the use of digital gauge in cases when
I. warning of a sudden rise or fall in value is needed
II. an operator must read and interpret several gauges within a few seconds
III. a precise numeric value is essential
(A) I only
(B) III only
(C) I and III only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III