6. The Transit Authority’s proposal to increase fares by 40 percent must be implemented. Admittedly, this fare increase will impose a hardship on some bus and subway riders. But if the fare is not increased, service will have to be cut severely and that would result in an unacceptably large loss of ridership.
The passage employs which one of the following argumentative strategies?
(A) It offers evidence that the recommended course of action would have no undesirable consequences.
(B) It shows that a proponent of any alternative position would be force into a contradiction.
(C) It arrives at its conclusion indirectly by providing reasons for rejecting an alternative course of action.
(D) It explains why the recommended course of action would not be subject to the objections raised against the alternative.
(E) It justifies the conclusion by showing that such a course of action has proven effective in the past.
7. Those who participate in local politics include people who are genuinely interested in public service and people who are selfish opportunists. Everyone who participates in local politics has an influence on the community’s values.
If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true?
(A) Some selfish opportunists have an influence on the community’s values.
(B) Some persons who are interested in public service do not have an influence on the community’s values.
(C) All those who have an influence on the community’s values participate in local politics.
(D) Some of those who influence the community’s values neither are interested in public service nor are selfish opportunists.
(E) All those who have an influence on the community’s values are either interested in public service or are selfish opportunists.
Questions 8-9
Although nondairy coffee lighteners made with coconut oil contain 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon, or 7 times more than does whole milk, those lighteners usually contain no cholesterol. Yet one tablespoon of such lighteners causes the consumer’s blood cholesterol to rise to a higher level than does an identical amount of whole milk, which contains 2 milligrams of cholesterol per tablespoon.
8. Which one of the following, if true, contributes most to an explanation of the apparent discrepancy noted above?
(A) Nutritionists recommend that adults consume as little saturated fat as possible and no more than 250 milligrams of cholesterol a day.
(B) One gram of saturated fat in food has roughly the same effect on blood cholesterol as 25 milligrams of cholesterol in food.
(C) Light cream, a dairy product that contains 5 times more cholesterol than does whole milk, is often chosen as a lightener by consumers who normally prefer whole milk.
(D) Certain nondairy coffee lighteners made without coconut oil contain less saturated fat and less cholesterol than does whole milk.
(E) The lower the saturated fat content of dairy products, the less cholesterol they usually contain.
9. Manufacturers of coffee lighteners based on coconut oil claim that their products usually cause the typical consumer’s blood cholesterol to rise to a lower level than does the use of whole milk as a lighteners. Which one of the following, if true, provides the most support for the manufacturers’ claim?
(A) Consumers of lighteners made with coconut oil who avoid other high-cholesterol foods and exercise more than average tend to have lower-than-average blood cholesterol levels.
(B) Coffee is frequently consumed with pastries and other rich desserts that themselves result in high blood cholesterol levels.
(C) One popular nondairy coffee lightener that is not based on coconut oil has reduced its fat content by 20 percent while keeping its cholesterol content at zero.
(D) Consumers typically add to their coffee substantially smaller quantities of coconut-oil-based lighteners than of whole milk.
(E) Most consumers are convinced that whole dairy products increase blood cholesterol and that nondairy coffee lighteners do not.
10. People with serious financial problems are so worried about money that they cannot be happy. Their misery makes everyone close to them—family, friends, colleagues—unhappy as well. Only if their financial problems are solved can they and those around them be happy.
Which one of the following statements can be properly inferred from the passage?
(A) Only serious problems make people unhappy.
(B) People who solve their serious financial problems will be happy.
(C) People who do not have serious financial problems will be happy.
(D) If people are unhappy, they have serious financial problems.
(E) If people are happy, they do not have serious financial problems.