GWD1-Q35 to Q37:
In corporate purchasing, competitive scrutiny is typically limited to suppliers of items that are directly related to end products. With “indirect” purchases (such as computers, advertising, and legal services), which are not directly related to production, corporations often favor “supplier partnerships” (arrangements in which the purchaser forgoes the right to pursue alternative suppliers), which can inappropriately shelter suppliers from rigorous competitive scrutiny that might afford the purchaser economic leverage. There are two independent variables—availability of alternatives and ease of changing suppliers—that companies should use to evaluate the feasibility of subjecting suppliers of indirect purchases to competitive scrutiny. This can create four possible situations.
In Type 1 situations, there are many alternatives and change is relatively easy. Open pursuit of alternatives—by frequent competitive bidding, if possible—will likely yield the best results. In Type 2 situations, where there are many alternatives but change is difficult—as for providers of employee health-care benefits—it is important to continuously test the market and use the results to secure concessions from existing suppliers. Alternatives provide a credible threat to suppliers, even if the ability to switch is constrained. In Type 3 situations, there are few alternatives, but the ability to switch without difficulty creates a threat that companies can use to negotiate concessions from existing suppliers. In Type 4 situations, where there are few alternatives and change is difficult, partnerships may be unavoidable.
GWD1-Q35:
Which of the following best describes the relation of the second paragraph to the first?
A. The second paragraph offers proof of an assertion made in the first paragraph.
B. The second paragraph provides an explanation for the occurrence of a situation described in the first paragraph.
C. The second paragraph discusses the application of a strategy proposed in the first paragraph.
D. The second paragraph examines the scope of a problem presented in the first paragraph.
E. The second paragraph discusses the contradictions inherent in a relationship described in the first paragraph.
GWD1-Q36:
Which of the following can be inferred about supplier partnerships, as they are described in the passage?
A. They cannot be sustained unless the goods or services provided are available from a large number of suppliers.
B. They can result in purchasers paying more for goods and services than they would in a competitive-bidding situation.
C. They typically are instituted at the urging of the supplier rather than the purchaser.
D. They are not feasible when the goods or services provided are directly related to the purchasers’ end products.
E. They are least appropriate when the purchasers’ ability to change suppliers is limited.
GWD1-Q37:
According to the passage, which of the following factors distinguishes an indirect purchase from other purchases?
A. The ability of the purchasing company to subject potential suppliers of the purchased item to competitive scrutiny
B. The number of suppliers of the purchased item available to the purchasing company
C. The methods of negotiation that are available to the purchasing company
D. The relationship of the purchased item to the purchasing company’s end product
E. The degree of importance of the purchased item in the purchasing company’s business operations
GWD1-Q38:
Retail sales rose 8/10 of 1 percent in August, intensifying expectations that personal spending in the July-September quarter more than doubled that of the 1.4 percent growth rate in personal spending for the previous quarter.
A. that personal spending in the July-September quarter more than doubled that of
B. that personal spending in the July-September quarter would more than double
C. of personal spending in the July-September quarter, that it more than doubled
D. of personal spending in the July-September quarter, more than doubling that of
E. of personal spending in the July-September quarter, that it would more than double that of
GWD1-Q39:
Which of the following most logically completes the passage below?
Heavy rains during Centralia’s corn planting season prevented some farmers there from planting corn. It is now the planting season for soybeans, another of Centralia’s principal crops, and those fields originally intended for corn are dry enough for planting. Nonetheless, even though soybean prices are unusually high at present, the farmers will leave most of these fields empty rather than plant them with soybeans, since ‗‗‗‗‗‗.
A. the extensive rains have led to an increase in the price of corn
B. some Centralian farmers anticipate serious financial losses due to the extremely wet spring planting season
C. chemicals that were used to prepare the fields for corn planting would stunt the growth of soybeans
D. the majority of Centralia’s corn farmers were able to plant corn as they had intended, despite the wet planting season
E. many Centralian farmers grow both corn and soybeans
GWD1-Q40:
Until mow, only injectable vaccines against influenza have been available. Parents are reluctant to subject children to the pain of injections, but adults, who are at risk of serious complications from influenza, are commonly vaccinated. A new influenza vaccine, administered painlessly in a nasal spray, is effective for children. However, since children seldom develop serious complications from influenza, no significant public health benefit would result from widespread vaccination of children using the nasal spray.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. Any person who has received the injectable vaccine can safely receive the nasal-spray vaccine as well.
B. The new vaccine uses the same mechanism to ward off influenza as jnjectable vaccines do.
C. The injectable vaccine is affordable for all adults.
D. Adults do not contract influenza primarily from children who have influenza.
E. The nasal spray vaccine is mot effective when administered to adults.
GWD1-Q41:
Leaching, the recovery of copper from the drainage water of mines, as a method of the extraction of minerals, it was well established as early as the eighteenth century, but until about 25 years ago miners did not realize that bacteria take an active part in the process.
A. as a method of the extraction of minerals, it was well established
B. as a method of the extraction of minerals well established
C. was a well-established method of mineral extraction
D. was a well-established method of extracting mineral that was
E. had been a method of mineral extraction, well established
Additional RC: (not counted in 41 questions)
RC1(Q4-Q6):
TTGWD-11-Q3:
The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements regarding most historians of the antebellum period?
A. They have failed to adequately contrast the differing roles that women played in the Democratic and Whig parties in the 1850’s.
B. They have failed to see that political propaganda advocating women’s political involvement did not reflect the reality of women’s actual roles.
C. They have incorrectly assumed that women’s party loyalty played a small role in Whig and Democratic party politics.
D. They have misinterpreted descriptions of women’s involvement in party politics in records of female associations and women’s personal papers.
E. They have overlooked the role that women’s political activities played in the woman’s rights movement.
CRC4 (Q25 – Q28)
GWD18-Q23
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the effect of the solar-day cycle on the tide-associated periodic behavior displayed by commuter diatoms?
A. The solar-day cycle makes this behavior less advantageous to the commuter diatoms at certain times of the year.
B. The solar-day cycle makes this behavior somewhat more erratic.
C. The solar-day cycle makes this behavior less important to the survival of the commuter diatoms.
D. Because of the solar-day cycle, this behavior is forced to proceed at a more rapid pace at certain times during the 24-hour day.
E. Because of the solar-day cycle, this behavior is not expressed at certain times during the 24-hour day.
ETTGWD11-QX:
According to the passage, each of the following is characteristic of the tide-associated periodic behavior of commuter diatoms EXCEPT:
A. It is triggered when the diatoms are inundated by the tide.
B. It is correlated with the rise and fall of the tide.
C. It adjusts to changes in the tidal cycle.
D. It is influenced by the solar-day cycle.
E. It is regulated by an innate time-keeping mechanism.