1.

The geese that gather at the pond of a large corporation create a hazard for executives who use the
corporate helicopter, whose landing site is 40 feet away from the pond. To solve the problem, the corporation
plans to import a large number of herding dogs to keep the geese away from the helicopter.

Which of the following, if a realistic possibility, would cast the most serious doubt on the prospects for success
of the corporation’s plan?

(A) The dogs will form an uncontrollable pack.

(B) The dogs will require training to learn to herd the geese.

(C) The dogs will frighten away foxes that prey on old and sick geese.

(D) It will be necessary to keep the dogs in quarantine for 30 days after importing them.

2. Last year the rate of inflation was 1.2 percent, but for the current year it has been 4 percent. We can
conclude that inflation is on an upward trend and the rate will be still higher next year.

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

(A) The inflation figures were computed on the basis of a representative sample of economic data rather than
all of the available data.

(B) Last year a dip in oil prices brought inflation temporarily below its recent stable annual level of 4 percent.

(C) Increases in the pay of some workers are tied to the level of inflation, and at an inflation rate of 4 percent
or above, these pay raises constitute a force causing further inflation.

(D) The 1.2 percent rate of inflation last year represented a 10-year low.

3. In the United States in 1986, the average rate of violent crime in states with strict gun-control laws was 645
crimes per 100,000 persons: about 50 percent higher than the average rate in the eleven states where strict
gun-control laws have never been passed. Thus one way to reduce violent crime is to repeal strict gun control
laws.

Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument above?

(A) The annual rate of violent crime in states with strict gun-control laws has decreased since the passage of
those laws.

(B) In states with strict gun-control laws, few individuals are prosecuted for violating such laws.

(C) In states without strict gun-control laws, many individuals have had no formal training in the use of
firearms.
(D) The annual rate of nonviolent crime is lower in states with strict gun-control laws than in states without
such laws.

4. According to the Tristate Transportation Authority, making certain improvements to the main commuter rail
line would increase ridership dramatically. The authority plans to finance these improvements over the course
of five years by raising automobile tolls on the two high-way bridges along the route the rail line serves.
Although the proposed improvements are indeed needed, the authority’s plan for securing the necessary funds
should be rejected because it would unfairly force drivers to absorb the entire cost of something from which
they receive no benefit.

Which of the following, if true, would cast the most doubt on the effectiveness of the authority’s plan to
finance the proposed improvements by increasing bridge tolls?

(A) Before the authority increases tolls on any of the area bridges, it is required by law to hold public hearings
at which objections to the proposed increase can be raised.

(B) Whenever bridge tolls are increased, the authority must pay a private contractor to adjust the automated
toll-collecting machines.

(C) Between the time a proposed toll increase is announced and the time the increase is actually put into
effect, many commuters buy more tokens than usual to postpone the effects of the increase.

(D) When tolls were last increased on the two bridges in question, almost 20 percent of the regular commuter
traffic switched to a slightly longer alternative route that has since been improved.

5. A physically active lifestyle has been shown to help increase longevity. In the Wistar region of Bellaria, the
average age at death is considerably higher than in any other part of the country. Wistar is the only
mountainous part of Bellaria. A mountainous terrain makes even such basic activities as walking relatively
strenuous; it essentially imposes a physically active lifestyle on people. Clearly, this circumstance explains the
long lives of people in Wistar.

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

(A) In Bellaria all medical expenses are paid by the government, so that personal income does not affect the
quality of health care a person receives.

(B) People living in Wistar do not have a significantly better diet than people living in other parts of Bellaria.

(C) Many people who live in the Wistar region have moved there in middle age or upon retirement.

(D) The many opportunities for hiking, skiing, and other outdoor activities that Wistar's mountains offer make
it a favorite destination for vacationing Bellarians.
6. Although elementary school children have traditionally received considerable instruction in creating visual
art, there has been no such instruction in music. Consequently, in contrast to the situation for visual art, most
people as adults do not recognize the artistic intention of composers. To remedy this situation, a few educators
now recommend teaching elementary schools students to compose music.

Which of the following, if true, is the strongest basis for arguing that implementation of the recommendation
will not lead to the desired result?

A. Few elementary schools students are likely to create superior compositions.

B. Traditional education facilitates the appreciation of visual art, but not the recognition of the artistic
intentions of artists.

C. More people report that they enjoy music than report that they enjoy visual art.

D. Some composers have had little formal instruction in composition.

7. Twelve years ago and again five years ago, there were extended periods when the Darfir Republic's
currency, the pundra, was weak: its value was unusually low relative to the world's most stable currencies.
Both times a weak pundra made Darfir's manufactured products a bargain on world markets, and Darfir's
exports were up substantially. Now some politicians are saying that, in order to cause another similarly sized
increase in exports, the government should allow the pundra to become weak again.

Which of the following, if true, provides the government with the strongest grounds to doubt that the
politicians' recommendation, if followed, will achieve its aim?

(A) Several of the politicians now recommending that the pundra be allowed to become weak made that same
recommendation before each of the last two periods of currency weakness.

(B) After several decades of operating well below peak capacity, Darfir's manufacturing sector is now operating
at near-peak levels.

(C) The economy of a country experiencing a rise in exports will become healthier only if the country's
currency is strong or the rise in exports is significant.

(D) Those countries whose manufactured products compete with Darfir's on the world market all currently
have stable currencies.

8. The management at a certain company opposes the use of machine X, since machine X produces 5 percent
fewer units per hour than does machine Y. However, management is neglecting to consider that the quality of
the units produced by machine X is superior to the quality of those produced by machine Y. For example, only
2 percent of the units produced by machine X were found to be defective. Therefore, the managers’ objections
are invalid; the company should use machine X.

Which of the following, if true, could best be used as a basis for arguing against the author’s position that the
managers should use machine X?
(A) Machine X is 5 years old.

(B) Two percent of the units produced by machine Y are defective.

(C)The managers have been analyzing a new machine that produces 10 percent more units per hour than does
machine X.

(D) Machine X is more expensive to maintain than is machine Y.

9. The recent upheaval in the office-equipment retail business, in which many small firms have gone out of
business, has been attributed to the advent of office equipment superstores whose high sales volume keeps
their prices low. This analysis is flawed, however, since even today the superstores control a very small share
of the retail market.

Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument that the analysis is flawed?

(A) Most of the larger customers for office equipment purchase under contract directly from manufacturers and
thus do not participate in the retail market.

(B) The superstores’ heavy advertising of their low prices has forced prices down throughout the retail market
for office supplies.

(C) Some of the superstores that only recently opened have themselves gone out of business.

(D) Most of the office equipment superstores are owned by large retailing chains that also own stores selling
other types of goods.

10. In the past, most children who went sledding in the winter snow in Verland used wooden sleds with
runners and steering bars. Ten years ago, smooth plastic sleds became popular; they go faster than wooden
sleds but are harder to steer and slow. The concern that plastic sleds are more dangerous is clearly borne out
by the fact that the number of children injured while sledding was much higher last winter than it was ten
years ago.

Which of the following, if true in Verland, most seriously undermines the force of the evidence cited?

(A) A few children still use traditional wooden sleds.

(B) Very few children wear any kind of protective gear, such as helmets, while sledding.

(C) Plastic sleds can be used in a much wider variety of snow conditions than wooden sleds can.

(D) Most sledding injuries occur when a sled collides with a tree, a rock, or another sled.
11. Editorial: The roof of Northtown Council’s equipment-storage building collapsed under the weight of last
week’s heavy snowfall. The building was constructed recently and met local building-safety codes in every
particular, except that the nails used for attaching roof supports to the building’s columns were of a smaller
size than the codes specify for this purpose. Clearly, this collapse exemplifies how even a single, apparently
insignificant, departure from safety standards can have severe consequences.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the editorial’s argument?

A. The only other buildings whose roofs collapsed from the weight of the snowfall were older buildings
constructed according to less exacting standards than those in the safety codes.

B. Because of the particular location of the equipment-storage building, the weight of snow on its roof was
greater than the maximum weight allowed for in the safety codes.

C. Because the equipment-storage building was not intended for human occupation, some safety-code
provisions that would have applied to an office building did not apply to it.

D. The columns of the building were no stronger than the building-safety codes required for such a building.

12. A recent spate of launching and operating mishaps with television satellites led to a corresponding surge in
claims against companies underwriting satellite insurance. As a result, insurance premiums shot up, making
satellites more expensive to launch and operate. This, in turn, has added to the pressure to squeeze more
performance out of currently operating satellites.

Which of the following, if true, taken together with the information above, best supports the conclusion that
the cost of television satellites will continue to increase?

(A) Since the risk to insurers of satellites is spread over relatively few units, insurance premiums are
necessarily very high.

(B) When satellites reach orbit and then fail, the causes of failure are generally impossible to pinpoint with
confidence.

(C) The greater the performance demands placed on satellites, the more frequently those satellites break
down.

(D) Most satellites are produced in such small numbers that no economies of scale can be realized.

13. The chemical adenosine is released by brain cells when those cells are active. Adenosine then binds to
more and more sites on cells in certain areas of the brain, as the total amount released gradually increases
during wakefulness. During sleep, the number of sites to which adenosine is bound decreases. Some
researchers have hypothesized that it is the cumulative binding of adenosine to a large number of sites that
causes the onset of sleep.

Which of the following, if true, provides the most support for the researchers’ hypothesis?

(A) Even after long periods of sleep when adenosine is at its lowest concentration in the brain, the number of
brain cells bound with adenosine remains very large.

(B) Caffeine, which has the effect of making people remain wakeful, is known to interfere with the binding of
adenosine to sites on brain cells.

(C) Besides binding to sites in the brain, adenosine is known to be involved in biochemical reactions throughout
the body.

(D) Some areas of the brain that are relatively inactive nonetheless release some adenosine.

14. Codex Berinensis, a Florentine copy of an ancient Roman medical treatise , is undated but contains clues to
when it was produced. Its first 80 pages are by a single copyist, but the remaining 20 pages are by three
different copyists, which indicates some significant disruption. Since a letter in handwriting identified as that of
the fourth copyist mentions a plague that killed many people in Florence in 1148, Codex Berinensis was
probably produced in that year.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the hypothesis that Codex Berinensis was produced in
1148?

(A) Other than Codex Berinensis, there are no known samples of the handwriting of the first three copyists.

(B) According to the account by the fourth copyist, the plague went on for 10 months.

(C) A scribe would be able to copy a page of text the size and style of Codex Berinensis in a day.

(D) There was only one outbreak of plague in Florence in the 1100s.

15. Film Director: It is true that certain characters and plot twists in my newly released film The Big Heist are
strikingly similar to characters and plot twists in Thieves, a movie that came out last year. Based on these
similarities, the film studio that produced Thieves is now accusing me of taking ideas from that film. The
accusation is clearly without merit. All production work on The Big Heist was actually completed months before
Thieves was released.

Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest support for the director's rejection of the accusation?

(A) Before Thieves began production, its script had been circulating for several years among various film
studios, including the studio that produced The Big Heist.

(B) The characters and plot twists that are most similar in the two films have close parallels in many earlier
films of the same genre.

(C) The film studio that produced Thieves seldom produces films in this genre.

(D) The director of Thieves worked with the director of The Big Heist on several earlier projects.

16. Often patients with ankle fractures that are stable, and thus do not require surgery, are given follow-up x-
ray because their orthopedists are concerned about possibly having misjudged the stability of the fracture.
When a number of follow-up x-rays were reviewed, however, all the fractures that had initially been judged
stable were found to have healed correctly. Therefore, it is a waste of money to order follow-up x-rays of ankle
fracture initially judged stable.

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

(A) Doctors who are general practitioners rather than orthopedists are less likely than orthopedists to judge the
stability of an ankle fracture correctly.

(B) Many ankle injuries for which an initial x-ray is ordered are revealed by the x-ray not to involve any
fracture of the ankle.

(C) X-rays of patients of many different orthopedists working in several hospitals were reviewed.

(D) The healing of ankle fractures that have been surgically repaired is always checked by means of a follow-
up x-ray.

17. A company plans to develop a prototype weeding machine that uses cutting blades with optical sensors
and microprocessors that distinguish weeds from crop plants by differences in shade of color. The inventor of
the machine claims that it will reduce labor costs by virtually eliminating the need for manual weeding.

Which of the following is a consideration in favor of the company's implementing its plan to develop the
prototype?

A. There is a considerable degree of variation in shade of color between weeds of different species.

B. The shade of color of some plants tends to change appreciably over the course of their growing season.

C. When crops are weeded manually, overall size and leaf shape are taken into account in distinguishing crop
plants from weeds.

D. Selection and genetic manipulation allow plants of virtually any species to be economically bred to have a
distinctive shade of color without altering their other characteristics.

18. Between 1980 and 2000 the sea otter population of the Aleutian Islands declined precipitously. There were
no signs of disease or malnutrition, so there was probably an increase in the number of otters being eaten by
predators. Orcas will eat otters when seals, their normal prey, are unavailable, and the Aleutian Islands seal
population declined dramatically in the 1980s. Therefore, orcas were most likely the immediate cause of the
otter population decline.

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

(A) The population of sea urchins, the main food of sea otters, has increased since the sea otter population
declined.

(B) Seals do not eat sea otters, nor do they compete with sea otters for food.

(C) Most of the surviving sea otters live in a bay that is inaccessible to orcas.

(D) The population of orcas in the Aleutian Islands has declined since the 1980s.

19. Studies in restaurants show that the tips left by customers who pay their bill in cash tend to be larger when
the bill is presented on a tray that bears a credit-card logo. Consumer psychologists hypothesize that simply
seeing a credit-card logo makes many credit-card holders willing to spend more because it reminds them that
their spending power exceeds the cash they have immediately available.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the psychologists’ interpretation of the studies?

A. The effect noted in the studies is not limited to patrons who have credit cards.

B. Patrons who are under financial pressure from their credit-card obligations tend to tip less when presented
with a restaurant bill on a tray with credit-card logo than when the tray has no logo.

C. In virtually all of the cases in the studies, the patrons who paid bills in cash did not possess credit cards.

D. In general, restaurant patrons who pay their bills in cash leave larger tips than do those who pay by credit
card.

20. Asthma, a chronic breathing disorder, is significantly more common today among adult competitive
swimmers than it is among competitive athletes who specialize in other sports. Although chlorine is now known
to be a lung irritant and swimming pool water is generally chlorinated, it would be rash to assume that
frequent exposure to chlorine is the explanation of the high incidence of asthma among these swimmers, since
__________.

(A) young people who have asthma are no more likely to become competitive athletes than are young people
who do not have asthma

(B) competitive athletes who specialize in sports other than swimming are rarely exposed to chlorine

(C) competitive athletes as a group have a significantly lower incidence of asthma than do people who do not
participate in competitive athletics

(D) until a few years ago, physicians routinely recommended competitive swimming to children with asthma, in
the belief that this form of exercise could alleviate asthma symptom