CR Question 46, 47

46). For the past 13 years, high school guidance counselors nationwide have implemented an aggressive program to convince high school students to select careers requiring college degrees. The government reported that the percentage of last year's high school graduates who went on to college was 15 percent greater than the percentage of those who graduated 10 years ago and did so. The counselors concluded from this report that the program had been successful.

The guidance counselors' reasoning depends on which one of the following assumptions about high school graduates?

(A) The number of graduates who went on to college remained constant each year during the 10-year period.

(B) Any college courses that the graduates take will improve their career prospects.

(C) Some of the graduates who went on to college never received guidance from a high school counselor.

(D) There has been a decrease in the number of graduates who go on to college without career plans.

(E) Many of last year's graduates who went on to college did so in order to prepare for careers requiring college degrees

47). Frobisher, a sixteenth-century English explorer, had soil samples from Canada's Kodlunarn Island examined for gold content. Because high gold content was reported, Elizabeth I funded two mining expeditions. Neither expedition found any gold there. Modern analysis of the island's soil indicates a very low gold content. Thus the methods used to determine the gold content of Frobisher's samples must have been inaccurate.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

(A) The gold content of the soil on Kodlunarn Island is much lower today than it was in the sixteenth century.

(B) The two mining expeditions funded by Elizabeth I did not mine the same part of Kodlunarn Island.

(C) The methods used to assess gold content of the soil samples provided by Frobisher were different from those generally used in the sixteenth century.

(D) Frobisher did not have soil samples from any other Canadian island examined for gold content.

(E) Gold was not added to the soil samples collected by Frobisher before the samples were examined.


Answers:

Best approach for such questions is to negate the assumption and then look what effect this creates on the conclusion

46). OA - E

1st Premise: High school guidance counselors nationwide have implemented an aggressive program to convince high school students to select careers requiring college degrees

2nd Premise: The government reported that the percentage of last year's high school graduates who went on to college was 15 percent greater than the percentage of those who graduated 10 years ago and did so.

Conclusion:The counselors concluded from this report that the program had been successful.

Using deniel test: Many of last year's graduates who went on to college did not prepare for careers requiring college degrees - if this was true can we draw the conclusion that the program was successful - No, because then the very purpose of the program gets defeated(high school guidance counselors nationwide have implemented an aggressive program to convince high school students to select careers requiring college degrees), hence the program would have not been a success


47). OA - E

Using deniel test: Gold WAS added to the soil samples collected by Frobisher before the samples were examined.

If the above statement was true, can we draw the conclusion that method was inaccurate -- No, hence E must be the answer

Why not C: Methods were different. So what? Does it prove or deny the conclusion that method was inaccurate? No ..hence ruled out.

CR Question 40, 41

40). A researcher discovered that people who have low levels of immune-system activity tend to score much lower on tests of mental health than do people with normal or high immune-system activity. The researcher concluded from this experiment that the immune system protects against mental illness as well as against physical disease.

The researcher's conclusion depends on which of the following assumptions?

A. High immune-system activity protects against mental illness better than normal immune-system activity does.

B. Mental illness is similar to physical disease in its effects on body systems.

C. People with high immune-system activity cannot develop mental illness.

D. Mental illness does not cause people's immune-system activity to decrease.

E. Psychological treatment of mental illness is not as effective as is medical treatment

41). Twenty years ago the Republic of Rosinia produced nearly 100 million tons of potatoes, but last year the harvest barely reached 60 million tons. Agricultural researchers, who have failed to develop new higher yielding strains of potatoes, are to blame for this decrease, since they have been concerned only with their own research and not with the needs of Rosinia.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

(A) Any current attempts by agricultural researchers to develop higher-yielding potato strains are futile.

(B) Strains of potatoes most commonly grown in Rosinia could not have produced the yields last year that they once did.

(C) Agricultural researchers often find concrete solutions to practical problems when investigating seemingly unrelated questions.

(D) Wide fluctuations in the size of the potato crop over a twenty-year period are not unusual.

(E) Agricultural research in Rosinia is funded by government grants.


Answers:

40). OA - D

Best approach for such questions is to negate the assumption and then look what effect this creates on the conclusion

Conclusion: immune system protects against mental illness
Negate the assumption: Mental illness causes people's immune-system activity to decrease.

Argument is shattered

Why not B:

Mental illness is similar to physical disease in its effects on body systems. - Assumption. Mental illness is similar to physical.

Now if you negate this assumption then the conclusion that "Protects against mental AND physical" falls ---- the similarity b/w the two diseases needs not be true for the immune system to work as claimed. The immune system can protect against two mutually exclusive diseases and still be effective. It's like saying that tylenol protects against headaches and depression. Are the two similar? Not at all. Yet, tylenol can still protect people against the two.

41). OA - B

Follow denial technique for assumption questions -

Negate : Strains of potatoes most commonly grown in Rosinia could have produced the yields last year that they once did. If this is true, then there could be some other reason for the reduced harvest. However, since the strains could not produce the same yields last year, the researchers are to blame for the poor quality of the strain

CR Question - 39

39). The media claim that the economy is entering a phase of growth and prosperity. They point to lower unemployment rates and increased productivity. Their analysis is false, though. The number of people filing for bankruptcy has increased every month for the last six months and bankruptcy lawyers report that they are busier than they have been in years.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A. Unemployment rates are not useful indicators of growth and prosperity.
B. Economic growth cannot be measured in terms of productivity.
C. Legislation has not been recently passed to make legal bankruptcy easier to obtain.
D. There has not been an increase in the number of bankruptcy lawyers.
E. The media often misrepresent the current state of economic affairs.

OA and OE : From MGMAT CAT1

OE: The conclusion of the argument is that the media are wrong in saying that the economy is entering a phase of growth and prosperity. The basis for that claim is that the number of people filing for bankruptcy has increased every month for the last six months and that bankruptcy lawyers are busier than they have been in years. In order for this argument to be valid, however, the author has to assume that the increase in the number of bankruptcies is a result of the state of the economy and not the result of something unrelated.

(A) This does not have to be true for the claim that the media are wrong about the economy to hold. It is possible that unemployment rates are useful indicators of growth and prosperity and that media is still wrong about the economy (i.e. if there are other indicators that show problems in other areas).

(B) This does not have to be true for the claim that the media are wrong about the economy to hold. It is possible that productivity is a good measure of economic growth and that media is still wrong about the economy (i.e. if there are other indicators that show problems in other areas).

(C) CORRECT. This has to be true for the claim that the media are wrong about the economy to hold. If legislation has recently been passed that makes it easier to obtain bankruptcy, this would explain away the counterevidence to the media's argument. The increased number of bankruptcies could have been the result of the easier process rather than of a poor economy.

(D) This does not have to be true for the claim that the media are wrong about the economy to hold. An increase in the number of bankruptcy lawyers would not explain the increase in the number of bankruptcy filings.

(E) This does not have to be true for the claim that the media are wrong about the economy to hold. Even if the media did not often misrepresent the current state of economic affairs, the argument that the media are wrong might still hold.

The correct answer is C.

CR Questions 33, 34

33). 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.

The critic's argument depends on which one of the following assumptions?

(A) People who enjoy comedians who display disrespect in their acts do not place a high value on respect for others.
(B) Only comedians who display blatant disrespect in their acts are currently successful.
(C) Many people disapprove of the portrayal of blatant disrespect for others in comedy acts.
(D) People who value an ideal especially highly do not always succeed in living up to this ideal. (E) People today fail to live up to their own ideals more frequently than was the case in the past.

34). In the course of her researches, a historian recently found two documents mentioning the same person, Erich Schnitzler. One, dated May 3, 1739, is a record of Schnitzler's arrest for peddling without a license. The second, undated, is a statement by Schnitzler asserting that he has been peddling off and on for 20 years.

The facts above best support which of the following conclusions?

(A) Schnitzler started peddling around 1719.
(B) Schnitzler was arrested repeatedly for peddling.
(C) The undated document was written before 1765.
(D) The arrest record was written after the undated document.
(E) The arrest record provides better evidence that Schnitzler peddled than does the undated document.


Answers --

33). OA - D

The passage explains the popularity of comedians: "...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". So, the success of comedy is connected with the fact that COMEDIANS FAIL TO LIVE UP TO THE IDEALS THEY VALUE HIGHLY. This situation is possible only if we assume D, i.e. that there are people who fail to live up to the ideals they value highly

34). OA - C

A - If the undated document was dated 1750, then it cannot be said that Schnitzler started peddling in 1719
B - In 1739, Schnitzler could have been arrested only once
C - The most reasonable answer. If the documents were written before 1765, it would account for the fact that Schnitzler was peddling on and off for the past 20 years.
D - As stated above in C, the document could have been written in 1750. We cannot assert that it was written after the undated document.
E - Nothing supports the truthness of each document.

CR Questions 21 - 30

21). When limitations were in effect on nuclear-arms testing, people tended to save more of their money, but when nuclear-arms testing increased, people tended to spend more of their money. The perceived threat of nuclear catastrophe, therefore, decreases the willingness of people to postpone consumption for the sake of saving money.

The argument above assumes that

A). the perceived threat of nuclear catastrophe has increased over the
years.

B). most people supported the development of nuclear arms

C). people's perception of the threat of nuclear catastrophe depends on the amount of nuclear-arms testing being done

D). the people who saved the most money when nuclear-arms testing was limited were the ones who supported such limitations

E). there are more consumer goods available when nuclear-arms testing increases

22). Which of the following best completes the passage below?
People buy prestige when they buy a premium product. They want to be associated with something special. Mass-marketing techniques and price-reduction strategies should not be used because____

A). affluent purchasers currently represent a shrinking portion of the population of all purchasers

B). continued sales depend directly on the maintenance of an aura of exclusivity

C). purchasers of premium products are concerned with the quality as well as with the price of the products

D). expansion of the market niche to include a broader spectrum of consumers will increase profits

E). manufacturing a premium brand is not necessarily more costly than manufacturing a standard brand of the same product

23). A cost-effective solution to the problem of airport congestion is to provide high-speed ground transportation between major cities lying 200 to 500 miles apart. The successful implementation of this plan would cost far less than expanding existing airports and would also reduce the number of airplanes clogging both airports and airways.

Which of the following, if true, could be proponents of the plan above most appropriately cite as a piece of evidence for the soundness of their plan?

A). An effective high-speed ground-transportation system would require major repairs to many highways and mass-transit improvements.

B). One-half of all departing flights in the nation's busiest airport head for a destination in a major city 225 miles away.

C). The majority of travelers departing from rural airports are flying to destinations in cities over 600 miles away.

D). Many new airports are being built in areas that are presently served by high-speed ground-transportation
systems.

E). A large proportion of air travelers are vacationers who are taking long-distance flights.

24). If there is an oil-supply disruption resulting in higher international oil prices, domestic oil prices in open-market countries such as the United States will rise as well, whether such countries import all or none of their oil.

If the statement in the passage concerning oil-supply disruptions is true, which of the following policies in an open-market nation is most likely to reduce the long-term economic impact on that nation of sharp and
unexpected increases in international oil prices?

A). Maintaining the quantity of oil imported at constant yearly levels

B). Increasing the number of oil tankers in its fleet

C). Suspending diplomatic relations with major oil-producing nations

D). Decreasing oil consumption through conservation

E). Decreasing domestic production of oil

25). If there is an oil-supply disruption resulting in higher international oil prices, domestic oil prices in open-market countries such as the United States will rise as well, whether such countries import all or none of their oil.

Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the statement in the passage?

A). Domestic producers of oil in open-market countries are excluded from the international oil market when there is a disruption in the international oil supply.

B). International oil-supply disruptions have little, if any, effect on the price of domestic oil as long as an open-market country has domestic supplies capable of meeting domestic demand.

C). The oil market in an open-market country is actually part of the international oil market, even if most of that country's domestic oil is usually sold to consumers within its borders.

D). Open-market countries that export little or none of their oil can maintain stable domestic oil prices even when international oil prices rise sharply.

E). If international oil prices rise, domestic distributors of oil in open-market countries will begin to import more oil than they export.

26). The average normal infant born in the United States weighs between twelve and fourteen pounds at the age of three months. Therefore, if a three-month-old child weighs only ten pounds, its weight gain has been below the United States average.

Which of the following indicates a flaw in the reasoning above?

A). Weight is only one measure of normal infant development.

B). Some three-month-old children weigh as much as seventeen pounds.

C). It is possible for a normal child to weigh ten pounds at birth.

D). The phrase "below average" does not necessarily mean insufficient.

E). Average weight gain is not the same as average weight.

27). Red blood cells in which the malarial-fever parasite resides are eliminated from a person's body after 120 days. Because the parasite cannot travel to a new generation of red blood cells, any fever that
develops in a person more than 120 days after that person has moved to a malaria-free region is not due to the malarial parasite.

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

A). The fever caused by the malarial parasite may resemble the fever caused by flu viruses.

B). The anopheles mosquito, which is the principal insect carrier of the malarial parasite, has been eradicated in many parts of the world.

C). Many malarial symptoms other than the fever, which can be suppressed with anti-malarial medication, can reappear within 120 days after the medication is discontinued.

D). In some cases, the parasite that causes malarial fever travels to cells of the spleen, which are less frequently eliminated from a person's body than are red blood cells.

E). In any region infested with malaria-carrying mosquitoes, there are individuals who appear to be immune to malaria.

28). Fact 1: Television advertising is becoming less effective: the proportion of brand names promoted on television that viewers of the advertising can recall is slowly decreasing.

Fact 2: Television viewers recall commercials aired first or last in a cluster of consecutive commercials far better than they recall commercials aired somewhere in the middle.

Fact 2 would be most likely to contribute to an explanation of fact 1 if which of the following were also true?

A). The average television viewer currently recalls fewer than half the brand names promoted in commercials he or she saw.

B). The total time allotted to the average cluster of consecutive television commercials is decreasing.

C). The average number of hours per day that people spend watching television is decreasing.

D). The average number of clusters of consecutive commercials per hour of television is increasing.

E). The average number of television commercials in a cluster of consecutive commercials is increasing.

29). The number of people diagnosed as having a certain intestinal disease has dropped significantly in a rural county this year, as compared to last year. Health officials attribute this decrease entirely to improved sanitary conditions at water-treatment plants, which made for cleaner water this year and thus reduced the incidence of the disease.

Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the health officials' explanation for the lower incidence of the disease?

A). Many new water-treatment plants have been built in the last five years in the rural county.

B). Bottled spring water has not been consumed in significantly different quantities by people diagnosed as having the intestinal disease, as compared to people who did not contract the disease.

C). Because of a new diagnostic technique, many people who until this year would have been diagnosed as having the intestinal disease are now correctly diagnosed as suffering from intestinal ulcers.

D). Because of medical advances this year, far fewer people who contract the intestinal disease will develop severe cases of the disease.

E). The water in the rural county was brought up to the sanitary standards of the water in neighboring counties ten years ago.

30). The price the government pays for standard weapons purchased from military contractors is determined by a pricing method called "historical costing." Historical costing allows contractors to protect their profits by adding a percentage increase, based on the current rate of inflation, to the previous year's contractual price.

Which of the following statements, if true, is the best basis for a criticism of historical costing as an economically sound pricing method for military contracts?

A). The government might continue to pay for past inefficient use of funds.

B). The rate of inflation has varied considerably over the past twenty years.

C). The contractual price will be greatly affected by the cost of materials used for the products.

D). Many taxpayers question the amount of money the government spends on military contracts.

E). The pricing method based on historical costing might not encourage the development of innovative weapons.

Official answers and explanations --

21). On the basis of an observed correlation between arms testing and people’s tendency to save money, the argument concludes that there is a causal connection between a perception of threat and the tendency not to save. That connection cannot be made unless C, linking the perception of threat to the amount of testing being done, is assumed to be true. Therefore, C is the best answer.
The conclusion does not depend on there having been an increase in the perceived threat over time or on how many people supported the development of nuclear arms. Hence, neither of A and B is assumed. The argument does not deal with those who supported arms limitations or with the availability of consumer goods. Thus, D and E are not assumed.

22). The incomplete passage calls for an explanation of why price-reduction and mass-marketing methods should
not be used for premium products. B, which states that sales of these products require that they appear specials,
provides such an explanation. Therefore, B is the best answer. No other choice offers an appropriate explanation. The diminishing proportion of affluent buyers cited in A argues for using price reductions to attract buyers of lesser means. C suggests that purchasers of premium products find reduced prices attractive, and it has not been established that the methods affect quality or perception of quality. D argues for, rather than against, using mass marketing.
E is inappropriate, since there is no indication that manufacturing costs are relevant.

23). The plan proposes that high-speed ground transportation would be a less expensive solution to airport congestion than would airport expansion. B indicates that between the cities to be served by the plan there is substantial air travel to which ground transportation would represent an alternative. Therefore, B is the best answer.
No other choice could be cited appropriately. A and D both provide some evidence against the plan. A by emphasizing the likely costs of providing high-speed ground transportation is not by itself a solution to airport
congestion.
D by indicating that such an alternative is not by itself a solution to airport congestion.
C and E say that there are many travelers for whom the proposed system would actually provide no alternative.

24). If the statement about oil-supply disruption is true, domestic oil prices in an open-market country will rise when
an oil-supply disruption causes increased international oil prices. A reduction in the amount of oil an open-market country consumes could reduce the economic impact of these increases. D gives a way to reduce oil consumption and is thus the best answer.
A and E describe policies that could actually increase the long-term impact of increases in international oil prices, so neither of these choices is appropriate. No relationship is
established between the economic impact and either the number of oil tankers or diplomatic relations in B and C,
so neither of these choices is appropriate.

25). If the oil market in an open-market country were independent, fluctuations in international oil prices would not affect domestic oil prices. However, if the statement about oil-supply disruption is true, it is evidence that domestic oil prices are dependent on the international market and hence that the domestic oil market is a part of the international oil market. Therefore, C is the best answer.
B and D are not supported, since each contradicts the claim that an international oil-supply disruption will lead to rising oil prices in an open-market nation. Nor are A and E supported, since the statement provides information only about the effect of disruption on oil prices, not domestic producers or distributors.

26). The evidence on which the conclusion is based concerns only average weight, but the conclusion concerns average weight gain. Because there is not necessarily a connection between an absolute measurement-such as weight-and a rate of increase-such as weight gain-this argument is flawed. The relevant reasoning error is described in E, which is the best answer.
Neither of A and D identifies a reasoning error in the passage, since the passage makes no claim that weight is the only relevant measure of infant development in general, and no claim about sufficiency. B and C are consistent with the claims in the passage, and neither identifies a flaw in the argument.

27). The passage concludes that, because the malarial parasite cannot reside in red blood cells for more than 120
days, the malarial parasite cannot cause fever more than 120 days after infection. However, according to D, there is a site in the body where the parasite could reside for more than 120 days after infection. Therefore, D weakens the conclusion and is the best answer.
The resemblance between malarial-fever symptoms and those of other diseases, the existence of other malarial symptoms, and the possibility of immunity to malaria are irrelevant to the issue of the conditions under which malarial fever can occur. B provides confirmation for the existence of malaria-free regions but does not otherwise bear on the conclusion.

28). Because E indicates that the number of commercials in a cluster is increasing, it entails that proportionally more
commercials are aired in intermediate positions. Hence, E helps fact 2 explain fact 1 by showing that increasingly more commercials are aired in positions in which viewers find them difficult to recall. E is the best answer.
A testifies to the ineffectiveness of television advertising but does not help fact 2 explain fact 1.
B indicates that fact 2 contradicts rather than explains fact 1, since it suggests that the number of commercials per cluster is decreasing.
C and D help to explain fact 1-by describing a change in viewing habits and a change in programming-but neither relates fact 2 to fact 1.

29). The health officials’ explanation assumes that the decrease in the number of people diagnosed with the disease
accurately reflects a diminution in cases of the disease. By pointing out that this assumption is false, C undermines the officials’ explanation and thus is the best answer. Since A supports the view that sanitary conditions have been improving, it tends to support the officials’ explanation. B also tends to support the officials’ explanation, because it eliminates a factor that might have differentiated between those contracting and those not contracting the disease and thus rules out an alternative explanation. The reduction of the severity of the diagnosed cases does not bear on the officials’ explanation. So D is not correct. Since the standards in
neighboring counties might themselves have been inadequate, E does not weaken the officials’ explanation.

30). If the original contractual price for the weapons purchased incorporated an inefficient use of funds, then, since historical costing merely adds to the original price, it preserves these inefficiencies. An economically sound pricing method should at least allow the possibility of reductions in price as such inefficiencies are removed. Hence, A is the best answer. Because historical costing responds to inflation, B and C are consistent with the economic soundness of historical costing-the rate of inflation and costs that are reflected in inflation. D offers no grounds for questioning the economic soundness of historical costing in particular. Historical costing applies to standard weapons only, not to the innovative weapons that are mentioned in E.