Time 30 minutes 20 Questions
1. Mr. Janeck: I don’t believe Stevenson will win the election for governor. Few voters are willing to elect a businessman with no political experience to such a responsible public office.
Ms. Siuzdak: You’re wrong. The experience of running a major corporation is a valuable preparation for the task of running a state government.
M. Siuzdak’s response shows that she has interpreted Mr. Janeck’s remark to imply which of the following?
(A) Mr. Janeck considers Stevenson unqualified for the office of governor.
(B) No candidate without political experience has ever been elected governor of a state.
(C) Mr. Janeck believes that political leadership and business leadership are closely analogous.
(D) A career spent in the pursuit of profit can be an impediment to one’s ability to run a state government fairly.
(E) Voters generally overestimate the value of political experience when selecting a candidate.
2. Which of the following best completes the passage below?
One tax-reform proposal that has gained increasing support in recent years is the flat tax, which would impose a uniform tax rate on incomes at every level. Opponents of the flat tax say that a progressive tax system, which levies a higher rate of taxes on higher-income taxpayers, is fairer, placing the greater burden on those better able to bear it. However, the present crazy quilt of tax deductions, exemptions, credits, and loopholes benefits primarily the high-income taxpayer, who is consequently able to reduce his or her effective tax rate, often to a level below that paid by the lower-income taxpayer. Therefore, ______
(A) higher-income taxpayers are likely to lend their support to the flat-tax proposal now being considered by Congress
(B) a flat-tax system that allowed no deductions or exemptions would substantially increase actual government revenues
(C) the lower-income taxpayer might well be penalized by the institution of a flat-tax system in this country
(D) the progressive nature of our present tax system is more illusory than real
(E) the flat tax would actually be fairer to the lower-income taxpayer than any progressive tax system could be
3. As part of our program to halt the influx of illegal immigrants, the administration is proposing the creation of a national identity card. The card would be available only to U.S. citizens and to registered aliens, and all persons would be required to produce the card before they could be given a job. Of course, such a system holds the potential, however slight, for the abuse of civil liberties. Therefore, all personal information gathered through this system would be held strictly confidential, to be released only by authorized personnel under appropriate circumstances. Those who are in compliance with U.S. laws would have nothing to fear from the identity card system.In evaluating the above proposal, a person concerned about the misuse of confidential information would be most interested in having the author clarify the meaning of which of the following phrases?
(A) “all persons” (line 5)
(B) “however slight” (line 7)
(C) “civil liberties” (line 8)
(D) “appropriate circumstances” (line 11)
(E) “U.S. laws” (line 2)
4. At one time, European and Japanese companies tried to imitate their American rivals. Today, American appliance manufacturers import European scientists to lead their research staffs; American automakers design cars that mimic the styling of German, Italian, and French imports; and American electronics firms boast in their advertising of “Japanese-style” devotion to quality and reliability. In the world of high technology, America has lost the battle for international prestige.Each of the following statements, if true, would help to support the claim above EXCEPT:
(A) An American camera company claims in its promotional literature to produce cameras “as fine as the best Swiss imports.”
(B) An American maker of stereo components designs its products to resemble those of a popular Japanese firm.
(C) An American manufacturer of video games uses a brand name chosen because it sounds like a Japanese word.
(D) An American maker of televisions studies German-made televisions in order to adopt German manufacturing techniques
(E) An American maker of frozen foods advertises its dinners as “Real European-style entrees prepared by fine French and Italian chefs.”
5. Johnson is on firm ground when he asserts that the early editors of Dickinson’s poetry often distorted her intentions. Yet Johnson’s own, more faithful, text is still guilty of its own forms of distortion. To standardize Dickinson’s often indecipherable handwritten punctuation by the use of the dash is to render permanent a casual mode of poetic phrasing that Dickinson surely never expected to see in print. It implies that Dickinson chose the dash as her typical mark of punctuation when, in fact, she apparently never made any definitive choice at all.Which of the following best summarizes the author’s main point?
(A) Although Johnson is right in criticizing Dickinson’s early editors for their distortion of her work, his own text is guilty of equally serious distortions.
(B) Johnson’s use of the dash in his text of Dickinson’s poetry misleads readers about the poet’s intentions.
(C) Because Dickinson never expected her poetry to be published, virtually any attempt at editing it must run counter to her intentions.
(D) Although Johnson’s attempt to produce a more faithful text of Dickinson’s poetry is well-meaning, his study of the material lacks sufficient thoroughness.
(E) Dickinson’s editors, including Johnson, have failed to deal adequately with the problem of deciphering Dickinson’s handwritten manuscripts.
6. A law requiring companies to offer employees unpaid time off to care for their children will harm the economic competitiveness of our nation’s businesses. Companies must be free to set their own employment policies without mandated parental-leave regulations.Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the conclusion of the argument above?
(A) A parental-leave law will serve to strengthen the family as a social institution in this country.
(B) Many businesses in this country already offer employees some form of parental leave.
(C) Some of the countries with the most economically competitive businesses have strong parental-leave regulations.
(D) Only companies with one hundred or more employees would be subject to the proposed parental-leave law.
(E) In most polls, a majority of citizens say they favor passage of a parental-leave law.
7. If A, then B.
If B, then C.
If C, then D.
If all of the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true?
(A) If D, then A.
(B) If not B, then not C.
(C) If not D, then not A.
(D) If D, then E.
(E) If not A, then not D.
8. Dear Applicant:
Thank you for your application. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer you a position in our local government office for the summer. As you know, funding for summer jobs is limited, and it is impossible for us to offer jobs to all those who want them. Consequently, we are forced to reject many highly qualified applicants.
Which of the following can be inferred from the letter?
(A) The number of applicants for summer jobs in the government office exceeded the number of summer jobs available.
(B) The applicant who received the letter was considered highly qualified.
(C) Very little funding was available for summer jobs in the government office.
(D) The application of the person who received the letter was considered carefully before being rejected.
(E) Most of those who applied for summer jobs were considered qualified for the available positions.
9. Studies of fatal automobile accidents reveal that, in the majority of cases in which one occupant of an automobile is killed while another survives, it is the passenger, not the driver, who is killed. It is ironic that the innocent passenger should suffer for the driver’s carelessness, while the driver often suffers only minor injuries or none at all.
Which of the following is an assumption underlying the reasoning in the passage above?
(A) In most fatal automobile accidents, the driver of a car in which an occupant is killed is at fault.
(B) Drivers of automobiles are rarely killed in auto accidents.
(C) Most deaths in fatal automobile accidents are suffered by occupants of cars rather than by pedestrians.
(D) Auto safety experts should increase their efforts to provide protection for those in the passenger seats of automobiles.
(E) Automobile passengers sometimes play a contributing role in causing auto accidents.
Questions 10-11 are based on the following
As one who has always believed that truth is our nation’s surest weapon in the propaganda war against our foes, I am distressed by reports of “disinformation” campaigns by American intelligence agents in Western Europe. In a disinformation campaign, untruths are disseminated through gullible local journalists in order to damage the interests of our enemies and protect our own. Those who defend this practice say that lying is necessary to counter Soviet disinformation campaigns aimed at damaging America’s political interests. These apologists contend that one must fight fire with fire. I would point out to the apologists that the fire department finds water more effective.
10. The author of the passage above bases his conclusion on which of the following?
(A) A circular definition of “disinformation”
(B) An example of the ineffectiveness of lying as a weapon in the propaganda war
(C) An analogy between truth and water
(D) An appeal to the authority of the fire department
(E) An attack on the character of American intelligence agents in Western Europe
11. The author’s main point is that
(A) although disinformation campaigns may be effective, they are unacceptable on ethical grounds
(B) America’s moral standing in the world depends on its adherence to the truth
(C) the temporary political gains produced by disinformation campaigns generally give way to long-term losses
(D) Soviet disinformation campaigns have done little to damage America’s standing in Europe
(E) disinformation campaigns do not effectively serve the political interests of the United States
