Time 30 minutes 20 Questions
Questions 1-2 are based on the following.
We have heard a good deal in recent years about the declining importance of the two major political parties. It is the mass media, we are told, that decide the outcome of elections, not the power of the parties. But it is worth noting that no independent or third-party candidate has won any important election in recent years, and in the last nationwide campaign, the two major parties raised and spent more money than ever before in support of their candidates and platforms. It seems clear that reports of the imminent demise of the two-party system are premature at best.
1. Which of the following is an assumption made in the argument above?
(A) The amount of money raised and spent by a political party is one valid criterion for judging the influence of the party.
(B) A significant increase in the number of third-party candidates would be evidence of a decline in the importance of the two major parties.
(C) The two-party system has contributed significantly to the stability of the American political structure.
(D) The mass media tend to favor an independent or third-party candidate over a candidate from one of the two major parties
(E) The mass media are relatively unimportant in deciding the outcome of most elections.
2. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument above?
(A) The percentage of voters registered as independents is higher today than ever before.
(B) In a recent presidential campaign, for the first time ever, an independent candidate was invited to appear in a televised debate with the major-party candidates.
(C) Every current member of the U.S. Senate was elected as the candidate of one of the two major parties.
(D) In a recent opinion poll, most voters stated that a candidate’s party affiliation was an insignificant factor in judging his or her fitness for office.
(E) In the last four years, the outcome of several statewide elections has been determined by the strength of the third-party vote.
3. Psychologists conducted a series of experiments to test the effect upon schoolchildren of violence in films. In the first experiment, grammar school children were shown a film that included scenes of a male teenager engaging in violent acts against others, such as punching, pushing, and kicking. During a free-play session following the film viewing, 42 percent of the children were observed to engage in one or more violent acts similar to those in the film. In a second experiment, a different group of children was shown a similar film featuring a female teenager. Only 14 percent of the children were observed behaving violently afterward. The psychologists concluded that children are more likely to imitate violent behavior on film when a male model is shown than when a female model is shown.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the psychologists’ conclusion?
(A) In both experiments, the victims of the filmed violence included both males and females.
(B) In the second experiment, 28 percent of the children appeared upset during the viewing the violent film scenes.
(C) The first group included 19 male students and 20 female students; the second group included 20 male students and 21 female students.
(D) In the first group, 58 percent of the children appeared bored during the showing of the film, and 12 percent fell asleep
(E) The percentage of children known to have discipline problems prior to the experiment was greater in the first group than in the second group.
4. Mainline Airways was bought by its employees six years ago. Three years ago, Mainline hired QualiCo Advertising Agency to handle its promotions and advertising division. Today Mainline’s profits are over 20 percent higher than they were five years ago and 10 percent higher than they were three years ago. Employee ownership and a good advertising agency have combined to make Mainline more profitable.
Which of the following best describes the weak point in the argument above?
(A) It fails to establish a causal connection between the change in ownership at Mainline Airways and the hiring of QualiCo, on the one hand, and the rise in Mainline’s profits, on the other.
(B) It presents no evidence showing that employee-owned airlines are any more profitable than other airlines.
(C) It assumes that the profits of Mainline Airways will continue to rise.
(D) It gives no exact figures for the current profits of Mainline Airways.
(E) It fails to explain how the profits of Mainline Airways are calculated.
5. At many colleges today, regulations have been imposed that forbid the use in speech or print of language that “offends” or “insults” the members of any group, especially women and racial, ethnic, and religious minorities. Although these regulations are defended in the name of “democracy,” they restrict freedom of speech and the press in a way that opposes the true spirit of democracy.
The argument above attempts to prove its case primarily by
(A) impugning the credentials of an opponent
(B) providing examples that support a theoretical principle
(C) taking advantage of inconsistencies in the definition of “democracy”
(D) revealing a contradiction in an opposing point of view
(E) appealing to the patriotic feelings of its audience
