1.Which of the following best completes the passage below?In a survey of job applicants, two-fifths admitted to being at least a little dishonest. However, the survey may underestimate the proportion of job applicants who are dishonest, because______
(A) some dishonest people taking the survey might have claimed on the survey to be honest
(B) some generally honest people taking the survey might have claimed on the survey to be dishonest
(C) some people who claimed on the survey to be at least a little dishonest may be very dishonest
(D) some people who claimed on the survey to be dishonest may have been answering honestly
(E) some people who are not job applicants are probably at least a little dishonest
Questions 2-3 are based on the following.
The average life expectancy for the United States population as a whole is 73.9 years, but children born in Hawaii will live an average of 77 years, and those born in Louisiana, 71.7 years. If a newlywed couple from Louisiana were to begin their family in Hawaii, therefore, their children would be expected to live longer than would be the case if the family remained in Louisiana.
2. Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the conclusion drawn in the passage?
(A) Insurance company statisticians do not believe that moving to Hawaii will significantly lengthen the average Louisianian’s life.
(B) The governor of Louisiana has falsely alleged that statistics for his state are inaccurate.
(C) The longevity ascribed to Hawaii’s current population is attributable mostly to genetically determined factors.
(D) Thirty percent of all Louisianians can expect to live longer than 77 years.
(E) Most of the Hawaiian Islands have levels of air pollution well below the national average for the United States.
3. Which of the following statements, if true, would most significantly strengthen the conclusion drawn in the passage?
(A) As population density increases in Hawaii, life expectancy figures for that state are likely to be revised downward.
(B) Environmental factors tending to favor longevity are abundant in Hawaii and less numerous in Louisiana.
(C) Twenty-five percent of all Louisianians who move to Hawaii live longer than 77 years.
(D) Over the last decade, average life expectancy has risen at a higher rate for Louisianians than for Hawaiians.
(E) Studies show that the average life expectancy for Hawaiians who move permanently to Louisiana is roughly equal to that of Hawaiians who remain in Hawaii.
4. Insurance Company X is considering issuing a new policy to cover services required by elderly people who suffer from diseases that afflict the elderly. Premiums for the policy must be low enough to attract customers. Therefore, Company X is concerned that the income from the policies would not be sufficient to pay for the claims that would be made.Which of the following strategies would be most likely to minimize Company X’s losses on the policies?
(A) Attracting middle-aged customers unlikely to submit claims for benefits for many years
(B) Insuring only those individuals who did not suffer any serious diseases as children
(C) Including a greater number of services in the policy than are included in other policies of lower cost
(D) Insuring only those individuals who were rejected by other companies for similar policies
(E) Insuring only those individuals who are wealthy enough to pay for the medical services
5. A program instituted in a particular state allows parents to prepay their children’s future college tuition at current rates. The program then pays the tuition annually for the child at any of the state’s public colleges in which the child enrolls. Parents should participate in the program as a means of decreasing the cost for their children’s college education.Which of the following, if true, is the most appropriate reason for parents not to participate in the program?
(A) The parents are unsure about which pubic college in the state the child will attend.
(B) The amount of money accumulated by putting the prepayment funds in an interest-bearing account today will be greater than the total cost of tuition for any of the pubic colleges when the child enrolls.
(C) The annual cost of tuition at the state’s pubic colleges is expected to increase at a faster rate than the annual increase in the cost of living.
(D) Some of the state’s public colleges are contemplating large increases in tuition next year.
(E) The prepayment plan would not cover the cost of room and board at any of
(A) number of coupons that a person can be awarded in a particular year
(B) use of the coupons to those who were awarded the coupons and members of their immediate families
(C) days that the coupons can be used to Monday through Friday
(D) amount of time that the coupons can be used after they are issued
(E) number of routes on which travelers can use the coupons
7. The ice on the front windshield of the car had formed when moisture condensed during the night. The ice melted quickly after the car was warmed up the next morning because the defrosting vent, which blows only on the front windshield, was turned on full force.Which of the following, if true, most seriously jeopardizes the validity of the explanation for the speed with which the ice melted?
(A) The side windows had no ice condensation on them.
(B) Even though no attempt was made to defrost the back window, the ice there melted at the same rate as did the ice on the front windshield.
(C) The speed at which ice on a window melts increases as the temperature of the air blown on the window increases.
(D) The warm air from the defrosting vent for the front windshield cools rapidly as it dissipates throughout the rest of the car.
(E) The defrosting vent operates efficiently even when the heater, which blows warm air toward the feet or faces of the driver and passengers, is on.
8. To prevent some conflicts of interest, Congress could prohibit high-level government officials from accepting positions as lobbyists for three years after such officials leave government service. One such official concluded, however, that such a prohibition would be unfortunate because it would prevent high-level government officials from earning a livelihood for three years.The official’s conclusion logically depends on which of the following assumptions?
(A) Laws should not restrict the behavior of former government officials.
(B) Lobbyists are typically people who have previously been high-level government officials.
(C) Low-level government officials do not often become lobbyists when they leave government service.
(D) High-level government officials who leave government service are capable of earning a livelihood only as lobbyists.
(E) High-level government officials who leave government service are currently permitted to act as lobbyists for only three years.
9. A conservation group in the United States is trying to change the long-standing image of bats as frightening creatures. The group contends that bats are feared and persecuted solely because they are shy animals that are active only at night.Which of the following, if true, would cast the most serious doubt on the accuracy of the group’s contention?
(A) Bats are steadily losing natural roosting places such as caves and hollow trees and are thus turning to more developed areas for roosting.
(B) Bats are the chief consumers of nocturnal insects and thus can help make their hunting territory more pleasant for humans.
(C) Bats are regarded as frightening creatures not only in the United States but also in Europe, Africa, and South America.
(D) Raccoons and owls are shy and active only at night; yet they are not generally feared and persecuted.
(E) People know more about the behavior of other greatly feared animal species, such as lions, alligators, and snakes, than they do about the behavior of bats.
10. Meteorite explosions in the Earth’s atmosphere as large as the one that destroyed forests in Siberia, with approximately the force of a twelve-megaton nuclear blast, occur about once a century.The response of highly automated systems controlled by complex computer programs to unexpected circumstances is unpredictable.Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn, if the statements above are true, about a highly automated nuclear-missile defense system controlled by a complex computer program?
(A) Within a century after its construction, the system would react inappropriately and might accidentally start a nuclear war.
(B) The system would be destroyed if an explosion of a large meteorite occurred in the Earth’s atmosphere.
(C) It would be impossible for the system to distinguish the explosion of a large meteorite from the explosion of a nuclear weapon.
(D) Whether the system would respond inappropriately to the explosion of a large meteorite would depend on the location of the blast.
(E) It is not certain what the system’s response to the explosion of a large meteorite would be, if its designers did not plan for such a contingency.
