25 Minutes 16 Questions
1. Cable-television spokesperson: Subscriptions to cable television are a bargain in comparison to “free” television. Remember that “free” television is not really free. It is consumers, in the end, who pay for the costly advertising that supports “free” television.
Which of the following, if true, is most damaging to the position of the cable-television spokesperson?
(A) Consumers who do not own television sets are less likely to be influenced in their purchasing decisions by television advertising than are consumers who own television sets.
(B) Subscriptions to cable television include access to some public-television channels, which do not accept advertising.
(C) For locations with poor television reception, cable television provides picture quality superior to that provided by free television.
(D) There is as much advertising on many cable-television channels as there is on “free” television channels.(D)
(E) Cable-television subscribers can choose which channels they wish to receive, and the fees vary accordingly.
2. Woodsmoke contains dangerous toxins that cause changes in human cells. Because woodsmoke presents such a high health risk, legislation is needed to regulate the use of open-air fires and wood-burning stoves.
Which of the following, if true, provides the most support for the argument above?
(A) The amount of dangerous toxins contained in woodsmoke is much less than the amount contained in an equal volume of automobile exhaust.
(B) Within the jurisdiction covered by the proposed legislation, most heating and cooking is done with oil or natural gas.
(C) Smoke produced by coal-burning stoves is significantly more toxic than smoke from wood-burning stoves.
(D) No significant beneficial effect on air quality would result if open-air fires were banned within the jurisdiction covered by the proposed legislation.(E)
(E) In valleys where wood is used as the primary heating fuel, the concentration of smoke results in poor air quality.
3. Within 20 years it will probably be possible to identify the genetic susceptibility an individual may have toward any particular disease. Eventually, effective strategies will be discovered to counteract each such susceptibility. Once these effective strategies are found, therefore, the people who follow them will never get sick.
The argument above is based on which of the following assumptions?
(A) For every disease there is only one strategy that can prevent its occurrence.
(B) In the future, genetics will be the only medical specialty of any importance.
(C) All human sicknesses are in part the result of individuals’ genetic susceptibilities.
(D) All humans are genetically susceptible to some diseases.(C)
(E) People will follow medical advice when they are convinced that it is effective.
4. Most employees in the computer industry move from company to company, changing jobs several times in their careers. However, Summit Computers is known throughout the industry for retaining its employees. Summit credits its success in retaining employees to its informal, nonhierarchical work environment.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports Summit’s explanation of its success in retaining employees?
(A) Some people employed in the computer industry change jobs if they become bored with their current projects.
(B) A hierarchical work environment hinders the cooperative exchange of ideas that computer industry employees consider necessary for their work.
(C) Many of Summit’s senior employees had previously worked at only one other computer company.
(D) In a nonhierarchical work environment, people avoid behavior that might threaten group harmony and thus avoid discussing with their colleagues any dissatisfaction they might have with their jobs.(B)
(E) The cost of living near Summit is relatively low compared to areas in which some other computer companies are located.
5. Financing for a large construction project was provided by a group of banks. When the money was gone before the project was completed, the banks approved additional loans. Now, with funds used up again and completion still not at hand, the banks refuse to extend further loans, although without those loans, the project is doomed.
Which of the following, if true, best explains why the bank’s current reaction is different from their reaction in the previous instance of depletion of funds?
(A) The banks have reassessed the income potential of the completed project and have concluded that total income generable would be less than total interest due on the old plus the needed new loans.
(B) The banks have identified several other projects that offer faster repayment of the principal if loans are approved now to get those projects started.
(C) The banks had agreed with the borrowers that the construction loans would be secured by the completed project.
(D) The cost overruns were largely due to unforeseeable problems that arose in the most difficult phase of the construction work.(A)
(E) The project stimulated the development and refinement of several new construction techniques, which will make it easier and cheaper to carry out similar projects in the future.
6. Low-income families are often unable to afford as much child care as they need. One government program would award low-income families a refund on the income taxes they pay of as much as $1,000 for each child under age four. This program would make it possible for all low-income families with children under age four to obtain more child care than they otherwise would have been able to afford.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the claim that the program would make it possible for all low-income families to obtain more child care?
(A) The average family with children under age four spends more than $1,000 a year on child care.
(B) Some low-income families in which one of the parents is usually available to care for children under age four may not want to spend their income tax refund on child care.
(C) The reduction in government revenues stemming from the income tax refund will necessitate cuts in other government programs, such as grants for higher education.
(D) Many low-income families with children under age four do not pay any income taxes because their total income is too low to be subject to such taxes.(D)
(E) Income taxes have increased substantially over the past twenty years, reducing the money that low-income families have available to spend on child care.
7. Not scored
8. Although parapsychology is often considered a pseudoscience, it is in fact a genuine scientific enterprise, for it uses scientific methods such as controlled experiments and statistical tests of clearly stated hypotheses to examine the questions it raises.
The conclusion above is properly drawn if which of the following is assumed?
(A) If a field of study can conclusively answer the questions it raises, then it is a genuine science.
(B) Since parapsychology uses scientific methods, it will produce credible results.
(C) Any enterprise that does not use controlled experiments and statistical tests is not genuine science.
(D) Any field of study that employs scientific methods is a genuine scientific enterprise.(D)
(E) Since parapsychology raises clearly statable questions, they can be tested in controlled experiments.
