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Hemoglobin, a substance in human blood, transports oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. With each oxygen molecule it picks up, a hemoglobin molecule becomes more effective at picking up additional oxygen molecules until its maximum capacity of four oxygen molecules is reached. Grabbing an oxygen molecule chan... | Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above? | [
"A hemoglobin molecule that has picked up three oxygen molecules will probably acquire a fourth oxygen molecule.",
"A hemoglobin molecule that has picked up three oxygen molecules will be more effective at picking up another oxygen molecule than will a hemoglobin molecule that has picked up only one oxygen molecu... | 1 | val_400 |
Thirty years ago, the percentage of their income that single persons spent on food was twice what it is today. Given that incomes have risen over the past thirty years, we can conclude that incomes have risen at a greater rate than the price of food in that period. | Which one of the following, if assumed, helps most to justify the conclusion drawn above? | [
"Unlike single persons, families today spend about the same percentage of their income on food as they did thirty years ago.",
"The prices of nonfood items single persons purchase have risen faster than the price of food over the past thirty years.",
"The amount of food eaten per capita today is identical to th... | 3 | val_401 |
All laundry detergents contain surfactants, which can harm aquatic life. However, the environmental effects of most ingredients in laundry detergents, including most of those in so-called "ecologically friendly" detergents, are unknown. Ttherefore, there is no reason to suppose that laundry detergents advertised as eco... | Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the argument? | [
"There is reason to suppose that ingredients in laundry detergents other than surfactants harm the environment more than surfactants do.",
"There is no reason to suppose that most of the ingredients in laundry detergents not advertised as ecologically friendly harm the environment significantly.",
"Laundry dete... | 2 | val_402 |
Some health officials are concerned about the current sustained increase in reported deaths from alcohol-related conditions, attributing this increase to a rise in alcoholism. What these health officials are overlooking, however, is that attitudes toward alcoholism have changed radically. Alcoholism is now widely viewe... | Which one of the following, if true, provides the most support for the argument? | [
"The frequent use of alcohol by young people is being reported as occurring at increasingly early ages.",
"Even though alcoholism is considered to be a disease, most doctors recommend psychological counseling and support groups as the best treatment.",
"In some places and times, susceptibility to any kind of di... | 3 | val_403 |
Some critics of space exploration programs claim that they are too costly to be justified. Moreover, there is the very real risk of a debilitating explosion -- most experts say something like a 1-in-70 chance per flight. Budgetary pressures to make the programs cheaper only serve to undermine safety: one program' s man... | The passage conforms most closely to which one of the following propositions? | [
"Attempts to solve one problem can lead to the exacerbation of another problem.",
"Safety is often sacrificed in order to reach a goal as quickly as possible.",
"Safety risks are sometimes ignored in the name of scientific progress.",
"Space exploration is too dangerous to be continued."
] | 0 | val_404 |
Although the first humans came to Australia 56, 000 years ago and undoubtedly brought new diseases with them, human-borne diseases probably did not cause the mass extinction of large land animals and birds that took place over the following 10, 000 years. After all, more than 55 different species disappeared at about t... | Which one of the following arguments exhibits flawed reasoning that is most parallel to that in the argument above? | [
"Even though I can fix some things and you can fix some things, the two of us will be unable to repair our apartment without outside help. The apartment has both a broken window and a broken bedroom door, and neither of us is able to fix both doors and windows.",
"Even though the influenza vaccine does not always... | 0 | val_405 |
Fact: Asthma, a bronchial condition, is much less common ailment than hay fever, an allergic inflammation of the nasal passages. Fact: Over 95 percent of people who have asthma also suffer from hay fever. | If the information given as facts above is true, which of the following must also be true? | [
"The number of people who have both of these ailments is greater than the number of people who have only one of them.",
"The percentage of people suffering from hay fever who also have asthma is lower than 95 percent.",
"Asthma is a prerequisite for the development of hay fever.",
"Those who have neither hay ... | 1 | val_406 |
Pain perception depends only partly on physiology. During World War II a significantly lower percentage of injured soldiers requested morphine than did civilians recuperating from surgery. The soldier' s response to injury was relief, joy at being alive, even euphoria; to the civilians, surgery was a depressing, calami... | The claim that pain perception depends only partly on physiology figures in the argument in which one of the following ways? | [
"It summarizes a position that the argument is meant to discredit.",
"It is the main conclusion of the argument.",
"It undermines the argument's main conclusion.",
"It is an assumption on which the argument depends."
] | 1 | val_407 |
Most people believe that yawning is most powerfully triggered by seeing someone else yawn. This belief about yawning is widespread not only today, but also has been commonplace in many parts of the world in the past, if we are to believe historians of popular culture. Thus, seeing someone else yawn must be the most irr... | The argument is most vulnerable to which one of the following criticisms? | [
"It takes for granted that yawns have no cause other than the one it cites.",
"It supports its conclusion by appealing solely to opinion in a matter that is largely factual.",
"It attempts to support its conclusion solely by restating that conclusion in other words.",
"It makes a sweeping generalization about... | 1 | val_408 |
Essayist: Knowledge has been defined as a true belief formed by a reliable process. This definition has been criticized on the grounds that if someone had a reliable power of clairvoyance, we would not accept that person' s claim to know certain things on the basis of this power. I agree that we would reject such claim... | Which one of the following most accurately describes the essayist's method of defending the definition against the objection? | [
"asserting that the case of clairvoyance is one of knowledge even though we do not really believe in clairvoyance as a reliable process",
"demonstrating that the case of clairvoyance is not a case of knowledge and does not fit the definition of knowledge",
"explaining that the definition of knowledge is a matte... | 3 | val_409 |
Citizen: Our government has a large budget surplus, which our leaders wish to use to pay down the national debt. This makes no sense. Because of underfunding, our military is inadequate, the infrastructures of our cities are decaying, and our highways are in disrepair. If homeowners used all their money to pay off thei... | Which one of the following most accurately expresses the conclusion drawn in the citizen's argument? | [
"A homeowner's personal financial situation is analogous in relevant ways to the financial situation of a country's government.",
"Because of underfunding, the government does not maintain adequate standards in the services it provides.",
"Homeowners should not pay off their mortgages early if they must neglect... | 3 | val_410 |
All the apartments on 20th Avenue are in old houses. However, there are twice as many apartments on 20th Avenue as there are old houses. Ttherefore, most old houses on 20th Avenue contain more than one apartment. | The reasoning in the argument above is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument | [
"overlooks the possibility that some of the buildings on 20th Avenue are not old houses",
"fails to consider the possibility that some buildings on 20th Avenue may offer types of rental accommodation other than apartments",
"draws a conclusion that simply restates one of the premises offered in support of the c... | 3 | val_411 |
Architect: Obviously, a dirty stone building is less attractive than a clean one. But the process of cleaning stone buildings with water drives the water deep into the stone, eventually causing irreparable damage. Dirt also damages stone buildings, but less than water does. So I am afraid stone buildings must remain di... | The engineer responds to the architect by doing which one of the following? | [
"adducing facts selected to show that the architect's conclusion is false",
"disputing the accuracy of the evidence that the architect cites in support of the conclusion",
"using the evidence cited by the architect to draw an alternative conclusion",
"showing that the architect's argument is internally incons... | 0 | val_412 |
On average, cats fed canned cat food eat fewer ounces of food per day than do cats fed dry cat food; the canned food contains more calories per ounce than does the dry food. Nonetheless, feeding a cat canned cat food typically costs more per day than does feeding it dry cat food. | Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above? | [
"Canned cat food typically costs more per ounce than does dry cat food.",
"On average, it costs no less to feed a cat that eats fewer ounces of food per day than it does to feed a cat that eats more ounces of food per day.",
"On average, cats fed canned cat food eat more calories per day than do cats fed dry ca... | 0 | val_413 |
Legislator: To keep our food safe, we must prohibit the use of any food additives that have been found to cause cancer. Commentator: An absolute prohibition is excessive. Today' s tests can detect a single molecule of potentially cancer-causing substances, but we know that consuming significantly larger amounts of such... | Of the following, which one, if true, is the logically strongest counter the legislator can make to the commentator's argument? | [
"For some food additives, the level at which the substance has been shown to lead to cancer is lower than the level at which the additive provides any benefit.",
"The law would prohibit only the deliberate addition of cancer-causing chemicals and would not require the removal of naturally occurring cancer-causing... | 3 | val_414 |
In the spring and fall, eastern pipistrelle bats roost deep inside caves. They feed at night on flying insects and must leave the cave to catch their prey. Flying insects are much more abundant on warm nights than on cool ones. Researchers found that many more bats leave the caves on warm nights than on cool nights, ev... | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the researchers' findings? | [
"The researchers studied only female bats, which tended to catch more insects on warm nights than did the male bats.",
"Eastern pipistrelle bats are incapable of long periods of sustained activity outside the roosting caves on very cool spring and fall evenings.",
"Because of the long period of winter inactivit... | 3 | val_415 |
People often perform differently when they know that they are being videotaped than they would if they were performing the same task without being recorded. In recent years, golf instructors have increasingly been making use of tape-recorded sessions to help instruct their students. These instructors often videotape th... | The observations above provide most evidence for the conclusion that | [
"people can be trained to ignore the video recorder",
"golf instructors do not know how to properly use video technology",
"golfers are less able to deal with criticism than other athletes",
"video might not be reliable in properly diagnosing a golf swing"
] | 3 | val_416 |
All historians are able to spot trends. But anyone able to spot trends is able to distinguish the significant from the insignificant. Thus anyone who can distinguish the significant from the insignificant is a historian. | The flawed reasoning in which one of the following arguments most closely resembles that in the argument above? | [
"Animals that possess horns or antlers use them not to attack prey but for intraspecies combat. In fact, animals so equipped never have the claws or fangs that are possessed by predators. Thus any animal that fights with members of its own species is not a predator.",
"All expressions used for emotional impact ar... | 1 | val_417 |
Fashion Executive: Last year, our company had $5 million in revenue, and was featured in 8 major articles in the fashion press. This year, our company's revenue has practically quadrupled, so we should expect to be featured in at least 20 major articles in the fashion press. | Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the fashion executive's reasoning in the above argument? | [
"The company's revenue increased dramatically because of the introduction of lower-priced lines sold in nationwide discount chains, greatly reducing the brand's cachet among fashion journalists.",
"The company's revenue nearly quadrupled because of the introduction of a fashion line geared for sale in the Europea... | 0 | val_418 |
Debate coach: Britta' s command of the historical facts was better than Robert' s, and that led to the distinct impression that Britta won the debate. But it' s also important to evaluate how reasonable the debaters arguments were, regardless of their ability to bring the facts to bear in those arguments. When you take... | The debate coach's argument depends on the assumption that | [
"winning a debate requires having a good command of the facts",
"Robert's arguments were more reasonable than Britta' s",
"Britta's arguments were quite unreasonable",
"good debate performances require very reasonable arguments"
] | 1 | val_419 |
Studies reveal that most people select the foods they eat primarily on the basis of flavor, and that nutrition is usually a secondary concern at best. This suggests that health experts would have more success in encouraging people to eat wholesome foods if they emphasized how flavorful those foods truly are rather than... | Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument above? | [
"In a study, subjects who were told that a given food was very flavorful were more willing to try the food and more likely to enjoy it than were subjects who were told that the food was nutritious.",
"Few people, when given a choice between foods that are flavorful but not nutritious and foods that are nutritious... | 0 | val_420 |
The view that every person is concerned exclusively with her or his own self-interest implies that government by consent is impossible. Thus, social theorists who believe that people are concerned only with their self-interest evidently believe that aspiring to democracy is futile, since democracy is not possible in th... | The reasoning in the argument is flawed in that the argument | [
"fails to consider that, even if an argument's conclusion is false, some of the assumptions used to justify that conclusion may nonetheless be true",
"infers merely from the fact of someone's holding a belief that he or she believes an implication of that belief",
"infers that because something is true of a gro... | 1 | val_421 |
The airport' s runways are too close to each other to allow simultaneous use of adjacent runways when visibility is poor, so the airport allows only 30 planes an hour to land in poor weather; in good weather 60 planes an hour are allowed to land. Because airline schedules assume good weather, bad weather creates seriou... | Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above? | [
"In good weather, there are few if any seriously delayed flights at the airport.",
"If any two of the airport's runways are used simultaneously, serious delays result.",
"In poor weather, only half as many planes are allowed to land each hour on any one runway at the airport as are allowed to land on it in good... | 3 | val_422 |
The dead-ball era of baseball occurred between 1900 and 1919. Baseball historians refer to the period as the dead-ball era due to a decrease in scoring and lack of home runs. In the 1920 season, Ray Chapman died after getting hit in the head with a dirty baseball while batting. In response, Major League Baseball requir... | Which one of the following statements, if true, most weakens the argument? | [
"Major League Baseball outlawed the extremely effective spitball in 1920.",
"Hitters have a more difficult time seeing dirty baseballs, as opposed to new ones.",
"Dirty baseballs move unnaturally and erratically, rendering them more difficult to hit.",
"Baseballs soften with continued use, and it is more diff... | 0 | val_423 |
Repressors -- people who unconsciously inhibit their display of emotion -- exhibit significant increases in heart rate when they encounter emotion-provoking situations. Nonrepressors have similar physiological responses when they encounter such situations and consciously inhibit their display of emotion. Thus the very ... | Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument? | [
"In situations that do not tend to provoke emotions, the average heart rate of repressors is the same as that of nonrepressors.",
"Despite their outward calm, repressors normally feel even more excited than do nonrepressors in an emotion-provoking situation.",
"Nonrepressors can inhibit facial and bodily displa... | 3 | val_424 |
Ruth: To become a politician, a person should be required to have a diversity of experience. The more diverse one' s experience, the more one will understand the need for compromise. Stephanie: To be worthy of public trust, it is not enough, as you suggest, that one simply have varied experience. Such a person would no... | Which one of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the reasoning in Stephanie's response to Ruth's statements? | [
"The response fails to provide evidence for its assumption that flexibility is unimportant in the practice of politics.",
"The response fails to provide evidence for its assumption that experience is not beneficial to the practice of politics.",
"The response attributes to Ruth a view that is more vulnerable to... | 2 | val_425 |
Giselle: The government needs to ensure that the public consumes less petroleum. When things cost more, people buy and use less of them. Ttherefore, the government should raise the sales tax on gasoline, a major petroleum product. Antoine: The government should not raise the sales tax on gasoline. Such an increase woul... | As a rebuttal of Giselle's argument, Antoine's response is ineffective because | [
"he ignores the fact that Giselle does not base her argument for raising the gasoline sales tax on the government's need for increased revenues",
"he fails to specify how many taxpayers there are who are not gasoline users",
"his conclusion is based on an assertion regarding unfairness, and unfairness is a very... | 0 | val_426 |
Engineer: Some people argue that the world' s energy problems could be solved by mining the Moon for helium-3, which could be used for fuel in fusion reactors. But this is nonsense. Even if it were possible to mine the Moon for helium-3, the technology needed to build viable fusion reactors that could use such fuel is ... | The main point of the argument is that | [
"if the world's energy problems are not solved within the next 50 years, it will be too late to solve those problems",
"mining the Moon for helium-3 is not a possible solution to the world's energy problems",
"mining the Moon for helium-3 is currently not feasible",
"people who advocate mining the Moon for he... | 1 | val_427 |
Many people suffer an allergic reaction to certain sulfites, including those that are commonly added to wine as preservatives. However, since there are several wine makers who add sulfites to none of the wines they produce, people who would like to drink wine but are allergic to sulfites can drink wines produced by the... | Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? | [
"These wine makers have been able to duplicate the preservative effect produced by adding sulfites by means that do not involve adding any potentially allergenic substances to their wine.",
"Sulfites are not naturally present in the wines produced by these wine makers in amounts large enough to produce an allergi... | 1 | val_428 |
Several movie critics have claimed that this movie will inspire people to act in socially irresponsible ways, yet this claim relies entirely on survey data that have turned out to be deeply flawed. Thus these critics have made a claim that is not only untrue but also potentially harmful to the moviemakers' reputations. | The argument is flawed in that it | [
"fails to consider that a pejorative claim that is true can be more harmful to a person's reputation than a false claim",
"attacks the persons making an argument rather than attacking the substance of the argument",
"infers that a claim is false merely on the grounds that no satisfactory evidence for it has bee... | 2 | val_429 |
Most household appliances use electricity only when in use. Many microwave ovens, however, have built-in clocks and so use some electricity even when they are not in use. The clocks each consume about 45 kilowatt-hours per year. Ttherefore, households whose microwave oven has no built-in clock use 45 kilowatt-hours per... | Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? | [
"Households that do not have a microwave oven use less energy per year, on average, than do households that have a microwave oven.",
"Households whose microwave oven does not have a built-in clock are no more likely to have a separate electric clock plugged in than households whose microwave oven has one.",
"Al... | 1 | val_430 |
In a study conducted in Pennsylvania, servers in various restaurants wrote "Thank you" on randomly selected bills before presenting the bills to their customers. Tips on these bills were an average of three percentage points higher than tips on bills without the message. Ttherefore, if servers in Pennsylvania regularly... | Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument relies? | [
"The \"Thank you\" messages would have the same impact on regular patrons of a restaurant as they would on occasional patrons of the same restaurant.",
"Virtually all patrons of the Pennsylvania restaurants in the study who were given a bill with \"Thank you\" written on it left a larger tip than they otherwise w... | 3 | val_431 |
Everyone sitting in the clubhouse of the golf course today at ten o' clock had just registered for a beginner' s golf lesson. Gerald, Robert, and Shirley were sitting in the clubhouse this morning at ten o' clock. No accomplished golfer would register for a beginner' s golf lesson. | If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true on the basis of them? | [
"Gerald, Robert, and Shirley were the only people who registered for a beginner's golf lesson this morning.",
"None of the people sitting in the clubhouse this morning at ten o'clock had ever played golf.",
"Neither Gerald nor Shirley is an accomplished golfer.",
"Everyone sitting in the clubhouse this mornin... | 2 | val_432 |
Advertisement: In a carefully controlled study, blindfolded volunteers were divided evenly into five groups. Each volunteer tasted Sparkle Cola and one of five competing colas, each group tasting a different cola. Most of the volunteers said they preferred Sparkle Cola to the competing cola tasted. This shows that Spar... | The reasoning in the advertisement is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds? | [
"It overlooks the possibility that many people may prefer Sparkle Cola to competing colas for reasons such as the packaging or price of Sparkle Cola, rather than its taste.",
"It takes for granted that most of the volunteers would buy Sparkle Cola rather than one of the other colas tasted, at least in situations ... | 2 | val_433 |
Biologist: When bacteria of a particular species are placed in a test tube that has different areas lit with different colors of light, the bacteria move only into the areas lit with a particular shade of red. The bacteria contain chlorophyll, a chemical that allows them to produce energy more effectively from this col... | Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the biologist's argument? | [
"If the chlorophyll is removed from the bacteria, but the bacteria are otherwise unharmed, they no longer show any tendency to move into the areas lit with the particular shade of red.",
"The bacteria show little tendency to move into areas containing light in colors other than the particular shade of red, even i... | 3 | val_434 |
To act responsibly in one' s professional capacity, one must act on the basis of information that one has made a reasonable effort to make sure is accurate and complete. | Which one of the following judgments most closely conforms to the principle cited above? | [
"Toril did not act responsibly in investing the company's money in Twicycled Ink, for, though the investment yielded a large return, she had not investigated the risks associated with that investment.",
"Conchita did not act responsibly in hiring Helmer to do the company's bookkeeping because Helmer made a mistak... | 0 | val_435 |
Teacher: Participating in organized competitive athletics may increase a child' s strength and coordination. As critics point out, however, it also instills in those children who are not already well developed in these respects a feeling of inferiority that never really disappears. Yet, since research has shown that ad... | Which one of the following most accurately describes the role played in the teacher's argument by the assertion that participating in organized competitive athletics may increase a child's strength and coordination? | [
"It is mentioned as one possible reason for adopting a policy for which the teacher suggests an additional reason.",
"It is cited as an insufficient reason for eliminating funding for children's athletic programs.",
"It is cited as an objection that has been raised to the position that the teacher is supporting... | 0 | val_436 |
Maria: Thomas Edison was one of the most productive inventors of his time, perhaps of all time. His contributions significantly shaped the development of modern lighting and communication systems. Yet he had only a few months of formal schooling. Ttherefore, you do not need a formal education to make crucial contributi... | Frank's reasoning in his response to Maria is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it | [
"presumes that no other inventor of Edison's time could have been as productive as Edison",
"fails to criticize or question any of Maria's statements about Edison",
"fails to address the possibility that technical knowledge may be acquired without formal education",
"relies on using the term \"crucial\" diffe... | 2 | val_437 |
A recent national study of the trash discarded in several representative areas confirmed that plastics constitute a smaller proportion of all trash than paper products do, whether the trash is measured by weight or by volume. The damage that a given weight or volume of trash does to the environment is roughly the same ... | The main conclusion of the argument is that | [
"contrary to popular opinion, a shift away from the use of paper products to the use of plastics would benefit the environment nationwide",
"at this time more harm is being done to the environment nationwide by the use of paper than by the use of plastics",
"the ratio of weight to volume is the same for plastic... | 1 | val_438 |
It is not good for a university to have class sizes that are very large or very small, or to have professors with teaching loads that are very light or very heavy. After all, crowded classes and overworked faculty cripple the institution' s ability to recruit and retain both qualified students and faculty. | Which one of the following, if added as a premise to the argument, most helps to justify its conclusion? | [
"Very small class sizes or very light teaching loads are common in the worst and the best universities.",
"Very small class sizes or very light teaching loads indicate incompetence in classroom instruction.",
"Classes that have very low numbers of students tend to have a lot of classroom discussion.",
"Profes... | 1 | val_439 |
Boreal owls range over a much larger area than do other owls of similar size. The reason for this behavior is probably that the small mammals on which owls feed are especially scarce in the forests where boreal owls live, and the relative scarcity of prey requires the owls to range more extensively to find sufficient f... | Which of the following, if true, most helps to confirm the explanation above? | [
"Boreal owls range over larger areas in regions where food of the sort eaten by small mammals is sparse than they do in regions where such food is abundant.",
"After their young hatch, boreal owls must hunt more often than before in order to feed both themselves and their newly hatched young.",
"Sometimes indiv... | 0 | val_440 |
A commercial insect trap consists of a small box containing pesticide mixed with glucose, a sweet substance known to attract insect pests. Yet in households where this type of trap has been used regularly for the past several years, recently installed traps are far less effective in eliminating insect pests than were t... | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the hypothesis? | [
"In households where the traps have been used regularly, the proportion of insect pests that have a natural aversion to eating glucose has increased with each successive generation.",
"The kind of glucose used to bait the traps is one of several different kinds of glucose that occur naturally.",
"Even when only... | 0 | val_441 |
A law is successful primarily because the behavior it prescribes has attained the status of custom. Just as manners are observed not because of sanctions attached to them but because, through repetition, contrary behavior becomes unthinkable, so societal laws are obeyed not because the behavior is ethically required or... | Which one of the following comparisons is utilized by the argument? | [
"As with manners, most laws do not prescribe behavior that is ethically required.",
"As with manners, the main factor accounting for compliance with laws is custom.",
"As with manners, most laws do not have strict penalties awaiting those who transgress them.",
"As with manners and other customs, laws vary fr... | 1 | val_442 |
Public health expert: Until recently people believed that applications of biochemical research would eventually achieve complete victory over the microorganisms that cause human disease. However, current medical research shows that those microorganisms reproduce so rapidly that medicines developed for killing one varie... | Of the following, which one most accurately expresses the conclusion drawn by the public health expert? | [
"A patient who contracts a disease caused by microorganisms cannot be effectively cured by present methods.",
"A medicine that kills one variety of disease- causing microorganism can cause the evolution of a drug-resistant variety.",
"No one who is fully informed about the diseases caused by microorganisms will... | 3 | val_443 |
The Board of Trustees of the Federici Art Museum has decided to sell some works from its collection in order to raise the funds necessary to refurbish its galleries. Although this may seem like a drastic remedy, the curator has long maintained that among the paintings that the late Ms. Federici collected for the museum... | The conclusion drawn depends on which one of the following assumptions? | [
"Art speculators are unable to distinguish an inferior painting by Renoir from a masterpiece by him.",
"A great work of art can be truly appreciated only if it is displayed in a carefully designed and well-maintained gallery.",
"All of the paintings by Renior and Cezanne that are owned by the Federici Art Museu... | 3 | val_444 |
Many agriculturally intensive areas of the world are beginning to encounter water scarcity problems. As a result, many farmers in these areas are likely to reduce their output as the water supply they need in order to maintain production shrinks. However, one group of farmers in such a region plans to increase their pr... | Which of the following, if true, would most strongly support the prediction that the group's plan will succeed? | [
"Demand for agricultural products in the group's region is not expected to decline.",
"Other regions of the world not facing water shortages are likely to make up for the reduction in agricultural output.",
"Farmers who can gain a larger share of the food market in their regions will be better positioned to con... | 3 | val_445 |
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... | Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? | [
"Gold was not added to the soil samples collected by Frobisher before the samples were examined.",
"The methods used to assess gold content of the soil samples provided by Frobisher were different from those generally used in the sixteenth century.",
"Frobisher did not have soil samples from any other Canadian ... | 0 | val_446 |
The judgment that an artist is great always rests on assessments of the work the artist has produced. A series of great works is the only indicator of greatness. Ttherefore, to say that an artist is great is just to summarize the quality of his or her known works, and the artist' s greatness can provide no basis for pr... | Which one of the following contains questionable reasoning most similar to that in the argument above? | [
"The viruses that cause colds are not all the same, and they differ in their effects. Ttherefore, although it may be certain that a person has a cold, it is impossible to predict how the cold will progress.",
"Someone who has a cold is infected by a cold virus. No one can be infected by the same cold virus twice,... | 3 | val_447 |
New methods developed in genetic research have led taxonomists to revise their views on the evolutionary relationships between many species. Traditionally the relatedness of species has been ascertained by a close comparison of their anatomy. The new methods infer the closeness of any two species' relationship to each ... | Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the information? | [
"Without the use of genetic methods, taxonomists would never be able to obtain any accurate information about species' degrees of relatedness to one another.",
"The apparent degree of relatedness of some species, as determined by anatomical criteria, is not borne out by their degree of genetic similarity.",
"Th... | 1 | val_448 |
The company that produces XYZ, a computer spreadsheet program, estimates that millions of illegally reproduced copies of XYZ are being used. If legally purchased, this number of copies would have generated millions of dollars in sales for the company, yet despite a company-wide effort to boost sales, the company has no... | Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain why the company has not taken available legal measures? | [
"The company that produces ABC, the spreadsheet program that is XYZ's main rival in the marketplace, is well known for taking legal action against people who have copied ABC illegally.",
"XYZ is very difficult to copy illegally, because a sophisticated anticopying mechanism in the program must first be disabled."... | 2 | val_449 |
Budget constraints have made police officials consider reassigning a considerable number of officers from traffic enforcement to work on higher-priority, serious crimes. Reducing traffic enforcement for this reason would be counterproductive, however, in light of the tendency of criminals to use cars when engaged in th... | Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument given? | [
"Those willing to break the law to commit serious crimes are often in committing such crimes unwilling to observe what they regard as the lesser constraints of traffic law.",
"The great majority of persons who are stopped by officers for traffic violations are not guilty of any serious crimes.",
"The offenders ... | 0 | val_450 |
People are not happy unless they feel that they are needed by others. Most people in modern society, however, can achieve a feeling of indispensability only within the sphere of family and friendship, because almost everyone knows that his or her job could be done by any one of thousands of others. | The statements above most strongly support which one of the following? | [
"Fewer than a majority of people in modern society can find happiness outside the sphere of private interpersonal relationships.",
"People who realize that others could fill their occupational roles as ably as they do themselves cannot achieve any happiness in their lives.",
"A majority of people in modern soci... | 0 | val_451 |
Any literary translation is a compromise between two goals that cannot be entirely reconciled: faithfulness to the meaning of the text and faithfulness to the original author' s style. Thus, even the most skillful translation will be at best a flawed approximation of the original work. | Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the reasoning in the argument above? | [
"If a literary translation is flawed as an approximation of the original work, it cannot be regarded as a successful compromise between faithfulness to the meaning of the text and faithfulness to the original author's style.",
"The most skillful literary translation of a work will not necessarily be the most bala... | 2 | val_452 |
Environmental organizations want to preserve the land surrounding the Wilgrinn Wilderness Area from residential development. They plan to do this by purchasing that land from the farmers who own it. <b> That plan is ill-conceived </b>: if the farmers did sell their land, they would sell it to the highest bidder, and de... | In the reasoning above, the two boldface portions play which of the following roles? | [
"The first is the main conclusion toward which the reasoning is directed; the second presents a strategy that is called sensible but for which no support is offered.",
"The first is the conclusion reached about one strategy for attaining a certain goal; the second presents the strategy that the reasoning advocate... | 1 | val_453 |
Juan: Unlike the ancient Olympic games on which they are based, the modern Olympics include professional as well as amateur athletes. But since amateurs rarely have the financial or material resources available to professionals, it is unlikely that the amateurs will ever offer a serious challenge to professionals in th... | Which one of the following most accurately expresses the point at issue between Juan and Michiko? | [
"whether the participation of both amateur and professional athletes is in accord with the ideals of the modern Olympics",
"whether both amateur and professional athletes competed in the ancient Olympic games upon which the modern Olympics are based",
"whether the athletes who compete in the modern Olympics are... | 0 | val_454 |
Dead, rotting logs on the forest floor provide the habitat for a small mammal, the red-backed vole, which subsists almost entirely on the portion of certain specialized fungi which grows aboveground. The fungi-spores are deposited on the forest floor by the voles. Some of the fungi that develop from these spores form u... | The information above provides the most support for which one of the following conclusions? | [
"The red-backed vole is usually able to derive nutrients from the spores of the fungi it eats.",
"The presence of rotting logs on a forest floor can have beneficial effects on the trees around them.",
"The spores of certain fungi cannot remain viable above the ground but must be deposited near the roots of tree... | 1 | val_455 |
The early universe contained only the lightest elements, hydrogen and helium. Heavier elements, such as carbon, form only in nuclear reactions in stars and are dispersed when the stars explode. A recently discovered gas cloud contained carbon several billion years ago, when the universe was no more than two billion yea... | If the statements above are true, which of the following must, on the basis of them, also be true? | [
"The carbon in the gas cloud later formed part of some stars.",
"No stars identified to date are as old as the gas cloud.",
"The gas cloud also contained hydrogen and helium.",
"Some stars were formed before the universe was two billion years old."
] | 3 | val_456 |
Violent crime in this town is becoming a serious problem. Compared to last year, local law enforcement agencies have responded to 17 percent more calls involving violent crimes, showing that the average citizen of this town is more likely than ever to become a victim of a violent crime. | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument? | [
"In general, persons under the age of 65 are less likely to be victims of violent crimes than persons over the age of 65.",
"In response to worries about violent crime, the town has recently opened a community center providing supervised activities for teenagers.",
"The town's overall crime rate appears to have... | 3 | val_457 |
Archaeologists are discovering a great deal about the Sals culture. For example, recent excavations have unearthed smelting furnaces and tools of smelted copper and bronze. There were distinct Sals words for copper and for bronze, but none for iron. Thus, the Sals did not smelt iron. | The conclusion drawn above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed? | [
"If a culture smelted a metal, then it had a distinct word for that metal.",
"If a culture was unfamiliar with a metal, then it did not have a distinct word for that metal.",
"If a culture smelted copper and bronze, then it had distinct words for copper and bronze.",
"If a culture had a distinct word for a me... | 0 | val_458 |
Politician: All nations that place a high tax on income produce thereby a negative incentive for technological innovation, and all nations in which technological innovation is hampered inevitably fall behind in the international arms race. Those nations that, through historical accident or the foolishness of their poli... | Each of the following, if true, weakens the politician's argument EXCEPT: | [
"The top level of taxation must reach 45 percent before taxation begins to deter inventors and industrialist from introducing new technologies and industries.",
"Allowing one's country to lose its technological edge, especially as concerns weaponry, would be foolish rather than merely a historical accident.",
"... | 1 | val_459 |
Murali: You are wrong to assert that the question of the painting' s authenticity is a factual matter. You may believe that the painting is authentic, but this is an opinion and not a fact. Experts disagree about whether or not the painting is authentic. Prakash: Whether a painting is beautiful or not is merely a matte... | Which one of the following most accurately describes the role played in Prakash's argument by the claim that whether a painting is beautiful or not is merely a matter of opinion? | [
"It is the position that Prakash's argument needs to refute in order to establish its conclusion.",
"It is the conclusion of Prakash's argument.",
"It is used to clarify what Prakash means by \"factual matter, \" by contrasting it with a matter of opinion.",
"It is offered as a way of conceding to Murali that... | 2 | val_460 |
Musicologist: Ludwig van Beethoven began losing his hearing when he was 30. This loss continued gradually, but was not complete until late in his life. While it may seem that complete hearing loss would be a severe liability for a composer, in Beethoven' s case it gave his later music a wonderfully introspective qualit... | Which one of the following statements is most strongly supported by the musicologist's claims? | [
"Had he not lost his hearing, Beethoven's later music would have been of poorer quality titan it is.",
"Beethoven's music became gradually more introspective as he grew older.",
"Had he not lost his hearing, Beethoven's later music would probably have been different than it is.",
"It was more difficult for Be... | 2 | val_461 |
When doctors vaccinate a patient, their intention is to expose him or her to a weakened form of a disease-causing pathogen and thus to make the patient better able to resist the pathogen and less likely to develop a severe form of that disease later. | Which one of the following best illustrates the principle that the passage illustrates? | [
"In some circumstances, firefighters use fire to fight fire by creating an intense explosion very close to an uncontrollable blaze that they wish to extinguish, thus momentarily depriving it of the oxygen it needs to continue burning.",
"Some police departments energetically pursue those who commit minor crimes; ... | 3 | val_462 |
Increasing the electrical load carried on a transmission line increases the line' s temperature, and too great a load will cause the line to exceed its maximum operating temperature. The line' s temperature is also affected by wind speed and direction: Strong winds cool the line more than light winds, and wind blowing ... | Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above? | [
"Air temperature has less effect on the temperature of a transmission line than wind speed does.",
"The electrical load that a transmission line can carry without reaching its maximum operating temperature increases when the wind speed increases.",
"Electrical utility companies typically increase the electrical... | 1 | val_463 |
Funding opponent: Some people favor city funding for the spaying and neutering of pets at the owners' request. They claim that the decrease in the number of stray animals to contend with will offset the cost of the funding. These people fail to realize that over 80 percent of pet owners already pay to spay or neuter th... | Each of the following, if true strengthens the argument of the funding opponent EXCEPT: | [
"Many pet owners would have their animals spayed or neutered sooner if funding were provided by the city.",
"The majority of pets that are not spayed or neutered are used for breeding purposes, and are not likely to produce stray animals.",
"The only way the number of stray animals can decrease is if existing s... | 0 | val_464 |
Dennis will either purchase his mother' s house and live in San Diego, or else he will move to Miami, but Dennis will not do either of these unless he gets married. Dennis' s mother will let Dennis purchase her house only if she attends his wedding, but not otherwise. Ttherefore, Dennis will purchase his mother' s hous... | Which one of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion above to be properly drawn? | [
"Dennis will purchase his mother's house if his mother allows him to purchase the house.",
"Dennis's mother will attend the wedding only if Dennis invites her.",
"Dennis's mother would not let him move to Miami and buy her house too.",
"Dennis will get married only if he is able to purchase his mother's house... | 0 | val_465 |
Politician: Some of my opponents have argued on theoretical grounds in favor of reducing social spending. Instead of arguing that there is excessive public expenditure on social programs, my opponents should focus on the main cause of deficit spending: the fact that government is bloated with bureaucrats and self-aggra... | A reasoning flaw in the politician's argument is that the argument | [
"portrays opponents' views as more extreme than they really are",
"does not address the arguments advanced by the politician's opponents",
"takes for granted that deficit spending has just one cause",
"makes an attack on the character of opponents"
] | 1 | val_466 |
The first bicycle, the Draisienne, was invented in 1817. A brief fad ensued, after which bicycles practically disappeared until the 1860s. Why was this? New technology is accepted only when it coheres with the values of a society. Hence some change in values must have occurred between 1817 and the 1860s. | The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument | [
"ignores, without giving justification, alternative possible explanations of the initial failure of bicycles",
"poses a question that has little relevance to the argument's conclusion",
"presumes, without giving justification, that fads are never indicative of genuine acceptance",
"offers no support for the c... | 0 | val_467 |
Some scientific issues are so complex and counterintuitive that they cannot be well understood by readers of popular magazines. Nonetheless, stories about these difficult scientific issues are frequently the ones that these readers would find most fascinating. Unfortunately, this means that some of the scientific stori... | The conclusion of the argument is strongly supported if which one of the following completes the passage? | [
"readers of popular magazines are generally unable to accurately assess their own understanding of complex scientific issues",
"popular magazines cannot stay in business unless they regularly publish stories that their readers find interesting",
"editors of popular magazines generally do not approve stories abo... | 2 | val_468 |
Some have argued that body size influences mating decisions throughout all societies. Their argument rests largely on self-reports of university-age students and on analyses of personal advertisements in newspapers for dating partners. | The reasoning in the argument described above is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument | [
"bases a conclusion on a sample that may be unrepresentative of the population about which the conclusion is drawn",
"draws a universal conclusion on the basis of a very small number of individual cases",
"concludes that one kind of event causes another kind of event without ruling out the possibility that both... | 0 | val_469 |
Over the past five years, the price gap between name-brand cereals and less expensive store-brand cereals has become so wide that consumers have been switching increasingly to store brands despite the name brands' reputation for better quality. To attract these consumers back, several manufacturers of name-brand cereal... | Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the likelihood that the manufacturers' plan will succeed in attracting back a large percentage of consumers who have switched to store brands? | [
"Because of lower advertising costs, stores are able to offer their own brands of cereals at significantly lower prices than those charged for name-brand cereals.",
"There is no significant difference among manufacturers of name-brand cereals in the prices they charge for their products.",
"Consumers who have s... | 2 | val_470 |
Some eloquent speakers impress their audiences with the vividness and clarity of the messages conveyed. Speakers who resort to obscenity, however, are not genuinely eloquent, so none of these speakers impress their audiences. | The flawed reasoning in which one of the following is most similar to that in the argument above? | [
"Cities that are centers of commerce are always centers of industry as well. It follows that some centers of commerce are small cities, since there are centers of industry that are not small cities.",
"A culture without myths will also lack fundamental moral certainties. Thus, this culture must lack fundamental m... | 2 | val_471 |
Scientists are more likely to consider their experiments well designed if the results are consistent with their expectations than otherwise. The results of this experiment were inconsistent with the expectations of the scientists who conducted it. Ttherefore, it is more likely that they consider the experiment poorly d... | The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument ignores the possibility that | [
"scientists sometimes consider their experiments poorly designed for reasons other than the inconsistency of the results with their expectations",
"the results of even those experiments scientists consider poorly designed are usually consistent with their expectations",
"scientists usually consider their experi... | 2 | val_472 |
Having an efficient, attractive subway system makes good economic sense. So, the city needs to purchase new subway cars, since the city should always do what makes good economic sense. | The conclusion drawn above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed? | [
"New subway cars are financially affordable.",
"Cost-effective subway cars are an integral part of an efficient subway system.",
"New subway cars are required in order for the city to have a subway system that is efficient and attractive.",
"Investment in new subway cars makes better economic sense than many ... | 2 | val_473 |
We can be sure that at least some halogen lamps are well crafted, because halogen lamps from most major manufacturers are on display at Furniture Labyrinth. Any item on display at Furniture Labyrinth is well crafted. | Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its reasoning to the argument above? | [
"We can be sure that Gianna will get at least some good mechanical work done to her car, because she can have her car worked on at any of several shops in the city, and every shop is capable of doing good mechanical work.",
"We can be positive that there are at least a few disturbing sonnets, given that Melinda h... | 1 | val_474 |
Every Camshaft basketball player drank Bulldog juice during all of their games this year. The Camshaft basketball team won more games than any other team in the league this year. No other team in the league had players who drank Bulldog juice. It is ttherefore likely that the Camshafts owed their greater success to the... | The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it | [
"gives two conclusions that are not related and attempts to make a parallel connection",
"gives no reason to exclude the possibility that other differences between the Camshafts and their competitors accounted for the Camshafts' success",
"uses generalizations to prove a distinct point",
"attempts to compare ... | 1 | val_475 |
Many physicists claim that quantum mechanics may ultimately be able to explain all fundamental phenomena, and that, ttherefore, physical theory will soon be complete. However, every theory in the history of physics that was thought to be final eventually had to be rejected for failure to explain some new observation. F... | Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its reasoning to the argument above? | [
"Four companies have marketed a new food processing product; ttherefore, a fifth company will not be able to market a similar product.",
"Your sister is a very good chess player but she has never won a chess tournament; ttherefore, she will not win this chess tournament.",
"Only a few species of plants now grow... | 1 | val_476 |
A population of game ducks at a western lake contains 55 males to every 45 females, while a population of game ducks at an eastern lake contains 65 males for every 35 females. Among those ducks that have not yet bred there are only slightly more males than females, but among older ducks the number of males greatly exce... | Which one of the following can be inferred from the passage? | [
"The population of game ducks at the eastern lake contains a higher percentage of nonadult game ducks than the population at the western lake contains.",
"Adult female game ducks outnumber nonadult female game ducks in the eastern lake's population.",
"The population of game ducks at the western lake contains a... | 2 | val_477 |
Tarang claims not to like Hindi pop music, but that cannot be true, because Tarang' s friends Anjali and Lokesh like Hindi pop music. Since Tarang, Anjali, and Lokesh are all teenagers, and most teenagers like the same kind of music that their friends like, Tarang must also like Hindi pop music. | Which one of the following contains flawed reasoning most similar to that in the argument above? | [
"In most married couples, both spouses wake up at the same time. Padmini wakes up at seven o'clock every morning, so it must be that Padmini's spouse Lamba also wakes up at seven o'clock every morning.",
"Most families that have a dog also have at least one cat. The Chaudary family has a cat, so they probably hav... | 0 | val_478 |
The size of northern fur seals provides a reliable indication of their population levels -- the smaller the average body size of seals in a population, the larger the population. Archaeologists studied seal fossils covering an 800-year period when the seals were hunted for food by Native peoples in North America and fo... | The statements above, if true, provide the most support for which one of the following? | [
"Before the 800-year period studied, the average body size of northern fur seals fluctuated dramatically.",
"Hunting by Native peoples in North America did not significantly reduce the northern fur seal population over the 800-year period studied.",
"During the 800-year period studied, seal hunting practices di... | 1 | val_479 |
In a certain municipality, a judge overturned a suspect' s conviction for possession of an illegal weapon. The suspect had fled upon seeing police and subsequently discarded the illegal weapon after the police gave chase. The judge reasoned as follows: the only cause for the police giving chase was the suspect' s fligh... | Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the judge's decision that the evidence was inadmissible? | [
"Flight from the police should not itself be considered a criminal act.",
"People can legally flee from the police only when those people are not involved in a criminal act at the time.",
"Police can legally give chase to a person only when the person's actions have created a reasonable suspicion of a criminal ... | 2 | val_480 |
Curator: Critics have rightly claimed that removing the centuries-old grime from the frescoes of Michelangelo will expose them to acids formed by the combination of water vapor in human breath with pollutants in the air. Notwithstanding this fact, the restoration should continue, for the frescoes in their present condi... | Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the curator's reasoning? | [
"It is right to spend large amounts of money on the restoration of an old artwork if this restoration makes the artwork accessible to large numbers of people.",
"It is acceptable to risk future damage to an artwork if the purpose is to enable it to be appreciated in its original form.",
"The decision as to whet... | 1 | val_481 |
Morris High School has introduced a policy designed to improve the working conditions of its new teachers. As a result of this policy, only one-quarter of all part-time teachers now quit during their first year. However, a third of all full-time teachers now quit during their first year. Thus, more full-time than part-... | The argument's reasoning is questionable because the argument fails to rule out the possibility that | [
"Morris High School employs more new part-time teachers than new full-time teachers",
"Morris High School employs more new full-time teachers than new part-time teachers",
"before the new policy was instituted, the same number of full-time teachers as part-time teachers at Morris High School used to quit during... | 0 | val_482 |
Court records from medieval France show that in the years 1300 to 1400 the number of people arrested in the French realm for "violent interpersonal crimes" (not committed in wars) increased by 30 percent over the number of people arrested for such crimes in the years 1200 to 1300. If the increase was not the result of ... | Which one of the following statements, if true, most seriously weakens the argument? | [
"The population of medieval France increased substantially during the first five decades of the 1300s, until the deadly bubonic plague decimated the population of France after 1348.",
"When English armies tried to conquer parts of France in the mid- to late 1300s, violence in the northern province of Normandy and... | 3 | val_483 |
Geoffrey never attends a movie without watching the trailer and generally tries to read the reviews prior to the show. At the theater, Geoffrey sometimes buys popcorn and always buys a bottle of water. Geoffrey recently saw the eighth installment of the Boy Wizard Chronicles. | Based on these true statements, which of the following must be true? | [
"Geoffrey has read the critics'reviews of the Boy Wizard Chronicles.",
"Geoffrey ate popcorn during the Boy Wizard Chronicles.",
"Geoff Geoffrey watched the Boy Wizard Chronicles' trailer and drank a bottle of water during the show.",
"Geoffrey read the Boy Wizard Chronicles' reviews and drank a bottle of wat... | 2 | val_484 |
When species are extensively hunted, individuals that reach reproductive maturity early make up a larger proportion of the population, because they have a better chance of reproducing. When species face diminished food resources, on the other hand, individuals tend to take longer to reach reproductive maturity. These c... | Which of the following most logically completes the reasoning? | [
"it is possible to determine whether the earliest human dwellings constructed from mastodon tusks and bones come from an earlier period than the earliest hunting weapons unambiguously associated with mastodon remains",
"the average age at which mastodons reached reproductive maturity can be established from masto... | 1 | val_485 |
A major impediment to wide acceptance of electric vehicles even on the part of people who use their cars almost exclusively for commuting is the inability to use electric vehicles for occasional extended trips. In an attempt to make purchasing electric vehicles more attractive to commuters, one electric vehicle produce... | Which of the following, if true, most threatens the plan's prospects for success? | [
"Many electric vehicles that are used for commercial purposes are not needed for extended trips.",
"Although electric vehicles are essentially emission-free in actual use, generating the electricity necessary for charging an electric vehicle's battery can burden the environment.",
"The relatively long time it t... | 3 | val_486 |
When a patient failed to respond to prescribed medication, the doctor hypothesized that the dosage was insufficient. The doctor first advised doubling the dosage, but the patient' s symptoms remained. It was then learned that the patient regularly drank an herbal beverage that often inhibits the medication' s effect. T... | Which one of the following most accurately describes the manner in which the doctor's second set of recommendations and the results of its application support the doctor's initial hypothesis? | [
"They establish that the doctor's concerns about the healthfulness of the beverage were well founded.",
"They suggest that the beverage was not the only cause of the ineffectiveness of the prescribed dosage.",
"They rule out the possibility that the doctor had initially prescribed the wrong medication for the p... | 1 | val_487 |
Salespeople always steer customers toward products from which they make their highest commissions, and all salespeople in major health stores work on commission. Hence, when you buy vitamin supplements in a major health store, you can be sure that the claims the salespeople make about the quality of the products are in... | The reasoning in the argument is flawed in that the argument | [
"offers as a premise a claim that merely paraphrases the conclusion and for which no support is provided",
"takes a condition that is sufficient for the conclusion to be true as one that is necessary for the conclusion to be true",
"relies on the claims of an authority on a topic outside that authority's area o... | 3 | val_488 |
Some years ago, an editorial defended United States government restrictions on academic freedom, arguing that scientists who receive public funding cannot rightly "detach themselves from the government' s policies on national security. "Yet the same editorial criticized the Soviet government for not allowing scientists... | The author of the passage criticizes the editorial by | [
"disputing certain factual claims made in the editorial",
"drawing a conclusion from the editorial different from the conclusion drawn by the writer of the editorial",
"pointing out an apparent inconsistency in the editorial",
"refuting an assumption on which the argument of the editorial appears to have been... | 2 | val_489 |
Many economically useful raw materials are nonrenewable and in limited supply on Earth. Ttherefore, unless those materials can be obtained somewhere other than Earth, people will eventually be unable to accomplish what they now accomplish using those materials. | Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument? | [
"It is extremely difficult to get raw materials from outer space.",
"Functionally equivalent renewable substitutes could be found for nonrenewable resources that are in limited supply.",
"It will be a few hundred years before the Earth is depleted of certain nonrenewable resources that are in limited supply.",
... | 1 | val_490 |
To win democratic elections that are not fully subsidized by the government, nonwealthy candidates must be supported by wealthy patrons. This makes plausible the belief that these candidates will compromise their views to win that support. But since the wealthy are dispersed among the various political parties in rough... | The argument is vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it fails to consider that | [
"in democracies, government-subsidized elections ensure that the views expressed by the people who run for office might not be overly influenced by the opinions of the wealthiest people in those countries",
"in democracies in which elections are not fully subsidized by the government, positions endorsed by politi... | 1 | val_491 |
A group of scientists who have done research on the health effects of food irradiation has discovered no evidence challenging its safety. Supporters of food irradiation have cited this research as certain proof that food irradiation is a safe practice. | A flaw in the reasoning of the supporters of food irradiation is that they | [
"are motivated by a biased interest in proving the practice to be safe",
"overlook the possibility that objections about safety are not the only possible objections to the practice",
"use the lack of evidence contradicting a claim as conclusive evidence for that claim",
"neglect to provide detailed informatio... | 2 | val_492 |
Physiologist: The likelihood of developing osteoporosis is greatly increased by a deficiency of calcium in the diet. Dairy products usually contain more calcium per serving than do fruits and vegetables. Yet in countries where dairy products are rare, and fruits and vegetables are the main source of calcium, the incide... | Which one of the following, if true, would most help to resolve the apparent discrepancy described by the physiologist? | [
"A healthy human body eventually loses the excess calcium that it takes in.",
"There are more people who have a calcium deficiency than there are who have developed osteoporosis.",
"The fats in dairy products tend to inhibit the body's calcium absorption.",
"Many people who eat large quantities of fruits and ... | 2 | val_493 |
One of the limiting factors in human physical performance is the amount of oxygen that is absorbed by the muscles from the bloodstream. Accordingly, entrepreneurs have begun selling at gymnasiums and health clubs bottles of drinking water, labeled "SuperOXY, " that has extra oxygen dissolved in the water. Such water wo... | Which of the following, if true, would serve the same function in the argument as the statement in boldface? | [
"the amount of oxygen in the blood of people who are exercising is already more than the muscle cells can absorb",
"lack of oxygen is not the only factor limiting human physical performance",
"world-class athletes turn in record performances without such water",
"frequent physical exercise increases the body'... | 0 | val_494 |
The increase in the price of jet fuel is due to a sharp decrease over the past year in the supply of jet fuel available relative to demand. Nonetheless, the amount of jet fuel available for sale is larger today than it was last year. | If the statements above are true, which one of the following conclusions can be properly drawn on the basis of them? | [
"The fuel efficiency of jet engines has increased over the past year.",
"The demand for jet fuel has increased over the past year.",
"The cost of refining petroleum for jet fuel has increased over the past year.",
"The number of jet airline flights has decreased over the past year."
] | 1 | val_495 |
Newsletter for community-center volunteers: Retired persons who regularly volunteer their time to help others generally display fewer and milder effects of aging than their nonvolunteering contemporaries: in social resources, mental outlook, physical health, economic resources, and overall functioning, they are found t... | The inference drawn above is unwarranted because | [
"those with better resources, health, outlook, and functioning are more able to work as volunteers",
"the center has a self-interested motive to attract new volunteers",
"growing older might not necessarily result in a change in mental outlook",
"some of those who do not volunteer might be older than some vol... | 0 | val_496 |
A theory is either true or false. Galileo' s observations of Jupiter' s satellites showed that the Ptolemaic theory of the motion of celestial bodies is false. Ttherefore, since the Copernican theory of planetary motion is inconsistent with the Ptolemaic account, Galileo' s observations of Jupiter' s satellites proved ... | The argument above is open to the objection that it makes the questionable assumption that | [
"numerous counterexamples were necessary in order to show the Ptolemaic theory to be false",
"whoever first observed something inconsistent with the truth of the Ptolemaic theory should be credited with having proved that theory false",
"the Ptolemaic and Copernican theories, being inconsistent, cannot both be ... | 2 | val_497 |
A group of mountain climbers was studied to determine how they were affected by diminished oxygen in the air at high altitudes. As they climbed past 6, 100 meters above sea level, the climbers slurred words, took longer to understand simple sentences, and demonstrated poor judgment. This combination of worsened perform... | The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it overlooks the possibility that | [
"the climbers' performance in speech, comprehension, and reasoning was impaired because oxygen deprivation affected their entire brains",
"many of the climbers had engaged in special training before the climb because they wanted to improve the efficiency with which their bodies use oxygen",
"the climbers' perfo... | 0 | val_498 |
Professor Hartley' s new book on moral philosophy contains numerous passages that can be found verbatim in an earlier published work by Hartley' s colleague, Professor Lawrence. Ttherefore, in view of the fact that these passages were unattributed in Hartley' s book, Hartley has been dishonest in not acknowledging the ... | Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument is based? | [
"Hartley considered the passages in question to be the best possible expressions of the ideas they contain.",
"Hartley could not have written the new book without the passages in question.",
"A book on moral philosophy should contain only material representing the author's own convictions.",
"Lawrence did not... | 3 | val_499 |
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