CR SET3

21. In recent years, many cabinetmakers have been
winning acclaim as artists. But since furniture must be
useful, cabinetmakers must exercise their craft with an
eye to the practical utility of their product. For this
reason, cabinetmaking is not art.
Which of the following is an assumption that supports
drawing the conclusion above from the reason given
for that conclusion?
(A) Some furniture is made to be placed in
museums, where it will not be used by anyone.
(B) Some cabinetmakers are more concerned than
others with the practical utility of the products
they produce.
(C) Cabinetmakers should be more concerned with
the practical utility of their products than they
currently are.
(D) An object is not an art object if its maker pays
attention to the object's practical utility.
(E) Artists are not concerned with the monetary
value of their products.

22. Only a reduction of 10 percent in the number of
scheduled flights using Greentown's airport will allow
the delays that are so common there to be avoided.
Hevelia airstrip, 40 miles away, would, if upgraded
and expanded, be an attractive alternative for fully 20
percent of the passengers using Greentown airport.
Nevertheless, experts reject the claim that turning
Hevelia into a full-service airport would end the
chronic delays at Greentown.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to justify
the experts' position?
(A) Turning Hevelia into a full-service airport would
require not only substantial construction at the
airport itself, but also the construction of new
access highways.
(B) A second largely undeveloped airstrip close to
Greentown airport would be a more attractive
alternative than Hevelia for many passengers
who now use Greentown.
(C) Hevelia airstrip lies in a relatively undeveloped
area but would, if it became a full-service
airport, be a magnet for commercial and
residential development.
(D) If an airplane has to wait to land, the extra jet
fuel required adds significantly to the airline's
costs.
(E) Several airlines use Greentown as a regional
hub, so that most flights landing at Greentown
have many passengers who then take different
flights to reach their final destinations.

23. Male bowerbirds construct elaborately decorated
nests, or bowers. Basing their judgment on the fact
that different local populations of bowerbirds of the
same species build bowers that exhibit different
building and decorative styles, researchers have
concluded that the bowerbirds' building styles are
a culturally acquired, rather than a genetically
transmitted, trait.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen
the conclusion drawn by the researchers?
(A) There are more common characteristics than
there are differences among the bower-building
styles of the local bowerbird population that has
been studied most extensively.
(B) Young male bowerbirds are inept at bowerbuilding
and apparently spend years watching
their elders before becoming accomplished in
the local bower style.
(C) The bowers of one species of bowerbird lack the
towers and ornamentation characteristic of the
bowers of most other species of bowerbird.
(D) Bowerbirds are found only in New Guinea and
Australia, where local populations of the birds
apparently seldom have contact with one
another.
(E) It is well known that the song dialects of some
songbirds are learned rather than transmitted
genetically.

24. Plan: Concerned about the welfare of its senior citizens,
the government of Runagia decided two years ago to
increase by 20 percent the government-provided
pension paid to all Runagians age sixty-five and older.
Result: Many Runagian senior citizens are no better off
financially now than they were before the increase.
Further information: The annual rate of inflation since
the pension increase has been below 5 percent, and
the increased pension has been duly received by all
eligible Runagians.
In light of the further information, which of the
following, if true, does most to explain the result that
followed implementation of the plan?
(A) The majority of senior citizens whose financial
position has not improved rely entirely on the
government pension for their income.
(B) The Runagian banking system is so inefficient
that cashing a pension check can take as much
as three weeks.
(C) The prices of goods and services that meet the
special needs of many senior citizens have
increased at a rate much higher than the rate of
inflation.
(D) The pension increase occurred at a time when
the number of Runagians age sixty-five and older
who were living below the poverty level was at
an all-time high.
(E) The most recent pension increase was only the
second such increase in the last ten years.

25. A drug that is highly effective in treating many types of
infection can, at present, be obtained only from the
bark of the ibora, a tree that is quite rare in the wild. It
takes the bark of 5,000 trees to make one kilogram of
the drug. It follows, therefore, that continued
production of the drug must inevitably lead to the
ibora's extinction.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens
the argument above?
(A) The drug made from ibora bark is dispensed to
doctors from a central authority.
(B) The drug made from ibora bark is expensive to
produce.
(C) The leaves of the ibora are used in a number of
medical products.
(D) The ibora can be propagated from cuttings and
grown under cultivation.
(E) The ibora generally grows in largely inaccessible
places.


26. When a polygraph test is judged inconclusive, this is
no reflection on the examinee. Rather, such a
judgment means that the test has failed to show
whether the examinee was truthful or untruthful.
Nevertheless, employers will sometimes refuse to
hire a job applicant because of an inconclusive
polygraph test result.
Which of the following conclusions can most properly
be drawn from the information above?
(A) Most examinees with inconclusive polygraph
test results are in fact untruthful.
(B) Polygraph tests should not be used by
employers in the consideration of job applicants.
(C) An inconclusive polygraph test result is
sometimes unfairly held against the examinee.
(D) A polygraph test indicating that an examinee is
untruthful can sometimes be mistaken.
(E) Some employers have refused to consider the
results of polygraph tests when evaluating job
applicants.

27. For similar cars and comparable drivers, automobile insurance for
collision damage has always cost more in
Greatport than in Fairmont. Police studies, however, show that cars
owned by Greatport residents are, on
average, slightly less likely to be involved in a collision than cars
in Fairmont. Clearly, therefore, insurance
companies are making a greater profit on collision-damage insurance in
Greatport than in Fairmont.
In evaluating the argument, it would be most useful to compare
(A) the level of traffic congestion in Greatport with the level of
traffic congestion in Fairmont
(B) the cost of repairing collision damage in Greatport with the cost
of repairing collision damage in Fairmont
(C) the rates Greatport residents pay for other forms of insurance
with the rates paid for similar insurance by
residents of Fairmont
(D) the condition of Greatport's roads and streets with the condition
of Fairmont's roads and streets
(E) the cost of collision-damage insurance in Greatport and Fairmont
with that in other cities

28. Last year a record number of new manufacturing jobs were created.
Will this year bring another record? Well, a
new manufacturing job is created either within an existing company or
by the start-up of a new company. Within
existing firms, new jobs have been created this year at well below
last year's record pace. At the same time,
there is considerable evidence that the number of new companies
starting up will be no higher this year than it
was last year, and surely [[[[the new companies starting up this
year will create no more jobs per company
than did last year's start-ups. ]]]]] Clearly, it can be concluded
that [[[ the number of new jobs created this year
will fall short of last year's record.]]]


In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the
following roles?
(A) The first is a prediction that, if accurate, would provide support
for the main conclusion of the argument;
the second is that main conclusion.
(B) The first is a prediction that, if accurate, would provide support
for the main conclusion of the argument;
the second is a conclusion drawn in order to support that main conclusion.
(C) The first is an objection that the argument rejects; the second is
the main conclusion of the argument.
(D) The first is an objection that the argument rejects; the second
presents a conclusion that could be drawn
if that objection were allowed to stand.
(E) The first is a claim that has been advanced in support of a
position that the argument opposes; the second
is a claim advanced in support of the main conclusion of the argument.

29. The tulu, a popular ornamental plant, does not reproduce
naturally, and is only bred and sold by specialized
horticultural companies. Unfortunately, the tulu is easily devastated
by a contagious fungal rot. The government
ministry plans to reassure worried gardeners by requiring all tulu
plants to be tested for fungal rot before being
sold. However, infected plants less than 30 weeks old have generally
not built up enough fungal rot in their
systems to be detected reliably. And many tulu plants are sold before
they are 24 weeks old.
Which of the following, if performed by the government ministry, could
logically be expected to overcome the
problem with their plan to test for the fungal rot?
(A) Releasing a general announcement that tulu plants less than 30
weeks old cannot be effectively tested for
fungal rot
(B) Requiring all tulu plants less than 30 weeks old to be labeled as such
(C) Researching possible ways to test tulu plants less than 24 weeks
old for fungal rot
(D) Ensuring that tulu plants not be sold before they are 30 weeks old
(E) Quarantining all tulu plants from horticultural companies at which
any case of fungal rot has been detected
until those tulu plants can be tested for fungal rot


30. The Eurasian ruffe, a fish species inadvertently introduced into
North America's Great Lakes in recent years,
feeds on the eggs of lake whitefish, a native species, thus
threatening the lakes' natural ecosystem. To help
track the ruffe's spread, government agencies have produced
wallet-sized cards about the ruffe. The cards
contain pictures of the ruffe and explain the danger they pose; the
cards also request anglers to report any ruffe
they catch.
Which of the following, if true, would provide most support for the
prediction that the agencies' action will have
its intended effect?
(A) The ruffe has spiny fins that make it unattractive as prey.
(B) Ruffe generally feed at night, but most recreational fishing on
the Great Lakes is done during daytime hours.
(C) Most people who fish recreationally on the Great Lakes are
interested in the preservation of the lake
whitefish because it is a highly prized game fish.
(D) The ruffe is one of several nonnative species in the Great Lakes
whose existence threatens the survival of
lake whitefish populations there.
(E) The bait that most people use when fishing for whitefish on the
Great Lakes is not attractive to ruffe.