Friday 17 June 2016

CRITICAL REASONING - 18TH JUNE (VARC CLASSROOM )

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1 While antibiotics have done inestimable good to humankind over the
last seventy years, there are several drawbacks to using antibiotics
that, until recently, have been overlooked. The human microbiome,
which consists of the trillions of bacteria that reside in each
person's body, is essential to good health. Specifically, the body
contains and requires both "good" and "bad" bacteria. It is when the
proper equilibrium between the "good" bacteria and the "bad" bacteria
is disrupted that a number of health issues can emerge. Nonetheless,
antibiotics indiscriminately kill both the "good" and the "bad"
bacteria, so each course of antibiotics should be followed by a
treatment that __________________________________

Which of the following most logically completes the argument above?

A. bypasses the microbiome altogether
B. targets and eliminates only the "bad" bacteria
C. restores the correct balance between the "good" and "bad" bacteria
D. purges the body of the remaining antibiotics completely
E. reverses any effects from the antibiotics


2 The economy around Lake Paqua depends on fishing of the lake's
landlocked salmon population. In recent years, scarcity of food for
salmon there has caused a decline in both the number and the size of
the adult salmon in the lake. As a result, the region's revenues from
salmon fishing have declined significantly. To remedy this situation,
officials plan to introduce shrimp, which can serve as a food source
for adult salmon, into Lake Paqua.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question
the plan's chances for success?

A. Salmon is not a popular food among residents of the Lake Paqua region.

B. Tourists coming to fish for sport generate more income for
residents of the Lake Paqua region than does commercial fishing.

C. The shrimp to be introduced into Lake Paqua are of a variety that
is too small to be harvested for human consumption.

D. The primary food for both shrimp and juvenile salmon is plankton,
which is not abundant in Lake Paqua.

E. Fishing regulations prohibit people from keeping any salmon they
have caught in Lake Paqua that are smaller than a certain minimum size


3 The difficulty with the proposed high-speed train line is that a
used plane can be bought for one-third the price of the train line,
and the plane, which is just as fast, can fly anywhere. The train
would be a fixed linear system, and we live in a world that is
spreading out in all directions and in which consumers choose the
free-wheel systems (cars, buses, aircraft), which do not have fixed
routes. Thus a sufficient market for the train will not exist.

Which of the following, if true, most severely weakens the argument
presented above?

(A) Cars, buses, and planes require the efforts of drivers and pilots
to guide them, whereas the train will be guided mechanically.

(B) Cars and buses are not nearly as fast as the high-speed train will be.

(C) Planes are not a free-wheel system because they can fly only
between airports, which are less convenient for consumers than the
high-speed train's stations would be.

(D) The high-speed train line cannot use currently underutilized train
stations in large cities.

(E) For long trips, most people prefer to fly rather than to take
ground-level transportation.


4 Commercially available chemical fertilizers contain the same
nutrients and micronutrients as organic fertilizers such as manure and
composted garden clippings. Plants have tiny root hairs that absorb
nutrients, and whether the source of the nutrients is organic or
chemical is irrelevant to the plant's ability to take in the
nutrients. Nevertheless, organic fertilizers are better for the health
of the plant than are chemical fertilizers alone.

Which of the following, if true, would most strongly support the position above?

(A)The nutrients in organic fertilizers are slowly released to the
plant over time, rather than being absorbed by the plant immediately.

(B)In organic fertilizers, the natural combination of nutrients with
other natural materials makes the nutrients more usable by the plant
than nutrients found in chemical fertilizers.

(C)Plants often must be provided with nutrients because naturally
occurring nutrients in the surrounding soil are depleted or washed
away over time.

(D)The typical gardener can't easily know the exact amount and type of
nutrients in an organic fertilizer such as manure.

(E)Chemical fertilizers produced by the leading manufacturer contain
nutrients that are no harder for the plants to absorb than those
provided by the competitor's chemical fertilizer.


5 Hunter: Many people blame hunters alone for the decline in Greenrock
National Forest's deer population over the past ten years. Yet
clearly, black bears have also played an important role in this
decline. In the past ten years, the forest's protected black bear
population has risen sharply, and examination of black bears found
dead in the forest during the deer hunting season showed that a number
of them had recently fed on deer.

In the hunter's argument, the portion in boldface plays which of the
following roles?

(A) It is the main conclusion of the argument.
(B) It is a finding that the argument seeks to explain.
(C) It is an explanation that the argument concludes is correct.
(D) It provides evidence in support of the main conclusion of the argument.
(E) It introduces a judgment that the argument opposes


6 Military Consultant: The chain of command in your unit is marred by
a serious flaw: your soldiers are so fearful of being disciplined for
security breaches within their jurisdiction that they fail to report
potential problems to their superiors. And those superiors share the
same fear of being seen as lacking control of their units that they
fail to fully investigate potential problems and bring them up the
chain to you. Consequently, General, you're likely presiding over
several security threats that you'll never know about.

Which of the following is an assumption required by the consultant's logic.

A. The general is responsible for the culture that exists within his
chain of command.

B. All soldiers near the bottom of the chain of command are fearful of
being disciplined for security breaches.

C. The general does not have sources other than the chain of command
to alert him to security concerns.

D. Some soldiers do not fear authority figures more than they fear
genuine security threats.

E. There is not a feasible incentive system to reward soldiers for
conscientiously pointing out security concerns.


7 Installing scrubbers in smokestacks and switching to cleaner-burning
fuel are the two methods available to Northern Power for reducing
harmful emissions from its plants. Scrubbers will reduce harmful
emissions more than cleaner-burning fuels will. Therefore, by
installing scrubbers, Northern Power will be doing the most that can
be done to reduce harmful emissions from its plants.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

(A)Switching to cleaner-burning fuel will not be more expensive than
installing scrubbers.

(B)Northern Power can choose from among various Kinds of scrubbers,
some of which are more effective than others.

(C)Northern Power is not necessarily committed to reducing harmful
emissions from its plants.

(D)Harmful emissions from Northern Power's plants cannot be reduced
more by using both methods together than by the installation of
scrubbers alone.

(E)Aside from harmful emissions from the smokestacks of its plants,
the activities of Northern Power do not cause significant air
pollution


8 According to futuristic writings in the 1960s, robots would soon
drastically reduce crime. With night vision and ability to detect the
chemicals involved in ballistics, such robots could be programed to
paralyze anyone roaming the street at night with a gun: virtually all
criminals fit that description. These criminals would be incapacitated
and thus unable to resist an easy arrest.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly indicates that the
logic of the prediction is flawed?

(A) Such robots would need to be charged during the daytime.

(B) Since policemen carry guns, the robots would incapacitate them
just as efficiently as they incapacitate criminals

(C) Because these robots could pose a hazard to cars at night, special
barriers would have to be constructed between the paths of the robots
and the lanes of traffic.

(D) It's not obvious that reducing the number of criminals will always
be beneficial.

(E) If the proposal plan were successful, it might ultimate result in
a smaller and more efficient police force.


9 Political Analyst: "Although citizens of this state normally oppose
any new taxes, they are overwhelmingly in favor of taxes that support
the medical initiative. Candidate Johnson vowed to cut these taxes,
and he was trounced in the primary elections. Furthermore, in a poll
that asked citizens, "Would you pay higher taxes if it meant having
the benefit of the new medical initiative?", an astonishing 82%
replied "Yes." This is a pattern of support for taxes we have not seen
before in this state."

In the political analyst's argument, the portion in boldface plays
which of the following roles?

A) It is an explanation that the argument concludes is correct.
B) It is a finding that calls the main conclusion into question.
C) It introduces a judgment that the argument opposes.
D) It provides evidence in support of the main conclusion of the argument.
E) It is the main conclusion of the argument.


10 In order to ensure a successful vote on the issue of abortion
rights,the government is pressurizing the leaders of the state
political party to replace several delegates to the national
convention.The governor is insisting that certain individuals with a
history of voting in favor of abortion rights be replaced with new
delegates who have voted against abortion rights in the past.

The governor's action demonstrates that he is making which of the
following assumptions?

a)Voting on abortion issues is an important part of the national
political agenda.

b)The current delegates will probably not share the Governor's views
on such issues as the national budget or federal spending limits.

c)The proposed new delegates will continue to vote on abortion issues
in the same way that they have voted in the past.

d)The national delegation will not have an opportunity to vote on any
issues other than abortion rights.

e)He wants fresh delegates to represent the national convention.


11 Making the possession of guns illegal will never reduce the number
of deaths and injuries that are the result of guns. People are aware
of the uses for guns and will find new, and possibilly illegal, ways
to get them. No laws restricting the sale and ownership of guns will
prevent those who want to purchase one from purchasing one.

Which of the following, if true, would best strengthen the above argument?

A) A recent ban on the possession of concealed weapons other than
handguns has resulted in a significant reduction of deaths releated to
these alternative weapons.

B) In light of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, legislating
legal bans on the possession of guns will be extremely difficult.

C) Often, making a product illegal increases an individual's desure to
own that product and demand actually rises.

D) Many advocats of gun control believe that it is the weapon and not
the possessor of the weapon that is responsible for the violence
associated with guns.

E) Legislating a ban on only the most dangerous guns is a sufficient
way to cut down demand for guns.


12 Red blood cells in which the malarial-fever parasite resides are
eliminated from a person's body after 120 days. Because the parasite
cannot travel to a new generation of red blood cells, any fever that
develops in a person more than 120 days after that person has moved to
a malaria-free region is not due to the malarial parasite.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion above?

(A) The fever caused by the malarial parasite may resemble the fever
caused by flu viruses.

(B) The anopheles mosquito, which is the principal insect carrier of
the malarial parasite, has been eradicated in many parts of the world.

(C) Many malarial symptoms other than the fever, which can be
suppressed with antimalarial medication, can reappear within 120 days
after the medication is discontinued.

(D) In some cases, the parasite that causes malarial fever travels to
cells of the spleen, which are less frequently eliminated from a
person's body than are red blood cells.

E) In any region infested with malaria-carrying mosquitoes, there are individuals who appear to be immune to malaria


13 In the arid land along the Colorado River, use of the river's water
is strictly controlled: farms along the river each have a limited
allocation that they are allowed to use for irrigation. But the trees
that grow in narrow strips along the river's banks also use its water.
Clearly, therefore, if farmers were to remove those trees, more water
would be available for crop irrigation

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

a. The trees along the river's banks shelter it from the sun and wind,
thereby greatly reducing the amount of water lost through evaporation

b. Owners of farms along the river will probably not undertake the
expense of cutting down trees along the banks unless they are granted
a greater allocation of water in return

c. Many of the tree species currently found along the river's banks
are specifically adapted to growing in places where tree roots remain
constantly wet.

d. The strip of land where trees grow along the river's banks would
not be suitable for growing crops if the trees were removed.

e. The distribution of water allocations for irrigation is intended to
prevent farms father upstream from using water needed by farms father
downstream


14 In the arid land along the Colorado River, use of the river's water
is strictly controlled: farms along the river each have a limited
allocation that they are allowed to use for irrigation. But the trees
that grow in narrow strips along the river's banks also use its water.
Clearly, therefore, if farmers were to remove those trees, more water
would be available for crop irrigation

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

a. The trees along the river's banks shelter it from the sun and wind,
thereby greatly reducing the amount of water lost through evaporation

b. Owners of farms along the river will probably not undertake the
expense of cutting down trees along the banks unless they are granted
a greater allocation of water in return

c. Many of the tree species currently found along the river's banks
are specifically adapted to growing in places where tree roots remain
constantly wet.

d. The strip of land where trees grow along the river's banks would
not be suitable for growing crops if the trees were removed.

e. The distribution of water allocations for irrigation is intended to
prevent farms father upstream from using water needed by farms father
downstream



15 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.

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