June 21 CR Test

bit.do/june21cr


1 Since the new publisher took control, a news magazine's covers have
featured only models and movie stars. Previously, the covers had
displayed only politicians, soldiers, and business leaders. A leading
gossip columnist claimed that the changes made the magazine relevant
again. However, many newspaper editorials disagreed and suggested that
the new publisher is more interested in boosting sales than in
reporting important news events.

Which of the following is an assumption necessary for the argument
made by the gossip columnist's opponents?

• The charitable activities of models and movie stars often focus
public attention on pressing problems.

• Final authority for choosing the cover subject of the magazine lies
with the publisher.

• A magazine can boost sales while highlighting the coverage of
important world leaders.

• Some of the movie stars featured are now running for political office.

• Magazine issues with models or movie stars on the covers are
purchased at a rate more than three times greater than is the case
with issues featuring politicians on the covers.


2 In response to the increasing cost of producing energy through
traditional means, such as combustion, many utility companies have
begun investing in renewable energy sources, chiefly wind and solar
power, hoping someday to rely on them completely and thus lower energy
costs. The utility companies claim that although these sources require
significant initial capital investment, they will provide stable
energy supplies at low cost. As a result, these sources will be less
risky for the utilities than nonrenewable sources, such as gas, oil,
and coal, whose prices can fluctuate dramatically according to
availability. The claim of the utility companies presupposes which of
the following?

• The public will embrace the development of wind and solar power.

• No new deposits of gas, oil, and coal will be discovered in the near future.

• Weather patterns are consistent and predictable.

• The necessary technology for conversion to wind and solar power is
not more expensive than the technology needed to create energy through
combustion.

• Obtaining energy from nonrenewable sources, such as gas, oil and
coal, cannot be made less risky.

3 Surveys consistently show that the best-selling ice cream flavor is
vanilla, although those who prefer chocolate rarely order vanilla.
Vanilla-flavored candy, then, probably sells better than
chocolate-flavored candy. Which of the following is an assumption upon
which the author of the argument relies?

• Because someone prefers vanilla ice cream does not mean he prefers
vanilla-flavored candy.

• Children who prefer vanilla ice cream also tend to like chocolate candy.

• Those who prefer neither vanilla nor chocolate ice cream also prefer
other flavors of candy.

• Someone who prefers vanilla ice cream may still order chocolate on occasion.

• Preferences for certain ice cream flavors are similar to preferences
for candy flavors.

4 The media claim that the economy is entering a phase of growth and
prosperity. They point to lower unemployment rates and increased
productivity. This analysis is false, though. The number of people
filing for bankruptcy has increased every month for the last six
months, and bankruptcy lawyers report that they are busier than they
have been in years. Which of the following is an assumption on which
the argument depends?

• Unemployment rates are not useful indicators of growth and prosperity.

• Economic growth cannot be measured in terms of productivity.

• Legislation has not been recently passed to make legal bankruptcy
easier to obtain.

• There has not been an increase in the number of bankruptcy lawyers.

• The media often misrepresent the current state of economic affairs.

5 The recording industry is fighting a losing battle: it simply does
not have the resources to prosecute all of the individuals who
illegally download music from the Internet. Because the number of
individuals who will be charged with a crime is so limited, the
actions of the recording industry will have a minimal impact on the
number of people who illegally download music. The answer to which of
the following questions would best help evaluate the accuracy of the
conclusion above?

A. Will recording industry lawyers dedicate the majority of their time
to prosecuting those who illegally download music?

B. Is a small minority of individuals responsible for the majority of
illegal song downloads?

C. Do many individuals who illegally download songs share their music
files with other Internet users?

D. Will new Internet security technology permit the recording industry
to more quickly and easily identify individuals who illegally download
music?

E. Will the threat of prosecution alter the behavior of those who
illegally download music?

6

While political discourse and the media in the United States have
focused on the rise of job outsourcing, few have mentioned the sharp
fall of talent "insourcing," or the drop in enrollment of foreign-born
graduate students since 2001, and its dire results. The decrease in
such insourcing will hurt America's competitiveness in basic research
and applied technology, with serious consequences for years to come.
The de-internationalization of graduate programs across the country
will also negatively affect the global outlook and experience of the
American students remaining in those programs; they will not have the
opportunity to learn about foreign cultures directly from members of
those cultures. What distinguishes the decline of talent insourcing
from the rise of job outsourcing is that the former can be easily
rectified by a policy change of the United States government. The
answer to which of the following questions would be most useful in
evaluating the author's claim regarding the impact of decreased
insourcing in America?

A. What is the cost to reverse the trend of insourcing in America?

B. How does insourcing replace domestic jobs lost from outsourcing?

C. Since 2001, what has been the decrease in the number of
foreign-born students in America?

D. What opportunities do American graduate students have to interact
regularly with foreigners who are not students?

E. What effect would a government policy have on the number of foreign
graduate students?

7 Most cable television companies currently require customers to
subscribe to packages of channels, but consumer groups have recently
proposed legislation that would force the companies to offer a la
carte pricing. Subscribers would pay less, argue the consumer groups,
because they could purchase only the desired channels. However, the
cable industry argues that under the current package pricing, popular
channels subsidize less-popular ones, providing more options for
viewers. For this reason, the industry claims that it is always
cheaper for the consumer to purchase many bundled channels than to buy
them individually. Which of the following would be most important for
the government to determine before deciding whether to require cable
television companies to offer a la carte pricing in order to reduce
consumer costs?

A. Whether the total number of channels offered to consumers would
decrease, along with programming diversity, as a result of the a la
carte pricing structure

B. Whether advertising revenue for the cable television companies
would decrease as a result of the a la carte pricing structure

C. Whether the vast majority of consumers would greatly reduce the
number of channels purchased if given the option of purchasing them
individually

D. Whether cable and satellite companies currently have the ability to
buy channels individually from programmers and content providers

E. Whether a la carte subscribers would be required to have new
television set-top boxes

8 Child development specialists have observed that adolescents who
receive large weekly allowances tend to spend money on items
considered frivolous by their parents whereas adolescents who receive
small weekly allowances do not. Thus, in order to ensure that their
children do not spend money on frivolous items, parents should not
give their children large weekly allowances. Which of the following
pieces of information would be most useful in evaluating the validity
of the conclusion above?

A. The average amount of money received by adolescents who receive
large weekly allowances

B. Any differences among parents in the standard used to judge an item
as frivolous

C. The educational background of the child development specialists who
made this observation

D. The difference between the average annual income of families in
which the parents give their children large weekly allowances and that
of families in which the parents give their children small weekly
allowances

E. The percentage of adolescents who receive no weekly allowance

9 The downturn in the economy last year has prompted many companies to
make widely publicized layoffs, resulting in thousands of lost jobs.
Economists predicted that these layoffs would cause people generally
to cut back on their discretionary spending even if their jobs were
secure, in anticipation of coming hard times. However, this prediction
has not come to pass, since there has been no increase in the amount
of money set aside by the general public in savings accounts. The
answer to which of the following questions would be most useful in
evaluating the significance of the savings patterns described above?

A. What business sectors were most affected by the layoffs?

B. How much of their savings, on average, do laid-off employees
deplete before finding new employment?

C. What has been the percent increase in the cost of necessities such
as food, housing, and utilities during the period since the layoffs?

D. What percentage of people laid off have savings accounts?

E. What has been the average salary during the period since the layoffs?

10 Zoologists warn of an imminent surge in the number of bird species
that will become extinct within this century. Nevertheless, these
zoologists are wrong. One need only consider the information gathered
on native North American raptors, such as bald eagles and peregrine
falcons. Several of these species came close to vanishing between 1900
and 1970, but since 1970, the local populations of these raptors have
rebounded. The answer to which of the following questions provides
information that would be most helpful in evaluating the argument
above?

A. How many species of non-native raptors have been introduced into
North America since 1970?

B. What special efforts, if any, have been made to rescue native North
American raptors since 1970?

C. How many years' experience do the zoologists have in evaluating
patterns of extinction among animals?

D. To what degree have native North American raptors migrated to other
parts of the world?

E. How many acres of woodland are set aside each year as bird refuges?