The city of Littleville wishes to institute a congestion charge, in which cars driving through the most crowded streets of Littleville, in the downtown area, would pay a fee when they did so. Proponents argue that, in these circumstances, most of the drivers in the city would choose to use outlying roads. This reduction in the traffic in downtown Littleville would help reduce the number of car accidents in the area.
The conclusion drawn in the above argument depends on which of the following assumptions?
A. The outlying roads in Littleville would not present a prohibitive inconvenience for most of the drivers in Littleville who normally use the downtown roads.
B. Most of Littleville's outlying roads are equipped only to handle cars and not the kind of commercial trucks that often have to make downtown deliveries.
C. Drivers in Littleville who can afford the congestion charge are less likely to be involved in a car accident than those who cannot.
D. Cars driving through downtown Littleville are at greater risk of being involved in a car accident than those that use outlying roads.
E. Implementing a congestion charge in Littleville would eventually create such traffic on the outlying roads that the number of car accidents would increase.
The conclusion drawn in the above argument depends on which of the following assumptions?
A. The outlying roads in Littleville would not present a prohibitive inconvenience for most of the drivers in Littleville who normally use the downtown roads.
B. Most of Littleville's outlying roads are equipped only to handle cars and not the kind of commercial trucks that often have to make downtown deliveries.
C. Drivers in Littleville who can afford the congestion charge are less likely to be involved in a car accident than those who cannot.
D. Cars driving through downtown Littleville are at greater risk of being involved in a car accident than those that use outlying roads.
E. Implementing a congestion charge in Littleville would eventually create such traffic on the outlying roads that the number of car accidents would increase.
*******************
2
Ever since the new Marketing Head joined Crackwell Corporation, its profits have increased steadily. In fact, over the past three years that the Marketing Head has been with Crackwell, the company's profits have grown by almost 35% every year, a figure that used to hover around the 10% mark earlier. Pleased by this fact, the Board of Crackwell Corporation has decided to reward the Marketing Head with stock options in the company.
Which of the following, if true, casts the most serious doubts on the decision taken by the Board of Crackwell Corporation
(A) The Marketing Head is disliked by his team members because of his habit of criticising them in public
(B) Over the past three years, the profits of Crackwell's closest competitor have grown by 42% every year
(C) The CFO of Crackwell Corporation has taken several cost cutting measures over the last three years, including retrenchment of unproductive employees and renegotiation of prices with vendors.
(D) A strategy consulting firm, known to have turned around several poorly performing companies, has been recently hired by Crackwell Corporation
(E) Several new marketing campaigns, which gave a lot of international exposure to the company's products, have been successfully conducted by Crackwell Corporation over the past three years
Which of the following, if true, casts the most serious doubts on the decision taken by the Board of Crackwell Corporation
(A) The Marketing Head is disliked by his team members because of his habit of criticising them in public
(B) Over the past three years, the profits of Crackwell's closest competitor have grown by 42% every year
(C) The CFO of Crackwell Corporation has taken several cost cutting measures over the last three years, including retrenchment of unproductive employees and renegotiation of prices with vendors.
(D) A strategy consulting firm, known to have turned around several poorly performing companies, has been recently hired by Crackwell Corporation
(E) Several new marketing campaigns, which gave a lot of international exposure to the company's products, have been successfully conducted by Crackwell Corporation over the past three years
****
A mathematical theorem proved by one mathematician should not be accepted until each step in its proof has been independently verified. Computer-assisted proofs generally proceed by conducting a vast number of calculations—surveying all the possible types of instances in which the theorem could apply and proving that the theorem holds for each type. In most computer-assisted proofs there are astronomically many types of instances to survey, and no human being could review every step in the proof. Hence, computer-assisted proofs involving astronomically many types of instances should not be accepted.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument relies?
(A) The use of the computer to assist in the proof of mathematical theorems has greatly simplified the mathematician's task.
(B) Most attempts to construct proofs of mathematical theorems do not result in demonstrations that the theorems are true.
(C) Computers cannot be used to assist in generating proofs of mathematical theorems that involve only a very limited number of steps.
(D) Any mathematical proof that does not rely on the computer cannot proceed by surveying all possible types of instances to which the candidate theorem might apply.
(E) The use of an independent computer program does not satisfy the requirement for independent verification of each step in a proof that is extended enough to be otherwise unverifiable.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument relies?
(A) The use of the computer to assist in the proof of mathematical theorems has greatly simplified the mathematician's task.
(B) Most attempts to construct proofs of mathematical theorems do not result in demonstrations that the theorems are true.
(C) Computers cannot be used to assist in generating proofs of mathematical theorems that involve only a very limited number of steps.
(D) Any mathematical proof that does not rely on the computer cannot proceed by surveying all possible types of instances to which the candidate theorem might apply.
(E) The use of an independent computer program does not satisfy the requirement for independent verification of each step in a proof that is extended enough to be otherwise unverifiable.
*****
4
Companies that advertise on television complain that digital television recording
(DTR) services make it possible for consumers to watch television programs without
viewing the commercials that these advertisers have paid the television networks to
broadcast. The DTR service providers respond that their services may actually help the
advertisers, because without their service, many consumers would not have been able
to watch the programs—or the commercials in them—in the first place
Which of the following, if true, offers the most support to the advertisers' claims that the
DTR services are currently hurting their businesses?
A. Even the best commercials are usually less entertaining than the programs that consumers choose to watch for themselves.
B. DTR services charge such high rates that only a small percentage of consumers subscribe to them.
C. The average per-second cost of advertising on television has risen every year for the past two decades.
D. More than 90 percent of subscribers to DTR services opt to use a setting that automatically edits out commercials.
E. DTR services alter the television viewing experience by allowing customers to view the program of their choice at the time of their choosing.
(DTR) services make it possible for consumers to watch television programs without
viewing the commercials that these advertisers have paid the television networks to
broadcast. The DTR service providers respond that their services may actually help the
advertisers, because without their service, many consumers would not have been able
to watch the programs—or the commercials in them—in the first place
Which of the following, if true, offers the most support to the advertisers' claims that the
DTR services are currently hurting their businesses?
A. Even the best commercials are usually less entertaining than the programs that consumers choose to watch for themselves.
B. DTR services charge such high rates that only a small percentage of consumers subscribe to them.
C. The average per-second cost of advertising on television has risen every year for the past two decades.
D. More than 90 percent of subscribers to DTR services opt to use a setting that automatically edits out commercials.
E. DTR services alter the television viewing experience by allowing customers to view the program of their choice at the time of their choosing.
****
5
Although there is no record of poet Edmund Spenser's parentage, we do know that as a youth Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors' School in London for a period between 1560 and 1570. Records from this time indicate that the Merchant Tailors' Guild then had only three members named Spenser: Robert Spenser, listed as a gentleman; Nicholas Spenser, elected the Guild's Warden in 1568; and John Spenser, listed as a "journeyman cloth-maker." Of these, the last was likely the least affluent of the three—and most likely Edmund's father, since school accounting records list Edmund as a scholar who attended the school at a reduced fee.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) Anybody in sixteenth century London who made clothing professionally would have had to be a member of the Merchant Tailors' Guild.
(B) The fact that Edmund Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors' School did not necessarily mean that he planned to become a tailor.
(C) No member of the Guild could become Guild warden in sixteenth century London unless he was a gentleman.
(D) Most of those whose fathers were members of the Merchant Tailors' Guild were students at the Merchant Tailors' School.
(E) The Merchant Tailors' School did not reduce its fees for the children of the more affluent Guild members.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) Anybody in sixteenth century London who made clothing professionally would have had to be a member of the Merchant Tailors' Guild.
(B) The fact that Edmund Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors' School did not necessarily mean that he planned to become a tailor.
(C) No member of the Guild could become Guild warden in sixteenth century London unless he was a gentleman.
(D) Most of those whose fathers were members of the Merchant Tailors' Guild were students at the Merchant Tailors' School.
(E) The Merchant Tailors' School did not reduce its fees for the children of the more affluent Guild members.
*****
6
Because no employee wants to be associated with bad news in the eyes of a superior, information about serious problems at lower levels is progressively softened and distorted as it goes up each step in the management hierarchy. the chief executive is therefore, less well informed about problems at lower levels than are his or her subordinates at those levels.
The conclusion drawn above is based on the assumption that
a) problems should be solved at levels in the management hierarchy at which they occur
b) employees should be rewarded for accurately reporting problems to their superiors
c) problems-solving ability is more important at higher levels than it is at lower levels of the management hierarchy
d) chief executives obtain information about problems at lower levels from t no source other than their subordinates
e) some employees are more are concerned about truth than about the way they are perceived by their superiors
The conclusion drawn above is based on the assumption that
a) problems should be solved at levels in the management hierarchy at which they occur
b) employees should be rewarded for accurately reporting problems to their superiors
c) problems-solving ability is more important at higher levels than it is at lower levels of the management hierarchy
d) chief executives obtain information about problems at lower levels from t no source other than their subordinates
e) some employees are more are concerned about truth than about the way they are perceived by their superiors
******
7
Auto industry executive: Statistics show that cars that were built smaller after 1977 to make them more fuel-efficient had a higher incidence of accident-related fatalities than did their earlier larger counterparts. For this reason we oppose recent guidelines that would require us to produce cars with higher fuel efficiency.
Which of the following, if true, would constitute the strongest objection to the executives argument?
A. Even after 1977, large automobiles were frequently involved in accidents that caused death or serious injury.
B. Although fatalities in accidents involving small cars have increased since 1977, the number of accidents has decreased.
C. New computerized fuel systems can enable large cars to meet fuel efficiency standards established by the recent guidelines.
D. Modern technology can make small cars more fuel-efficient today than at any other time in their production history.
E. Fuel efficiency in models of large cars rose immediately after 1977 but has been declining ever since.
Which of the following, if true, would constitute the strongest objection to the executives argument?
A. Even after 1977, large automobiles were frequently involved in accidents that caused death or serious injury.
B. Although fatalities in accidents involving small cars have increased since 1977, the number of accidents has decreased.
C. New computerized fuel systems can enable large cars to meet fuel efficiency standards established by the recent guidelines.
D. Modern technology can make small cars more fuel-efficient today than at any other time in their production history.
E. Fuel efficiency in models of large cars rose immediately after 1977 but has been declining ever since.
****
8
The Tricounty Bridge was supposed to relieve traffic in East Countway County. Although the bridge was opened last year, traffic in the county has gotten worse over
the last year. To relieve the traffic situation in East Countway, therefore, the traffic commission should order the Tricounty Bridge closed.
Which of the following, if true, gives the most support to the conclusion of the passage above?
A. The increased traffic seen in East Countway over the last year is largely attributable to a large casino and resort hotel that opened for business shortly after the opening of
the Tricounty Bridge.
B. The Tricounty Bridge allows inhabitants of heavily populated West Countway County to reach East Countway in less than a half-hour, as opposed to the two hours the trip
required before the opening of the bridge.
C. The bridge is only open for the periods 7–9 a.m. and 3–5 p.m. on weekdays.
D. Ship captains on the Countway River have complained that the bridge disrupts shipping on the river, thereby hurting the local economy.
E. The bridge is unlikely ever to pay for itself with the current low toll payment.
the last year. To relieve the traffic situation in East Countway, therefore, the traffic commission should order the Tricounty Bridge closed.
Which of the following, if true, gives the most support to the conclusion of the passage above?
A. The increased traffic seen in East Countway over the last year is largely attributable to a large casino and resort hotel that opened for business shortly after the opening of
the Tricounty Bridge.
B. The Tricounty Bridge allows inhabitants of heavily populated West Countway County to reach East Countway in less than a half-hour, as opposed to the two hours the trip
required before the opening of the bridge.
C. The bridge is only open for the periods 7–9 a.m. and 3–5 p.m. on weekdays.
D. Ship captains on the Countway River have complained that the bridge disrupts shipping on the river, thereby hurting the local economy.
E. The bridge is unlikely ever to pay for itself with the current low toll payment.
****
9
The energy an animal must expend to move uphill is proportional to its body weight, whereas the animal's energy output available to perform this task is proportional to its surface area. This is the reason that small animals, like squirrel, can run up a tree trunk almost as fast as they can move on level ground, whereas large animals tend to slow down when they are moving uphill.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the explanation above depends?
(A) The amount of energy needed to move uphill is no greater for large animals that it is for small animals.
(B) Small animals can move more rapidly than large animals can.
(C) The ratio of surface area to body weight is smaller in large animals than it is in small animals.
(D) There is little variation in the ratio of energy output to body weight among animals.
(E) The amount of energy needed to run at a given speed is proportional to the surface area of the running animal.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the explanation above depends?
(A) The amount of energy needed to move uphill is no greater for large animals that it is for small animals.
(B) Small animals can move more rapidly than large animals can.
(C) The ratio of surface area to body weight is smaller in large animals than it is in small animals.
(D) There is little variation in the ratio of energy output to body weight among animals.
(E) The amount of energy needed to run at a given speed is proportional to the surface area of the running animal.
***
10
Doctor: Research shows that adolescents who play video games on a regular basis are three times as likely to develop carpal tunnel syndrome as are adolescents who do not play video games. Federal legislation that prohibits the sale of video games to minors would help curb this painful wrist condition among adolescents. The doctor's conclusion depends on which of the following assumptions?
A. The majority of federal legislators would vote for a bill that prohibits the sale of video games to minors.
B. Not all adolescents who play video games on a regular basis suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome.
C. Playing video games is the only way an adolescent can develop carpal tunnel syndrome.
D. Most parents would refuse to purchase video games for their adolescent children.
E. The regular playing of video games by adolescents does not produce such beneficial effects as better hand eye coordination and improved reaction time.
A. The majority of federal legislators would vote for a bill that prohibits the sale of video games to minors.
B. Not all adolescents who play video games on a regular basis suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome.
C. Playing video games is the only way an adolescent can develop carpal tunnel syndrome.
D. Most parents would refuse to purchase video games for their adolescent children.
E. The regular playing of video games by adolescents does not produce such beneficial effects as better hand eye coordination and improved reaction time.
