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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 changes the shape of the hemoglobin molecule, each time causing it literally to open itself to receive more oxygen. | 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 molecule.",
"The only factor determining how effective a hemoglobin molecule is at picking up oxygen molecules is how open the shape of that hemoglobin molecule is.",
"Each hemoglobin molecule in human blood picks up between one and four oxygen molecules in or near the lungs and transports them to some other part of the body."
] | 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 the amount of food eaten per capita thirty years ago.",
"Single persons today, on average, purchase the same kinds of food items in the same quantities as they did thirty years ago."
] | 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 ecologically friendly are less damaging to the environment than other laundry detergents are. | 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 detergents that are advertised as ecologically friendly contain much lower amounts of surfactants, on average, than do other laundry detergents.",
"Laundry detergents advertised as environmentally friendly are typically less effective than other detergents, so that larger amounts must be used."
] | 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 viewed as a disease, whereas in the past it was considered a moral failing. It is ttherefore likely that more deaths are being reported as alcohol-related because physicians are more likely to identify these deaths as alcohol-related. | 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 disease has been viewed as a moral failing.",
"More physicians now than in the past are trained to recognize the physical effects of alcoholism."
] | 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 managers uncovered a series of manufacturing flaws that critics contend are a direct consequence of the pressure to produce results as quickly and cheaply as possible. | 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 the same time, and no one disease, however virulent, could be fatal to animals across that many different species. | 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 prevent influenza, it sometimes reduces the severity of its symptoms. Ttherefore it is incorrect to say that some people who receive the vaccine derive no benefit from it.",
"Even though Lena, Jen, and Mark would like to go out to dinner together after the movie tonight, they will probably go straight home after the show. Of the five restaurants that are in the immediate vicinity of the theater, there is not a single one that all three of them like.",
"Even though high interest rates can lead to an economic downturn, high interest rates probably did not cause the current economic downturn. It is true that rates have been on the rise, but high interest rates are not always economically harmful."
] | 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 fever nor asthma comprise less than 5 percent of the total population."
] | 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, calamitous event. So it would seem that the meaning one attaches to a wound can affect the amount of pain one perceives. | 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 irresistible cause of yawning. | 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 yawning based on evidence drawn from a limited number of atypical cases."
] | 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 claims, but we would do so because we really do not believe in clairvoyance as a reliable process. Were we to believe in clairvoyance, we would accept knowledge claims made on the basis of it. | 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 matter of personal choice",
"asserting that the objection is based on a belief about the reliability of clairvoyance rather than on the nature of knowledge or its definition"
] | 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 their mortgages early, while refusing to pay for upkeep of their homes, this would not make them better off financially. The same goes for the country as a whole. | 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 upkeep of their homes in order to do so.",
"It does not make sense for the government to use the budget surplus to pay down the national debt."
] | 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 conclusion",
"fails to address the possibility that a significant number of old houses on 20th Avenue contain three or more apartments"
] | 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 dirty if they are to last as long as possible. Engineer: Not so fast. Advances in technology make it possible to clean stone buildings without water, using mild chemicals that do not penetrate the stone. | 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 inconsistent"
] | 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 cat food.",
"Typically, cats are fed either canned cat food or dry cat food, or both."
] | 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 a chemical does not increase one' s risk of getting cancer. Thus, we should instead set a maximum acceptable level for each problematic chemical, somewhat below the level at which the substance has been shown to lead to cancer but above zero. | 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 substances.",
"The level at which a given food additive has been shown to lead to cancer in children is generally about half the level at which it leads to cancer in adults.",
"Consuming small amounts of several different cancer-causing chemicals can lead to cancer even if consuming such an amount of any one cancer-causing chemical would not."
] | 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, even though the temperature within the caves where the bats roost remains virtually the same from one night to the next. | 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 inactivity, eastern pipistrelle bats tend to consume more insects per day in the spring and fall than in the summer.",
"Eastern pipistrelle bats can detect changes in barometric pressure within the caves that correlate closely with changes in temperature outside the caves."
] | 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 their students' swings in order to show their students what flaws exist in their swings. | 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 are expressions used by poets. All figures of speech are expressions used for emotional impact. So any expression used by poets is a figure of speech.",
"No one without a deep desire to communicate can be a blues musician. So short-story writers, all of whom have that same desire to communicate, could also have become blues musicians.",
"People living in open and democratic countries have customs that are determined at least in part by an inherited past. But no country's past is a product of free choice. Thus people living in open and democratic countries can never be entirely free."
] | 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 European fashion capital of Milan; however, most of the fashion press is headquartered domestically in New York.",
"Five years ago, the company's revenue was less than $1 million, and the company was not featured in any major articles in the fashion press.",
"A major automaker in the region was the subject of twice as many features in auto industry press when the automaker filed for bankruptcy."
] | 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 that into consideration, Robert' s debate performance was as good as Britta' s. | 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 how nutritious they are. | 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 but not flavorful, will choose the foods that are nutritious but not flavorful.",
"Most people currently believe that wholesome foods are more flavorful, on average, than unwholesome foods are.",
"The studies that revealed that people choose the foods they eat primarily on the basis of flavor also revealed that people rated as most flavorful those foods that were least 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 the absence of government by consent. | 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 group of people, it is true of each individual member of the group",
"infers that because something is true of each individual person belonging to a group, it is true of the group as a whole"
] | 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 serious delays. | 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 weather.",
"Airlines using the airport base their schedules on the assumption that more than 30 planes an hour will be allowed to land at the airport."
] | 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 required that more baseballs be used per game. Scoring increased dramatically as a result of more baseballs being used per game, ending the dead-ball era. | 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 difficult to hit home runs with soft baseballs."
] | 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 act of inhibiting displays of emotion, whether done consciously or unconsciously, causes a sharp rise in heart rate. | 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 displays of emotion as well as repressors do.",
"Encountering an emotion-provoking situation is not sufficient to cause nonrepressors' heart rates to rise sharply."
] | 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 not necessarily be worthy of public trust. | 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 criticism than any she actually expresses.",
"The response simply asserts a point of view opposite to Ruth's without giving reasons for it."
] | 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 would be unfair to gasoline users. If taxes are to be increased, the increases should be applied in such a way that they spread the burden of providing the government with increased revenues among many people, not just the users of gasoline. | 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 subjective concept",
"he mistakenly assumes that Giselle wants a sales tax increase only on gasoline"
] | 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 at least 50 years away. If the world' s energy problems are not solved before then, it will be too late to solve those problems. | 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 helium-3 do not realize that fusion reactors could be designed to use fuels other than helium-3"
] | 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 these wine makers without risking an allergic reaction to sulfites. | 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 allergic reaction in someone who drinks these wines.",
"Apart from sulfites, there are no substances commonly present in wine that give rise to an allergic reaction.",
"Wine is the only beverage to which sulfites are commonly added."
] | 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 been offered",
"relies on a sample that is likely to be unrepresentative"
] | 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 year less, on average, than do comparable households whose microwave oven is otherwise similar but has a built-in clock. | 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.",
"All households that have a microwave oven also have either a gas oven or a conventional electric oven.",
"There are more households that have a microwave oven with a built-in clock than there are households that have a microwave oven without a built-in clock."
] | 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 wrote "Thank you" on restaurant bills, their average income from tips would be significantly higher than it otherwise would have been. | 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 would have.",
"The written \"Thank you\" reminds restaurant patrons that tips constitute a significant part of the income of many food servers.",
"Regularly seeing \"Thank you\" written on their bills would not lead restaurant patrons to revert to their earlier tipping habits."
] | 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 morning at ten o'clock registered only for a beginner's golf lesson."
] | 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 Sparkle Cola elicits a more favorable response from consumers than any of the competing colas tested. | 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 where Sparkle Cola is not much more expensive.",
"It overlooks the possibility that a generalization true of the entire group of volunteers was not true of each of the five smaller groups.",
"It is based on a study that does not elicit consumers' responses to any beverages other than colas."
] | 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 color of light than from any other. This suggests that the bacteria detect this color of light by monitoring how much energy their chlorophyll is producing. | 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 if their chlorophyll can produce some energy from light in those colors.",
"There are species of bacteria that do not contain chlorophyll but do move into areas lit with particular colors when placed in a test tube lit with different colors in different places.",
"The bacteria show no tendency to move into areas lit with blue even when those areas are lit so brightly that the bacteria's chlorophyll produces as much energy in those areas as it does in the red areas."
] | 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 mistake that cost the company a lot of money, though he had never been known to make such a mistake in the past.",
"Mary acted responsibly in firing John, for she first examined the details of his work record and listened to negative reports from some of his supervisors and coworkers.",
"Jennifer did not act responsibly in deciding where to go on her vacation because, instead of carefully weighing her options, she waited until the last minute and decided on impulse."
] | 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 adults with feelings of inferiority become more successful than those free of such anxieties, funding for children' s athletic programs should not be eliminated. | 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.",
"It is a hypothesis for which the teacher offers additional evidence."
] | 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 contributions to technological advancement. Frank: That is definitely not true anymore. Since Edison' s day there have been many new developments in technology; to make crucial contributions today you need much more extensive technical knowledge than was needed then. | 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\" differently from the way Maria used it"
] | 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 whether the trash consists of plastics or paper products. Contrary to popular opinion, ttherefore, the current use of plastics actually does less harm to the environment nationwide than that of paper products. | 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 trash as it is for paper trash",
"plastics constitute a smaller proportion of the nation's total trash than do paper products"
] | 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.",
"Professors who have very light teaching loads tend to focus their remaining time on research."
] | 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 food. | 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 individual boreal owls hunt near a single location for many weeks at a time and do not range farther than a few hundred yards.",
"The boreal owl requires less food, relative to its weight, than is required by members of other owl species."
] | 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 traps of that type installed several years ago. Research scientists have hypothesized that traps in those households decreased in effectiveness because successive generations of the pests developed a resistance to the pesticide in the traps. | 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 a few individuals out of an entire generation of insects survive the effects of a pesticide, the offspring of those individuals are usually resistant to that pesticide.",
"After the manufacturer of the traps increased the concentration of the pesticide used in the traps, the traps were no more effective in eliminating household insect pests than were the original traps."
] | 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 because penalties await those who act otherwise, but because to act otherwise would be uncustomary. | 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 from society to society."
] | 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 variety will only spur the evolution of other varieties that are immune to those medicines. The most rational public health strategy, ttherefore, would place much more emphasis than at present on fully informing people about the transmission of diseases caused by microorganisms, with a view to minimizing the incidence of such diseases. | 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 ever fall victim to those diseases.",
"There is good reason to make a particular change to public health policy."
] | 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 were several unsuccessful immature works by Renoir and Cezanne that should be sold because they are of inferior quality and so add nothing to the overall quality of the museum' s collection. Hence, the board' s action will not detract from the quality of the museum' s collection. | 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 Museum were purchased by Ms. Federici herself.",
"All of the paintings that the board of trustees sells will be among those that the curator recommends selling."
] | 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 production by implementing techniques for water conservation. | 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 control more water resources.",
"More than half the water used for agriculture in the farmers' region is lost to evaporation or leakage from irrigation channels."
] | 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. Thus the methods used to determine the gold content of Frobisher' s samples must have been inaccurate. | 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 island examined for gold content.",
"The two mining expeditions funded by Elizabeth I did not mine the same part of Kodlunarn Island."
] | 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 predicting the quality of the artist' s unknown or future works. | 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, but there are indefinitely many different cold viruses. Ttherefore, it is not possible to predict from a person's history of infection how susceptible he or she will be in the future.",
"Unless a person displays cold symptoms, it cannot properly be said that the person has a cold. But each of the symptoms of a cold is also the symptom of some other disease. Ttherefore, one can never be certain that a person has a cold.",
"The only way of knowing whether someone has a cold is to observe symptoms. Thus, when a person is said to have a cold, this means only that he or she has displayed the symptoms of a cold, and no prediction about the patient's future symptoms is justified."
] | 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 other directly from similarities between the species' genetic codes. | 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.",
"The traditional anatomical methods by which taxonomists investigated the relatedness of species are incapable of any further refinement.",
"The degree to which individuals of the same species are anatomically similar is determined more by their genetic codes than by such environmental factors as food supply."
] | 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 not taken available legal measures to prosecute those who have copied the program illegally. | 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.",
"Many people who purchase a software program like XYZ are willing to purchase that program only after they have already used it.",
"The number of illegally reproduced copies of XYZ currently in use exceeds the number of legally reproduced copies currently in use."
] | 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 the commission of serious crimes. An officer stopping a car for a traffic violation can make a search that turns up evidence of serious crime. | 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 committing serious crimes who would be caught because of traffic violations are not the same group of individuals as those who would be caught if the arresting officers were reassigned from traffic enforcement.",
"When the public becomes aware that traffic enforcement has lessened, it typically becomes lax in obeying traffic rules."
] | 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 society do not appreciate having the jobs that they do have.",
"Most people in modern society are happy in their private lives even if they are not happy in their jobs."
] | 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 balanced compromise between faithfulness to the meaning of the text and faithfulness to the original author's style.",
"Any translation that is not entirely faithful to both the meaning of the text and the original author's style will be at best a flawed approximation of that work.",
"Not even the most skillful literary translation could be faithful to both the literal meaning of the text and the original author's style."
] | 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 developers would outbid any other bidders. On the other hand, these farmers will never actually sell any of the land, provided that farming it remains viable. But farming will not remain viable if the farms are left unmodernized, and most of the farmers lack the financial resources modernization requires. And that is exactly why <b> a more sensible preservation strategy would be to the farmers to modernize their farms to the extent needed to maintain viability </b>. | 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 advocates.",
"The first assesses the goal held by certain environmental organizations; the second presents the goal that the reasoning concludes should be adopted instead.",
"The first is the main conclusion toward which the reasoning is directed; the second is a consideration raised in order to support that conclusion."
] | 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 those Olympic events in which amateurs compete against professionals. Hence, the presence of professional athletes violates the spirit of fairness essential to the games. Michiko: But the idea of the modern Olympics is to showcase the world' s finest athletes, regardless of their backgrounds or resources. Hence, professionals should be allowed to compete. | 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 the world's finest",
"whether any amateur athletes have the financial or material resources that are available to professional athletes"
] | 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 underground sheaths around the fine roots of growing trees, and assist the trees by processing and sharing nutrients and producing an antibiotic which protects the trees from disease. | 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 trees.",
"Dead and decaying trees are the ideal environment for the growth of certain fungi."
] | 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 years old. | 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 risen slightly this year compared to the same period last year.",
"As a result of the town's community outreach programs, more people than ever are willing to report violent crimes to the proper authorities."
] | 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 metal, then it smelted that metal."
] | 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 political leadership, wind up in a strategically disadvantageous position are destined to lose their voice in world affairs. So if a nation wants to maintain its value system and way of life, it must not allow its highest tax bracket to exceed 30 percent of income. | 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.",
"Those nations that lose influence in the world community do not necessarily suffer from a threat to their value system or way of life.",
"Falling behind in the international arms race does not necessarily lead to a strategically less advantageous position."
] | 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 matter of opinion, but the question of who painted it is not. A painting is either authentic or not. Thus the authenticity of the painting is a factual matter. | 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 the painting may not be authentic."
] | 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 quality that his earlier music lacked. | 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 Beethoven to compose his later works than his earlier ones."
] | 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; in doing so they intend to provide examples to deter people who might be tempted to commit more-serious crimes.",
"In some cases, a business will close down some of its operations, its intention being to position the company to be more profitable later even though this involves expenses in the current period.",
"Some parents read their children fairy tales containing allegorical treatments of treachery and cruelty, with the intention of making them less emotionally vulnerable to these phenomena when they encounter them later in life."
] | 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 across a line cools it more than does wind blowing parallel to it. | 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 load on their transmission lines on days on which the wind has a strong cooling effect.",
"Transmission lines that run parallel to the prevailing winds can generally carry greater electrical loads than otherwise identical lines at a right angle to the prevailing winds."
] | 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 their animals, so there will not be a significant decrease in the number of stray animals in the city if this funding is provided. | 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 strays are spayed or neutered.",
"Most pet owners who do not have their pets spayed or neutered believe that spaying and neutering are morally wrong."
] | 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 house and live in San Diego only if his mother attends his wedding. | 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-aggrandizing politicians. It is unwarranted, ttherefore, to reduce social expenditure. | 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 claim that the Draisienne was the first true bicycle"
] | 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 stories that would be most interesting to readers are usually not covered in popular magazines since__. | 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 about issues that cannot be well understood by those magazines' readers",
"highly complex and counterintuitive theories are increasingly common in almost all branches of science"
] | 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 kinds of events are the result of a third kind of event",
"concludes that an effect has only one cause in the face of evidence that the effect has multiple causes"
] | 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 cereals plan to narrow the price gap between their cereals and store brands to less than what it was five years ago. | 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 switched to store-brand cereals have generally been satisfied with the quality of those cereals.",
"Many consumers would never think of switching to store-brand cereals because they believe the name brand cereals to be of better quality."
] | 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 moral certainties, since it is devoid of myth.",
"Sculptors sometimes produce significant works of art. But musicians are not sculptors. Hence, musicians never produce significant works of art.",
"Most farmers like living in rural areas. Since Carla is not a farmer, she probably would not enjoy living in the country."
] | 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 designed than that they consider it well designed. | 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 experiments well designed even when the results are inconsistent with their expectations",
"some scientists rarely consider their experiments well designed even when the results are consistent with their expectations"
] | 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 of the other investment options open to the city."
] | 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 has written several different kinds of sonnets; everything Melinda writes is disturbing.",
"We can be positive that at least some minnows are healthy, because many different species of minnow can be found in lakes nearby, and every lake nearby is teeming with healthy fish.",
"We can be confident that the cornmeal used at Matteo's Trattoria is healthful and organic, since cornmeal is among the ingredients used in preparing meals there; whenever a meal is prepared at Matteo's Trattoria, only healthful, organic ingredients are used."
] | 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 fact that they drank Bulldog juice during their games. | 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 the Camshafts to other basketball teams without providing information about their comparative success"
] | 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. For this reason, we can expect that quantum mechanics will not be the final theory. | 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 in very dry climates; ttherefore, few species of animals can live in those climates.",
"Each team member has failed to live up to people's expectations; ttherefore, the team will not live up to people's expectations."
] | 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 exceeds the number of females. Because there are appreciably more males among adult ducks than among young ducks, we can infer that the greater the disparity in overall sex ratios, the greater the percentage of older male ducks in the population. | 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 lower percentage of adult males than the population at the eastern lake contains.",
"The total number of male game ducks is higher in the eastern lake's population than in the western lake's population."
] | 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 have a dog as well.",
"Most grandparents see each of their grandchildren an average of once a year. Venkat and Chitra are grandparents and did not see any of their grandchildren this year. Ttherefore, they will probably see all of their grandchildren twice next year.",
"In most sets of twins, both twins are approximately the same height. Tanya is a head taller than her brother Rahul. Ttherefore, it is unlikely that Tanya and Rahul are twins."
] | 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 found that the average body size of the seals did not vary significantly. | 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 did not vary substantially between different groups of Native peoples in North America.",
"Native peoples in North America made an effort to limit their hunting of northern fur seals in order to prevent depletion of seal populations."
] | 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 flight; by itself, flight from the police does not create a reasonable suspicion of a criminal act; evidence collected during an illegal chase is inadmissible; ttherefore, the evidence in this case was inadmissible. | 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 act.",
"Flight from the police could create a reasonable suspicion of a criminal act as long as other significant factors are involved."
] | 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 condition cannot be seen as they appeared when painted by Michelangelo. | 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 whether an artwork merits restoration or not should depend on its greatness as judged by aesthetic standards alone.",
"A picture that has become encrusted with grime over a long period can no longer be regarded as the same work of art as that painted by the artist."
] | 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-time teachers at Morris now quit during their first year. | 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 their first year",
"Morris High School employs the same number of new part-time as new full-time teachers"
] | 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 false arrests, ttherefore, medieval France had a higher level of documented interpersonal violence in the years 1300 to 1400 than in the years 1200 to 1300. | 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 the southwestern province of Gascony increased.",
"Historical accounts by monastic chroniclers in the years 1300 to 1400 are filled with descriptions of violent attacks committed by people living in the French realm.",
"In the years 1300 to 1400 the French government's category of violent crimes included an increasing variety of interpersonal crimes that are actually nonviolent."
] | 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 water during the show."
] | 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 considerations may help settle whether the primary cause of the gradual disappearance of North America' s mastodons, prehistoric animals related to elephants, was diminished food resources or human hunting, since __. | 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 mastodon tusks, of which there are many fossils dating from different periods",
"from the remains of mastodons already discovered, it can be accurately estimated when mastodons became extinct",
"from the location of certain hunting weapons in juxtaposition with mastodon remains, it is possible to determine whether those weapons were used to hunt mastodons"
] | 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 producer is planning to offer customers three days free rental of a conventional car for every 1, 000 miles that they drive their electric vehicle. | 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 takes to recharge the battery of an electric vehicle can easily be fitted into the regular patterns of car use characteristic of commuters.",
"Because a majority of commuters drive at least 100 miles a week, the cost to the producer of making good the offer would add considerably to the already high price of electric vehicles."
] | 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. The doctor then advised the patient to resume the initial dosage and stop drinking the beverage. The patient complied, but still showed no change. Finally, the doctor advised the patient to double the dosage and not drink the beverage. The patient' s symptoms disappeared. Hence, the doctor' s initial hypothesis was correct. | 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 patient's ailments.",
"They make it less plausible that the beverage actually contributed to the ineffectiveness of the prescribed medication."
] | 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 inaccurate. | 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 of expertise",
"infers that some claims are inaccurate solely on the basis of the source of those claims"
] | 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 to "detach themselves from politics. " If there is a significant difference between the principles involved in each case, the editorial should have explained what that difference is. | 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 based"
] | 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.",
"Some economically useful resources are renewable."
] | 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 roughly equal proportion to their percentage in the overall population, this belief is false. | 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 political parties might be much less varied than the positions taken by candidates",
"the primary function of political parties in democracies whose governments do not subsidize elections might not be to provide a means of negating the influence of wealth on elections",
"a democracy in which candidates do not compromise their views in order to be elected to office might have other flaws"
] | 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 information about the evidence used to support the conclusion"
] | 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 incidence of osteoporosis is much lower than in countries where people consume a great deal of calcium from dairy products. | 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 vegetables also consume dairy products."
] | 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 would be useless in improving physical performance, however, since <b> the only way to get oxygen into the bloodstream so that it can be absorbed by the muscles is through the lungs </b>. | 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's ability to take in and use oxygen"
] | 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 to be substantially stronger than nonvolunteers. Volunteering is often described as doing good works to improve the lives of others. How good to know that there is evidence that it can equally benefit your own well-being! | 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 volunteers and so could not be considered their peers"
] | 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 truth of the Copernican theory. | 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 false",
"the Ptolemaic and Copernican theories, being inconsistent, cannot both be based on exactly the same evidence"
] | 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 performances disproves the theory that the area of the brain controlling speech is distinct from that controlling other functions. | 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' performance in speech, comprehension, and reasoning was better than average before they were studied",
"some of the effects described were apparent just before the climbers reached 6, 100 meters"
] | 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 intellectual debt owed to Lawrence. | 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 get the ideas in the passages in question or did not get their formulations originally from Hartley."
] | 3 | val_499 |