Critical Reasoning for CAT/GMAT '08

[prince_chittu]

5. D
6. B
7. D
8. B


@nimisha
good work!!
can u please make some schedule for posting questions and answers.
Also wen u post questions, please make it a point to write "Questions name-set no -pg no" in the title column. follow the same convention for answers.this will help us to find the questions and answers easily.
thanks for considering.

[ud4u]

while answering please give some hints how u reached to the answers...
regarding the timing i totally agree with you...

[ud4u]

Originally Posted by nimisha_2009

well dear..i cud give you the link but that wud defeat the entire purpose of my posting the questions here.
If u wish i'll surely give u the link, and then i can stop posting the questions here cz either was u'll have the answers then. you can discuss any doubts you have..

yes u have a valid point but i didn't mean that, all i wanted to know was, are u consulting some books for the probs or some coaching institute materials...

one more thing if u have some good books on how to solve the CR probs please give the link to it on the thread....

[Fabio capello]

ans

5-E
6-E
7-D

[nimisha_2009]

CR-SET2-POST 73-PAGE 8

hi..
Answers areexplanations given are my personal views but answers are official)

1)E...A doesnt seem to be fitting..seems too out of context.D doesnt support the inference in any way..
Now, B and C do support the given inference but they're not "direct" choices.
so D comes out to be the most appropriate choice.

2)C..it is the obvious choice cz had the author been using a "single" source which had the similar inconsistencies, then we neednot have drawn the conclusion that he was using multiple sources.

3)D...most of u have answered it correctly as it seems to be the most closest choice.

4)B..Here the conclusion is that "water use neednot be restricted" and it is based on the fact that "reservoir levels are same as when no restriction was applied"..but this conclusion wud be weakened if there is an increase in population from the previous time..

[nimisha_2009]

HI..

i'm using a link which has previous years' questions...
and no dear..as such i dont have any material.. m taking coaching from IMS but there is nothing spl given in its material..

[nimisha_2009]

CR-SET3-POST 87-PAGE 9
9. The problem that environmental economics aims to remedy is the following: people making economic decisions cannot readily compare environmental factors, such as clean air and the survival of endangered species, with other costs and benefits. As environmental economists recognize, solving this problem requires assigning monetary values to environmental factors. But monetary values result from people comparing costs and benefits in order to arrive at economic decisions. Thus, environmental economics is stymied by what motivates it.

If the considerations advanced in its support are true, the passage’s conclusion is supported

(A) strongly, on the assumption that monetary values for environment factors cannot be assigned unless people make economic decisions about these factors
(B) strongly, unless economic decision-making has not yet had any effect on the things categorized as environmental factors
(C) at best weakly, because the passage fails to establish that economic decision-makers do not by and large take adequate account of environmental factors
(D) at best weakly, because the argument assumes that pollution and other effects on environmental factors rarely result from economic decision-making.
(E) not at all, since the argument is circular, taking that conclusion as one of its premises


10. Some people fear that global warming will cause the large ice formations in the polar seas to melt, thereby warming the water of those seas and threatening the plankton that is crucial to the marine food chain. Some scientists contend that it is unlikely that the melting process has begun, since water temperatures in the polar seas are the same today as they were a century ago.

Which one of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the scientists’ contention?

(A) Much of the marine plant life that flourished in the polar seas will die in the event that the water temperatures rise above their present levels.
(B) The overall effect of the melting process will be an increase in global sea levels.
(C) The mean air temperature above both land and water in the polar regions has not varied significantly over the past 100 years.
(D) The temperature of water that contains melting ice tends to remain constant until all of the ice in the ice-and-water mixture has melted.
(E) The mean temperature of ocean waters near the equator has remained constant over the past 100 years.


Questions 11-12
Household indebtedness, which some theorists regard as causing recession, was high preceding the recent recession, but so was the value of assets owned by households. Admittedly, if most of the assets were owned by quite affluent households, and most of the debt was owed by low-income households, high household debt levels could have been the cause of the recession despite high asset values: low-income households might have decreased spending in order to pay off debts while the quite affluent ones might simply have failed to increase spending. But, in fact, quite affluent people must have owed most of the household debt, since money is not lent to those without assets. Therefore, the real cause must lie elsewhere.

11. The argument is structured to lead to which one of the following conclusions?

(A) High levels of household debt did not cause the recent recession.
(B) Low-income households succeeded in paying off their debts despite the recent recession.
(C) Affluent people probably increased their spending levels during the recent recession.
(D) High levels of household debt have little impact on the economy.
(E) When people borrowed money prior to the recent recession, they did not use it to purchase assets.

12. Which one of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the argument?

(A) Prior to the recent recession, middle-income households owed enough debt that they had begun to decrease spending.
(B) The total value of the economy’s household debt is exceeded by the total value of assets held by households.
(C) Low-income households somewhat decreased their spending during the recent recession.
(D) During a recession the affluent usually borrow money only in order to purchase assets.
(E) Household debt is the category of debt least likely to affect the economy.

[prince_chittu]

@nimisha
thanks for considering my suggestion.

9. C
10.D
11.A
12.D

[miles]

i have a few doubts in the earlier qsts

9e
10d
11a
12b

[nimisha_2009]

hey ud4u..u dint reply this tym??

and prince..i shud be saying thanks to you for the suggestion. it definitely makes things a bit simpler.

will post the answers tom..