GMAT Critical Reasoning Discussions

MBA
3061
I thought this question was crazy. Any intelligent minds care to unravel the mystery? Need explanations please.
--
A recent research study of undergraduate students analyzed the effects of music on human emotions. Each of the 200 participants attended at least 1 two-hour concert of classical music per week over the course of 12 weeks of their spring semester. At the end of the experiment, all of the students filled out a questionnaire assessing their emotional state. Based on the results of the questionnaires, all of the 10 students who attended the greatest number of concerts reported lower stress levels and higher satisfaction with their lives. Also, most of the 20 students who attended the fewest number of concerts reported below-average levels of emotional comfort.

Which of the following must be true based on the evidence presented above?

A)Most of the 200 participants improved their emotional state and lowered their stress levels.
B)During each week of the experiment, the participants spent at least 2 hours less on their academic work as a result of concert attendance.
C)Listening to classical music for at least 2 hours per week improves the emotional well-being of the majority of young adults.
D)More than 6 participants attended at least 14 concerts during the course of the experiment.
E)At least some of the students participated in the study in order to gain free access to classical concerts.


I think the answer is (C). (D) cant be concluded. (B) and (E) are outside the scope of the passage. (A) and (C) are too close to call but I would go with C.Whats the answer?
3062
I thought this question was crazy. Any intelligent minds care to unravel the mystery? Need explanations please.
--
A recent research study of undergraduate students analyzed the effects of music on human emotions. Each of the 200 participants attended at least 1 two-hour concert of classical music per week over the course of 12 weeks of their spring semester. At the end of the experiment, all of the students filled out a questionnaire assessing their emotional state. Based on the results of the questionnaires, all of the 10 students who attended the greatest number of concerts reported lower stress levels and higher satisfaction with their lives. Also, most of the 20 students who attended the fewest number of concerts reported below-average levels of emotional comfort.

Which of the following must be true based on the evidence presented above?

A)Most of the 200 participants improved their emotional state and lowered their stress levels.
B)During each week of the experiment, the participants spent at least 2 hours less on their academic work as a result of concert attendance.
C)Listening to classical music for at least 2 hours per week improves the emotional well-being of the majority of young adults.
D)More than 6 participants attended at least 14 concerts during the course of the experiment.
E)At least some of the students participated in the study in order to gain free access to classical concerts.


IMO = D. There are 10 ppl who attended highest no. of concerts, 20 lowest and rest 170 in middle range (in the simplest case).
Min. no. of concerts attended by anybody in 12 weeks = 12.
So, say ppl who attended (those 20) lowest no of concerts attended = 12 ppl who attended (those 170) mid range = 13 concerts
So, those ppl who attended highest no. of concerts(those 10) will attend atleast 14 concerts.
Now, "D" says - more than 6 ppl attended atleast 14 concerts. which can be concluded.. So, "D" shd be right
3063
I thought this question was crazy. Any intelligent minds care to unravel the mystery? Need explanations please.
--
A recent research study of undergraduate students analyzed the effects of music on human emotions. Each of the 200 participants attended at least 1 two-hour concert of classical music per week over the course of 12 weeks of their spring semester. At the end of the experiment, all of the students filled out a questionnaire assessing their emotional state. Based on the results of the questionnaires, all of the 10 students who attended the greatest number of concerts reported lower stress levels and higher satisfaction with their lives. Also, most of the 20 students who attended the fewest number of concerts reported below-average levels of emotional comfort.

Which of the following must be true based on the evidence presented above?

A)Most of the 200 participants improved their emotional state and lowered their stress levels.
B)During each week of the experiment, the participants spent at least 2 hours less on their academic work as a result of concert attendance.
C)Listening to classical music for at least 2 hours per week improves the emotional well-being of the majority of young adults.
D)More than 6 participants attended at least 14 concerts during the course of the experiment.
E)At least some of the students participated in the study in order to gain free access to classical concerts.


I think this should be D. (If so, it is a truly evil question 😃 more of a maths question than a CR!)

None of the others can be concluded (info is know only about 30 of the 200 participants, that too not about all of them, so neither A nor C, which use phrases like "most of" and "the majority", can be concluded, even though they look tempting!)

But consider the three bits I have marked in bold above. Everyone of the 200 attended at least 1 concert a week (i.e. 12 concerts minimum. Also there are ten people who "attended the greatest number") and 20 more who "attended the fewest (sic) number" and hence the remaining 170 must have attended a number in between. Worst case, the 20 attended 12 concerts, the 170 attended 13, and the ten attended 14. Hence more than 6 (in fact at least 10) can be guaranteed to have attended at least 14 concerts.

regards
scrabbler
3064
I think this should be D. (If so, it is a truly evil question 😃 more of a maths question than a CR!)

None of the others can be concluded (info is know only about 30 of the 200 participants, that too not about all of them, so neither A nor C, which use phrases like "most of" and "the majority", can be concluded, even though they look tempting!)

But consider the three bits I have marked in bold above. Everyone of the 200 attended at least 1 concert a week (i.e. 12 concerts minimum. Also there are ten people who "attended the greatest number") and 20 more who "attended the fewest (sic) number" and hence the remaining 170 must have attended a number in between. Worst case, the 20 attended 12 concerts, the 170 attended 13, and the ten attended 14. Hence more than 6 (in fact at least 10) can be guaranteed to have attended at least 14 concerts.

regards
scrabbler


Yeah OA is D. It is probably the wickedest question in CR I have come across (ofcourse, in the GMAT realm).

I chose C as the answer not wanting to go evaluating D.
3066
ankitgarg20 Says
What was the source of this question? I would doubt that it was from one of the credible sources for GMAT questions. It was a mix of DS and CR question


This was from a manhattan CAT test. Yes, this is twisted.

What is your opinion on 1000 CR? (and also SC). Is it worth the time doing those?

thank you.
Hemanth
3068
Yeah..I have found Manhattan tests to be pretty weird. The level of quant in the tests is pretty higher than that of quant in GMAT. Verbal, at times, has questions for which you can't convince yourself with correct answer, even after reading the solution. The only good thing about them, in my opinion, is their scoring.

I have not done 1000CR, but have certainly practiced a few questions from 1000 SC. It does have some questions which are not from reliable source, but even after discounting them, you are left with a good set of questions to practice from. Make sure you google the solutions whenever you are in doubt for a particular question, if you decide to go ahead and solve them.


Yeah I have started doing the 1000 series. D-day on the 26th August. Not sure if I have told you but I got 680 the first time (Q49, V34).

In the interest of the CR thread, one for the group (not sure if its an old one):
All German philosophers, except for Marx, are idealists.

From which of the following can the statement above be most properly inferred?

A) Except for Marx, if someone is an idealist philosopher, then he or she is German.
B) Marx is the only non-German philosopher who is an idealist.
C) If a German is an idealist, then he or she is a philosopher, as long as he or she is not Marx.
D) Marx is not an idealist German philosopher.
E) Aside from the philosopher Marx, if someone is a German philosopher, then he or she is an idealist

Thank you,
Hemanth
3069

All German philosophers, except for Marx, are idealists.

From which of the following can the statement above be most properly inferred?

A) Except for Marx, if someone is an idealist philosopher, then he or she is German.
B) Marx is the only non-German philosopher who is an idealist.
C) If a German is an idealist, then he or she is a philosopher, as long as he or she is not Marx.
D) Marx is not an idealist German philosopher.
E) Aside from the philosopher Marx, if someone is a German, then he or she is an idealist

3070
Yeah I have started doing the 1000 series. D-day on the 26th August. Not sure if I have told you but I got 680 the first time (Q49, V34).

In the interest of the CR thread, one for the group (not sure if its an old one):
All German philosophers, except for Marx, are idealists.

From which of the following can the statement above be most properly inferred?

A) Except for Marx, if someone is an idealist philosopher, then he or she is German.
B) Marx is the only non-German philosopher who is an idealist.
C) If a German is an idealist, then he or she is a philosopher, as long as he or she is not Marx.
D) Marx is not an idealist German philosopher.
E) Aside from the philosopher Marx, if someone is a German, then he or she is an idealist

Thank you,
Hemanth


I will go with option 2 for the above CR

-Deepak.
3071
All German philosophers, except for Marx, are idealists.

From which of the following can the statement above be most properly inferred?

A) Except for Marx, if someone is an idealist philosopher, then he or she is German.

My Take in BOLD
3072
harry4u9 Says
My Take in BOLD


All, I think the answer choices were misguiding. Sorry for the confusion, I clarified it now and here is the modified question and the options:

All German philosophers, except for Marx, are idealists.

From which of the following can the statement above be most properly inferred?

A) Except for Marx, if someone is an idealist philosopher, then he or she is German.
B) Marx is the only non-German philosopher who is an idealist.
C) If a German is an idealist, then he or she is a philosopher, as long as he or she is not Marx.
D) Marx is not an idealist German philosopher.
E) Aside from the philosopher Marx, if someone is a German philosopher, then he or she is an idealist

Will post the OA and reply as soon as I hear from some of you.

Apologies,
Hemanth
3073
1) While political discourse and the media in the United States have focused on the rise of job outsourcing, few have mentioned the sharp fall of talent insourcing, or the drop in enrollment of foreign-born graduate students since 2001, and its dire results. The decrease in such insourcing will hurt Americas competitiveness in basic research and applied technology, with serious consequences for years to come. The de-internationalization of graduate programs across the country will also negatively affect the global outlook and experience of the American students remaining in those programs; they will not have the opportunity to learn about foreign cultures directly from members of those cultures. What distinguishes the decline of talent insourcing from the rise of job outsourcing is that the former can be easily rectified by a policy change of the United States government.

The answer to which of the following questions would be most useful in evaluating the authors claim regarding the impact of decreased insourcing in America?

a) What is the cost to reverse the trend of insourcing in America?
b) How does insourcing replace domestic jobs lost from outsourcing?
c) Since 2001, what has been the decrease in the number of foreign-born students in America?
d) What opportunities do American graduate students have to interact regularly with foreigners who are not students?
e) What effect would a government policy have on the number of foreign graduate students?
2) Juvenile monkeys that are separated from their mothers will often show self-destructive behavior, such as picking at their fur or refusing to eat. These behaviors are the most prevalent in monkeys that are caged alone, are somewhat less prevalent when the monkeys are caged with other, unrelated juveniles and adult males, and are the least prevalent, but still observable, when the monkeys are caged with a mixed-gender group of unrelated, adult monkeys.
Which of the following hypotheses best explains the phenomenon described above?
a) The presence of unrelated juvenile and adult male monkeys causes more self-destructive behavior in juvenile monkeys than does the presence of a mixed-gender group of unrelated adult monkeys.
b) The presence of unrelated adult female monkeys is more important to juvenile monkeys in alleviating distress caused by being separated from their mothers than is the presence of unrelated juvenile monkeys
c) The presence of unrelated adult male monkeys is threatening to juvenile monkeys, causing self-destructive behavior similar to that caused by the separation of juvenile monkeys from their mothers.
d) The presence of unrelated adult female monkeys serves as a suitable substitute for a juvenile monkeys mother following a separation from the mother.
e) Juvenile monkeys that display self-destructive behavior will engage in this behavior the least when reunited with their mothers, and will engage in this behavior slightly more when caged with adult female monkeys who are not their mothers.
3) Advocates insist that health savings accounts are an efficient method to reduce medical expenses. However, widespread adoption of these accounts will soon undermine the publics health. One reason for this is that most people will be reluctant to deplete their accounts to pay for regular preventive examinations, so that in many cases a serious illness will go undetected until it is far advanced. Another reason is that poor people, who will not be able to afford health savings accounts, will no longer receive vaccinations against infectious diseases.
The statements above, if true, most support which of the following?
a) Wealthy individuals will not be affected negatively by health savings accounts
b) Private health insurance will no longer be available.
c) Most diseases are detected during regular preventive examinations.
d) Some people without health savings accounts are likely to contract infectious diseases
e) The causal relationship between an individuals health and that persons medical care has been adequately documented.
4) Federal law prohibits businesses from reimbursing any employees for the cost of owning and operating a private aircraft that is used for business purposes. Thus, many American companies themselves purchase private aircraft. The vast majority of the business aviation fleet is owned by small and mid-size businesses, and flights are strictly for business purposes, with mostly mid-level employees on board. These companies and their boards of directors are in full compliance with the law and with what is best for their businesses.
Which of the following can be most properly inferred from the statements above?
a) The Federal law in question costs businesses money.
b) Most executives would rather fly on company owned planes than on commercial airlines
c) Large businesses usually have their executives fly first or business class on commercial flights
d) Upper level executives are less often in compliance with the law
e) By not receiving any reimbursement for these flights, the mid-level executives on board are complying with the law.


1) Insourcing - D
2) Juvenile Monkeys - D
3) HSAcct - D
4) Pvt Jets - E (Slightly doubtful)

Will post explanations if you are interested, VPITC. Please let me know if I got these correct or wrong. And do post the explanations along if you already have them.

Thank you,
Hemanth
3074
All, I think the answer choices were misguiding. Sorry for the confusion, I clarified it now and here is the modified question and the options:

All German philosophers, except for Marx, are idealists.

From which of the following can the statement above be most properly inferred?

A) Except for Marx, if someone is an idealist philosopher, then he or she is German.
B) Marx is the only non-German philosopher who is an idealist.
C) If a German is an idealist, then he or she is a philosopher, as long as he or she is not Marx.
D) Marx is not an idealist German philosopher.
E) Aside from the philosopher Marx, if someone is a German philosopher, then he or she is an idealist

Will post the OA and reply as soon as I hear from some of you.

Apologies,
Hemanth


All German philosophers, except for Marx, are idealists.
= All German philosophers are idealist except Marx, who is a german philosopher AND not idealist. (This is 'AND')
A. OUT of scope. The argument does not say all idealist philosophers are German.
B. Wrong. Marx is definitely German.
C. Out of scope. The argument does not say that all idealist Germans are philosphers.
D. partially correct but not fully. Lets examine E.
E. Correct/Best choice. All German Philosophers are idealists. And Marx although a German Philosopher is an exception when it comes to an idealist. This is exactly what this choice says.
3075
All German philosophers, except for Marx, are idealists.
= All German philosophers are idealist except Marx, who is a german philosopher AND not idealist. (This is 'AND')
A. OUT of scope. The argument does not say all idealist philosophers are German.
B. Wrong. Marx is definitely German.
C. Out of scope. The argument does not say that all idealist Germans are philosphers.
D. partially correct but not fully. Lets examine E.
E. Correct/Best choice. All German Philosophers are idealists. And Marx although a German Philosopher is an exception when it comes to an idealist. This is exactly what this choice says.


Thats the OA. I chose D. I know E is also correct but I had no reason to take out D. Any thoughts?
3076
All German philosophers, except for Marx, are idealists.
= All German philosophers are idealist except Marx, who is a german philosopher AND not idealist. (This is 'AND')
A. OUT of scope. The argument does not say all idealist philosophers are German.
B. Wrong. Marx is definitely German.
C. Out of scope. The argument does not say that all idealist Germans are philosphers.
D. partially correct but not fully. Lets examine E.
E. Correct/Best choice. All German Philosophers are idealists. And Marx although a German Philosopher is an exception when it comes to an idealist. This is exactly what this choice says.

All, I think the answer choices were misguiding. Sorry for the confusion, I clarified it now and here is the modified question and the options:

All German philosophers, except for Marx, are idealists.

From which of the following can the statement above be most properly inferred?

A) Except for Marx, if someone is an idealist philosopher, then he or she is German.
B) Marx is the only non-German philosopher who is an idealist.
C) If a German is an idealist, then he or she is a philosopher, as long as he or she is not Marx.
D) Marx is not an idealist German philosopher.
E) Aside from the philosopher Marx, if someone is a German philosopher, then he or she is an idealist

Will post the OA and reply as soon as I hear from some of you.

Apologies,
Hemanth

phemanth Says
Thats the OA. I chose D. I know E is also correct but I had no reason to take out D. Any thoughts?


Read the choice like this : Marx is not .
This statement is false and gives the reader a wrong impression(i.e. Marx is not a German philosopher either); because Marx is a german philosopher although not an idealist. The correct statement should be Marx is a non-idealist german philosopher OR Marx is a German philosopher but not an idealist.
Again at the end of the day; its the best choice that is the "Graded" choice.
3077

Hi All,

I'm looking for some challenging questions in CR. Can anyone suggest where can I get it from?
Searched the net, but din find much info.

Thanks in advance,
rish

3078
Hi All,

I'm looking for some challenging questions in CR. Can anyone suggest where can I get it from?
Searched the net, but din find much info.

Thanks in advance,
rish


Rish90, the 1000 CR is challenging. I find it quite difficult esp if I time myself. Try that. Or you can use Kaplan Premier and Kaplan 800. I am doing the premier and I think its very useful.

thank you.
Hemanth
3079

Can someone help me with this question

proposed ordinance requires the installation in new homes of sprinklers automatically triggered by the
presence of a fire. However, a home builder argued that because more than ninety percent of residential fires
are extinguished by a household member, residential sprinklers would only marginally decrease property
damage caused by residential fires.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the home builders argument?
A. most individuals have no formal training in how to extinguish fires.
B. Since new homes are only a tiny percentage of available housing in the city, the new ordinance would be
extremely narrow in scope.
C. The installation of smoke detectors in new residences costs significantly less than the installation of
sprinklers.
D. In the city where the ordinance was proposed, the average time required by the fire department to respond
to a fire was less than the national average.
E. The largest proportion of property damage that results from residential fires is caused by fires that start
when no household member is present.
Per me it is E

3080
Can someone help me with this question

proposed ordinance requires the installation in new homes of sprinklers automatically triggered by the
presence of a fire. However, a home builder argued that because more than ninety percent of residential fires
are extinguished by a household member, residential sprinklers would only marginally decrease property
damage caused by residential fires.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the home builders argument?
A. most individuals have no formal training in how to extinguish fires.
B. Since new homes are only a tiny percentage of available housing in the city, the new ordinance would be

extremely narrow in scope.
C. The installation of smoke detectors in new residences costs significantly less than the installation of
sprinklers.
D. In the city where the ordinance was proposed, the average time required by the fire department to respond
to a fire was less than the national average.
E. The largest proportion of property damage that results from residential fires is caused by fires that start
when no household member is present.
Per me it is E


I think the Correct answer choice is E. What's your doubt?
3081
Gail.Wynand Says
I think the Correct answer choice is E. What's your doubt?


+1. E is correct. This is a OG question. It must have proper reasoning as well.

Here are a few. Please post explanations so that we can discuss. These are from the 1000CR:

1) Determining the authenticity of purported pre-Columbian artifacts is never easy. Carbon-14 dating of these artifacts is often impossible due to contamination by radioactive palladium (which occurs naturally in the soils of Central and South America). However, historians and anthropologists have evolved two reliable criteria, which, utilized in combination, have proven effective for dating these artifacts. First, because authentic pre-Columbian artifacts characteristically occur in a coarse, granular matrix that is shifted by major earthquakes, they often exhibit the unique scratch patterns known as gridding. In addition, true pre-Columbian artifacts show a darkening in surface color that is caused by centuries of exposure to the minute amounts of magnesium in the soil of the Americas.
The criteria above would be LEAST useful in judging the authenticity of which of the following?
(A) An ax head of black obsidian, unearthed from a kitchen midden
(B) A pottery bowl with a red ocher design, found in the ruins of a temple
(C) A set of gold ear weights, ornamented with jasper pendants
(D) A black feather cape from a king's burial vault
(E) A multicolored woven sash found near the gravesite of a slave

2 Questions-2,3 on this CR para
From time to time, the press indulges in outbursts of indignation over the use of false or misleading information by the U.S. government in support of its policies and programs. No one endorses needless deception. But consider this historical analogy. It is known that Christopher Columbus, on his first voyage to the New World, deliberately falsified the log to show a shorter sailing distance for each day out than the ships had actually traveled. In this way, Columbus was able to convince his skeptical sailors that they had not sailed past the point at which they expected to find the shores of India. Without this deception, Columbus's sailors might well have mutinied, and the New World might never have been discovered.

2) The author of the passage above assumes each of the following EXCEPT:
(A) Government deception of the press is often motivated by worthy objectives.
(B) Without government deception, popular support for worthwhile government policies and programs might well fade.
(C) Attacks on the government by the press are often politically motivated.
(D) Deception for deception's sake should not be condoned.
(E) A greater good may sometimes require acceptance of a lesser evil.

3)Which of the following is the main weakness of the historical analogy drawn in the passage above?
(A) The sailors in Columbus's crew never knew that they had been deceived, while government deception is generally uncovered by the press.
(B) A ship's log is a record intended mainly for use by the captain, while press reports are generally disseminated for use by the public at large.
(C) The members of a ship's crew are selected by the captain of the ship, while those who work in the press are self-selected.
(D) The crew of a ship is responsible for the success of a voyage, while the press is not responsible for the use others make of the factual information it publishes.
(E) In a democracy, the people are expected to participate in the nation's political decision making, while the members of a ship's crew are expected simply to obey the orders of the captain.

4) Contrary to the statements of labor leaders, the central economic problem facing America today is not the distribution of wealth. It is productivity. With the productivity of U.S. industry stagnant, or even declining slightly, the economic pie is no longer growing. Labor leaders, of course, point to what they consider an unfair distribution of the slices of pie to justify their demands for further increases in wages and benefits. And in the past, when the pie was still growing, management could afford to acquiesce. No longer. Until productivity resumes its growth, there can be no justification for further increases in the compensation of workers.
Which of the following statements by a labor leader focuses on the logical weakness in the argument above?
(A) Although the economic pie is no longer growing, the portion of the pie allocated to American workers remains unjustly small.
(B) If management fails to accommodate the demands of workers, labor leaders will be forced to call strikes that will cripple the operation of industry.
(C) Although productivity is stagnant, the U.S. population is growing, so that the absolute size of the economic pie continues to grow as well.
(D) As a labor leader, I can be concerned only with the needs of working people, not with the problems faced by management.
(E) The stagnation of U.S. industry has been caused largely by factors-such as foreign competition-beyond the control of American workers.


Questions 5-6 are based on the following.
Although its purpose is laudable, the exclusionary rule, which forbids a court to consider evidence seized in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights, has unduly hampered law-enforcement efforts. Even when the rights violation was a minor or purely technical one, turning on a detail of procedure rather than on the abrogation of some fundamental liberty, and even when it has been clear that the police officers were acting in good faith, the evidence obtained has been considered tainted under this rule and may not even by introduced. In consequence, defendants who were undoubtedly guilty have been set free, perhaps to steal, rape, or murder again.

5) The author of the passage above assumes all of the following EXCEPT:
(A) The constitutional rights of criminal defendants should be protected.
(B) Most cases in which the exclusionary rule has been invoked have involved purely technical violations of constitutional principles.
(C) The number of cases whose outcome has been affected by the exclusionary rule is significant.
(D) Some of the defendants set free under the exclusionary rule have been guilty of serious criminal offenses.
(E) Merely technical violations of the rules concerning evidence should be treated differently from deliberate assaults upon human rights.

6) It can be inferred from the passage that the author would most likely endorse which of the following proposals?
(A) Change of the exclusionary rule to admit evidence obtained by police officers acting in good faith
(B) A constitutional amendment curtailing some of the protections traditionally afforded those accused of a crime
(C) A statute limiting the application of the exclusionary rule to cases involving minor criminal offenses
(D) Change of the exclusionary rule to allow any evidence, no matter how obtained, to be introduced in court
(E) A constitutional amendment allowing police officers to obtain vital evidence by any means necessary when in pursuit of a known criminal

Get cracking pugs.
-pH
3082

1) Determining the authenticity of purported pre-Columbian artifacts is never easy. Carbon-14 dating of these artifacts is often impossible due to contamination by radioactive palladium (which occurs naturally in the soils of Central and South America). However, historians and anthropologists have evolved two reliable criteria, which, utilized in combination, have proven effective for dating these artifacts. First, because authentic pre-Columbian artifacts characteristically occur in a coarse, granular matrix that is shifted by major earthquakes, they often exhibit the unique scratch patterns known as gridding. In addition, true pre-Columbian artifacts show a darkening in surface color that is caused by centuries of exposure to the minute amounts of magnesium in the soil of the Americas.
The criteria above would be LEAST useful in judging the authenticity of which of the following?
(A) An ax head of black obsidian, unearthed from a kitchen midden
(B) A pottery bowl with a red ocher design, found in the ruins of a temple
(C) A set of gold ear weights, ornamented with jasper pendants
(D) A black feather cape from a kings burial vault
(E) A multicolored woven sash found near the gravesite of a slave

2 Questions-2,3 on this CR para
From time to time, the press indulges in outbursts of indignation over the use of false or misleading information by the U.S. government in support of its policies and programs. No one endorses needless deception. But consider this historical analogy. It is known that Christopher Columbus, on his first voyage to the New World, deliberately falsified the log to show a shorter sailing distance for each day out than the ships had actually traveled. In this way, Columbus was able to convince his skeptical sailors that they had not sailed past the point at which they expected to find the shores of India. Without this deception, Columbuss sailors might well have mutinied, and the New World might never have been discovered.

2) The author of the passage above assumes each of the following EXCEPT:
(A) Government deception of the press is often motivated by worthy objectives.
(B) Without government deception, popular support for worthwhile government policies and programs might well fade.
(C) Attacks on the government by the press are often politically motivated.
(D) Deception for deceptions sake should not be condoned.
(E) A greater good may sometimes require acceptance of a lesser evil.

3)Which of the following is the main weakness of the historical analogy drawn in the passage above?
(A) The sailors in Columbuss crew never knew that they had been deceived, while government deception is generally uncovered by the press.
(B) A ships log is a record intended mainly for use by the captain, while press reports are generally disseminated for use by the public at large.
(C) The members of a ships crew are selected by the captain of the ship, while those who work in the press are self-selected.
(D) The crew of a ship is responsible for the success of a voyage, while the press is not responsible for the use others make of the factual information it publishes.
(E) In a democracy, the people are expected to participate in the nations political decision making, while the members of a ships crew are expected simply to obey the orders of the captain.

4) Contrary to the statements of labor leaders, the central economic problem facing America today is not the distribution of wealth. It is productivity. With the productivity of U.S. industry stagnant, or even declining slightly, the economic pie is no longer growing. Labor leaders, of course, point to what they consider an unfair distribution of the slices of pie to justify their demands for further increases in wages and benefits. And in the past, when the pie was still growing, management could afford to acquiesce. No longer. Until productivity resumes its growth, there can be no justification for further increases in the compensation of workers.
Which of the following statements by a labor leader focuses on the logical weakness in the argument above?
(A) Although the economic pie is no longer growing, the portion of the pie allocated to American workers remains unjustly small.
(B) If management fails to accommodate the demands of workers, labor leaders will be forced to call strikes that will cripple the operation of industry.
(C) Although productivity is stagnant, the U.S. population is growing, so that the absolute size of the economic pie continues to grow as well.
(guess)
(D) As a labor leader, I can be concerned only with the needs of working people, not with the problems faced by management.
(E) The stagnation of U.S. industry has been caused largely by factorssuch as foreign competitionbeyond the control of American workers.


Questions 5-6 are based on the following.
Although its purpose is laudable, the exclusionary rule, which forbids a court to consider evidence seized in violation of the defendants constitutional rights, has unduly hampered law-enforcement efforts. Even when the rights violation was a minor or purely technical one, turning on a detail of procedure rather than on the abrogation of some fundamental liberty, and even when it has been clear that the police officers were acting in good faith, the evidence obtained has been considered tainted under this rule and may not even by introduced. In consequence, defendants who were undoubtedly guilty have been set free, perhaps to steal, rape, or murder again.

5) The author of the passage above assumes all of the following EXCEPT:
(A) The constitutional rights of criminal defendants should be protected.
(B) Most cases in which the exclusionary rule has been invoked have involved purely technical violations of constitutional principles.
(C) The number of cases whose outcome has been affected by the exclusionary rule is significant.
(D) Some of the defendants set free under the exclusionary rule have been guilty of serious criminal offenses.
(E) Merely technical violations of the rules concerning evidence should be treated differently from deliberate assaults upon human rights.

6) It can be inferred from the passage that the author would most likely endorse which of the following proposals?
(A) Change of the exclusionary rule to admit evidence obtained by police officers acting in good faith
(B) A constitutional amendment curtailing some of the protections traditionally afforded those accused of a crime
(C) A statute limiting the application of the exclusionary rule to cases involving minor criminal offenses
(D) Change of the exclusionary rule to allow any evidence, no matter how obtained, to be introduced in court
(E) A constitutional amendment allowing police officers to obtain vital evidence by any means necessary when in pursuit of a known criminal

Get cracking pugs.