EMT Practice Test

1. Question Content...


Question List

Question1:

Question2: Matt and Michelle are at the northwest corner of their school's football field, which is a rectangle 300 ft long and 160 ft wide. Matt walks in a straight line directly to the southeast corner of the field. If Michelle walks 180 ft down the west side of the field and then walks in a straight line directly to the southeast corner of the field, how many feet farther, to the nearest 10 ft, will Michelle walk than Matt?

Question3:
What is the area of triangle ADC shown in the figure?
(1) The ratio of the length of line segment AD to the length of line segment DB is 1 to 3.
(2) The area of triangle ABC is 8.

Question4: In the years since the city of London imposed strict air-pollution regulations on local industry, the number of bird species seen in and around London has increased dramatically. Similar air-pollution rules should be imposed in other major cities.
Each of the following is an assumption made in the argument above EXCEPT:

Question5: Members of many primate species approach an opponent shortly after conflict and initiate behaviors such as embracing, grooming, or huddling-a phenomenon researchers call postconflict reconciliation. Existing research, however, suffers from several shortcomings. The variability between groups of the same species is rarely addressed; the majority of studies investigate only a small fraction of the pairings that exist in a given group; and almost all reports are restricted to animals in captivity.
In an attempt to address some of these shortcomings, Sommer et al. recentfy conducted a study of postconflict reconciliation in wild Hanuman langurs, a species of colobine monkey. They observed rates of postconflict reconciliation much lower than would be expected based on previous research, and found that over 80 percent of all pairings exhibited no postconflict affinity whatsoever. The rarity of friendly postconflict reunion in wild langurs draws attention to the possibility that conflicts are modulated through avoidance. The option of temporarily avoiding contact with opponents is not easily available to captive primates, and certainly not to the extent present in the wild. Still, studies of postconflict behavior of primates in captivity remain valuable:
above all, they demonstrate the flexibility of nonhuman primates in various environments. It is likely, however, that the reported frequency of reconciliation among primates is artificially inflated by the conditions of captivity.
According to the passage, the majority of the pairings observed in Sommer's study exhibited postconflict affinity under what conditions?

Question6: Using art to condemn the moral shortcomings of society is nothing new. English artist William Hogarth (1697 - 1764) was renowned for prints that revealed the moral lapses of eighteenth-century England.
Despite the fact that Hogarth enjoyed the patronage of England's wealthier citizens, he did not shrink away from producing scathing depictions of all levels of English society.
In the ten-print series Industry and Idleness, Hogarth presents two apprentices who begin working side by side only to arrive at vastly different ends. The first apprentice is portrayed as a morally incorruptible, diligent worker. He is promoted, marries his boss's daughter, and achieves great distinction and financial success. The other apprentice does little work and engages in many unsavory activities. He is fired from his apprenticeship and continues down a path of illicit behavior and corruption. The series comes to a climax when the two former coworkers are reunited with the industrious apprentice - now elevated to alderman - standing in judgment of the idle coworker brought before him for murder. The idle apprentice is sentenced to death and executed, whereas the industrious apprentice goes on to become Lord Mayor of London. Among Hogarth's most popular series was The Rake's Progress, which tells the story of wealthy Tom Rakewell. In the first of eight prints, Tom inherits a large sum of money that he foolishly spends on enhancing his image and prestige in superficial ways. His prodigal ways lead to his rapid decline as he is arrested for debt and in return marries an old maid for her money. He begins gambling, is imprisoned, and eventually goes insane in Bedlam. Tom's descent and desperate outcome, like many of Hogarth's subjects, is tied directly to moral corruption and poor self-discipline. It is interesting that Hogarth's prints were extremely popular in his day. Whatever the moral shortcomings of eighteenth-century England, its citizens welcomed Hogarth's social critiques and harsh judgments.
Based on the passage, which of the following best expresses the main lesson of Hogarth's work?

Question7: Since a rhinoceros that has no horn is worthless to poachers, the Wildlife Protection Committee plans to protect selected rhinoceroses from being killed by poachers by cutting off the rhinos' horns.
The Wildlife Protection Committee's plan assumes that

Question8: Because of a recent drought in Florida during the orange-growing season, the price of oranges this season will be three times the usual price. This will drive up the cost of producing orange juice and thus push up the price of orange juice for the consumer.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?

Question9:
A)
-2
B)

C)

D)
2
E)
4

Question10: High levels of fertilizer and pesticides, needed when farmers try to produce high yield of the same crop year after year, pollute water supplies. Experts therefore urge farmers to diversify their crops and to rotate their plantings yearly.
To receive governmental price-support benefits for a crop, farmers must have produced that same crop for the past several years.
The statements above, if true, best support which of the following conclusions?

Question11: Surveys show that every year only 10 percent of cigarette smokers switch brands. Yet the manufacturers have been spending an amount equal to 10 percent of their gross receipts on cigarette promotion in magazines. It follows from these figures that inducing cigarette smokers to switch brands did not pay, and that cigarette companies would have been no worse off economically if they had dropped their advertising.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion that cigarette companies could have dropped advertising without suffering economically?

Question12: In an economic downturn, companies tempted to take advantage of Job applicants as unemployment rates rise should reconsider, for such actions could hurt these companies when the economy recovers. Researchers surveyed employees about their experiences as applicants with their current employers. Those who felt they had been treated unfairly during hiring were twice as likely to respond that they were looking for jobs outside their company, even after five years. Among the actions applicants considered unfair were slow responses from employers and pressure to accept offers quickly.
Which of the following would, if true, most strengthen the reasoning above?

Question13: One year ago a window washing service charged S100 for setup and an additional $30 per hour for on-site washing. This year the company charges $20 for setup and an additional $50 per hour for on-site washing.
Which of the following is equivalent to the percentage change from last year to this year that the company charges for setup and x hours of on-site washing?
A)

B)

C)

D)

E)

Question14: The average (arithmetic mean) of a list of 5 numbers is 50. The sum of 2 numbers in the list is 70 and the sum of 2 other numbers in the list is 110. What is the remaining number in the list?

Question15: Which of the following best completes the passage below?
One tax-reform proposal that has gained increasing support in recent years is the flat tax, which would impose a uniform tax rate on incomes at every level. Opponents of the flat tax say that a progressive tax system, which levies a higher rate of taxes on higher-income taxpayers, is fairer, placing the greater burden on those better able to bear it. However, the present crazy quilt of tax deductions, exemptions, credits, and loopholes benefits primarily the high-income taxpayer, who is consequently able to reduce his or her effective tax rate, often to a level below that paid by the lower-income taxpayer. Therefore, ______

Question16: With globalization, companies often save on costs by paying lower wages abroad rather than by enhancing the abilities of their domestic workers, and this helps explain why productivity in many countries has been high over the last decade even as, despite year-to-year variation, domestic wages and job creation have barely grown.

Question17:

1) The range of the seven term is 5.
2)

Question18: At a certain corporation, the planning committee has 23 members and the finance committee has 20 members.
If a total of 21 people are members of only one of the two committees, how many are members of both committees?

Question19: Record companies defend their substitution of laser-read compact discs (CD's) for the much less expensive traditional long-playing vinyl records in their catalogs by claiming that the audio market is ruled by consumer demand for ever-improved sound reproduction rather than by record manufacturers' profit- motivated marketing decisions. But this claim cannot be true, because if it were true, then digital audiotape, which produces even better sound than CD's, would be commercially available from these same record companies, but it is not.
Which of the following, if true, best explains how the record companies' claim about the nature of the audio reproduction market could be true and digital audiotape nevertheless be unavailable for the commercial market?

Question20: The cotton farms of Country Q became so productive that the market could not absorb all that they produced. Consequently, cotton prices fell. The government tried to boost cotton prices by offering farmers who took 25 percent of their cotton acreage out of production direct support payments up to a specified maximum per farm.
The government's program, if successful, will not be a net burden on the budget. Which of the following, if true, is the best basis for an explanation of how this could be so?

Question21: In the sixteenth century, England had no banks In the modern sense of the word, but among the services that were offered by many businessmen there were included currency exchange and bans.

Question22: The number of people diagnosed as having a certain intestinal disease has dropped significantly in a rural county this year, as compared to last year, Health officials attribute this decrease entirely to improved sanitary conditions at water-treatment plants, which made for cleaner water this year and thus reduced the incidence of the disease.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the health officials' explanation for the lower incidence of the disease?

Question23: If there is an oil-supply disruption resulting in higher international oil prices, domestic oil prices in open- market countries such as the United States will rise as well, whether such countries import all or none of their oil.
Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the statement above?

Question24: During the nineteenth century, the popularity of Charles Dickens's fiction owed much to its being so easily adaptable into effective stage versions: so that, during anv given period many as 20 London theaters might be simultaneously in production of adaptations of Dickens's latest story, and thus even nonreaders quickly became acquainted with simplified versions of his works.

Question25: Contrary to earlier predictions, demand for sugarcane has not increased in recent years. Yet, even though prices and production amounts have also been stable during the last three years, sugarcane growers last year increased their profits by more than ten percent over the previous year's level.
Any of the following statements, if true, about last year, helps to explain the rise in profits EXCEPT:

Question26: Journal
The editor of Metathesis, a new academic journal of literature, manages the peer-review of articles submitted for publication. The journal accepts articles focusing on any of three general subject areas: comparative literature, modernist literature, and postcolonial literature.
When an article is submitted, the editor has the article peer-reviewed by exactly three experts, none of whom authored or coauthored the article. The table (see the Reviewers/Authors tab) consists of all the authors or coauthors who have recently submitted articles and all the experts who currently peer-review or have recently peer-reviewed those articles. It also lists the general subject areas for each of the authors and reviewers.
Each author of each submitted article specializes in the general subject area of the article. Moreover, each recently submitted article was peer-reviewed by experts listed in the table.
Review Rules

Suppose that Farkas and Kenyatta were both selected as reviewers for a certain recently submitted article. For each of the following statements, select YesM the statement must be true, based on this supposition and the Information provided. Otherwise, select No.

Question27: In the industrialized nations, the last century has witnessed a shortening of the average workday from twelve hours or longer to less than eight hours. Mindful of this enormous increase in leisure time over the past century, many people assume that the same trend has obtained throughout history, and that, therefore, prehistoric humans must have labored incessantly for their very survival.
We cannot, of course, directly test this assumption. However, a study of primitive peoples of today suggests a different conclusion. The Mbuti of central Africa, for instance, spend only a few hours each day in hunting, gathering, and tending to other economic necessities. The rest of their time is spent as they choose. The implication is that the short workday is not peculiar to industrialized societies. Rather, both the extended workday of 1880 and the shorter workday of today are products of different stages of the continuing process of industrialization.
Which of the following inferences about industrialization is best supported by the passage above?

Question28: The average age of chief executive officers (CEO's) in a large sample of companies is 57. The average age of CEO's in those same companies 20 years ago was approximately eight years younger. On the basis of those data, it can be concluded that CEO's in general tend to be older now.
Which of the following casts the most doubt on the conclusion drawn above?

Question29: Art expert: If a painting is from the Hudson River School of the mid-nineteenth century United States, it will display a romantic reverence for landscape, portraying pastoral scenes in which humans and nature coexist peacefully. The painting that was recently discovered in the attic of the old town hall dates from the 1850s and portrays a pastoral landscape in which two couples are having a peaceful picnic. So the painting must be from the Hudson River School.
The critic's argument is flawed in that it

Question30: According to the passage, which of the following calls Into question the analysis that uses the concept of structural inertia?

Question31: As much as. experience influences human preferences and values, the loss of firsthand experience with nature is likely to contribute to a reduced valuation of biodiversity by humans in the future-a dismal prospect for the diversity of life.

Question32: With the proliferation of electronic technologies in the latter part of the twentieth century, many aspects of cultural practice have been redefined. The eradication of physical boundaries that limit discourse and information access has had profound effects upon the manner in which we conduct democracy. Yet, opinions strongly differ over whether or not the growth of electronic networks will result in expanded democracy. On one side of the debate are anti-utopians who fear that with the intrusion of the Internet into many facets of life, personal freedom will be impeded and the existing rift between the "haves" and "have- nots" in society will grow. On the other side, many 'cyber-utopians' believe that new technologies can eliminate the democracy of elected representatives with which so many people are dissatisfied. The Internet, they say, will allow for a true participatory democracy in which citizens can govern themselves without the interference of bureaucrats and legislators.
Neither of these theories by themselves can fully address the role of democracy in the age of information.
As debates about censorship and encryption have shown, government regulation of the Internet can result in violations of the basic rights of speech set forth in the constitution of the United States. Yet, groups that preach 'Big Brother' theories of paranoia tend to neglect the fact that new technologies can help balance the injustices of traditional power found in a centralized government. At the same time, the likelihood of doing away with the present system of democracy in favor of complete and pure self-governance seems impossible and likely undesirable.
Both arguments about the future of the way in which discourse will occur highlight the inherent relationship between communication and democracy. Perhaps a more useful model for the study of this dynamic can be found in the model of the public sphere proposed by Jorgen Habermas. In this realm, free and diverse equals come together to deliberate and discuss pertinent issues without the impediment of external coercion. The ensuing dialogue transpires in a profoundly democratic forum. The dispensing of traditional hierarchies that occurs on the Internet appears to make possible the type of categories necessary for Habermas 'ideal speech situation to occur.
However, postmodern critics indicate that the autonomous individual no longer exists in a world where our identities are constructed as much for us as by us. And indeed, much of the postmodern notion of self seems to fit closely with reconfigurations of the subject brought on by electronic technologies. The question that arises then is how might the reconfiguration of communication enabled by the Internet work to create a new form of cyber-democracy' that better represents citizen's interests?
According to the passage, the 'cyber-utopians' mentioned in the passage would most likely be in favor of which of the following innovations?

Question33: If a latter-day Robinson Crusoe was marooned on an island with an eclectic mix of palms, he could eat dates and coconut meat, relax in a palm recliner in his palm-post bungalow under a palm-thatch roof, buff his palm-plank surfboard with carnauba palm wax and watch a palm-fringed sunset.

Question34: At an enormous research cost, a leading chemical company has developed a manufacturing process for converting wood fibers into a plastic. According to the company, this new plastic can be used for, among other things, the hulls of small sailboats. But what does the company think sailboat hulls used to be made of? Surely the mania for high technology can scarcely go further than this.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the author's conclusion?

Question35: Consumer income reports produced by the government distinguish between households and families by means of the following definition: "A family is a household containing a householder and at least one person related to the householder." Except for the homeless and people in group living quarters, most people live in households.
According to the definition above, which of the following must be true?

Question36: Tocqueville, a nineteenth-century writer known for his study of democracy in the United States, believed that a government that centralizes power in one individual or institution is dangerous to its citizens.
Biographers claim that Tocqueville disliked centralized government because he blamed Napoleon's rule for the poverty of his childhood in Normandy.
Which of the following, if true, would cast the most serious doubt on the biographers' claim?

Question37: Large national budget deficits do not cause large trade deficits. If they did, countries with the largest budget deficits would also have the largest trade deficits. In fact, when deficit figures are adjusted so that different countries are reliably comparable to each other, there is no such correlation.
If the statements above are all true, which of the following can properly be inferred on the basis of them?

Question38: It can most reasonably be inferred from the passage that multinational companies

Question39: Many people claim that advertisements of alcoholic drinks influence young people to start drinking socially.
In Iceland, however, where there has been a ban on the advertisement of alcoholic beverages since 1982, drinking is at least as prevalent among young people as it is in countries that do not have a similar ban.
Which of the following statements draws the most reliable conclusion from the information above?

Question40: A program instituted in a particular state allows parents to prepay their children's future college tuition at current rates. The program then pays the tuition annually for the child at any of the state's public colleges in which the child enrolls. Parents should participate in the program as a means of decreasing the cost for their children's college education.
Which of the following, if true, is the most appropriate reason for parents not to participate in the program?

Question41: Even those residents who had not been born in the region, nor were their ancestors, had become fully integrated into the local community.

Question42: Despite overall physiological bilateral symmetry, many species exhibit
lateralized biases, i.e., preferences for right- or left-oriented behavior. When approaching prey, for example, some predator species favor their right eye; some prey species respond more quickly when their left eye detects a predator. Similar behavioral asymmetries occur in humans. Most notable is right- and lefthandedness; less notable is the tendency to turn right when entering a room.
Paul Farnsworth found that more successful students tended to choose seats near the front, a little to the right. He arqued that external factors such as teacher location might have affected this lateral bias. But it is now known that processing differences between the two brain hemispheres can also contribute to behavioral asymmetries.
George Karev found that when presented with a movie theater seating
diagram, right-handed people were more likely than left-handed people to choose a seat on the right, facing front. But he hypothesized that, since the right hemisphere processes visuospatial and emotional information, the people who chose right-side seats did so because that would put the screen in their left visual field, optimizing information flow to the right hemisphere.
Although the right hemisphere is thought to be dominant in processing
emotion, some evidence suggests that the left hemisphere plays a role. The valence model proposes that the left and right hemispheres process positive and negative emotion respectively, while the approach-withdrawal model posits that the left hemisphere processes emotion expressed in approach behavior and the right hemisphere processes emotion expressed in withdrawal behavior.
Victoria Harms and colleagues suggested that since a paper seating plan was used in the theater-seating studies by Karev and others, the exhibited preference might be due simply to handedness: people choose the same side of the paper as their favored hand. Consequently, the Harms research was designed to study choices in an actual movie theater. Also, hoping to distinguish between various explanations, they studied seating choices for comedies (presumed to contain positive emotional content), dramas (presumed to contain negative emotional content), and documentaries (presumed to have balanced emotional content).
They found significant-though not universal-preference for seats on the right, facing front, regardless of movie genre and of handedness.
Which of the following is most strongly supported by the findings of the Harms study?

Question43: When limitations were in effect on nuclear-arms testing, people tended to save more of their money, but when nuclear-arms testing increased, people tended to spend more of their money. The perceived threat of nuclear catastrophe, therefore, decreases the willingness of people to postpone consumption for the sake of saving money.
The argument above assumes that

Question44: A company processes boxes that have a number of different dimensions. Based on the dimensions of the boxes, the company classifies all of them In three categories.
A, B. and C. The table Ms some examples of boxes, their Dimensions, and their classification categories.

Question45: A publisher is now providing university professors with the option of ordering custom textbooks for their courses. The professors can edit out those chapters of a book they are not interested in and add material of their own choosing.
The widespread use of the option mentioned above is LEAST likely to contribute to fulfilling which of the following educational objectives?

Question46: The amount of time it takes for most of a worker's occupational knowledge and skills to become obsolete has been declining because of the introduction of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT). Given the rate at which AMT is currently being introduced in manufacturing, the average worker's old skills become obsolete and new skills are required within as little as five years.
Which of the following plans, if feasible, would allow a company to prepare most effectively for the rapid obsolescence of skills described above?

Question47: The technological conservatism of art supply manufacturers is a reflection of the kinds of demands they are trying to meet. The only customers who are seriously interested in purchasing new products are professional artists. Therefore, innovation in art supply technology is limited by what art critics and gallery owners accept as a proper medium of expression for artists.
Which of the following is an assumption made in drawing the conclusion above?

Question48: In the United States, the Postal Service has a monopoly on first-class mail, but much of what is sent first class could be transmitted electronically. Electronic transmittal operators argue that if the Postal Service were to offer electronic transmission, it would have an unfair advantage, since its electronic transmission service could be subsidized from the profits of the monopoly.
Which of the following questions can be answered on the basis of the information in the passage above?

Question49: Potato cyst nematodes are a pest of potato crops. The nematodes can lie dormant for several years in their cysts, which are protective capsules, and do not emerge except in the presence of chemicals emitted by potato roots. A company that has identified the relevant chemicals is planning to market them to potato farmers to spread on their fields when no potatoes are planted; any nematodes that emerge will soon starve to death.
Which of the following, if true, best supports the claim that the company's plan will be successful?

Question50: The argument above would be most significantly weakened if which of the following were true?

Question51: A warrant was issued on Sunday by a New York prosecutor for the arrest of Henry Urick, until recently chairman of the mobile telecommunications company Telecom, including eleven other people connected with his family's business empire.

Question52: Gene therapy offers a new treatment paradigm for curing human disease. Rather than altering the disease phenotype by using agents that interact with gene products, or are themselves gene products, gene therapy can theoretically modify specific genes resulting in disease cure following a single administration.
Initially gene therapy was envisioned for the treatment of genetic disorders, but is currently being studied for use with a wide range of diseases, including cancer, peripheral vascular disease, arthritis, Neurodegenerative disorders and other acquired diseases.
Certain key elements are required for a successful gene therapy strategy. The most elementary of these is that the relevant gene be identified and cloned. Upon completion of the Human Genome Project, gene availability will be unlimited. Once identified and cloned, the next consideration must be expression of the gene. Questions pertaining to the efficiency of gene transfer and gene expression remain at the forefront of gene therapy research, with current debates revolving around the transfer of desired genes to appropriate cells, and then to obtaining sufficient levels of expression for disease treatment. With luck, future research on gene transfer and tissue-specific gene expression will resolve these issues for the majority of gene therapy protocols.
Other important considerations for a gene therapy strategy include a sufficient understanding of the pathogenesis of the targeted disorder, potential side effects of the gene therapy treatment, and a more in depth understanding of the target cells which are to receive gene therapy.
Gene transfer vector is the mechanism by which the gene is transferred into a cell. Currently there are at least 150 clinical gene therapy protocols worldwide. Since the approval process for these protocols is not as public outside the U.S., it is difficult to ascertain the exact number of worldwide protocols. As of December 1995, 1024 patients had been treated with either a gene transfer or gene therapy protocol.
Much controversy exists regarding how many of these patients have benefited from their gene therapy, and no one has yet been cured.
Public controversy in the field of human gene therapy is driven by several factors. Ordinary citizens as well as scientists easily understand the enormous potential of gene therapy, but the former may not appreciate all the pitfalls and uncertainly that lie in the immediate future. The financial interests of biotechnology firms and, some have asserted the career interests of some gene therapists have encouraged extravagant, or at least verily optimistic public statements about contemporary gene therapy. In spite of the proliferation of protocols, the actual number of patients treated remains small, and only one genuinely controlled study of human gene therapy has been published as of this date The author's attitude toward the gene therapy as a future cure for cancer, peripheral vascular disease, arthritis, Neurodegenerative disorders and other acquired diseases is

Question53: The president of a consulting firm analyzed the decisions made about marketing by her clients and concluded that the decisions were correct only about half of the time.
The conclusion above depends on the presupposition that

Question54:

Question55: Airplane manufacturer: I object to your characterization of our X-387 jets as dangerous. No X-387 in commercial use has ever crashed or even had a serious malfunction.
Airline regulator: The problem with the X-387 is not that it, itself, malfunctions, but that it creates a turbulence in its wake that can create hazardous conditions for aircraft in its vicinity.
The airline regulator responds to the manufacturer by doing which of the following?

Question56: In none of the archaeological sites where floor mosaics were found, not even in those one that like Alarna or Gaanip had well-preserved mosaics in them, there was any evidence of Greek artisans having worked there.

Question57: Economies in which a high percentage of resources are invested in research and development show greater growth in the long run than do those in which resources are channeled into consumption.
Japanese workers spend a higher percentage of their income investing in research and development than do American workers.
To grow as fast as Japan has in the past three decades, the United States must change the tax code in order to encourage savings and investment and discourage debt.
Which of the following, if true, tends to weaken the argument?

Question58: Until the Apollo astronauts brought samples of lunar material to Earth during 1966-72, scientists believed that the Moon's surface was largely undisturbed, given its dry, airless environment. Examination of the samples has shown otherwise. Micrometeorites, many smaller than a pencil point, constantly rain onto the Moon at up to
100,000 kilometers per hour, chipping materials or forming microscopic craters. Some melt the soil and vaporize and recondense as glassy coats on other specks of dust. Impacts weld debris into lumps of heterogeneous matter called "agglutinates." Complicated interactions with solar particle streams convert iron into myriads of microscopic iron grains. The regdith-pebbles, sand, and dust-from these erosion processes blankets the Moon. Much of the top layer consists of a complex abrasive dust of microscopic glass shards that can grind machinery and sealing devices and damage human lungs.
The Apollo specimens held by the United States are doled out in ultra-small samples to scientists who demonstrate that nothing else will suffice for high-value experiments. Renewed interest In lunar exploration in the late 1980s meant that materials designed to simulate lunar regolith-simulants-were needed for research to develop schemes for lunar building and procedures for extracting elements such as oxygen found abundantly in regolith. That led to the development of JSC-1 in 1993, made of volcanic cinder cone from a quarry in Arizona in the U.S. The more than 22 metric tons made was in high demand. Efforts are now afoot to manufacture 16 metric tons of JSC-1 A, with 1 ton of fine grains, 14 tons of moderately fine, and 1 ton of coarse.
Which of the following can most reasonably be inferred from the passage?

Question59: Last year the rate of inflation was 1.2 percent, but for the current year it has been 4 percent. We can conclude that inflation is on an upward trend and the rate will be still higher next year.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion above?

Question60: In order to relieve congestion in the airspace near the airports of a certain country, transportation officials propose sending passengers by new rapid trains between the country's major airport and several small cities within a 300-mile radius of it. This plan was proposed even though the officials realized that it is the major airport that is congested, not those in the small cities.
The plan to relieve congestion would work best if which of the following were true about the major airport?

Question61: Voters in Allatia can bypass the legislature and make law by voting directly on initiatives via referenda.
Business lobbying groups have spent large sums of money in Allatia on advertising campaigns intended to influence the outcome of business-related referenda, but no initiative that received large financial support from these groups has ever become law via referendum. Nonetheless, most business lobbying groups have decided to continue spending money on advertising designed to sway voters in referenda.
Which of the following, if true, would provide the strongest justification for the business groups' decision?

Question62: In Argonia the average rate drivers pay for car accident insurance is regulated to allow insurance companies to make a reasonable profit. Under the regulations, the rate any individual driver pays never depends on the actual distance driven by that driver each year. Therefore, Argonians who drive less than average partially subsidize the insurance of those who drive more than average.
The conclusion above would be properly drawn if it were also true that in Argonia

Question63:
As shown in the diagram, Diagonal Drive, which is straight and level, connects A and B.
While Diagonal Drive is closed for repairs, drivers starting at A must take a detour and travel 3 miles due south, then 8 miles due west, and finally due south to arrive at B. How many miles long is Diagonal Drive from ,4 to Bl (1) Before Diagonal Drive was closed, driving on it from A to 5 at an average speed of 30 miles per hour took 20 minutes.
(2) The total distance drivers drive south on the detour is 4 miles less than the length of Diagonal Drive between A and B.

Question64: That subculture was an enduring fixture In Tsarist times, during the Russian Revolution, the times of the Soviet Union, during the transition to post-soviet society-and it continues to exist in Russian society today.

Question65: Company Alpha buys free-travel coupons from people who are awarded the coupons by Bravo Airlines for flying frequently on Bravo airplanes. The coupons are sold to people who pay less for the coupons than they would pay by purchasing tickets from Bravo. This marketing of coupons results in lost revenue for Bravo.
To discourage the buying and selling of free-travel coupons, it would be best for Bravo Airlines to restrict the

Question66: Although no conclusive scientific evidence proves that angels exist, many highly intelligent and respectable people believe they exist and have even claimed to have spoken with angels. It is therefore reasonable to assume that angels do exist, but we just don't have the means to prove their existence.
All of the following, if true, are valid objections to this argument EXCEPT

Question67: The purpose of biosonar systems is to determine the distance, velocity and location, and even identity perhaps, of things moving underwater.

Question68: Shaneice drove nonstop from City X to City Y in exactly 5 hours. Shaneice drove the first 200 kilometers from City X to City Y in how many minutes?
(1) Shaneice averaged 80 kilometers per hour during the first 3 hours of driving from City X to City Y.
(2) Shaneice averaged 90 kilometers per hour during the last 2 hours of driving from City X to City Y.

Question69: The table gives Information about teacher absenteeism in 21 school systems worldwide for 2012-2013. For each school system, the table gives the country where It Is located, the number of teachers It employed m
2012-2013, the average number of days those teachers were absent, and the percent of those teachers who were chronically absent (absent 18 or more days).

For each of the following statements, select Yes if, based on the information provided, it can be inferred that the statement is true. Otherwise, select NO.

Question70: Studies of fatal automobile accidents reveal that, in the majority of cases in which one occupant of an automobile is killed while another survives, it is the passenger, not the driver, who is killed. It is ironic that the innocent passenger should suffer for the driver's carelessness, while the driver often suffers only minor injuries or none at all.
Which of the following is an assumption underlying the reasoning in the passage above?

Question71: No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common tongue. For proof, we need only consider Canada, which is being torn asunder by conflicts between French-speaking Quebec and the other provinces, which are dominated by English speakers.
Which of the following, if true, most effectively challenges the author's conclusion?

Question72: The labor market is changing yet again. Increasingly, American business is turning to interim staffing to cover a greater number of its employment vacancies. Once interim (or temporary) staffing was reserved for the lower-level positions requiring little training, such as an envelope stuffer, receptionist, day laborer, and the like. Today, however, a more highly trained professional is being sought for interim work. It is not uncommon to find computer programmers, writers, marketing professionals, CPAs, and even chief financial officers working in an interim capacity. The reasons for these changes in staffing norms are generated at both the employer and employee level. Employers are pushing the drive toward interim staffing in order to maintain maximum flexibility.
Companies can be more innovative and flexible in their planning cycles if they have the option to hire employees on an as-needed basis. Additionally, employers save money using interim staffers, as they are not required to provide health insurance to temporary workers and they are not obligated to pay severance when the job terminates. Employees, too, are pushing the trend toward interim staffing. Increasingly, professionals are seeking more flexibility in their work schedules-often in response to family obligations.
No longer does the permanent 9 to 5, Monday through Friday schedule work for everyone. By working interim, employees can work when it fits their schedules. However, interim staffing is not for everyone.
Organizations whose workflow requires continuity of personnel may find interim staffing an impediment to productivity. Likewise, employees who need a steady source of income or who require the health insurance and other benefits provided by permanent employers may find the unpredictability in interim work problematic.
Given the author's purpose, which of the following would most enhance this passage?

Question73: In 1985 the city's Fine Arts Museum sold 30,000 single-entry tickets. In 1986 the city's Folk Arts and Interior Design museums opened, and these three museums together sold over 80,000 such tickets that year. These museums were worth the cost, since more than twice as many citizens are now enjoying the arts.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the author's assertion that more than twice as many citizens are now enjoying the arts?

Question74: For the first time, prospectors have laid claim to rich deposits of gold, silver, and copper in the deep sea, foreshadowing a possible rush to the open oceans for metals and a possible fight with conservationists over exploitation of the sea's dark recesses.

Question75: A famous painter has recently won a lawsuit against a major food manufacturer for commissioning a graphic designer to design the packaging of its chocolate chip cookies in the painter's distinctive style. As a result of the lawsuit, manufacturers will stop asking graphic artists to copy distinctive painting styles.
Therefore, the cost of package design will rise because employing the services of known artists cost more than those of graphic designer that imitate their style.
The conclusion above is based on which of the following assumptions?

Question76: A researcher discovered that people who have low levels of immune-system activity tend to score much lower on tests of mental health than do people with normal or high immune-system activity. The researcher concluded from this experiment that the immune system protects against mental illness as well as against physical disease.
The researcher's conclusion would be most seriously weakened if it were true that

Question77: A newly discovered disease is thought to be caused by a certain bacterium. However, recently released data notes that the bacterium thrives in the presence of a certain virus, implying that it is actually the virus that causes the new disease.
Which of the following pieces of evidence would most support the data's implication?

Question78: Acme Software plans to release a partial version of its X software, which will be the same as the full version except that some features will be disabled and K wM cost half as much. Company executives believe marketing both products at once will substantially increase profits. They think some customers who would not have bought the full version will buy the partial version. Profits from seeing to those customers, they believe, will exceed the money lost by selling the partial version to customers who would have paid more for the full version if it were the only one avalabie.
Which of the following would, if true, provide the strongest reason to doubt that Acme Software's plan will result in higher profits?

Question79:

Question80: In 1980, 18% of American families lived under the poverty line. In 1990, only 12% of families lived under the poverty line. But that doesn't mean fewer families were living in poverty. Indeed, the statistics hide the fact that more families were actually living in destitution. The difference in percentages appears because the poverty line was redefined and the income level was reduced. Thus, many families were above the poverty line even though they did not earn any more income. Which of the following statements, if true, would most strengthen this argument?

Question81: The average life expectancy for the United States population as a whole is 73.9 years, but children born in Hawaii will live an average of 77 years, and those born in Louisiana, 71.7 years. If a newlywed couple from Louisiana were to begin their family in Hawaii, therefore, their children would be expected to live longer than would be the case if the family remained in Louisiana.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the conclusion drawn in the passage?

Question82: A certain law firm has 28 lawyers and has offices in three states, X, Y, and Z.
Every lawyer in the firm is either Scensed in all three states or is licensed in only one of the three states.
If 10 lawyers are kensed in State X, 11 are licensed in State Y, and 13 are licensed in State Z, how many lawyers are licensed only in State Z ?

Question83: Unlike the wholesale price of raw wool, the wholesale price of raw cotton has fallen considerably in the last year. Thus, although the retail price of cotton clothing at retail clothing stores has not yet fallen, it will inevitably fall.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?

Question84: Which of the following best completes the passage below?
At a recent conference on environmental threats to the North Sea, most participating countries favored uniform controls on the quality of effluents, whether or not specific environmental damage could be attributed to a particular source of effluent. What must, of course, be shown, in order to avoid excessively restrictive controls, is that______

Question85: In the first half of this year, from January to June, about three million videocassette recorders were sold.
This number is only 35 percent of the total number of videocassette recorders sold last year. Therefore, total sales of videocassette recorders will almost certainly be lower for this year than they were for last year.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion above?

Question86: Two experimental garden plots were each planted with the same number of tomato plants. Magnesium salts were added to the first plot but not to the second. The first plot produced 20 pounds of tomatoes and the second plot produced 10 pounds. Since nothing else but water was added to either plot, the higher yields in the first plot must have been due to the magnesium salts.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?

Question87: If there is an oil-supply disruption resulting in higher international oil prices, domestic oil prices in open- market countries such as the United States will rise as well, whether such countries import all or none of their oil.
If the statement above concerning oil-supply disruptions is true, which of the following policies in an open- market nation is most likely to reduce the long-term economic impact on that nation of sharp and unexpected increases in international oil prices?

Question88: Bill: Smoke-detecting fire alarms can save lives. I believe that every apartment in this city should be required by law to be equipped with a smoke detector.
Joe: I disagree with your proposal. Smoke detectors are just as important for safety in private houses as they are in apartment.
From this exchange, it can be inferred that Joe has interpreted Bill's statement to mean that

Question89: When the newly elected prime minister gave his first official speech, he took pains not to dwell on what might have been if his party should have attained a clear maim its by on how the coalition government, given sufficient time and appropriate resources, would benefit the country.

Question90: Take a very commonplace, often discussed and critical topic: Are we detecting a greenhouse effect, and related to this, is it exacerbated by "homogenic factors," i.e., human actions? Most would be inclined to give a positive answer to both of these questions. But, if pushed, what would be the evidence, and how well grounded would it be for such affirmations?
Within scientific communities and associated scientifically informed circles, the answers have to be somewhat more ambiguous, particularly when rigorous questions concerning evidence are raised. Were scientific truth to be a matter of consensus, and some argue that scientific truth often turns out to be just that, then it is clear that there is beginning to be a kind of majority consensus among many earth science practitioners that the temperature of the Earth, particularly of the oceans, is indeed rising and that this is a crucial indicator for a possible greenhouse effect.
Most of these scientists admit that the mean oceanic temperature has risen globally in the last several decades. But this generalization depends upon how accurate measurements may be, not just for samples, but also for the whole Earth. Hot spots, for example the now four year old hot spot near New Guinea which is part of the El Niño cycle, does not count by itself because it might be balanced by cold spots elsewhere.
And the fact of the matter is that "whole earth measurements" are still rare and primitive in the simple sense that we simply do not have enough thermometers out. Secondly, even if we had enough thermometers, a simply synchronic whole earth measurement over three decades is but a blip in the diachronic history of ice age cycles over the last tens of thousands of years. Thirdly, even if we know that the earth is now heating up, has an ever increasing ozone hole, and from this strange weather effects can be predicted, how much of this is due to homogenic factors, such as CFCs, CO2 increases, hydrocarbon burning, and the like? Is it really the case, as Science magazine claimed in l990, "24% of greenhouse encouraging gases are of homogenic origin"?
The author's claim that, a simply synchronic whole earth measurement over three decades is but a blip in the diachronic history of ice age cycles over the last tens of thousands of years would be strengthened if the author

Question91:

Question92:

Question93: Federal agricultural programs aimed at benefiting one group whose livelihood depends on farming often end up harming another such group.
Which of the following statements provides support for the claim above?
I. An effort to help feed-grain producers resulted in higher prices for their crops, but the higher prices decreased the profits of livestock producers.
II. In order to reduce crop surpluses and increase prices, growers of certain crops were paid to leave a portion of their land idle, but the reduction was not achieved because improvements in efficiency resulted in higher production on the land in use.
III. Many farm workers were put out of work when a program meant to raise the price of grain provided grain growers with an incentive to reduce production by giving them surplus grain from government reserves.

Question94: The average normal infant born in the United States weighs between twelve and fourteen pounds at the age of three months. Therefore, if a three-month-old child weighs only ten pounds, its weight gain has been below the United States average.
Which of the following indicates a flaw in the reasoning above?

Question95: Which of the following, if true, best completes the argument below?
Comparisons of the average standards of living of the citizens of two countries should reflect the citizens' comparative access to goods and services. Reliable figures in a country's own currency for the average income of its citizens are easily obtained. But it is difficult to get an accurate comparison of average standards of living from these figures, because______

Question96:

Question97: Which of the following is a research shortcoming mentioned in the passage that is not addressed in the information provided about Sommer's study?

Question98: On May 5th, 1997, the European edition of Business Tech Magazine led with Hoffman's cover story
"Internet Communities: How they're Shaping Electronic Commerce". This cover story highlights the extent to which the term virtual community has become almost synonymous with various forms of group-CMCs (computer mediated communication), including email-list forums, chat-systems such as IRC, web-based discussion areas and UseNet news-groups. There was no debate in the Business Tech Magazine article as to whether the group-CMC discussions are really 'communities', rather how community as opposed to content can be used to encourage people to return to a particular part of cyberspace for commercial gain.
In a similar vein, Simpson and Armstrong in "Internet Gain" argue that ignoring virtual communities would be a great loss of a marketing tool for businesses. They define virtual communities as computer mediated space where there is an integration of content and communication with an emphasis on member- generated content.
Not all virtual community commentators agree with the Spartan position taken by Hoffman. Rheingold, one of the prime popularizes of the term virtual community, provides us with a more emotive definition in his book The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. According to Rheingold, "virtual communities are social aggregations that emerge from the Net when enough people carry on those public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace". Rheingold's definition is extremely popular and has been quoted in many discussions about virtual communities. As discussed below, for social scientists, particularly sociologists, Rheingold's definition raises many issues, especially concerning the notion of community. This is because Rheingold argues via a variety of analogies from the real world such as homesteading that virtual communities are indeed new forms of "community". In fact, Rheingold implies that virtual communities are actually "a kind of ultimate flowering of community". Moreover, Rheingold maintains that whenever computer mediated communications technology becomes available; people inevitably create communities with it. Rheingold can thus be labeled as a technological determinist as he holds that there is a predictable relationship between technology and people's behavior.
The debate over the validity of Rheingold's position has raised doubts about the existence of virtual communities and the appropriate use of the term. Weinreich claims that the idea of virtual communities must be wrong because community is a collective of kinship networks that share a common geographic region, a common history, and a shared value system, usually rooted in a common religion. In other words, Weinreich rejects the existence of virtual communities because group-CMC discussions cannot possibly meet his definition. In Weinreich's view, anyone with even a basic knowledge of sociology understands that information exchange in no way constitutes a community The author says 'there was no debate in the Business Tech Magazine article' to emphasize which of the following points?

Question99: While designing a game involving chance, Desmond noticed that the probability a fair coin lands faceup exactly 2 times when the coin is tossed 3 times is equal to the probability that a fair coin lands faceup exactly m times when the coin is tossed 7 times, where n > 3.
Select for m and for n values consistent with the given information. Make only two selections, one in each column.

Question100: The color red has been shown to induce greater aggression in people than the color blue. Researchers conducted a study to determine whether such colorinduced aggression could influence the amount that consumers were willing to pay for an identical product in online auction and online negotiation scenarios.
The researchers photographed a single item against each of four background colors: blue, gray, white, and red. Using a computer, each participant in the study viewed the item against exactly one of the four background colors. Half of the participants were told the item was up for auction and were asked to submit their highest bid for the item. The other half of the participants were told to negotiate a price with the seller and were asked to offer the highest amount that they would be willing to pay for the item.
The researchers expected that participants who viewed the red background would typically behave more aggressively than those who viewed the blue background, Among the auction group, the researchers hypothesized that more aggressive participants would submit higher bids as they tried to beat other potential bidders, Among the negotiation group, the researchers hypothesized that more aggressive participants would make lower offers as they tried to compete against the seller to get the best deal.
Which of the following statements most accurately describes the relationship between the study's results and the researchers' hypotheses?

Question101: In Asia, where palm trees are non-native, the trees' flowers have traditionally been pollinated by hand, which has kept palm fruit productivity unnaturally low. When weevils known to be efficient pollinators of palm flowers were introduced into Asia in 1980, palm fruit productivity increased - by up to fifty percent in some areas - but then decreased sharply in 1984.
Which of the following statements, if true, would best explain the 1984 decrease in productivity?

Question102: Television programming experts maintain that with each 1% increase in the prime-time ratings of a television station there is a 3.5% increase in the number of people who watch its evening news program.
However, in the last ten years at Channel NTR, there was only one year of extremely high prime-time ratings and during that year, fewer people than ever watched Channel NTR's evening news program.
Which of the following conclusions can properly be drawn from the statements above?

Question103: William Hornby acquired bison herds for breeding stock hoping that this move would eventually lead to increasing in their numbers, and a fortification of their environment.

Question104: Of the 45 households in a certain neighborhood, 28 subscribe to Newspaper Q, 17 subscribe to Newspaper R,
12 subscribe to Newspaper S, 7 subscribe to both Q and R, 8 subscribe to both Q and 5, and 9 subscribe to both R and 5. The number of households who subscribe to all three newspapers is equal to the number of households who subscribe to none of the three newspapers. If 39 of the households subscribe to at least one of the three newspapers, how many households subscribe to only one of the newspapers?

Question105: The only prime factors of the positive integer n are 2,3, and 5. What te the value of n ?

Question106:

Question107: The strand fills with water during the rainy season that the peat then holds and keeps it humid, all of which creates conditions enabling trees to grow.

Question108: Mary Shelley's 1818 classic Frankenstein has been the most-taught novel on college campuses in the country for the past 10 years. This is due primarily to the worries about scientific responsibility brought on by the recent surge of advances in science and technology, especially biotechnology. Which of the following statements, if true, would be most helpful in evaluating this argument?

Question109: Manufacturers and retailers tend to look askance at gray markets, where products are sold at cut-rate prices outside their authorized distribution channels. Manufacturers fear that gray markets will undercut margins and tarnish brand names. Retailers fear that they will siphon away customers and erode prices.
A new study indicates, however, that gray marketing actually benefits manufacturers and retailers in markets that meet two criteria: first, sharp differences exist in consumers' price sensitivity; second, large numbers of consumers are price-insensitive. In such markets, the low prices of the gray market will attract the most price-sensitive customers. The authorized channels will then compete only for the remaining customers-those who are insensitive to price but sensitive to service.
When that happens, the structure of competition and the economics of the market shift. The authorized retailers, freed from having to cater to the bargain hunters, can raise their prices and focus on service. If the concentration of price-insensitive shoppers is high enough, the resulting increase in prices will more than offset the loss of sales to the bargain hunters. The margins and profits of the authorized retailers will increase, and manufacturers will, as a result, be able to boost their wholesale prices.
Which of the following, if true, would most undermine the reasoning offered for the claim that gray markets can in certain conditions lead to increased profits among authorized retailers?

Question110: Investing in real estate would be a profitable venture at this time. A survey in House magazine revealed that 85% of the magazine's readers are planning to buy a second home over the next few years. A study of the real estate industry, however, revealed that the current supply of homes could only provide for 65% of that demand each year.
Which of the following, if true, reveals a weakness in the evidence cited above?

Question111: Technological education is worsening. People between eighteen and twenty-four, who are just emerging from their formal education, are more likely to be technologically illiterate than somewhat older adults. And yet, issues for public referenda will increasingly involve aspects of technology.
Which of the following conclusions can be properly drawn from the statements above?

Question112:
(1) x= y
(2) x < 1

Question113: The cube of one positive real number equals the square of a second positive real number. What is the product of the 2 numbers?
(1) The second number is twice the first number.
(2) The cube of the second number is 32 times the square of the first number.

Question114: Of the employees at a certain international firm, 40 percent have a business degree and 80 percent speak French. If each employee at the firm either has a business degree or speaks French or both, what percent of the employees who have a business degree afeo speak French?

Question115: The greatest failure of modern American society is its rejection of the extended family. It is no wonder our society is so violent and so many Americans feel a deep sense of isolation and overwhelming stress.
This argument is based on all of the following assumptions EXCEPT

Question116: In Moldova in 1979, Russian was claimed as a native language by a large proportion of Jews (66 percent), ethnic Belarusians (62 percent), and bv a significant proportion of ethnic Ukrainians (30 percent).

Question117: Researchers studying long-term changes In regional mouse populations have found that by focusing on the populations of a rare but widespread and easily identifiable species of mouse (Species X), they can make fairly accurate estimations about the total regional mouse populations.
In a report on a recent study that Included the data tables that follow, the researchers provided some addenda:
1. "The Species X population of Region CV increased by 123,995 between 1990 and 2005.
2. In contrast, the Species X population of Region EW declined by about 52% during that same time.

The answer to which one of the following can be determined by using the information in the passage and tables?

Question118: Hotco oil burners, designed to be used in asphalt plants, are so efficient that Hotco will sell one to the Clifton Asphalt plant for no payment other than the cost savings between the total amount the asphalt plant actually paid for oil using its former burner during the last two years and the total amount it will pay for oil using the Hotco burner during the next two years. On installation, the plant will make an estimated payment, which will be adjusted after two years to equal the actual cost savings.
Which of the following, if it occurred, would constitute a disadvantage for Hotco of the plan described above?

Question119: For years, Americans have been told to stay away from fat. Feeding the market of those anxiously watching their waistlines, food manufacturers have filled grocery store shelves with low-fat and fat-free foods. Now, however, some researchers are blaming the fat-free craze for the American crisis of obesity.
Foods without fat, they argue, leave us feeling unsatisfied and craving even more food. As a result, we end up eating a whole bag of low-fat potato chips when we would have only eaten half a bag of regular (fat- laden) potato chips.
Which of the following is the most logical conclusion that can be drawn from the passage?

Question120: Art is visible. However, everything one sees is filtered through certain conditions, some of them historical, and others, natural. The historical conditions include the material, which is used - oil, colors, and the canvas; second, a certain style, i.e., a system of rules by which things visible are submitted a priori. There can be a general style, for example, the style of Impressionism, or a particular style, for example, the individual ways in which two painters, both impressionists, paint. The natural conditions include certain unchanging psychological laws of sight, for instance, the effects of colors or optical illusions.
The conditions of art are nothing but a particular way of interpreting reality. To understand this, one can examine the difference between the classical Greek and the classical Egyptian styles. For the Greeks, the reality of the visible was given by the perspective and the situation in which the object appears; for that reason, they presented a person in his individual movements. For the Egyptians, however, this was only the appearance of a transitory moment, which, according to their beliefs, was not real. Therefore, the Egyptians searched for the permanent essence and the typical character in their depiction of an object. For the Egyptians, Greek art was an illusion; for the Greeks, on the other hand, Egyptian art was unrealistic constructivism.
The way in which reality appears in art must not be regarded on its own. It is affected by many other systems of recognizing reality, including the political, religious, economic, intellectual, and social - in short, all the phenomena of human life. Moreover, art is always of a certain epoch, with its particular conception of reality. Thus, when discussing, for example, the art of ancient myth, of medieval Christianity, or that of the technological age, one must be aware that myth, Christianity, or technology was the most salient feature of the epoch.
It is paradoxical to understand art as some kind of copy of the fields of experience connected with it. So, for example, it is meaningless for the work of art as such if one compares the landscape of a painting with the landscape, which served the artist as his model. Even if the artist had tried to make what he painted as similar as possible to the model he used, the landscape which he saw is only the matter from which something completely different emerges since he has submitted its view to the a priori conditions of art:
namely to the material used (colors, canvas, etc.), to his style, and even to the fact that he paints on a flat surface. Thus one must contemplate a work of art by itself. Even if it is connected to other fields of experience it nevertheless displays something unique which appears in that piece of art and there alone.
According to the passage, classical Egyptians did not present a person in his individual movements

Question121: Walter: A copy of an artwork should be worth exactly what the original is worth if the two works are visually indistinguishable. After all, if the two works are visually indistinguishable, they have all the same qualities, and if they have all the same qualities, their prices should be equal.
Marissa: How little you understand art! Even if someone could make a perfect copy that is visually indistinguishable from the original, the copy would have a different history and hence not have all the same qualities as the original.
Marissa uses which of the following techniques in attempting to refute Walter's argument?

Question122: For over fifty years, the ocean-freight industry worked to make ocean freighters faster and to lower their fuel consumption. Despite considerable success, the economics of the industry grew worse, until the industry was almost dead. What was wrong was an incongruity between assumptions and realities. The real costs came, not from time spent at sea, but from time spent in port during loading and unloading.
Which of the following actions would be most likely to lead to a solution of the problem faced by the ocean- freight industry, as it is analyzed in the passage?

Question123: Meteorologists say that if only they could design an accurate mathematical model of the atmosphere with all its complexities, they could forecast the weather with real precision. But this is an idle boast, immune to any evaluation, for any inadequate weather forecast would obviously be blamed on imperfections in the model.
Which of the following, if true, would cast the most serious doubt on the meteorologists' boast, aside from the doubt expressed in the passage above?

Question124: A study of marital relationships in which one partner's sleeping and waking cycles differ from those of the other partner reveals that such couples share fewer activities with each other and have more violent arguments than do couples in a relationship in which both partners follow the same sleeping and waking patterns. Thus, mismatched sleeping and waking cycles can seriously jeopardize a marriage.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?

Question125: Motor-scooter dealers attribute a drastic decline in sales over the last few years to a new law requiring motor-scooter riders to wear helmets. Previously, helmets had been obligatory for motorcycle riders but not for motor-scooter riders-a difference that the dealers argue made scooters preferable for many customers. Safety advocates, however, dispute the dealers' explanation, pointing out that the law's introduction coincided with a large increase in the cost of mandatory insurance for both types of vehicle.
In evaluating the safety advocates' and the dealers' explanations, it would be most helpful to know which of the following?

Question126: Lark Manufacturing Company initiated a voluntary Quality Circles program for machine operators.
Independent surveys of employee attitudes indicated that the machine operators participating in the program were less satisfied with their work situations after two years of the program's existence than they were at the program's start. Obviously, any workers who participate in a Quality Circles program will, as a result, become less satisfied with their jobs.
Each of the following, if true, would weaken the conclusion drawn above EXCEPT:

Question127: Advertisement: Of the many over-the-counter medications marketed for the relief of sinus headache. Sine Ease costs the least per dose. And Sine Ease is as effective per dose as the most effective of those other medications. So for relief from sinus headaches, Sine Ease is the best buy.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?

Question128: Denying that one of its many irregularities had been the long-term mismanaging of company funds, the AD
& M company produced clear evidence to back its claim.

Question129: Today, children whose parents are deemed incapable of caring for them are put into foster care. These children are moved into strangers' homes, where they are cared for until their own parents can regain custody, which may not happen for years, if it happens at all. Although it means well, the current foster care program is so poorly funded, staffed, and managed that it cannot ensure the safety and wellbeing of the children in the system. The laudable idea behind foster care is that children will fare best if placed in a family setting until they can be reunited with their parents, even if it is a family of strangers. However, while in foster care, children typically get shuffled between many different foster homes, preventing them from developing long-term, supportive relationships with their foster families. Foster care placements can also force siblings to be separated, further isolating these vulnerable children. When a child is moved to a new foster home, he or she may also have to enroll in a new school, a disruptive process that has a negative impact on the child's education. The bureaucracy that oversees this system is overwhelmed to the point that social workers are unable to adequately screen potential foster parents and keep accurate track of the children placed in foster care. There must be a better means of caring for these children. Perhaps it is time to consider creating special group homes as a means of providing these children with stable and safe environments.
A child could live in one group home for the duration of his or her time in foster care and be supervised by a team of social workers and other lay people. Children would receive proper meals and healthcare, attend the same school, and develop relationships with others experiencing the trauma of being separated from their parents. In addition, social workers and staff would have daily access to these children, enabling them to better determine if a child has a special physical or psychological need and arrange for the necessary services. Would this approach be perfect? No, but it would solve many of the problems that plague the current system. For some, the idea of a government agency housing, clothing, and feeding needy children may sound extreme, but it only suggests that we provide these children with the same basic necessities that we give to prison inmates.
The passage states that

Question130: In the xy-plane, the point (0,3) is the vertex of a certain right angle. If the sides of the right angle intersect the x-axis at the points (-4,0) and (b,0), what is the value of b?

Question131: In prenatal testing for spina bifida, a life threatening disease, a false positive result indicates that an fetus has spina bifida when, in fact, it does not; a false negative result indicates that a fetus does not have spina bifida when, in fact, it does. To detect spina bifida most accurately, physicians should use the laboratory test that has the lowest proportion of false positive results.
Which of the following, if true, gives the most support to the recommendation above?

Question132: A new law gives ownership of patents-documents providing exclusive right to make and sell an invention
- to universities, not the government, when those patents result from government-sponsored university research. Administrators at Logos University plan to sell any patents they acquire to corporations in order to fund programs to improve undergraduate teaching.
Which of the following, if true, would cast most doubt on the viability of the college administrators' plan described above?

Question133: There are fundamentally two possible changes in an economy that will each cause inflation unless other compensating changes also occur. These changes are either reductions in the supply of goods and services or increases in demand. In a prebanking economy the quantity of money available, and hence the level of demand, is equivalent to the quantity of gold available.
If the statements above are true, then it is also true that in a prebanking economy

Question134:

Question135: An experimental microwave clothes dryer heats neither air nor cloth. Rather, it heats water on clothes, thereby saving electricity and protecting delicate fibers by operating at a lower temperature. Microwaves are waves that usually heat metal objects, but developers of a microwave dryer are perfecting a process that will prevent thin metal objects such as hairpins from heating up and burning clothes.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly indicates that the process, when perfected, will be insufficient to make the dryer readily marketable?

Question136: Read the passage carefully and then choose the best answer to each question. Answer the question based upon what is stated or implied in the reading passage.
In Ursula LeGuin's short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," everyone in the city of Omelas is happy - everyone, that is, except the child who is kept locked in a basement closet. The child is left entirely alone and neglected except for occasional visits from the citizens of Omelas. They come at a certain age as a rite of initiation, to learn the secret of the happiness they enjoy. They come to learn that their happiness has a price: the suffering of an innocent child. In the end, most people stay in Omelas; but a few, unable to bear the fact that they are responsible for the suffering of that child, reject this utopia built upon a utilitarian morality.
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory based upon the belief that happiness is the ultimate good and that people should use happiness as the measure for determining right and wrong. For utilitarian, the right thing to do is that which will bring about the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.
Furthermore, utilitarianism argues that the intention of people's actions does not matter; only the consequences of their actions are morally relevant, because only the consequences determine how much happiness is produced.
Although many useful social policies and much legislation are founded on this "greatest good" philosophy, utilitarianism can be problematic as a basis for morality. First, happiness is not so easy to quantify, and any measurement is bound to be subjective. Second, in a theory that treats everything except happiness as instrumentally rather than intrinsically valuable, anything - or, more importantly, anyone - can (and should) be treated as a means to an end, if it means greater happiness. This rejects the notion that human beings have their own intrinsic value. Further, utilitarianism puts the burden of the happiness of the masses on the suffering of the few. Is the happiness of many worth the suffering of a few? Why do those few deserve to suffer? Isn't this burden of suffering morally irresponsible? This is the dilemma so brilliantly illustrated in LeGuin's story.
The author summarizes LeGuin's story primarily to

Question137: Which of the following best completes the argument below?
One effect of the introduction of the electric refrigerator was a collapse in the market for ice. Formerly householders had bought ice to keep their iceboxes cool and the food stored in the iceboxes fresh. Now the iceboxes cool themselves. Similarly, the introduction of crops genetically engineered to be resistant to pests will______

Question138:
The chart above shows political and geographic data on a certain legislative committee of 20 members, each of whom belongs to 1 of 2 political parties and lives in 1 of 4 regions. How many subcommittees of this legislative committee are possible that contain exactly 1 member from each of the 4 regions and the same number of members from each of the 2 political parties?

Question139: Presumed to be genetic or partially genetic in origin, about three in every 100 children are born with a severe disorder.

Question140: Financing for a large construction project was provided by a group of banks. When the money was gone before the project was completed, the banks approved additional loans. Now, with funds used up again and completion still not at hand, the banks refuse to extend further loans, although without those loans, the project is doomed.
Which of the following, if true, best explains why the bank's current reaction is different from their reaction in the previous instance of depletion of funds?

Question141: Government regulations in Nation X require that milk products labeled "organic" come from cows that have access to pasture. Many industrial dairies have begun using the organic label on their products even though their cows spend most of their milk-bearing lives confined to feed lots eating grain. Critics charge that industrial dairy cows spend too little time grazing in pastures for their milk to bear the organic label, but the cows' owners insist that the animals are in good health and show no signs of discontent.
Which of the following would it be most useful to establish in order to determine whether the industrial dairies' use of the organic label complies with government regulations?

Question142: The Competitive Civil Service system is designed to give applicants fair and equal treatment and to ensure that federal applicants are hired based in objective criteria.

Question143: According to the passage, Karev's hypothesis suggests which of the following about people's choices of seating in movie theaters?

Question144: There are any number of skilled freelancers who can develop strategy and create marketing materials with a keen eye to using proven methods, but also to developing new and innovative techniques.

Question145: Using art to condemn the moral shortcomings of society is nothing new. English artist William Hogarth (1697 - 1764) was renowned for prints that revealed the moral lapses of eighteenth-century England.
Despite the fact that Hogarth enjoyed the patronage of England's wealthier citizens, he did not shrink away from producing scathing depictions of all levels of English society.
In the ten-print series Industry and Idleness, Hogarth presents two apprentices who begin working side by side only to arrive at vastly different ends. The first apprentice is portrayed as a morally incorruptible, diligent worker. He is promoted, marries his boss's daughter, and achieves great distinction and financial success. The other apprentice does little work and engages in many unsavory activities. He is fired from his apprenticeship and continues down a path of illicit behavior and corruption. The series comes to a climax when the two former coworkers are reunited with the industrious apprentice - now elevated to alderman - standing in judgment of the idle coworker brought before him for murder. The idle apprentice is sentenced to death and executed, whereas the industrious apprentice goes on to become Lord Mayor of London. Among Hogarth's most popular series was The Rake's Progress, which tells the story of wealthy Tom Rakewell. In the first of eight prints, Tom inherits a large sum of money that he foolishly spends on enhancing his image and prestige in superficial ways. His prodigal ways lead to his rapid decline as he is arrested for debt and in return marries an old maid for her money. He begins gambling, is imprisoned, and eventually goes insane in Bedlam. Tom's descent and desperate outcome, like many of Hogarth's subjects, is tied directly to moral corruption and poor self-discipline. It is interesting that Hogarth's prints were extremely popular in his day. Whatever the moral shortcomings of eighteenth-century England, its citizens welcomed Hogarth's social critiques and harsh judgments.
The description of Industry and Idleness suggests that

Question146: Crops can be traded on the futures market before they are harvested. If a poor corn harvest is predicted, prices of corn futures rise; if a bountiful corn harvest is predicted, prices of corn futures fall. This morning meteorologists are predicting much-needed rain for the corn-growing region starting tomorrow. Therefore, since adequate moisture is essential for the current crop's survival, prices of corn futures will fall sharply today.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument above?

Question147:

Question148: In an experiment, two different types of recorded music were played for neonates in adjacent nurseries in a hospital. In nursery A, classical music was played; in nursery B, rock music was played. After two weeks, it was found that the babies in nursery A cried less, suffered fewer minor ailments, and gained more weight than did the babies in nursery B.
Which of the following additional experimental data would support the hypothesis that classical music is beneficial to the development of newborn?

Question149: Archaeologists have excavated two ancient sites, Site A and Site B, each containing bowls and dishes. A third site containing similar vessels (bowls and dishes), Site C, Is known to have existed but has not yet been located. The vessels have been dated to three successive 40-vear-long time periods (Mil).
The dishes that were found are small and plain and were made primarily for everyday use. For each site, the average population at the site for a period is known to be roughly proportional to the number of dishes found that were dated to that period.
The bowls are more elaborate, decorated In either a curvy or a rectilinear style. They were made primarily for ritual use. The numbers of bowls found indicate the level of wealth of the site's inhabitants during the period to which the bowls were dated (with greater numbers indicating greater wealth).
Documents found at Sites A and B establish that exactly 18 of the dishes found at Site A were manufactured at Site C; otherwise, all of the vessels were made at the sites where they were found.


For each of the following statements, select Yes if the Information provided supports the statement. Otherwise, select No.

Question150: Read the passage carefully and then choose the best answer to each question. Answer the question based upon what is stated or implied in the reading passage.
In Ursula LeGuin's short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," everyone in the city of Omelas is happy - everyone, that is, except the child who is kept locked in a basement closet. The child is left entirely alone and neglected except for occasional visits from the citizens of Omelas. They come at a certain age as a rite of initiation, to learn the secret of the happiness they enjoy. They come to learn that their happiness has a price: the suffering of an innocent child. In the end, most people stay in Omelas; but a few, unable to bear the fact that they are responsible for the suffering of that child, reject this utopia built upon a utilitarian morality.
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory based upon the belief that happiness is the ultimate good and that people should use happiness as the measure for determining right and wrong. For utilitarian, the right thing to do is that which will bring about the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.
Furthermore, utilitarianism argues that the intention of people's actions does not matter; only the consequences of their actions are morally relevant, because only the consequences determine how much happiness is produced.
Although many useful social policies and much legislation are founded on this "greatest good" philosophy, utilitarianism can be problematic as a basis for morality. First, happiness is not so easy to quantify, and any measurement is bound to be subjective. Second, in a theory that treats everything except happiness as instrumentally rather than intrinsically valuable, anything - or, more importantly, anyone - can (and should) be treated as a means to an end, if it means greater happiness. This rejects the notion that human beings have their own intrinsic value. Further, utilitarianism puts the burden of the happiness of the masses on the suffering of the few. Is the happiness of many worth the suffering of a few? Why do those few deserve to suffer? Isn't this burden of suffering morally irresponsible? This is the dilemma so brilliantly illustrated in LeGuin's story.
From the author's summary of LeGuin's story, the reader can infer that

Question151: An Australian group named Action Council on Smoking and Health (ACSH) has recently lobbied to make warnings on cigarette packets more graphic. The council proposed that striking visual photos of diseased organs should be put on at least 50% of outside packaging, in conjunction with health warnings outlining smoking hazards enumerated in a separate leaflet placed inside the cigarette packet. The ACSH claim that bland and ineffectual warnings like "Smoking is a health hazard" currently found on cigarette packets are not nearly sufficient.
Substituting those inadequate admonitions with explicit photos will provide a powerful visual stimulus to help smokers relinquish their habit. The current cautions on cigarette packets have little or no impact on smokers who have grown immune to the warnings that focus on abstract tobacco related risks and illnesses from which smokers can easily disassociate themselves. The proposed new tactics would concentrate on the perspective of the individual smoker through a demonstration of what is occurring in his body each time he reaches for a cigarette, rather than a generic cautionary word of advise.
The ACSH cited the results of recent studies conducted by psychologists at McKean University confirming that evidence related to one's own experience is more effective at influencing future behavior than a presentation of facts and figures. A further rationale for the addition of pictures to cigarette packages is the finding that smokers handle their packets 20-30 times a day, on average, thus, if graphic pictures on cigarette packets were introduced, smoker would have 20-30 chances to face the harsh reality of what damage they are doing to themselves each time they light up.
Even more essential than the pictures on the outside label, ACSH strongly advocate including warnings and helpful information in a leaflet inserted into the packet of cigarettes. Even an analgesic, ACSH adds, found in every bathroom cabinet has all possible side effects enumerated in the insert. How much more imperative is it then when the substance in question is tobacco, a dried weed that contains highly noxious nicotine that society still accepts even though it kills one of every two of its users.
Fundamentally, what is at stake here is consumer rights. Smokers should know what substances they are inhaling, and what damage they are inflicting to their bodies, though surprisingly, even today, many do not.
For this reason alone, the recommendation for more graphic pictures and warnings on cigarette packets, which many seem excessive, is being seriously considered.
The author cites studies conducted at McKean University to account for why

Question152: The labor market is changing yet again. Increasingly, American business is turning to interim staffing to cover a greater number of its employment vacancies. Once interim (or temporary) staffing was reserved for the lower-level positions requiring little training, such as an envelope stuffer, receptionist, day laborer, and the like. Today, however, a more highly trained professional is being sought for interim work. It is not uncommon to find computer programmers, writers, marketing professionals, CPAs, and even chief financial officers working in an interim capacity. The reasons for these changes in staffing norms are generated at both the employer and employee level. Employers are pushing the drive toward interim staffing in order to maintain maximum flexibility.
Companies can be more innovative and flexible in their planning cycles if they have the option to hire employees on an as-needed basis. Additionally, employers save money using interim staffers, as they are not required to provide health insurance to temporary workers and they are not obligated to pay severance when the job terminates. Employees, too, are pushing the trend toward interim staffing. Increasingly, professionals are seeking more flexibility in their work schedules-often in response to family obligations.
No longer does the permanent 9 to 5, Monday through Friday schedule work for everyone. By working interim, employees can work when it fits their schedules. However, interim staffing is not for everyone.
Organizations whose workflow requires continuity of personnel may find interim staffing an impediment to productivity. Likewise, employees who need a steady source of income or who require the health insurance and other benefits provided by permanent employers may find the unpredictability in interim work problematic.
The main purpose of this passage is to

Question153: If the airspace around centrally located airports were restricted to commercial airliners and only those private planes equipped with radar, most of the private-plane traffic would be forced to use outlying airfields. Such a reduction in the amount of private-plane traffic would reduce the risk of midair collision around the centrally located airports.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion drawn in the second sentence?

Question154: The Florida panther, known for its distinctive characteristics, including a kinked tail and cowlicks, is nearing extinction with the help of scientists and government officials. Though once abundant in Florida, by the end of the twentieth century, only approximately 30 Florida panthers remained. Efforts to preserve the panthers had focused on shielding them from human encroachment with the hope that they could develop sustainable numbers to survive as a species. However, pressure from development caused officials to grow impatient and shift their strategy and goals.
In 1995, new breeds of female panthers were brought to Florida from Texas to bolster the population. The change has been dramatic. In 1990, 88% of the panthers in Florida had the distinct kinked tail. By 2000, five years after the introduction of the Texas panthers, not a single kitten born to the Texas females had a kinked tail. The breed known as the Florida panther is now on an expedited, ineluctable road to extinction
- with the assistance of wildlife protection agencies.
If the goal was to have any kind of panther in Florida, it has been realized. Since the introduction of the Texas panthers, the panther population in Florida has risen to approximately 80 mixed-breed panthers.
However, this "success" could portend a tragic trend in wildlife management in the United States. We cannot and should not create genetically mixed species as a means of achieving a compromise between the needs of development and a species' survival. This type of species tampering is a perversion of the ideal of wildlife management and will irrevocably transform our national landscape.
It can be inferred from the passage that

Question155: A study of business partnerships in which one partner's management style differs from that of the other partner reveals that such partnerships are more likely be fraught with problems and to ultimately end in dissolution. Thus, mismatched management styles can seriously jeopardize a business partnership.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?

Question156: For a generation of suppressed, restless, working-class youths living in 1960 Jamaica, ska was a medium through which they could find expression. Since its original appearance, ska has resurfaced twice, each time presenting itself in a different guise to a new generation of music aficionados. Overcoming its humble beginnings, it has become one of the twentieth century's most enduring and influential styles of music.
Since the early 1940's, Jamaica had adopted and adapted many forms of American musical styles. The predominantly black inhabitants of Jamaica took a liking to rhythm and blues music, importing a considerable number of American records that were showcased at dance halls in the early 1960s.
Jamaican musicians took up the elements of rhythm and blues and combined it with traditional Jamaican mento music. The result was the first wave of ska. Musically, ska is a shuffle rhythm similar to mento but with even closer ties to rhythm and blues, placing the accent on the second and fourth beats, often moving in a 12-bar blues frame. The after beat, played on the piano or strummed by a rhythm guitar, came to be characteristic of the form. A horn section, usually consisting of trumpets, trombones, and saxophones, was a vital element. Classic bands, such as the Wailers wrote songs written about Trench Town (a ghetto), rude boys (street thugs), romance, and even religious themes. In 1965, ska began to take a backseat to a newly evolved type of music, called rock steady, which was more dependent than ska had been on rhythm provided by the bass guitar and drums.
Ska was later exported by traveling Jamaican artists to Great Britain, where it became known as "blue beat." By the mid 1970's, early British punk bands were infusing reggae, a style of music that came from rock steady, into their music. Near the end of the decade, however, there was a resurgence of the influence of ska because of its upbeat, danceable rhythm. This faster paced ska came to be known as two tone. One of the essential messages of two-tone ska was the promotion of racial harmony and of having fun in the face of subjugation.
The third wave of ska began in America around 1990. Bands influenced by the two-tone ska scene began to use punk and metal music to a greater extent. The combination, which is much faster than two tone, sounds very different from the original Jamaican brand of ska.
In its three different waves, ska has given voice to seemingly voiceless, downtrodden generations. Each time it resurfaces, a new message is taken up; however, the old messages are never forgotten The primary purpose of this passage is to

Question157: The passage is primarily concerned with discussing

Question158: Read the passage carefully and then choose the best answer to each question. Answer the question based upon what is stated or implied in the reading passage.
In Ursula LeGuin's short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," everyone in the city of Omelas is happy - everyone, that is, except the child who is kept locked in a basement closet. The child is left entirely alone and neglected except for occasional visits from the citizens of Omelas. They come at a certain age as a rite of initiation, to learn the secret of the happiness they enjoy. They come to learn that their happiness has a price: the suffering of an innocent child. In the end, most people stay in Omelas; but a few, unable to bear the fact that they are responsible for the suffering of that child, reject this utopia built upon a utilitarian morality.
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory based upon the belief that happiness is the ultimate good and that people should use happiness as the measure for determining right and wrong. For utilitarian, the right thing to do is that which will bring about the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.
Furthermore, utilitarianism argues that the intention of people's actions does not matter; only the consequences of their actions are morally relevant, because only the consequences determine how much happiness is produced.
Although many useful social policies and much legislation are founded on this "greatest good" philosophy, utilitarianism can be problematic as a basis for morality. First, happiness is not so easy to quantify, and any measurement is bound to be subjective. Second, in a theory that treats everything except happiness as instrumentally rather than intrinsically valuable, anything - or, more importantly, anyone - can (and should) be treated as a means to an end, if it means greater happiness. This rejects the notion that human beings have their own intrinsic value. Further, utilitarianism puts the burden of the happiness of the masses on the suffering of the few. Is the happiness of many worth the suffering of a few? Why do those few deserve to suffer? Isn't this burden of suffering morally irresponsible? This is the dilemma so brilliantly illustrated in LeGuin's story.
According to the passage, in utilitarianism

Question159: Men are primarily and secondarily socialized into believing certain characteristics are definitive in determining their masculinity. These characteristics range from playing violently to not crying when they are injured. The socialization of masculinity in our society begins as early as the first stages of infancy, with awareness of adult gender role differences being internalized by children as young as two years old.
Studies show that advertising imagery equates masculinity with violence by portraying the trait of aggression as instrumental to establishing their masculinity. Lee Bowker, who researched the influence of advertisements on youth, asserts that toy advertisements featuring only boys depict aggressive behavior and that the aggressive behavior produces positive consequences more often than negative.
Bowker also looked at commercials with boys that contain references to domination. His results indicated that 68.6% of the commercials positioned toward boys contain incidents of verbal and physical aggression.
However, there were no cross gender displays of aggressive behavior. Interestingly, not one single-sex commercial featuring girls showed any act of aggression. Bowker's research helps explain that it is not just the reinforcement of a child's close caretakers that lends legitimacy to aggressive masculine tendencies but society as a whole, using the medium of television.
William Pollack, a Harvard clinical psychologist, talks about how males have been put in a "gender straightjacket" that leads to anger, despair and often violence. Pollack states that society asks men to put a whole range of feelings and emotions behind a mask and shames them if they display any emotion.
Pollack contends that boys are 'shame phobic', even killing, in extreme cases, to avoid dishonor. It appears that the standard defined by society allows men to express their emotion only through anger.
Ironically, though these rigid stereotypes of what it means to be a man have been inculcated from an early age, men are often criticized for being one-dimensional in their behavior and emotions.
Women often verbalize a desire for males to be sensitive and express their emotions. But male insensitivity is the culmination of a societal indoctrination begun at birth. Realistically, men are in a damned if they do, damned if they don't situation. If they fail to show their emotions, they are berated for being detached from the essence of what constitutes a human being. On the other hand, if a male decides to expose his emotions, he is often branded effeminate and regarded as inferior to other males who stick closer to their gender's traditional doctrine.
According to the passage, the television commercials examined by Bowker

Question160: Companies O and P each have the same number of employees who work the same number of hours per week. According to records maintained by each company, the employees of Company O had fewer job- related accidents last year than did the employees of Company P.
Therefore, employees of Company O are less likely to have job-related accidents than are employees of Company P.
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion above?

Question161: Activity levels of the green iguana vary in cycles that are repeated every 24 hours. It is logical to assume that alteration in the intensity of incident light is the stimulus that controls these daily biological rhythms.
But there is much evidence to contradict this hypothesis.
Which of the following, if known, is evidence that contradicts the hypothesis stated above?

Question162: The primary purpose of the passage is to

Question163: Read each passage carefully and then choose the best answer to each question. Answer the questions based upon what is stated or implied in the reading passage.
For many years, there has been much hand-wringing over the fate of Social Security once the baby boomers reach retirement age. Baby boomers, people born between 1946 and 1964, represent the largest single sustained growth of population in the history of the United States. It is the sheer enormity of this generation that has had economists worried as retirement beckons. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by 2020, an estimated 80,000,000 Americans will have reached or surpassed the conventional age of retirement. With so many boomers retiring and drawing benefits but no longer paying into Social Security, many fear that the Social Security fund itself could go bankrupt.
However, a study released by the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) that examined baby boomers' plans for retirement found that for the most part, this generation is not expected to adhere to the conventional retirement scheme, a fact that may please the worriers in Washington, DC.
In its survey, the AARP broke baby boomers into different categories based on their financial standing, degree of preparedness for retirement, and optimism toward the future. The AARP found that of all groups surveyed, only 13% planned to stop working altogether once they reached retirement age; the remaining
87% planned to continue working for pay. The reasons to continue working varied among the different groups. For some, the plan to continue working is a financial decision. Between 25% and 44% of respondents reported they are not financially prepared to retire and will therefore continue working past retirement age. For the remainder of those planning to work past their mid to late 60s, the decision is based on long-held goals to start a business and/or the desire to stay active in their industry or community.
Eventually, most baby boomers will need to stop working as they progress into their 70s, 80s, and beyond.
But with such large numbers planning to continue working, thereby continuing to pay into the Social Security fund, perhaps Social Security will be able to withstand the end of the baby boom and continue to be a safety net for future generations.
According to the author, baby boomers are not likely to bankrupt the Social Security fund primarily because

Question164: Despite overall physiological bilateral symmetry, many species exhibit
lateralized biases, i.e., preferences for right- or left-oriented behavior. When approaching prey, for example, some predator species favor their right eye; some prey species respond more quickly when their left eye detects a predator. Similar behavioral asymmetries occur in humans. Most notable is right- and lefthandedness; less notable is the tendency to turn right when entering a room.
Paul Farnsworth found that more successful students tended to choose seats near the front, a little to the right. He argued that external factors such as teacher location might have affected this lateral bias. But it is now known that processing differences between the two brain hemispheres can also contribute to behavioral asymmetries.
George Karev found that when presented with a movie theater seating
diagram, right-handed people were more likely than left-handed people to choose a seat on the right, facing front. But he hypothesized that, since the right hemisphere processes visuospatial and emotional information, the people who chose right-side seats did so because that would put the screen in their left visual field, optimizing information flow to the right hemisphere.
Although the right hemisphere is thought to be dominant in processing
emotion, some evidence suggests that the left hemisphere plays a role. The valence model proposes that the left and right hemispheres process positive and negative emotion respectively, while the approach-withdrawal model posits that the left hemisphere processes emotion expressed in approach behavior and the right hemisphere processes emotion expressed in withdrawal behavior.
Victoria Harms and colleagues suggested that since a paper seating plan was used in the theater-seating studies by Karev and others, the exhibited preference might be due simply to handedness: people choose the same side of the paper as their favored hand. Consequently, the Harms research was designed to study choices in an actual movie theater. Also, hoping to distinguish between various explanations, they studied seating choices for comedies (presumed to contain Positive emotional content), dramas (presumed to contain negative emotional content), and documentaries (presumed to have balanced emotional content).
They found significant-though not universal-preference for seats on the right, facing front, regardless of movie genre and of handedness.
Which of the following statements concerning the valence model and the approach-withdrawal model most accurately reflects information provided in the Passage?

Question165: Old English had three genders that resembled those of the Germans and so was probably very difficult for a foreign traveler to learn in a short time.

Question166: People who own dangerous pets such as poisonous snakes or ferocious dogs are morally and legally responsible for their pet's actions. If someone is hurt by such a pet, the owner should be held 100% accountable.
All of the following statements, if true, would strengthen this argument EXCEPT

Question167: Technological improvements have made electric cars far more cost-efficient in the last decade. However, the threshold of economic viability for electric cars (that is, the cost of running an electric car compared to a gasoline powered car) has remained unchanged.
Which of the following, if true, does most to help explain why the increased cost-efficiency of electric cars has not decreased its threshold of economic viability?

Question168: Civil trials often involve great complexities that are beyond the capacities of jurors to understand. As a result, jurors' decisions in such trials are frequently incorrect. Justice would therefore be better served if the more complex trials were decided by judges rather than juries.
The argument above depends on which of the following assumptions?

Question169: In order to increase revenues, an airport plans to change the parking fees it charges at its hourly parking lots. Rather than charging $2.00 for the first two-hour period, or part thereof, and $1.00 for each hour thereafter, the airport will charge $4.00 for the first four-hour period, or part thereof, and $1.00 for each hour thereafter.
Which of the following is a consideration that, if true, suggests that the plan will be successful in increasing revenues?

Question170: The decision-making model is unique in not only making prescriptions about proper leader behavkx while arriving at decisions but also gives prescriptions for the decision maker to follow.

Question171: Which of the following best completes the passage below?
In opposing government regulation of business, conservatives often appeal to the Jeffersonian ideal of limited government, expressing the wish that government would "get off the backs of the American people." Yet, paradoxically, many of these same conservatives address questions of private morality, such as those dealing with sexual behavior, by calling for______

Question172: What is the median of the data set consisting of the 5 integers d, A, 3, 5, and 2 ?
(1) The mean of the data set is 4.
(2) d>3

Question173: Y has been believed to cause Z.
A new report, noting that Y and Z are often observed to be preceded by X, suggests that X, not Y, may be the cause of Z.
Which of the following further observations would best support the new report's suggestion?

Question174: Some communities in Florida are populated almost exclusively by retired people and contain few, if any, families with small children. Yet these communities are home to thriving businesses specializing in the rental of furniture for infants and small children.
Which of the following, if true, best reconciles the seeming discrepancy described above?

Question175: Most employees in the computer industry move from company to company, changing jobs several times in their careers. However, Summit Computers is known throughout the industry for retaining its employees.
Summit credits its success in retaining employees to its informal, non hierarchical work environment.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports Summit's explanation of its success in retaining employees?

Question176: The belief of physicists Enrico Fermi and Glenn Seaborg, articulated In 1946, that nuclear physics would ultimately prove more useful a tool in medical diagnosis treatment than as a source of energy was not widely shared by their colleagues.

Question177: George Bernard Shaw wrote: "That any sane nation, having observed that you could provide for the supply of bread by giving bakers a pecuniary interest in baking for you, should go on to give a surgeon a pecuniary interest in cutting off your leg is enough to make one despair of political humanity." Shaw's statement would best serve as an illustration in an argument criticizing which of the following?

Question178:

Question179: As discussed in the passage, smoothing production is primarily concerned with

Question180: Researchers recently discovered that lipstick can become contaminated with bacteria that causes mononucleosis. They found that contamination usually occurs after the lipstick has been used for six months. For that reason, women should dispose of any lipstick after six months of use.
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion above?

Question181: Wildlife management seeks to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of reproductive adults, particularly adult females, to maintain the population of any particular species at a level sustainable by the environment.
This Involves setting upper limits, by sex and age, on the number of animals that hunters may take during specified periods of the hunting season. To determine these upper Smlts, wildlife managers plan to collect data about the sex and age of animals killed by hunters during each hunting season, by examining random samples of the animals' teeth. They will then use the resulting information to set the upper limits for the following year's hunting season.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the prediction that the managers' plan, if implemented, will achieve the stated goal of wildlife management?

Question182: Both Writewell and Express provide round-the-clock telephone assistance to any customer who uses their word-processing software. Since customers only call the hot lines when they find the software difficult to use, and the Writewell hot line receives four times as many calls as the Express hot line, Writewell's word- processing software must be more difficult to use than Express's.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument above?

Question183: In the past, teachers, bank tellers, and secretaries were predominantly men; these occupations slipped in pay and status when they became largely occupied by women. Therefore, if women become the majority in currently male-dominated professions like accounting, law, and medicine, the income and prestige of these professions will also drop.
The argument above is based on

Question184:
A)

B)

C)

D)

E)

Question185: Blood banks will shortly start to screen all donors for NANB hepatitis. Although the new screening tests are estimated to disqualify up to 5 percent of all prospective blood donors, they will still miss two-thirds of donors carrying NANB hepatitis. Therefore, about 10 percent of actual donors will still supply NANB- contaminated blood.
The argument above depends on which of the following assumptions?

Question186:
A)

B)

C)

D)

E)

Question187: A study comparing a group of chronically depressed individuals with an otherwise matched group of individuals free from depression found significantly more disorders of the immune system among the depressed group. According to the researchers, these results strongly support the hypothesis that mental states influence the body's vulnerability to infection.
Which of the following, if true, casts the most serious doubt on the researchers' interpretation of their findings?

Question188: The passage most strongly suggests that the author agrees with which of the following?

Question189: According to a review of 38 studies of patients suffering from water retention, a large majority of the patients reported that fasting eased their suffering considerably. Yet fasting is not used to treat water retention even though the conventional medications often have serious side effects.
Which of the following, if true, best explains the fact that fasting is not used as a treatment for water retention?

Question190: According to the production-smoothing buffer stock model, inventories of a firm's products allow it to supply unexpected demand without having to adjust output immediately. When costs per additional unit produced are increasing, using inventory to smooth production is efficient as long as the savings from not adjusting production exceed the cost of holding inventory. Inventory acts as a buffer stock, absorbing increases or decreases in demand while production remains relatively steady.
If firms are smoothing production, then sales should vary more than
production. If inventories are used as a buffer stock, then high-frequency changes in inventory should be in the opposite direction to sales. Empirical research using aggregate data does not confirm this expectation, however; production varies more than sales, and changes in inventory and sales tend to vary in the same direction. Thus either the production-smoothing buffer stock model is incorrect, or other factors are preventing empirical confirmation of the smoothing effect.
Most of the research that finds contradictions of production smoothing uses seasonally adjusted aggregate data concerning inventory and sales. It is possible that firms actually do use inventory to smooth production, but the research has failed to detect signs of this activity because the data are too highly aggregated over many firms. But even research at the level of individual companies has failed to confirm the model.
As discussed in the passage, smoothing production is primarily concerned with

Question191: Companies O and P each have the same number of employees who work the same number of hours per week. According to records maintained by each company, the employees of Company O had fewer job- related accidents last year than did the employees of Company P.
Therefore, employees of Company O are less likely to have job-related accidents than are employees of Company P.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion above?

Question192: The hotel industry now offers a great many gradations of service, giving rise to odd concepts such as "luxury budget." and innkeepers must struggle constantly to find a corner of the market and then to compete at the appropriate level of service.

Question193: A severe drought can actually lessen the total amount of government aid that United States farmers receive as a group. The government pays farmers the amount, if any, by which the market price at which crops are actually sold falls short of a preset target price per bushel for the crops. The drought of 1983, for example, caused farm-program payments to drop by $10 billion.
Given the information above, which of the following, if true, best explains why the drought of 1983 resulted in a reduction in farm-program payments?

Question194: Over the last century, paleontologists have used small differences between fossil specimens to classify triceratops into sixteen species. This classification is unjustified, however, since the specimens used to distinguish eleven of the species come from animals that lived in the same area at the same time.
Which of the following, if true, would enable the conclusion of the argument to be properly drawn?

Question195: The financial hub of a business management information system (MIS) is accounting, the system of recording, analyzing, and reporting economic transactions.

Question196: Extinction is a process that can depend on a variety of ecological, geographical, and physiological variables. These variables affect different species of organisms in different ways, and should, therefore, yield a random pattern of extinctions. However, the fossil record shows that extinction occurs in a surprisingly definite pattern, with many species vanishing at the same time.
Which of the following, if true, forms the best basis for at least a partial explanation of the patterned extinctions revealed by the fossil record?

Question197: Read the passage carefully and then choose the best answer to each question. Answer the question based upon what is stated or implied in the reading passage.
In Ursula LeGuin's short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," everyone in the city of Omelas is happy - everyone, that is, except the child who is kept locked in a basement closet. The child is left entirely alone and neglected except for occasional visits from the citizens of Omelas. They come at a certain age as a rite of initiation, to learn the secret of the happiness they enjoy. They come to learn that their happiness has a price: the suffering of an innocent child. In the end, most people stay in Omelas; but a few, unable to bear the fact that they are responsible for the suffering of that child, reject this utopia built upon a utilitarian morality.
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory based upon the belief that happiness is the ultimate good and that people should use happiness as the measure for determining right and wrong. For utilitarian, the right thing to do is that which will bring about the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.
Furthermore, utilitarianism argues that the intention of people's actions does not matter; only the consequences of their actions are morally relevant, because only the consequences determine how much happiness is produced.
Although many useful social policies and much legislation are founded on this "greatest good" philosophy, utilitarianism can be problematic as a basis for morality. First, happiness is not so easy to quantify, and any measurement is bound to be subjective. Second, in a theory that treats everything except happiness as instrumentally rather than intrinsically valuable, anything - or, more importantly, anyone - can (and should) be treated as a means to an end, if it means greater happiness. This rejects the notion that human beings have their own intrinsic value. Further, utilitarianism puts the burden of the happiness of the masses on the suffering of the few. Is the happiness of many worth the suffering of a few? Why do those few deserve to suffer? Isn't this burden of suffering morally irresponsible? This is the dilemma so brilliantly illustrated in LeGuin's story.
Which of the following best sums up the author's opinion of utilitarianism?

Question198: When joni, Katrina, and Leah started their business, JKL Enterprises, each contributed an amount of money, in euros. The amounts were in the ratio of 3:5:8, respectively, and the first-year profit of JKL Enterprises was split in the same ratio. Katrina's share of the first-year profit was €5,000.
Select for First-year profit and for Leah's stare amounts In euros that are consistent with the given Information and could be the first-year profit of JKL Enterprises and Leah's share of those profits, respectively. Make only two selections, one in each column.

Question199: In January there was a large drop in the number of new houses sold, because interest rates for mortgages were falling and many consumers were waiting to see how low the rates would go. This large sales drop was accompanied by a sharp rise in the average price of new houses sold.
Which of the following, if true, best explains the sharp rise in the average price of new houses?

Question200: A set of 5 numbers has a range of 40. The smallest of the numbers is 10. Which of the following CANNOT be a number in this set?

Question201: A computer equipped with signature-recognition software, which restricts access to a computer to those people whose signatures are on file, identifies a person's signature by analyzing not only the form of the signature but also such characteristics as pen pressure and signing speed. Even the most adept forgers cannot duplicate all of the characteristics the program analyzes.
Which of the following can be logically concluded from the passage above?

Question202: The sum of the first n positive integers is given by

.
What is the sum of the first 100 positive odd integers?

Question203: The ensuing argument among the pundKs rs no likelier to end in a declared winnef than a long debate about Karl Marx's political philosophy against Ayn Rand's would be.

Question204: In good times, an auction is the obvious choice for colectors wanting to sell a work of art, but A did just a few short months ago.

Question205: The cost of producing radios in Country Q is ten percent less than the cost of producing radios in Country
Y. Even after transportation fees and tariff charges are added, it is still cheaper for a company to import radios from Country Q to Country Y than to produce radios in Country Y.
The statements above, if true, best support which of the following assertions?

Question206: In malaria-infested areas, many children tend to suffer several bouts of malaria before becoming immune to the disease. Clearly, what must be happening is that those children's immune systems are only weakly stimulated by any single exposure to the malaria parasite and need to be challenged several times to produce an effective immune response.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the explanatory hypothesis?

Question207: The pharmaceutical industry argues that because new drugs will not be developed unless heavy development costs can be recouped in later sales, the current 20 years of protection provided by patents should be extended in the case of newly developed drugs. However, in other industries new-product development continues despite high development costs, a fact that indicates that the extension is unnecessary.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the pharmaceutical industry's argument against the challenge made above?

Question208: Although aspirin has been proven to eliminate moderate fever associated with some illnesses, many doctors no longer routinely recommend its use for this purpose. A moderate fever stimulates the activity of the body's disease-fighting white blood cells and also inhibits the growth of many strains of disease- causing bacteria.
If the statements above are true, which of the following conclusions is most strongly supported by them?

Question209:

Question210: Male bowerbirds construct elaborately decorated nests, or bowers. Basing their judgment on the fact that different local populations of bowerbirds of the same species build bowers that exhibit different building and decorative styles, researchers have concluded that the bowerbirds' building styles are a culturally acquired, rather than a genetically transmitted, trait.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion drawn by the researchers?

Question211: An experiment was done in which human subjects recognize a pattern within a matrix of abstract designs and then select another design that completes that pattern. The results of the experiment were surprising.
The lowest expenditure of energy in neurons in the brain was found in those subjects who performed most successfully in the experiments.
Which of the following hypotheses best accounts for the findings of the experiment?

Question212: Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the economist's argument?

Question213: The faces of a cube are labeled from 1 to 6, and when the cube is tossed, each number is equally likely to appear on the top face. If two of these cubes are tossed, what is the probability that the number that appears on the top face of either of the cubes exceeds the number on the other by exactly 2 ?

Question214: Both high blood cholesterol and lack of exercise are associated with hypertension. One hypothesis-regarding the former association-is that hypertension does not cause high blood cholesterol but that high blood cholesterol does cause hypertension. A second hypothesis-regarding the latter association-is that physical exercise reduces hypertension.
A researcher has proposed a new theory about biochemical interactions in human blood. This theory entails that physical exercise reduces blood cholesterol levels solely as a result of its effects on hypertension. The researcher's theory necessarily_____1_____the first hypothesis if it_____2_____the second hypothesis.
In the table, select a word or phrase to fill in Blank 1 above and a word or phrase to fill in Blank 2, such that the completed sentence makes the most clearly correct statement given the information provided. Make only two selections, one in each column.

Question215: By analyzing the garbage of a large number of average-sized households, a group of modern urban anthropologists has found that a household discards less food the more standardized-made up of canned and prepackaged foods - its diet is. The more standardized a household's diet is, however, the greater the quantities of fresh produce the household throws away.
Which of the following can be properly inferred from the passage?

Question216: Millions of identical copies of a plant can be produced using new tissue-culture and cloning techniques.
If plant propagation by such methods in laboratories proves economical, each of the following, if true, represents a benefit of the new techniques to farmers EXCEPT:

Question217: A recent report determined that although only three percent of drivers on Maryland highways equipped their vehicles with radar detectors, thirty-three percent of all vehicles ticketed for exceeding the speed limit were equipped with them. Clearly, drivers who equip their vehicles with radar detectors are more likely to exceed the speed limit regularly than are drivers who do not.
The conclusion drawn above depends on which of the following assumptions?

Question218: Ralph Waldo Emerson, the renowned poet, essayist, and transcendentalist, believed that the universe is a transcendent "over-soul" and that every living thing is a part of this "blessed Unity."

Question219: Interviewer: An alarming statistic reported in the Hobern Medical Journal is that 90 percent of the people in this country now report that they know someone who has heart disease.
Dr. Summer: But an expected level of heart disease is 5 percent, or in other words, 1 out of every 20 people. So at any given time if a person knows approximately 50 people, 1 or more will very likely suffer from heart disease.
Dr. Summer's argument is structured to lead to which of the following conclusion?

Question220: Of those person who became teachers in 1968 and who later left the profession, 30 percent today earn salaries above $35,000 a year: of those who became teachers in 1968 and have remained in the profession, only 15 percent today earn salaries above $35,000 a year. These figures indicate how underpaid teachers are today.
The argument above depends on which of the following assumptions about the persons for whom statistics are cited?

Question221: Which of the following is the most likely reason that the author mentions the work o* the astronomers in 1998 (see highlighted text)?

Question222: The use o* bets in the 1998 study was intended to deflect objections that would be based on which of the following Issues?

Question223: The author implies that if, in the experiment described in the second paragraph, the parasitic wasps had been drawn to the plants after they had been damaged by a razor blade but without application of oral secretions from the caterpillar, then scientists would likely have concluded which of the following?
Wasps are attracted to the plants by the grassy odor released as the caterpillars feed on the plants' leaves.

Question224: Paleontologist: Dinosaurs belonged to two major taxonomic groups, the Saurischia and the Orlnithischia.
Scientists have long known that the branch of the Saurischia from which birds are descended had primitive feathers. However, a recently discovered fossil of a previously unknown Orinithischia species also has feather-like structures. Thus, dinosaurs must have evolved feathers early in their history, before the Saurischia and Orinithischia diverged.
Which of the following is an assumption the paleontologist's argument requires?

Question225: Manufacturers and retailers tend to look askance at gray markets, where products are sold at cut-rate prices outside their authorized distribution channels. Manufacturers fear that gray markets will undercut margins and tarnish brand names. Retailers fear that they will siphon away customers and erode prices.
A new study indicates, however, that gray marketing actually benefits manufacturers and retailers in markets that meet two criteria: first, sharp differences exist in consumers' price sensitivity; second, large numbers of consumers are price-insensitive. In such markets, the low prices of the gray market will attract the most price-sensitive customers. The authorized channels will then compete only for the remaining customers-those who are insensitive to price but sensitive to service.
When that happens, the structure of competition and the economics of the market shift. The authorized retailers, freed from having to cater to the bargain hunters, can raise their prices and focus on service. If the concentration of price-insensitive shoppers is high enough, the resulting increase in prices will more than offset the loss of sales to the bargain hunters. The margins and profits of the authorized retailers will increase, and manufacturers will, as a result, be able to boost their wholesale prices.
The Sanpoil, a Native American tribe of the central Plateau west of the Rocky Mountains, sought peace constantly, and not only avoided war and feuds with neighboring peoples and among one another, but also they refused to retaliate if attacked.

Question226: The number of young adults that are illiterate has dropped significantly in a certain county over the last fifteen years. Education officials attribute this decrease entirely to improved conditions in the schools, which made for a better teaching environment, reducing the level of illiteracy.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the education officials' explanation for the lower incidence of the disease?

Question227: The level of lead contamination in United States rivers declined between 1975 and 1985. Federal regulations requiring a drop in industrial discharges of lead went into effect in 1975, but the major cause of the decline was a 75 percent drop in the use of leaded gasoline between 1975 and 1985.
Which of the following, if true, best supports the claim that the major cause of the decline in the level of lead contamination in United States rives was the decline in the use of leaded gasoline?

Question228: A violin constructed to have improved sound would sound different from the best-sounding existing violins.
To professional violinists, a violin that sounds different from the best-sounding existing violins sounds less like a violin and therefore worse than the best-sounding existing violins.
Professional violinists are the only accepted judges of the sound quality of violins.
Would be the best supported by those statements?

Question229: The chanterelle, a type of wild mushroom, grows beneath host trees such as the Douglas fir, which provide it with necessary sugars. The underground filaments of chanterelles, which extract the sugars, in turn provide nutrients and water for their hosts. Because of this mutually beneficial relationship, harvesting the chanterelles growing beneath a Douglas fir seriously endangers the tree.
Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the conclusion drawn above?

Question230: The postal service is badly mismanaged. Forty years ago, first-class letter delivery cost only three cents.
Since then, the price has increased nearly tenfold, with an actual decrease in the speed and reliability of service.
Each of the following statements, if true, would tend to weaken the argument above EXCEPT:

Question231: We commonly speak of aesthetic judgments as subjective, and in the short term they are, since critics often disagree about the value of a particular contemporary work of art. But over time, the subjective element disappears. When works of art have continued to delight audiences for centuries, as have the paintings of Michelangelo, the music of Bach, and the plays of Shakespeare, we can objectively call them great.
The statements above best support which of the following conclusions?

Question232: It can be inferred from the passage that if the leaves of a plant were damaged by wind rather than by caterpillars, the parasitic wasps would

Question233: Jack's 1996 salary was x percent greater than his 1995 salary, and his 1997 salary was y percent greater than his 1996 salary. Kate's 1996 salary was y percent greater thar her 1995 salary, and her 1997 salary was x percent greater than her 1996 salary. Was Jack's 1997 salary equal to Kate's 1997 salary?
(1) Jack's 1995 salary was equal to Kate's 1995 salary.
(2) The dollar increase in Jack's salary from 1995 to 1997 was equal to the dollar increase in Kate's salary from
1995 to 1997.

Question234: Wood smoke contains dangerous toxins that cause changes in human cells. Because wood smoke presents such a high health risk, legislation is needed to regulate the use of open-air fires and wood- burning stoves.
Which of the following, if true, provides the most support for the argument above?

Question235: Which of the following best completes the passage below?
When a project is failing and should be terminated, plan to bring in a new manager. New managers are more likely to terminate the project than are the original managers because______

Question236: Although Binofram has been proven to alleviate certain skin rashes associated with some medical conditions, many physicians no longer routinely prescribe this drug for this purpose. A rash can stimulate the activity of the body's T-cells and also inhibit growth of some strains of virus.
If the statements above are true, which of the following conclusion is most strongly supported by them?

Question237: Normally, increases in the price of a product decrease its sales except when the price increase accompanies an improvement in the product. Wine is unusual, however. Often increases in the price of a particular producer's wine will result in increased sales, even when the wine itself is unchanged.
Which of the following, if true, does most to explain the anomaly described above?

Question238: Eclampsia in pregnancy is especially prevalent among women who are seriously malnourished. In order to achieve early detection of eclampsia in these individuals, public health officials distributed pamphlets explaining the importance of early detection of this potentially fatal disease.
Which of the following, if true, is the best criticism of the use of the pamphlet as a method of achieving the public health officials' goal?

Question239: With the emergence of biotechnology companies, it was feared that they would impose silence about proprietary results on their in-house researchers and their academic consultants. This constraint, in turn, would slow the development of biological science and engineering.
Which of the following, if true, would tend to weaken most seriously the prediction of scientific secrecy described above?

Question240: Coca-Cola, which sold 10 billion cases of soft drinks in 1992, now finds itself asking, where will sales of the next 10 billion cases come from? The answer lies overseas, where income levels and appetites for Western products are at an all time high.
Often, the company that gets into a foreign market earliest dominates that country's market. Coke patriarch Robert Woodruff realized this and unleashed a brilliant ploy to make Coke the early bird in many of the major foreign markets. At the height of World War II, Woodruff proclaimed, "Wherever American boys were fighting, they'd be able to get a Coke." By the time Pepsi tried to make its first international pitch in the
1950s, Coke had established its brand name along with a powerful distribution network.
During the last 40 years, many new markets have emerged. In order to tap into these opportunities, both coke and Pepsi have attempted to find ways to cut through the red tape that thwarts their efforts to conduct business in these new regions.
One key maneuver in the soda wars occurred in 1972, when Pepsi signed an agreement with the Soviet Union that made it the first Western product to be sold to consumers in Russia. This landmark agreement gave Pepsi the upper hand. At present, Pepsi has 23 plants in the former Soviet Union and is the leader in the soft-drink industry in Russia. It outsells Coca-Cola by a ratio of 6 to 1 and is seen there as a local brand, similar to Coke's homegrown reputation in Japan. However, Pepsi has also encountered some obstacles. An expected increase in brand loyalty for Pepsi subsequent to its advertising blitz in Russia has not materialized; even though Pepsi produced commercials tailored to the Russian market and sponsored televised concerts.
Some analysts believe that Pepsi's domination of the Russian market has more to do with pricing. While Pepsi sells for 250 Rubles (about 25 cents) a bottle, Coca-Cola sells for 450 Rubles. Likewise, Pepsi sells their 2 liter economy bottle for 1,300 Rubles, while Coca-Cola's 1.5 liters is marketed at 1,800 rubles. On the other hand, Coca-Cola only made its first inroads into Russia 2 years ago. What's more, although Coca-Cola's bottle and label give it a high-class image, Russians do not perceive Coca-Cola as a premium brand in the Russian market. Consequently, it has so far been unable to capture a market share.
The primary purpose of the passage is to

Question241: Small-business groups are lobbying to defeat proposed federal legislation that would substantially raise the federal minimum wage. This opposition is surprising since the legislation they oppose would, for the first time, exempt all small businesses from paying any minimum wage.
Which of the following, if true, would best explain the opposition of small-business groups to the proposed legislation?

Question242: When people predict that certain result will not take place unless a certain action is taken, they believe that they have learned that the prediction is correct when the action is taken and the result occurs. On reflection, however, it often becomes clear that the result admits of more than one interpretation.
Which of the following, if true, best supports the claims above?

Question243: Unlike the United States with its generalissimo politicians - Washington, Jackson, Grant, and Eisenhower- the 'martial arts' have been conspicuously absent from Canadian politics. The exception to the rule is former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who became the first Canadian leader to bring a gunslinger ethos to Canadian politics. Trudeau introduced Canada to the refined art of single combat; it was the politics of "doing it my way". Single-combat confrontation implied much more than the renegade in power did, and far less than the tricks of William Lyon Mackenzie King, prime minister intermittently between 1921 and 1948.
Trudeau's unique background prepared him for the role of authoritarian leader he would assume later in life. Born on October 18, 1919, Trudeau lived in French-speaking Montreal, but heard English at home from his mother, making it easy for the young politician to appeal to all sectors of Canada, a bilingual country. As a young man, he walked and cycled through Europe, finding himself on occasion on the wrong side of the bars in foreign jails. By 1940, Trudeau entered the law faculty at the University of Montreal. As a student he enlisted in the Canadian Officers Training Corps, where he was given a commission as a lieutenant, a rank he held until his retirement in 1947. Trudeau, a renowned sportsman, held a brown belt in karate, knew how to skin dive and could descend 150 feet off a cliff with ease. He continued performing flamboyant physical feats even in later life as Canada's fifteenth prime minister, astounding Canadians with his prowess. The public's adoration made it possible for him to practice his personal brand of 'do it my way' politics, initiating profound and long-lasting changes to his country.
Other leaders would never have undertaken to deal with such taboo issues as divorce, abortion and homosexuality- matters likely to infuriate conservative Canada from coast to coast. Even the powerful Mackenzie King dared not touch any of the three, though Trudeau tackled them together in an omnibus bill as Minister of Justice under Lester B.
Pearson. His reason for loosening legislation on these issues was, as he put poetically put it, "The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation." The myths-makers have it that this was Trudeau's first deliberate 'gun slinging' move, performed with the ultimate goal of attaining national leadership. Contrary to popular belief, Trudeau had no leadership aspirations at the time; all he had was a passion for combat that eclipsed other religious considerations. Trudeau instigated far- reaching changes in legislation governing divorce, abortion and homosexuality that have had a major impact on Canada, shaping the country into what it is today.
The quotation "The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation," is most probably used to

Question244: Which of the following best completes the passage below?
the most serious flaw in television's coverage of election campaigns is its tendency to focus on the horse- race side of politics-that is, to concentrate on the question "Who's winning?" at the expense of substantive coverage of the issues and the candidates' positions on them. The endless interviews with campaign managers, discussions of campaign strategies, and, especially, the obsession with opinion polls have surrounded elections with the atmosphere of a football game or a prizefight. To reform this situation, a first step might well be______

Question245: West River Glen is deciding which network architecture should replace its old copper telephone lines. The town will replace 300 miles of Outside Plant (OSP) cable that will serve approximately 2,500 homes.
The first option is to install a Fiber to the Home (FTTH) system architecture that uses fiber-optic cable to transmit signals from the source to each home. The advantages of this architecture include greater bandwidth capabilities, less signal loss, and slightly lower new-cable deployment costs than the second option. Hybrid Fiber-Coax (HFC).
An HFC network integrates fiber-optic cables and devices with coaxial cables.
This will cost the town substantially less money for internal equipment and for customer installations.
However, the coaxial cable does not last as long as fiberoptic cable and will thus need to be replaced more frequently, resulting in higher long-term maintenance expenses.
The town believes that either the FTTH or HFC architectures will be capable of serving the communities' data and television needs for the next 30 years.
For each of the following statements, select Supported'if the statement is supported by the information given.
Otherwise, select Not supported.

Question246: Hardin argued that grazing land held in common (that is, open to any user) would always be used less carefully than private grazing land. Each rancher would be tempted to overuse common land because the benefits would accrue to the individual, while the costs of reduced land quality that results from overuse would be spread among all users. But a study comparing 217 million acres of common grazing land with
433 million acres of private grazing land showed that the common land was in better condition.
Which of the following, if true, and known by the ranchers, would best help explain the results of the study?

Question247: Which of the following, if true, is the most logical completion of the argument below?
The tax system of the Republic of Grootland encourages borrowing by granting its taxpayers tax relief for interest paid on loans. The system also discourages saving by taxing any interest earned on savings.
Nevertheless, it is clear that Grootland's tax system does not consistently favor borrowing over saving, for if it did, there would be no ______

Question248: The lobbyists argued that because there is no statistical evidence that breathing other people's tobacco smoke increases the incidence of heart disease or lung cancer in healthy nonsmokers, legislation banning smoking in workplaces cannot be justified on health grounds.
Of the following, which is the best criticism of the argument reported above?

Question249: Being literal-minded about the afterlife, both royalty and commoners arranged to fill their tombs with household objects, each object a necessity for daily life, ready for use

Question250: Today, children whose parents are deemed incapable of caring for them are put into foster care. These children are moved into strangers' homes, where they are cared for until their own parents can regain custody, which may not happen for years, if it happens at all. Although it means well, the current foster care program is so poorly funded, staffed, and managed that it cannot ensure the safety and wellbeing of the children in the system. The laudable idea behind foster care is that children will fare best if placed in a family setting until they can be reunited with their parents, even if it is a family of strangers. However, while in foster care, children typically get shuffled between many different foster homes, preventing them from developing long-term, supportive relationships with their foster families. Foster care placements can also force siblings to be separated, further isolating these vulnerable children. When a child is moved to a new foster home, he or she may also have to enroll in a new school, a disruptive process that has a negative impact on the child's education. The bureaucracy that oversees this system is overwhelmed to the point that social workers are unable to adequately screen potential foster parents and keep accurate track of the children placed in foster care. There must be a better means of caring for these children. Perhaps it is time to consider creating special group homes as a means of providing these children with stable and safe environments.
A child could live in one group home for the duration of his or her time in foster care and be supervised by a team of social workers and other lay people. Children would receive proper meals and healthcare, attend the same school, and develop relationships with others experiencing the trauma of being separated from their parents. In addition, social workers and staff would have daily access to these children, enabling them to better determine if a child has a special physical or psychological need and arrange for the necessary services. Would this approach be perfect? No, but it would solve many of the problems that plague the current system. For some, the idea of a government agency housing, clothing, and feeding needy children may sound extreme, but it only suggests that we provide these children with the same basic necessities that we give to prison inmates.
According to the passage, a group home system has all of the following advantages over the current foster care system EXCEPT

Question251: Firms adopting "profit-related-pay" (PRP) contracts pay wages at levels that vary with the firm's profits. In the metalworking industry last year, firms with PRP contracts in place showed productivity per worker on average 13 percent higher than that of their competitors who used more traditional contracts.
If, on the basis of the evidence above, it is argued that PRP contracts increase worker productivity, which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken that argument?

Question252:
Television picture quality improves as resolution increases. However, the resolution at which a given improvement in resolution becomes visible varies with the distance of the viewer from the screen. As a viewer moves closer to the screen, a given improvement in resolution eventually becomes noticeable, finally conferring its "full benefit" at a point at which moving closer would not improve the viewing experience.
On the graph, 480p, 720p, 1080p, and 1440p represent four common degrees of resolution: greater numbers indicate greater numbers of pixels on the screen and thus greater resolution. Shaded portions show the distances at which these resolutions become noticeable, while the broken lines show the maximum distances at which a viewer with normal eyesight would be expected to experience full benefit-all as a function of screen size. For each resolution and screen size shown, there is a small gap between the maximum distance for full benefit from the resolution and the minimum distance for noticeable benefit from the next higher resolution.
(Note: 3 feet is roughly 1 meter, and 1 inch is roughly 2.5 centimeters.) Assuming that the information contained in the graphic correctly applies to all viewers, select from the drop-down menus the options making the statements most accurate.

Question253: Parasitic wasps lay their eggs directly into the eggs of various host insects in exactly the right numbers for any suitable size of host egg. If they laid too many eggs in a host egg, the developing wasp larvae would compete with each other to the death for nutrients and space. If too few eggs were laid, portions of the host egg would decay, killing the wasp larvae.
Which of the following conclusions can properly be drawn from the information above?

Question254: The situation is too serious to guess hazardously, we need more data to draw a real conclusion.