Prep2012-Pack1-CR-036 VCR002665 Medium
A proposed change to federal income tax laws would eliminate deductions from taxable income for donations a taxpayer has made to charitable and educational institutions. If this change were adopted, wealthy individuals would no longer be permitted such deductions. Therefore, many charitable and educational institutions would have to reduce services, and some would have to close their doors.
The argument above assumes which of the following?
A. Without the incentives offered by federal income tax laws, at least some wealthy individuals would not donate as much money to charitable and educational institutions as they otherwise would have.
B. Money contributed by individuals who make their donations because of provisions in the federal tax laws provides the only source of funding for many charitable and educational institutions.
C. The primary reason for not adopting the proposed change in the federal income tax laws cited above is to protect wealthy individuals from having to pay higher taxes.
D. Wealthy individuals who donate money to charitable and educational institutions are the only individuals who donate money to such institutions.
E. Income tax laws should be changed to make donations to charitable and educational institutions the only permissible deductions from taxable income.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-037 VCR002883 Medium
Certain politicians in the country of Birangi argue that a 50 percent tax on new automobiles would halt the rapid increase of automobiles on Birangi’s roads and thereby slow the deterioration of Birangi’s air quality. Although most experts agree that such a tax would result in fewer Birangians buying new vehicles and gradually reduce the number of automobiles on Birangi’s roads, they contend that it would have little impact on Birangi’s air-quality problem.
Which of the following, if true in Birangi, would most strongly support the experts’ contention about the effect of the proposed automobile tax on Birangi's air-quality problem?
A. Automobile emissions are the largest single source of air pollution.
B. Some of the proceeds from the new tax would go toward expanding the nonpolluting commuter rail system.
C. Currently, the sales tax on new automobiles is considerably lower than 50 percent.
D. Automobiles become less fuel efficient and therefore contribute more to air pollution as they age.
E. The scrapping of automobiles causes insignificant amounts of air pollution.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-038 VCR002878 Medium
Surveys in Domorica indicate that only 10 percent of Domoricans in their twenties read a newspaper regularly, while more than half of all Domoricans over thirty read a newspaper regularly. Although Domoricans in their twenties constitute a large proportion of the population, newspaper publishers nonetheless predict that ten years from now, the percentage of Domoricans who regularly read a newspaper will probably be no lower than it is today.
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest grounds for the newspaper publishers’ prediction?
A. The number of Domoricans in their twenties is less than the number of Domoricans over thirty.
B. The number of newspapers in Domorica has been gradually increasing over the past several decades.
C. The proportion of Domoricans in their twenties who regularly read a newspaper has always been low.
D. The surveys defined a regular reader of a newspaper as someone who reads a newspaper more than twice a week.
E. The proportion of Domoricans who regularly read a newspaper was higher 20 years ago than it is today.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-039 VCR003744 Medium
Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
Each species of moth has an optimal body temperature for effective flight, and when air temperatures fall much below that temperature, the moths typically have to remain inactive on vegetation for extended periods, leaving them highly vulnerable to predators. In general, larger moths can fly faster than smaller ones and hence have a better chance of evading flying predators, but they also have higher optimal body temperatures, which explains why-___________.
A. large moths are generally able to maneuver better in flight than smaller moths
B. large moths are proportionally much more common in warm climates than in cool climates
C. small moths are more likely than large moths to be effectively camouflaged while on vegetation
D. large moths typically have wings that are larger in proportion to their body size than smaller moths do
E. most predators of moths prey not only on several different species of moth but also on various species of other insects
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-040 VCR003839 Medium
In the late 1980s, the population of sea otters in the North Pacific Ocean began to decline. Of the two plausible explanations for the decline— increased predation by killer whales or disease—disease is the more likely. After all, a concurrent sharp decline in the populations of seals and sea lions was almost certainly caused by a pollution-related disease, which could have spread to sea otters, whereas the population of killer whales did not change noticeably.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the reasoning?
A. Killer whales in the North Pacific usually prey on seals and sea lions but wil, when this food source is scarce, seek out other prey.
B. There is no indication that substantial numbers of sea otters migrated to other locations from the North Pacific in the 1980s.
C. Along the Pacific coast of North America in the 19805, sea otters were absent from many locations where they had been relatively common in former times.
D. Following the in the population of the sea otters, there was an increase in the population of sea urchins, which are sea otters’ main food source.
E. The North Pacific populations of seals and sea lions cover a wider geographic area than does the population of sea otters.
答案解析
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-036 VCR002665 Medium
Reasoning
What must be true in order for the given information to justify the conclusion that the proposed change in tax laws would force charities and schools to reduce services or dose down? The passage states only one premise: that the change would deny wealthy individuals tax deductions for contributing to charities and schools. To reach the conclusion from this premise, the argument implicitly assumes that denying the wealthy individuals the tax deductions would reduce their contributions to many charities and schools; that reduced contributions from wealthy individuals would reduce overall revenues for many charities and schools; and that reduced revenues would force many charities and schools to reduce services or close down. Consider the answer options and find one that states or follows from one of these assumptions.
A. Correct. This follows from the first implicit assumption mentioned above, that denying wealthy individuals the tax deductions would reduce their contributions to many charities and schools.
B. This need not be true. Even if all charities and schools get some money from sources other than these contributions, many charities and schools might still depend mainly on the contributions.
C. The argument does not address the motives behind the proposed change, only its likely effects.
D. Even if poorer individuals also donate money to these institutions, the bulk of the donations may come from wealthy individuals.
E. The argument does not discuss how the tax laws should be changed, only the likely effects of the proposed change.
The correct answer is A.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-037 VCR002883 Medium
Reasoning
What additional evidence would make it least likely that the proposed tax would significantly slow the deterioration of
Birangi’s air quality? The politicians and the experts agree that the tax would halt the increase in the number of automobiles on Birangi’s roads. They disagree on whether it would also help prevent air quality from worsening.
Consider the answer options and find one supporting the experts’ contention that the tax would not help prevent air quality from worsening, even though it would prevent the number of automobiles from increasing.
A. This suggests that reducing the number of automobiles would help prevent air quality from worsening, contrary to the experts’ contention.
B. An expanded nonpolluting commuter rail system would further reduce the number of automobiles on the roads and hence the amount of air pollution, contrary to the experts’ contention.
C. The lower the current tax is, the more impact the 50% tax would probably have both on the number of automobiles and on air pollution, contrary to the experts’ contention.
D. Correct. Since the tax would discourage purchases of new automobiles, it would gradually increase the average age of Birangi automobiles and hence the average amount of pollution they produce, counteracting the reduction in pollution from having fewer vehicles on the roads.
E. The tax would probably result in fewer vehicles being scrapped, but even if the reduction in scrapping of vehicles would not have a major impact on air pollution, preventing the number of vehicles on the road from increasing still could. Therefore, this does not support the experts’ contention.
The correct answer is D.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-038 VCR002878 Medium
Reasoning
What would provide the strongest justification for the newspaper publishers’ prediction? Only 10 percent of
Domoricans in their twenties read a newspaper regularly, while more than half of all Domoricans over thirty do 50.
Yet pubfishers predict that in ten years’ time, the percentage of Domoricans who regularly read newspapers will be no lower.
A. The argument is focused on percentages of Domorican age segments, not on the absolute numbers in each age segment. It is not surprising that more Domoricans are over thirty than are in their twenties, even though those in their twenties constitute a large proportion of the population.
B. This indicates that the range of newspaper choices has expanded in recent decades. But it gives no reason to support a prediction about future Domorican newspaper reading practices over the next ten years.
C. Correct. This indicates that the 10 percent figure for those in their twenties, in contrast to those over thirty, is merely the continuation of an existing pattern and therefore provides no reason to think that the proportion of
Domoricans regularly reading newspapers will diminish over the next ten years.
D. Presumably the same definition would apply in the context of the prediction; therefore, this answer option does nothing to justify the prediction.
E. If anything, this information undermines the prediction, if it is assumed that a trend over the last twenty years continues for the next ten years.
The correct answer is C.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-039 VCR003744 Medium
Reasoning
What would the information about moths most help explain? We are told that larger moths can fly faster than small ones, can evade predators better, and have higher optimal body temperatures. We are also told that moths cannot fly or evade predators when air temperatures are much below their optimal body temperatures. Thus, in cooler temperatures, larger moths lose their advantages over smaller ones. And at temperatures too cool for large moths but not too cool for small moths, small moths can still evade predators while large moths cannot. Consider the answer choices and find one presenting an observation that these facts could explain.
A. This could help explain why large moths can evade predators better, but we are looking for an answer choice that the presented information can ex plain, not one that can explain the presented information.
B. Correct. For the reasons discussed above, the information suggests that large moths have a greater survival advantage in warmer climates and might be at a disadvantage in cooler ones.
C. Since the information suggests that larger moths must spend more time inactive on vegetation, if anything it implies that larger moths should have evolved more effective camouflage than smaller moths, not vice versa.
D. This could explain why large moths can fly faster, but we are for an answer choice that the presented information can explain, not one that can explain the presented information.
E. The differences between larger and smaller moths might make it harder for predators to prey on several different species of moths and are irrelevant to whether those predators also prey on other insects.
The correct answer is B.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-040 VCR003839 Medium
Reasoning
What would make predation by killer whales more likely than disease to have reduced the sea otter population? The argument is that disease is a likely explanation for the declining sea otter population because disease also reduced seal and sea lion populations at the same time, whereas predation by killer whales is an explanation because the killer whale population did not change. The argument assumes that since the killer whale population did not increase, predation of sea otters by killer whales did not increase either. This reasoning would be weakened if the declining seal and sea lion populations led killer whales to eat more sea otters.
A. Correct. If the scarcity of seals and sea lions led killer whales to seek out other prey, the killer whales might have started eating more sea otters, thereby reducing the sea otter population.
B. This rules out a third possible explanation of the declining sea otter population, but disease could still be a more likely explanation than predation by killer whales.
C. The declining sea otter population could account for this observation regardless of what made the population decline.
D. The declining sea otter population could account for the increasing sea urchin population regardless of what made the sea otter population decline.
E. Even if seals and sea lions inhabit a wider area than sea otters do, a pollution-related disease affecting seals and sea lions could also affect sea otters.
The correct answer is A.