Prep2012-Pack1-CR-046 VCR005617 Medium
A study of high blood pressure treatments found that certain meditation techniques and the most commonly prescribed drugs are equally effective if the selected treatment is followed as directed over the long term. Half the patients given drugs soon stop taking them regularly, whereas eighty percent of the study's participants who were taught meditation techniques were still regularly using them five years later. Therefore, the meditation treatment is the one likely to produce the best results.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A. People who have high blood pressure are usually advised by their physicians to make changes in diet that have been found in many cases to reduce the severity of the condition.
B. The participants in the study were selected in part on the basis of their willingness to use meditation techniques.
C. Meditation techniques can reduce the blood pressure of people who do not suffer from high blood pressure.
D. Some of the participants in the study whose high blood pressure was controlled through meditation techniques were physicians.
E. Many people with dangerously high blood pressure are unaware of their condition.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-047 VCR005663 Medium
Mayor: Migrating shorebirds stop at our beach just to feed on horseshoe-crab eggs, a phenomenon that attracts tourists. To bring more tourists, the town plans to undertake a beach reclamation project to double the area available to crabs for nesting.
Birdwatcher: Without a high density of crabs on a beach, migrating shorebirds will go hungry because shorebirds only eat eggs that a crab happens to uncover when it is digging its own nest.
Which of the following, if true, would provide the mayor with the strongest counter to the birdwatcher's objection?
A. Every year a certain percentage of crabs are caught by fishermen as bait for eel traps.
B. Horseshoe crabs are so prolific that given favorable circumstances their numbers increase rapidly.
C. On average, tourists who come to the town in order to watch birds spend more money there than tourists who come for other purposes.
D. The additional land made available by the reclamation project will give migrating shorebirds more space.
E. Some of the migrating shorebirds make only one stop during their migration from South America to Canada.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-048 VCR005666 Medium
FastMart, a convenience store chain, is planning to add pancake syrup to the items it sells. FastMart stores do not have shelf space to stock more than one variety of syrup. Surveys of FastMart customers indicate that one-fourth of them prefer low-calorie syrup, while three-fourths prefer regular syrup. Since FastMart's highest priority is to maximize sales, the obvious strategy for it is to stock regular syrup.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A. People buying pancake syrup at convenience stores, those buying it at supermarkets, generally buy it only a few times.
B. People who prefer low-calorie syrup generally use about the same amount of syrup on their pancakes as those who prefer regular syrup.
C. Regular syrup does not sell for a higher price per unit than low-calorie syrup.
D. In general, customers who prefer regular syrup buy low-calorie syrup if regular is unavailable, but those who prefer low-calorie will not buy regular syrup.
E. Sales of syrup are not expected to account for a large proportion of total dollar sales at the average FastMart store.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-049 VCR005745 Medium
Which of the following, if true, most logically completes the argument? Aroca County's public schools are supported primarily by taxes on property. The county plans to eliminate the property tax and support schools with a new three percent sales tax on al retail items sold in the county. Three percent of current retail sales is less than the amount collected through property taxes, but implementation of the plan would not necessarily reduce the amount of money going to Aroca County public schools, because____________.
A. many Aroca County residents have already left the county because of its high property taxes
B. a shopping mall likely to draw shoppers from neighboring counties is about to open in Aroca County
C. at least some Aroca County parents are to use the money they will save on property taxes to send their children to private schools not funded by the county
D. a significant proportion of parents of Aroca County public school students do not own their homes and consequently do not pay property taxes
E. retailers in Aroca County are not to absorb the sales tax by reducing the pretax price of their goods
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-050 VCR006430 Medium
The OLEX Petroleum Company has recently determined that it could cut its refining costs by closing its refinery and consolidating all refining at its Tasberg refinery. Closing the Grenville refinery, however, would mean the immediate loss of about 1,200 jobs in the area. Eventually the lives of more than 10,000 people would be seriously disrupted.
Therefore, OLEX's decision, announced yesterday, to keep open shows that at OLEX social concerns sometimes outweigh the desire for higher profits.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the argument given?
A. The Grenville refinery, although it operates at a higher cost than the Tasberg refinery, has nevertheless been moderately profitable for many years.
B. Even though OLEX could consolidate all its refining at the Tasberg plant, doing so at the Grenville plant would not be feasible.
C. The Tasberg refinery is more favorably situated than the refinery with respect to the major supply routes for raw petroleum.
D. If the Grenville refinery were ever closed and operations at the Tasberg refinery expanded, job openings at Tasberg would to the extent possible be filled with people formerly employed at
E. Closure of the Grenville refinery would mean compliance, at enormous cost, with demanding local codes regulating the cleanup of abandoned industrial sites.
答案解析
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-046 VCR005617 Medium
Reasoning
What additional information would cast the most doubt on the value of the study as evidence for the argument's conclusion? The argument‘s conclusion is that the meditation treatment tends to be more effective than the drug treatment for people with high blood pressure. The study found that, although both the drugs and the meditation techniques lower high blood pressure over the long run, the patients studied were more to stick with the meditation techniques than the drugs over the long run. The argument then concludes that this must be true for most people treated for high blood pressure. But this assumes that the patients studied were typical of people treated for high blood pressure. If the patients studied were unusually likely to stick with the meditation or unusually unlikely to keep taking the drugs, then the study's conclusions might not hold for most people treated for high blood pressure.
A. Whether dietary changes also lower high blood pressure is irrelevant to whether meditation tends to be more
effective than drugs.
B. Correct. If the study chose patients who were especially willing to meditate, then the patients in the study were probably more likely to continue meditating over the long run than most people treated for high blood pressure would be. Thus the revelation that the sample used in the study was biased in this manner indicates that the study provides poor support for generalizations about people treated for high blood pressure.
C. This answer option neither claims nor anything about the study. Therefore, it does not weaken the value of the study as evidence for the argument's conclusion.
D. It is not surprising that some of those in the study sample whose blood pressure was controlled successfully through meditation were physicians. Many physicians in the population at large almost certainly are treated for high blood pressure. Therefore, neither the information that the study sample included physicians treated for high blood pressure nor the more specific information given in this answer option would indicate that the study sample was unrepresentative of people in general treated for high blood pressure.
E. People unaware of their high blood pressure generally do not start any treatment for it. That means that no such people participated in the study. But the study and the conclusions drawn from it are about people who start treatment for high blood pressure. The information provided here about people not treated for high blood pressure is irrelevant to what occurs with people who are treated for high blood pressure.
The correct answer is B.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-047 VCR005663 Medium
Reasoning
What would provide the strongest evidence that the town council’s plan will work despite the problem noted by the birdwatcher? By doubling the beach area for the horseshoe crabs to nest in, the town council hopes to get more crabs and hence more crab eggs for birds to eat, thus attracting more birds and hopefully more bird-loving tourists.
The birdwatcher points out that if the crabs spread out more on the larger beach, fewer of their eggs will get uncovered for the birds to eat. Consequently, the town might actually end up with fewer birds and fewer tourists. But the birdwatcher assumes that the crabs will not fill up the larger beach as densely as they fill up the current, small beach. If the mayor can cite evidence that the doubled beach area will fill up with at least twice as many crabs as the smaller beach gets, the birdwatcher's objection will be irrelevant.
A. Fishermen catching the crabs might lead to an even lower density of crabs on the beach, which could support, rather than counter, the birdwatcher's concern that the density will be too low for the plan to work.
B. Correct. If the crabs are prolific enough, they will probably fill up the new, larger beach after a season or two. Thus, the problem the birdwatcher points out will not last long.
C. If the birdwatcher is right, doubling the beach will mean fewer birds and probably fewer birdwatching tourists.
Therefore, this would make the birdwatcher'5 concern about the plan backfiring have even worse economic implications.
D. If the birdwatcher is right, there will not be much food for the birds on the new beach. Thus, they may not come no matter how much space there is.
E. If the birds only stop once on such a iong migration, then the problem the birdwatcher points out may be even worse, since the birds may starve if they cannot find enough crab eggs on the town's beach.
The correct answer is B.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-048 VCR005666 Medium
Reasoning
What additional information would make it less likely that stocking only regular syrup rather than only low-calorie syrup would maximize sales? The argument assumes that when a store chooses which of two products to stock, sales will be higher if it chooses the product most customers prefer. But convenience-store customers are often in a hurry and consequently may only buy whatever product is available, even if it's not their favorite. To maximize sales, the store needs to focus more on the preferences of the few picky customers who would actually refuse to buy a product that does not meet their requirements. If the picky customers will only buy low-calorie syrup, while most customers will just buy whatever is available, then the store can maximize sales by stocking the low-calorie syrup.
A. How many times the average customer buys syrup is irrelevant to the question of which kind of syrup the customers will buy.
B. If more customers would buy regular syrup than low-calorie syrup, but each individual customer uses about the same amount of syrup, then total sales of regular syrup would be higher than total sales of low-calorie syrup, as the argument indicates.
C. The relevance of this fact is unclear--a higher price per unit may mean more profit per unit, but it may also mean fewer sales. The objective of the strategy recommended in the conclusion is to maximize the number of units sold.
D. Correct. As explained above, this suggests that sales of low-calorie syrup would be higher than sales of regular syrup, even though most customers mildly prefer regular syrup.
E. Even if syrup sales are only a small proportion of total sales, they might still be greater than those of any other one product that FastMart could squeeze into that small shelf space. Therefore, stocking regular syrup could still maximize sales, as the argument indicates.
The correct answer is D.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-049 VCR005745 Medium
Reasoning
Reasoning What additional information would provide a reason to believe that the county schools wil not lose out on funding if the new sales tax is implemented? We are told that the sales tax would generate less money than the property tax does based on current retail sales. But if retail sales increase enough, the sales tax may end up generating even more money than the property tax does. Consequently, more money may be available for the schools. Therefore, look for an answer option suggesting that retail sales in the county will increase significantly.
A. However many residents have left the county, the given information states that property tax still generates more money than the sales tax would generate based on current retail sales. Therefore this answer option gives no reason to believe that switching to the sales tax would reduce funding for the schools.
B. Correct. A new shopping mall that draws shoppers from neighboring counties would likely increase Aroca County's retail sales, generating more tax money for the schools.
C. If fewer parents use the public schools, the schools may be able to cut spending and have more money left over, but that does not mean the schools will get as much money from the sales tax as they currently do from the property tax.
D. Even if many parents rent rather than own their homes and thus do not pay the property tax themselves, presumably somebody does. Who pays the tax does not affect the total amount collected and is therefore irrelevant to the argument.
E. This suggests that the sales tax would lead to higher after-tax retail prices, which would probably reduce retail sales and hence result in even less tax revenue for the schools-contrary to the conclusion drawn in the argument.
The correct answer is B.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-050 VCR006430 Medium
Reasoning
What would suggest that OLEX's decision to keep the refinery open was motivated by financial rather than social concerns? The argument is that closing the Grenville refinery would have caused social problems but would also have reduced OLEX's refining costs, which would presumably have increased profits, other things being equal. The argument concludes that since OLEX decided to keep the refinery open, the social reasons to keep it open must have outweighed the financial reasons to close it. But if there were also financial reasons for OLEX to keep the Grenville refinery open, the social issues may not have affected the decision. Therefore, look for an answer option that suggests possible financial reasons for OLEX to have kept the refinery open.
A. This does not undermine the argument. Even if the Grenville refinery has been moderately profitable, OLEX might still be able to increase profits by consolidating its refining at the more efficient Tasberg refinery. Thus the information in this answer option does not provide a sufficient financial motivation for keeping the Grenville refinery open.
B. This suggests that OLEX had an even stronger financial reason to close the Grenville plant, not a financial reason to keep it open.
C. C By suggesting that consolidating operations at the Tasberg refinery would lower transportation costs as well as refining costs, this gives an additional financial reason to close the Grenville plant, not a financial reason to keep it open.
D. D If OLEX took pains to find new jobs for the Grenville workers and thus to mitigate the social damage from the plant closure, this would suggest that OLEX is motivated by social concerns, not merely financial concerns.
E. E Correct. Since this means it would be very expensive for OLEX to close the Grenville plant, it suggests that the decision to keep the plant open could have been motivated by financial rather than social concerns.
The correct answer is E.