Prep2012-Pack1-CR-061 VCR001371 Hard
Historian: In the Drindian Empire, censuses were conducted annually to determine the population of each village.
Village census records for the last half of the 16005 are remarkably complete. This very completeness makes one point stand out; in five different years, villages overwhelmingly reported significant population declines.
Tellingly, each of those five years immediately followed an increase in a certain Drindian tax. This tax, which was assessed on villages, was computed by the central government using the annual census figures. Obviously, whenever the tax went up, villages had an especially powerful economic incentive to minimize the number of people they recorded; and concealing the size of a village's population from government census takers would have been easy. Therefore, the reported declines probably did not happen.
In the historian’s argument, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
A. The first presents a finding to support the position the historian seeks to establish; the second is a consideration that has been used to argue against that position.
B. The first provides a context for certain evidence that supports the position that the historian seeks to establish; the second is a judgment advanced to support that position.
C. The first is a position that the historian seeks to establish; the second is evidence that has been used to argue against that position.
D. The first is an assumption that the historian explicitly makes in support of a certain position; the second is that position.
E. The first is a claim that the historian rejects; the second is a conclusion drawn to justify that rejection.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-062 VCR002697 Hard
In 1992 outlaw fishing boats began illegally harvesting lobsters from the territorial waters of the country of Belukia.
Soon after, the annual tonnage of lobster legally harvested in Belukian waters began declining; in 1996, despite there being no reduction in the level of legal lobster fishing activity, the local catch was 9,000 tons below pre-1992 levels.
It is therefore highly likely that the outlaw fishing boats harvested about 9,000 tons of lobster illegally that year.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. The illegal lobster harvesting was not so extensive that the population of catchable lobsters in Belukia’s territorial waters had sharply declined by 1996.
B. The average annual lobster catch, in tons, of an outlaw fishing boat has increased since 1992.
C. Outlaw fishing boats do not, as a group, harvest more lobsters than do licensed lobster-fishing boats.
D. The annual legal lobster harvest in Belukia in 1996 was not significantly less than 9,000 tons.
E. A significant proportion of Belukia‘s operators of licensed lobster-fishing boats went out of business between 1992 and 1996.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-063 VCR003782 Hard
Printwell’s Ink Jet Division manufactures ink-jet printers and the ink cartridges they use. Sales of its ink-jet printers have increased. Monthly revenues from those sales, however, have not increased, because competition has forced Printwell to cut the prices of its printers. Unfortunately, Printwell has been unable to bring down the cost of manufacturing a printer. Thus, despite the increase in printer sales, the Ink Jet Division must be contributing less to the company's profits than it used to.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A. Ink-jet printers in regular use frequently need new ink cartridges, and Printwell’s printers only accept Printwell’s ink cartridges.
B. Unlike some competing companies, Printwell sells all of its printers through retailers, and these retailers’ costs account for a sizable proportion of the printers’ ultimate retail price.
C. Some printer manufacturers have been forced to reduce the sale price of their ink-jet printers even more than Printwell has.
D. In the past year, no competing manufacturer of ink-jet printers has had as great an increase as Printweil in unit sales of printers.
E. In the past year, sales of PrintwelI's ink-jet printers have increased more than sales of any other type of printer made by Printwell.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-064 VCR003810 Hard
Agricultural societies cannot exist without staple crops. Several food plants, such as kola and okra, are known to have been domesticated in western Africa, but they are all supplemental, not staple, foods. All the recorded staple crops grown in western Africa were introduced from elsewhere, beginning, at some unknown date, with rice and yams. Therefore, discovering when rice and yarns were introduced into western Africa would establish the earliest date at which agricultural societies could have arisen there.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. People in western Africa did not develop staple crops that they stopped cultivating once rice and yams were introduced.
B. There are no plants native to western Africa that, if domesticated, could serve as staple food crops.
C. Rice and yams were grown as staple crops by the earliest agricultural societies outside of western Africa.
D. Kola and okra are better suited to growing conditions in western Africa than domesticated rice and yams are.
E. Kola and okra were domesticated in western Africa before rice and yams were introduced there.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-065 VCR003842 Hard
The percentage of households with an annual income of more than $40,000 is higher in Merton County than in any other county. However, the percentage of households with an annual income of $60,000 or more is higher in Sommer County.
If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true?
A. The percentage of households with an annual income of $80,000 is higher in Sommer County than in Merton County.
B. Merton County has the second-highest percentage of households with an annual income of $60,000 or more.
C. The percentage of households with an annual income between $40,000 and $60,000 is higher in Merton County than in Sommer County.
D. The total number of households with an annual income of more than $40,000 is greater in Merton County than in Sommer County.
E. Average annual household income is higher in Sommer County than in Merton County.
答案解析
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-061 VCR001371 Hard
Reasoning
What roles do the two boldfaced statements play in the passage? The first boldfaced statement provides background information about the census records. The passage says that the situation described by the first boldfaced statement makes a certain observation stand out. To explain that observation, the passage then argues that the records were probably falsified; the second boldfaced statement presents a hypothesis about economic incentives that supports that argument's conclusion. Therefore, the second boldfaced statement is a premise in the argument.
A. The historian seeks to establish the position that the records were falsified, and the hypothesis about economic incentives explains why they would have been falsified.
B. Correct. The completeness of the records provides a context for the evidence supporting the conclusion that the records were falsified; the hypothesis about economic incentives supports the same conclusion by explaining why the records would have been falsified.
C. The passage does not argue that the records are complete, but simply states that they were; the hypothesis about economic incentives is not used to argue that the records are incomplete, but rather that they are inaccurate.
D. The completeness of the records does not support the hypothesis that the villagers had an economic incentive to record fewer people when the tax went up.
E. The historian does not deny that the records are complete, but rather that they are accurate.
The correct answer is B. Prep2012-Pack1-CR-062 VCR002697 Hard
Reasoning
What must be true in order for the given information to justify the conclusion that the outlaw fishing boats harvested about 9,000 tons of lobster in 1996? The argument is that since the legal catch was 9,000 tons lower in 1996 than the total annual catch was before 1992, even though the level of legal lobster activity did not decline, the illegal catch in 1996 must have been about 9,000 tons. Despite the fact that the conclusion says about 9,000 tons, this is still a rather specific number. How can such a specific number be inferred? The argument must be assuming that the total annual catch was roughly the same in 1996 as it had been before 1992. Furthermore, there would be no justification for inferring such a specific number regarding the illegal lobster catch, unless the argument assumed that the number of catchable lobsters in 1996 was not dramatically different from the number in 1992, since the level of
illegal lobster activity was not known (as appears to be the case, since the argument is intended to make an inference related to that level of activity). Consider the answer choices and find one that expresses or follows from the assumption.
A. Correct. If illegal lobster harvesting had been so extensive that the population of catchable lobsters in Belukia's territorial waters had sharply declined by 1996, then the number of catchable lobsters would have been dramatically different that year from what it had been in 1992, and it would be impossible to infer, from the
premises given, such a specific number as is given in the conclusion.
B. The argument does not discuss how many lobsters have been caught illegally each year since 1992, but rather how many were caught in 1996 specifically.
C. Whether the illegal catch in 1996 was higher or lower than the legal catch, it still could have been 9,000 tons.
D. The annual legal catch before 1992 could not have been less than 9,000 tons, but the legal catch in 1996 could have been.
E. The argument says there was no reduction in the amount of legal lobster activity. Therefore, it does not assume that any lobster boats went out of business.
The correct answer is A.Prep2012-Pack1-CR-063 VCR003782 Hard
Reasoning
What would make it least likely that the Ink Jet Division is contributing less to the company’s profits than it used to?
PrintwelI's ink-jet printer sales have increased, but manufacturing expenses per printer have not fallen. Therefore, total expenses for printer manufacturing have increased. But total monthly revenues from the printer sales have not increased. Therefore, total monthly profits from the printers must have fallen. The argument concludes that total profits from the Ink Jet Division have fallen. But, since the Ink Jet Division also produces ink cartridges, this reasoning assumes that profits from the ink cartridges have not increased enough to compensate for the lower profits from the printers. Therefore, look for an answer option that undermines this assumption by suggesting that profits from the ink cartridges have increased.
A. Correct. This suggests that Printwell's ink-cartridge sales have increased along with its ink-jet printer sales, which might compensate for the falling profits from the printers.
B. The retailers’ added costs would probably make the Ink Jet Division less profitable, not more profitable.
C. Even if ink-jet printer profits have fallen less than those of some other manufacturers, they may still have fallen.
D. Printwell’s monthly revenues from ink-jet printer sales have not increased, but costs per printer sold have not decreased. Therefore, this evidence that Printwell has been selling more ink-jet printers supports the argument's reasoning that Printwell's total profits from ink-jet printer sales must have fallen.
E. As in option D, evidence that Printwell has been selling more ink-jet printers supports the argument's reasoning that Printwell's total profits from ink-jet printer sales must have fallen.
The correct answer is A.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-064 VCR003810 Hard
Reasoning
What must be true in order for the given information to justify the conclusion that knowing when rice and yams arrived in western Africa would establish the earliest date that agricultural societies could have arisen there? The argument is that agricultural societies require staple crops, and there were no recorded staple crops in western Africa before rice and yarns were introduced there. Therefore, no agricultural societies could have arisen there before rice and yams were introduced. This assumes there were no unrecorded staple crops in western Africa before rice and yams. Therefore, look for an answer option that expresses or follows from this assumption.
A. Correct. This follows from the assumption discussed above, that there were no earlier, unrecorded staple crops in western Africa before rice and yams.
B. The argument assumes that no plants actually were domesticated as staple crops in western Africa, not that there are no plants suitable for such domestication.
C. The argument assumes that early agricultural societies outside western Africa grew rice and yams as staple crops, but not necessarily the agricultural societies.
D. The argument says that kola and okra are not staple crops. Therefore, it does not matter how well they grow in western Africa compared to rice and yams.
E. Kola and okra are not staple crops, but if they ever had been, this claim would undermine the argument. Therefore, it's not an assumption on which the argument depends.
The correct answer is A.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-065 VCR003842 Hard
Reasoning
What folows from the statistics about annual household incomes in the two counties? We can infer that in Merton County, the percentage of households with incomes above $40,000 is higher than in Sommer County. Therefore, the percentage with incomes below $40,000 must be lower. And we are told that the percentage with incomes above $60,000 is also lower in Merton County than in Sommer County. Since the percentage with incomes below $40,000 and the percentage with incomes above 560,000 are both lower in Merton County than in Sommer County, the remaining percentage, with incomes between 540,000 and $60,000, must be higher in Merton County than in Sommer County.
A. We have no information about the percentage of households with incomes of $80,000 or higher in either county. It's even possible that no household in either county has an income of $80,000 or higher.
B. Some third county could also have a higher percentage of households with incomes above $60,000 than Merton County does, even though Merton County has the highest percentage of households withincomes above $40,000.
C. Correct. This can be deduced as explained above.
D. We have no information about the total numbers of households in the two counties, only about the percentages with different income levels.
E. Since a higher percentage of households in Sommer County than in Merton County have incomes below $40,000, average annual household income might also be lower in Sommer County.
The correct answer is C.