GMAT考试历年全真试题六_GMAT
time—30 minutes
directions: in this section you will be asked to write a critique of the argument presented below. you are not being asked to present your own views on the subject.
read the argument and the instructions that follow it, and then make any notes in your test booklet that will help you plan your response. begin writing your response on the separate answer sheet. make sure that you use the answer sheet that goes with this writing task.
the following appeared in a memorandum to the planning department of an investment firm.
"costs have begun dropping for serveral types of equipment currently used to convert solar energy into electricity. moreover, some exciting new technologies for converting solar energy are now being researched and developed. hence we can expect that solar energy will soon become more cost efficient and attractive than coal or oil as a source of electrical power. we should therefore, encourage investment is solario, a new manufacturer of solarpowered products. after all, solario s chief executive was once on the financial planning team for ready-to-ware a software engineering firm that has shown remarkable growth since its recent incorporation."
discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. in your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. for example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. you would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.
analysis of an issue
time—30 minutes
directions: in this section you will need to analyze the issue presented below and explain your views on it. the question has no "correct" answer. instead, you should consider various perspectives as you develop your own position the issue.
read the statement and the instructi
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 aons that follow it, and then make any notes in your test booklet that will help you plan your response. begin writing your response on the separate answer sheet. make sure that you use the answer sheet that goes with this writing task.
"the best strategy for managing a business or any enterprise is to find the most capable people and give them as much authority as possible."
discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. support your views with reasons and/or examples from your experience, observations, or reading.
section 1
time—25 minutes
16 questions
directions: in this section solve each problem, using any available space on the page for seratchwork. then indicate the best of the answer choices given.
numbers: all numbers used are real numbers.
figures: figures that accompany problems in this section are intended to provide information useful in solving the problems. they are drawn as accurately as possible except when it is stated in a specific problem that its figure is not drawn to scale. all figures lie in a plane unless otherwise indicated.
1. a study based on a random sample revealed that on average 2 out of 5 adults have high blood pressure. if these results hold true for the 580.000 adults in city a approximately how many adults in city a have high blood pressure?
(a) 116.000
(b) 145.000
(c) 232.000
(d) 250.000
(e) 290.000
2. the sum is between
(a) and
(b) and 1
(c) 1 and 1
(d) 1 and 1
(e) 1 and 2
3. a certain state legislature consists of 124 members. each of whom is either a democrat or a republican. if there are 18 more republicans that democrates. how many republicans are in the legislature?
(a) 44
(b) 53
(c) 71
(d) 80
(e) 106
4. a certain psychologist charges $30 more for the first hour of therapy than for each additional hour. if the total charge to a patient who recetves 6 hours of t
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 ahereapy is $300 what is the total charge to a patient who receives only 3 hours of therapy?
(a) $120
(b) $135
(c) $150
(d) $165
(e) $192
5. if x+y=1 and x-y=-1, what is the value of xy?
(a) -2
(b) -1
(c) 0
(d) 1
(e) 6
6. not scored
7. if (x2+6x+9)+6(x+3)+9=0. then x=
(a) -6
(b) -3
(c) 0
(d) 3
(e) 6
8. in 1982 and 1983 company b s operating expenses were $12.0 million and $14.0 million. respectively, and its revenues were $15.6 million and $18.8 million respectively. what was the percent increase in company b s profit (revenues minus operating expenses) from 1982 to 1983?
(a) 3%
...
(b) 16%
(c) 25%
(d) 33%
(e) 60%
9. if a and b are integers and b0, which of the following cannot equal 0?
(a) ab
(b) a-b
(c) a+b
(d) ab-b2
(e) a2+b2
10. what are the coordinates of point b in the xy-plane above?
(a) (6. 12)
(b) (6. 28)
(c) (8. 20)
(d) (12. 20)
(e) (14. 28)
11. last year 31 percent of ace book company s sales revenue came from the sale of novels. of the remaining revenue, was from the sale of biographies. the company s revenue from the sale of novels was approximately how many times its revenue from the sale of biographies?
(a) 1.3
(b) 1.5
(c) 2.1
(d) 2.5
(e) 3.1
12. there musical tones have frequencies x, y, and z, respectively. if x, y, and z are positive, , and 2x=z, what is y in terms of x?
(a) 2x
(b) ()x
(c) x
(d) x
(e) x
league results
team number of games won
a
b
c
d
e
x 4
7
9
2
2
13. according to the incomplete table above, if each of the 6 teams in the league played each of the other teams exactly twice and there were no ties, how many games did team x win? (only 2 teams play in a game.)
(a) 4
(b) 5
(c) 6
(d) 8
(e) 10
14. when the integer k is divided by 12, the remai
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 ander is 3. which of the following when divided by 12, will have a remainder of 6?
.2k
. 6k
. 4k+6
(a)only
(b) only
(c) only
(d) and only
(e) ..and
15. a rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood bordered by a thin metal strip along its four edges. the surface area of the tabletop is x square feet. and the total length of the strip before it was attached was x feet, if the tabletop is 3 feet wide. what is its approximate length, in feet?
(a) 12
(b) 10
(c) 9
(d) 8
(e) 6
16.. for all real numbers v. the operation v is defined by the equation v = v -. if (v)=8, then v=
(a) 15
(b) 18
(c) 21
(d) 24
(e) 27
section 2
time—25 minutes
18 questions
coral reefs are one of the most fragile, biologically complex, and diverse marine ecosystems on earth. this ecosystem is one of the fascinating paradoxes of the biosphere:
line how do clear, and thus nutrient-poor, waters support
(5) port such prolific and productive communities? part of the answer lies within the tissues of the corals themselves. symbiotic cells of algae known as zooxanthellae carry out photosynthesis using the metabolic wastes of the corals. thereby producing food for themselves, for their coral.
(10) hosts, and even for other members of the reef community this symbiotic process allows organisms in the reef community to use sparse nutrient resources efficiently.
unfortunately for coral reefs, however, a variety of human activities are causing worldwide degradation of
(15) shallow marine habitats by adding nutrients to the water agriculture, slash-and-burn land clearing sewage disposal and manufacturing that creates waste by-products all increase nutrient loads in these waters. typeal symptoms of reef decline are destabilized herbivore populations and
(20) an increasing abundance of algae and filter-feeding ammals declines in reef communties
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 aare consistent with observations that nutrient input is mcreasing in direct proportion to growing human populations thereby threatening reef communties sensitive to subtle changes in nurrent imput to their waters. ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 aonship with zooxamthellae. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 at of the 1960 s, besides leading native americans to participate more actively in politics (the number of native american legislative officeholders more than doubled) this movement also evoked increased interest in tribal history and traditional culture, cultural and instrumental components of ethnicity are not mutually exclusive but rather reinforce one another. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 ad culture. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 all create such an advantage. investments in service like those in production and distribution, must be balanced against other types of investments on the basis of direct, tangible benefits such as cost reduction and increased revenues. if a company is already effectively on a par with its competitors because it provides service that avoids a damaging reputation and keeps customers from leaving at an unacceptable rate, then investment in higher service levels may be wasted since service is a deciding factor for customers only in extreme ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 aabout investment in service made in service made in the fist paragraph. ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 aif the inside radius of the pipe is r feet and the outside radius of the pipe is t feet, what is the value of r? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 ais 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. ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 aoffices were women. therefore, the reason there are so few women who win elections for these offices is not that women have difficulty winning elections but that so few women want to run. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 aus construction projects despite the high office-vacancy rates in those cities. the vacant offices, though available for leasing, unfortunately do not meet the requirements for the facilities needed, such as court houses and laboratories. the government, therefore, is not guilty of any fiscal wastefulness. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 anly part of a potato plant that a nematode eats is the roots. [7] ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 aa) in the kind of discussion at issue, the advantages of desirable reactions to the term "explosion" outweigh the drawbacks, if any arising from undesirable reactions to that term. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 apaper industry used over twice as much fresh pulp (pulp made directly from raw plant fibers) as recycled pulp (pulp made from wastepaper). a paper-industry analyst has projected that by 2010 the industry will use at least as much recycled pulp annually as it does fresh pulp, while using a greater quantity of fresh pulp than it did last year. [8] ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 amalaria. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 aements or not. [9] ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 aariums? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 abox, each of which is red, green blue or white if one marble is drawn from the box at random the probability that it will be white is and the probability that it will be green is . what is the probability that the marble will be either red or blue? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 an+3 [10] ...
1. the passage is prmanly concerned with
(a) describing the effects of human activities on algae in coral reefs
(b) explaining how human activities are posing a threat to coral reef communities.
(c) discussing the process by which coral reefs deteriorate in nutrient-poor waters
(d) explaining how coral reefs produce food for them-selves
(e) describing the abundance of algae and filter-feeding animals in coral reef areas
2. the passage suggests which of the following about coral reef communities?
(a) coral reef communities may actually be more likely to thrive in waters that are relatively low in nutrients.
(b) the nutrients on which coral reef communities thrive are only found in shallow waters.
(c) human population growth has led to changing ocean temperatures, which threatens coral reef communities.
(d) the growth of coral reef communities tends to destabilize underwater herbivore populations
(e) coral reef communities are more complex and diverse than most ecosystems located on dry land.
3. the author refers to "filter-feeding animals" time 20 in order to?
>
(a) provide an example of a characteristic sign of reet deterioration
(b) explain how reef communities acquire sustenance for survival
(c) identify a factor that helps herbivore populations thrive
(d) indicate a cause of decreasing nutrient input in waters that reefs inhabit
(e) identify members of coral reef communities that rely on coal reefs for nutrients.
4. according to the passage, which of the following is a factor that is threatening the survival of coral reef communities?
(a) the waters they inhabit contain few nutrient resources.
(b) a decline in nutrient input is disrupting their symbiotic relati
(c) the degraded waters of their marine habitats have reduced their ability to carry out photosynthesis.
(d) they are too biologically complex to survive in habitats with minimal nutrient input
(e) waste by-products result in an increase in nutrient input to reef communities.
5. it can be inferred from the passage that the author describes coral reef communities as paradoxical most likely for which of the following reasons?
(a) they are thriving even though human activities have depleted the nutrients in their environment
(b) they are able to survive in spite of an over-abundance of algae inhabiting their waters.
(c) they are able to survive in an environment with limited food resources.
(d) their metabolic wastes contribute to the degradation of the waters that they inhabit.
(e) they are declining even when the water surrounding them remains clear.
two divergent definitions have dominated sociologists discussions of the nature of ethnicity. the first emphasizes the primordial and unchanging character of ethnicity. in this view people have an essential need for belonging that is satisfied by membership in groups based on shared ancestry and culture. a different conception of ethnicity de-emphasizes the cultural component and defines ethnic groups as interest groups. in this view, ethnicity serves as a way of mobilizing a certain population behind issues relating to its economic position. while both of these definitions are useful neither fully captures the dynamic and changing aspects of ethnicity in the united states, rather, ethnicity is more satisfactorily conceived of as a process in which preexisting communal bonds and common cultural attributes are adapted for instrumental purposes according to changing real-life situations.
one example of this process is the rise of participation by native american people in the broader united states political system since the civil rights movemen
the civil rights movement also brought changes in the uses to which etnicity was put by mexican american people. in the 1960 s, mexican americans formed community-based political groups that emphasized ancestral heritage as a way of mobilizing constituents. such emerging issues as immigration and voting rights gave mexican american advocacy groups the means by which of promote ethnic solidarily. like european ethnic groups in the nineteenth-century united states, late-twentieth-century. mexican american leaders combined ethnic with contermporary civie symbols. in 1968 henry cisneros. then mayor of san antonio. texas, cited mexican leader benito juarez as a model for mexican americans in their fight for contemporary civil rights. and every year. mexican americans celebrate cinco de mayo as fervently as many irish american people embrace st. patrick s day (both are major holidays in the countries of origin). with both holidays having been reinvented in the contex of the united states and linked to ideals, symbols and heroes of the united staes.
6. which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?
(a) in their definitions of the nature of ethnicity, sociologists have underestimated the power of the primordial human need to belong.
(b) ethnicity is best defined as a dynamic process that combines cultural components with shared political and economic interests.
(c) in the united states in the twentieth century, ethnic groups have begun to organize in order to further their political and economic interests.
(d) ethnicity in the united states has been significantly ch
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 aanged by the civil rights movement.
(e) the two definitions of ethnicity that have dominated sociologists discussions are incompatible and should be replaced by an entirely new approach.
7. which of the following statements about the first two definitions of ethnicity discussed in the first paragraph is supported by the passage?
(a) one is supported primarily by sociologists, and the other is favored by members of ethnic groups
(b) one emphasizes the political aspects of ethnicity, and the other focuses on the economic aspects.
(c) one is the result of analysis of united states populations, and the other is the result of analysis of european populations.
(d) one focuses more on the ancestral components of ethnicity than does the other.
(e) one focuses more on immigrant groups than does the other.
8. the author of the passage refers to native american people in the second paragraph in order to provide an example of
(a) the ability of membership in groups based on shared ancestry and culture to satisfy an essenial human need
(b) how ethnic feelings have both motivated and been strengthened by political activity
(c) how the civil rights movement can help promove solidarity among united states ethnic groups
(d) how participation in the political system has helped to improve a group s economic situation
(e) the benefits gained from renewed study of ethnic history and culture
9. the passage supports which of the following state-ments about the mexican american community?
(a) in the 1960 s the mexican american community began to incorporate the customs of another ethnic group in the united states into the observation of its own ethnic holidays.
(b) in the 1960 s mexican american community groups promoted ethnic solidarity primarily in order to effect economic change.
(c) in the 1960 s leaders of the mexicna american community concentrated their efforts on promoting a renaissance of ethnic history an
(d) in the 1960 s members of the mexican american community were becoming increasingly concerned about the issue of voting rights.
(e) in the 1960 s the mexican american community had greater success in mobilizing constituents than did other ethnic groups in the united states.
10. which of the following types of ethnic cultural expression is discussed in the passage?
(a) the retelling of traditional narratives.
(b) the wearing of traditional clothing
(c) the playing of traditional muste
(d) the celebration of traditional holidays
(e) the preparation of traditional cuisine
11. information in the passage supports which of the following statements about many european ethnic groups in the nineteenth-century united states?
(a) they emphasized economic interests as a way of mobilizing constituents behind certain issues.
(b) they conceived of their own ethnicity as being primordial in nature.
(c) they created cultural traditions that fused united states symbols with those of their countries of origin.
(d) they de-emphasized the cultural components of their communities in favor of political interests
(e) they organized formal community groups designed to promote a renaissance of ethnic history and culture.
12. the passage suggests that in 1968 henry cisneros most likely believed that
(a) many mexican americans would respond postively to the example of benito juarez
(b) many mexican americnas were insufficiently educated in mexican history
(c) the fight for civil rights in the united states had many strong parallels in both mexican and hish history
(d) the quickest way of organizing community-based groups was to emulate the tacties of benito juarez
(e) mexican americans should emulate the strategtes of native american political leaders.
the fact that superior service can generate a competitive advantage for a company does not mean that every attempt at improving service wi
situations.
this truth was not apparent to managers of one regional bank. which failed to improve its competitive position despite its investment in reducing the time a customer had to wait for a teller. the bank managers did not recognize the level of customer inerua in the consumer banking industry that arises from the inconvenience of switching banks. nor did they analyze their service improvement to determine whether it would attract new customers by producing a new standard of service that would excite customers or by proving difficult for competitors to copy. the only ment of the improvement was that it could easily be described to customers.
13. the primary purpose of the passage to
(a) contrast possible outcomes of a type of busness investment
(b) suggest more careful evaluation of a type of business investment
(c) illustrate various ways in which a type of business investment could fail to enhance revenues
(d) trace the general problems of a company to a certain type of business investment
(e) criticize the way in which managers tend to analyze the costs and benefits of business investments.
14. according to the passage, investments in service are comparable to investments in production and distribution in terms of the
(a) tangibility of the benefits that they tend to confer
(b) increased revenues that they ultimately produce
(c) basis on which they need to be weighted
(e) degree of competitive advantage that they are likely to provide.
15. the passage suggests which of the following about service provided by the regional bank prior to its investment in enhancing that service?
(a) it enabled the bank to retain customers at an acceptable rate.
(b) it threatened to weaken the bank s competitive position with respect to other regional banks.
(c) it had already been improved after having caused damage to the bank s reputation in the past.
(d) it was slightly superior to that of the bank s regional competitors.
(e) it needed to be improved to attain parity with the service provided by competing banks.
16. the passage suggests that bank managers failed to consider whether or not the service improvement mentioned in line 19
(a) was too complicated to be easily described to prospective customers
(b) made a measurable change in the experiences of customers in the bank s offices
(c) could be sustained if the number of customers increased significantly
(d) was an innovation that competing banks could have imitated
(e) was adequate to bring the bank s general level of service to a level that was comparable with that of its competitors.
17. the discussion of the regional bank (lines 13-24) serves which of the following functions within the passage as a whole?
(a) it describes an exceptional case in which investment in service actually failed to produce a competitive advantage.
(b) it illustrates the pitfalls of choosing to invest in service at a time when investment is needed more urgently in another area.
(c) it demonstrates the kind of analysis that managers apply when they choose one kinw of service investment over another.
(d) it supports the argument that investments in certain aspects of service are more advantageous than investments in other aspects of service.
(e) it provides an example of the point
18. the author uses the word "only" in line 23 most likely in order to
(a) highlight the oddity of the service improvement
(b) emphasize the relatively low value of the investment in service improvement
(c) distinguish the primary attribute of the service improvement from secondary attributes.
(d) single out a certain merit of the service improvement from other merits.
(e) point out the limited duratin of the actual service improvement.
section 3
time —25 minutes
20 questions
1. what is the capacity, in liters, of a certain aquarium?
(1) three liters is of the capacity of the aquarium.
(2) one-half liter is of the capacity of the aquarium.
2. what is the value of n?
3. in pqr, what is the measure of angle p?
(1) angle q is a right angle.
(2) the measure of angle r is
4. what amount did jean earn from the commission on her sales in the first half of 1988?
(1) in 1988 jean s commission was 5 percent of the total amount of her sales.
(2) the amount of jean s sales in the second
half of 1988 averaged $10.000 per month more than in the first half.
5. a certain car traveled from one town to another without stopping. what was the car s average speed for the trip?
(1) the car traveled the 90-mile trip in 2 hours.
(2) the car traveled the first 40 miles of the trip in 1 hour.
6. what is the value of x?
(1) 2x+3y=12
(2) 5x+7y=29
7. does x=y
(1) |x|=|y|
(2) x2=y2
8. dan took a 20-question multiple-choice test in psychology. if dan answered every question, did he answer at least 12 questions correctly?
(1) dan answered fewer than 40 percent of the questions incorrectly.
(2) dan answered fewer than 25percent of the questions incorrectly.
9. the figure above shows the circular cross section of a concrete water pipe.
(1) the ratio of t-r to r is 0.15 and t-r is equal to 0.3 foot.
(2) the area of the concrete in the cross section is 1.29 square feet.
10. if a
(1) a
11. is an integer?
(1) x is an integer.
(2) x=0
12. how many people did apex company employ in 1990?
(1) the company employed 538 more people in 1991 than in 1990.
(2) the company employed 20 percent more people in 1991 than in 1990.
13. of the four number represented on the number line above,is r closest to zero?
(1) q=-s
(2) -t
14. is the integer n divisible by 20?
(1) n is divisible by 5
(2) n is divisible by 6.
15. if mark saved an average (arithmetic mean) of $80 per week for 3 consecutive weeks. how much did he save the second week?
(1) the average amount that mark saved per week for first 2 week was $60
(2) the amount that mark saved the firstt week was the amount he saved the second week and the amount he saved the third week.
16. if p and q are positive integers, what is the value of q?
(1) qp-1=1
(2) p=1
17. if x-1, which is greater ?
(1) x0
(2) x<3
18. in a certain two-digit integer, the ratio of the units digit to the tens digit is 2 to 3. what is the integer?
(1) the tens digit is 3 more than the units digit.
(2) the product of the two digits is 54
19. if ccarmen had 12 more tapes, she would have twice as many tapes as rafael. does carmen have fewer tapes than rafael?
(1) rafael has more than 5 tapes.
(2) carmen has fewer than 12 tapes.
20. what is the value of ?
(1)
(2) t-x=5
section 4
time—25 minutes
16 questions
1. in the first half of this year, from january to june, about three million videocassette recorders were sold. th
which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion above?
(a) the total number of videocassette recorders sold last year was lower than the total number sold in the year before that.
(b) most people who are interested in owning a videocassette recorder have already purchased one.
(c) videocassette recorders are less ecpensive this year than they were last year.
(d) of the videocassette recorders sold last year almost 60 percent were sold in january.
(e) typically, over 70 percent of the sales of videocassette recorders made in a year occur in the months of november and december.
2. mud from a lake on an uninhabited wooded island in northern lake superior contains toxic chemicals, including toxaphene, a banned pesucide for cotton that previously was manufactured and used, not in nearby regions of canada or the northern united states, but in the southern united states, no durmping has occurred on the island. the island lake is sufficiently elevated that water from lake superior does not reach it.
the statements above, if true, most strongly support which of the following hypotheses?
(a) the waters of the island lake are more severely polluted than those of lake superior.
(b) the toxaphene was carried to the island in the atmosphere by winds.
(c) banning chemicals such as toxaphene does not aid the natural environment.
(d) toxaphene has adverse effects on human beings but not other organisms.
(e) concentrations of toxaphene in the soil of cottongrowing regions are not sufficient to be measurable.
3. last year in the united st
ates, women who ran for state and national offices were about as likely to win as men. however, only about fifteen percent of the candiates for these
which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the conclusion given?
(a) last year the proportion of women incumbents who won reelection was smaller than the proportion of men incumbents who won reelection.
(b) few women who run for state and national offices run against other women.
(c) most women who have no strong desire to be politicians never run for state and national offices.
(d) the proportion of people holding local offices who are women is smaller than the proportion of people holding state and national offices who are women.
(e) many more women than men who want to run for state and national offices do not because they cannot get adequate funding for their campaigns.
4. samples from a ceramic vase found at a tomb in sicily prove that the vase was manufactured in greece. since the occupant of the tomb died during the reign of a sicilian ruler who lived 2.700 years ago.
which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(a) sicilian potters who lived during the reign of the ruler did not produce work of the same level of quality as did greek potters.
(b) sicilian play that was used in the manufacture of pottery during the ruler s reign bore little resemblance to greek clay used to manufacture pottery at that time.
(c) at the time that the occupant of the tomb was alive, there were ships capable of transporting large quantities of manufactured goods between sicily and greece.
(d) the vase that was found at the sicilian tomb was not placed there many generations later by descendants of the occupant of the tomb.
(e) the occupant of the tomb was not a member of the royal family to which the sicilian ruler belonged.
5. in several ctities, the government is going ahead with ambitio
which of the following is an assumption on which the argument above depends?
(a) adaptaion of vacant office space to meet the government s requirements, if possible, would not make leasing such office space a more cost-effective alternative to new construction.
(b) the government prefers leasing facilities to owning them in cases where the two alter-natives are equally cost-effective.
(c) if facilities available for leasing come very close to meeting the government s requirements for facilities the government s requirements for facilities the government needs, the government can relax its own requirements slightly and consider those facilities in compliance.
(d) the government s construction projects would not, on being completed, add to the stock of facilities available for leasing in the cities concerned.
(e) before embarking on any major construction project, the government is required by law to establish beyond any reasonable doubt that there are no alternatives that are more cost-effective.
6. 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?
(a) nematodes that have emerged from their cysts can be killed by ordinary pesticides.
(b) the o
(c) some bacteria commonly present in the roots of potatoes digest the chemicals that cause the nematodes to emerge from their cysts.
(d) trials have shown that spreading even inute quantities of the chemicals on potato fields caused nine-tenths of the nematodes present to emerge from their cysts
.
(e) the chemicals that cause the nematodes to emerge from their cysts are not emitted all the time the potato plant is growing.
7. it is better for the environment if as much of all packaging as possible is made from materials that are biodegradable in landfills. therefore, it is always a change for the worse to replace packaging made from paper or cardboard with packaging made from plastics that are not biodegradable in landfills.
which of the following, if true, constitues the strongest objection to the argument above?
(a) the paper and cardboard used in packaging are usually not biodegradable in landfills.
(b) some plastic used in packaging is biodegradable in landfills.
(c) in many landfills, a significant proportion of space is taken up by materials other than discarded packaging materials.
(d) it is impossible to avoid entirely the use of packaging materials that are not biodegradable in landfills.
(e) sometimes, in packaging an item, plastics that are not biodegradable in landfills are combined with cardboard.
8. any serious policy discussion about acceptable levels of risk in connection with explosions is not well served if the participants fail to use the word "explosion" and use the phrase "energetic disassembly" instead. in fact, the word "explosion" elicits destrable reactions, such as a heightened level of attention whereas the substitute phrase does not. therefore, of the two terms. "explosion" is the one that should be used throughout discussions of the sort
which of the following is an assumption on which the argument above depends?
(
(b) the phrase "energetic disassembly" has not so far been used as a substitute for the word "explosion" in the kind of discussion at issue
(c) in any serious policy discussion. what is said by the participants is more important than how it is put into words.
(d) the only reason that people would have for using "energetic disassembly" in place of "explosion" is to render impossible any serious policy discussion concernign explosions.
(e) the phrase "energetic disassembly" is not necessarily out of place in describing a controlled rather than an accidental explosion.
9. mannis corporation s archival records are stored in an obsolete format that is accessible only by its current computer system; thus they are inaccessible when that system is not funcitioning properly. in order to avoid the possibility of losing access to their archival records in the case of computer malfunction, mannis plans to replace its current computer system with a new system that stores records in a format that is accessible to several different systems.
the answer to which of the following questions would be most helpful in evaluating the effectiveness of the plan as a means of retaining access to the archival records?
(a) will the new computer system require fewer operators than the current system requires?
(b) has mannis corporation always stored its archival records in a computerized format?
(c) will the new computer system that mannis plans ensure greater security for the records stored than does mannts current system?
(d) will mannts current collection of archival records be readily transferable to the new computer system?
(e) will the new computer system be able to perform many more tasks than the current system is able to perform?
10. last year the worldwide
if the information above is correct and the analyst s projections prove to be accurate, which of the following projections must also be accurate?
(a) in 2010 the paper industry will use at least twice as much recycled pulp as it did last year.
(b) in 2010 the paper industry will use at least twice as much total pulp as it did last year.
(c) in 2010 the paper industry will produce more paper from a given amount of pulp than it did last year.
(d) as compared with last year in 2010 the paper industry will make more paper that contains only recycled pulp.
(e) as compared with last year, in 2010 the paper industry will make less paper that contains only fresh pulp.
11. 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?
(a) immediately after a child has suffered a bout of malaria, the child s caregivers tend to go to great lengths in taking precautions to prevent another infection but this level of attention is not sustained.
(b) malaria is spread from person to person by mosquitoes, and mosquitoes have become increasingly resistant to the pesticides used to control them.
(c) a certain gene, if inherited by children from only one of their parents, can render those children largely immune to infection with
(d) antimalaria vaccines, of which several are in development, are all designed to work by stimulating the body s immune system.
(e) there are several distinct strains of malaria, and the body s immune response to any one of them does not protect it against the others.
12. an advertisement designed to convince readers of the great durability of automobiles manufactured by the deluxe motor car company cites as evidence the fact that over half of all automobiles built by the company since 1970 are still on the road today, compared to no more than a third for any other manufacturer.
which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the advertisement s argument?
(a) after taking inflation into account, a new deluxe automobile costs only slightly more than a new model did in 1970
(b) the number of automobiles built by deluxe each year has not increased sharply since 1970
(c) owners of deluxe automobiles typically keep their cars well mantained.
(d) since 1970 deluxe has made fewer changes in the automobiles it manufactures than other car companies have made in their automobiles.
(e) deluxe automobiles have been selling at rela-tively stable prices in recent years.
13. many state legislatures are considering proposals to the effect that certain policies should be determined not by the legislature itself but by public relerenda in which every voter can take part. crities of the proposals argue that the outcomes of public referenda would be biased since wealthy special-interest groups are able to influence voters views by means of television advertisements.
which of the following if true, most strengthens the crities argument?
(a) many state legislators regard public refereda as a way of avoiding voting on issues on which their constituents are divided.
(b) during elections for members of the legislature, the number of people who vote is unaffected by whether the candidates run television advertis
(c) proponents of policies that are opposed by wealthy special-interest groups are often unalbe to afford advertising time on local television stations.
(d) different special-interest groups often take opposing positions on questions of which policies the state should adopt.
(e) television stations are reluctant to become associated with any one political opinion. for fear of losing viewers who do not share that opinion.
14. advertisement.
of the many over-the-counter medications marketed for the relief of sinus headache, sineease costs the least per dose, and sineease is as effective per dose as the most effective of those other medications. so for relief from sinus headaches, sineease is the best buy.
which of the following if true most seriously weakens the argument above?
(a) most of the over-the-counter medications marketed for the relief of sinus headache are equally effective per dose in providing such relief
(b) many of the over-the-counter medications marketed for the relief of sinus headache contain the same active ingredient as sineease.
(c) people who suffer from frequent sinus headaches are strongly advised to consult a doctor before taking any over-the-counter medication.
(d) an over-the-counter medication that is marketed for the reliet of symptoms of head cold is identical in composition to sineease but costs less per dose.
(e) the per dose price for any given over-the-counter medication marketed for the relief of sinus headache is higher for smaller packages than it is for larger packages.
15. in the united states, vacationers account for more than half of all visitors to what are technically called "p
ure aquariums" but for fewer than one quarter of all visitors to zoos; which usually include a "zoo aquarium" of relatively modest scope.
which of the following if true, most helps to account for the difference described above between visitors to zoos and visitors to pure aqu
(a) in cities that have both a zoo and a pure aquarium, local residents are twice as likely to visit the aquarium as they are to visit the zoo.
(b) virually all large metropolitan areas have zoos. whereas only a few large metropolitan areas have pure aquarums.
(c) over the last ten years, newly constructed pure aquariums have outnumbered newly established zoos by a factor of two to one.
(d) people who visit a zoo in a given year are two times more likely to visit a pure aquarium that year than are people who do not visit a zoo.
(e) the zoo aquariums of zoos that are in the same city as a pure aquarium tend to be smaller than the aquariums of zoos that have no pure aquarium nearby
16. 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 saving. nevertheless, it is clear that grootland s tax system does not consistently favor borrowing over saving, for if it did, there would be no……
(a) tax relief in grootland for those processing fees taxpayer s income, if any, that are set aside to increase that taxpayer s total savings
(b) tax relief in grootland for the processing fees that taxpayers pay to lending institutions when obtaining certain kinds of loands.
(c) tax relief in grootland for interest that taxpayers are charged on the unpaid balance credit card accounts
(d) taxes due in grootland on the cash value of gifts received by taxpayers from banks trying to encourage people to open savings accounts
(e) taxes due in grootland on the amount that a taxpayer has invested in interest-bearing savings accounts
section 5
time—25 minutes
16 questions
1. which of the following fractions is equal to 0.16?
2. there is a total of 120 marbles in a
3. if x is a positive number less than 10 which of the following is least?
(a) x-20
(b) x
(c) 0
(d) -x
(e) 20-x
4. a computer programmer needs to print 148 documents. the documents have an average (arithmetic mean) length of 10 pages and the printer takes 15 seconds to print each page. approximately how many hours will it take to print all the documents if they are printed without interruptions?
(a) hr
(b) 2hr
(c) 2hr
(d) 6hr
(e) 24hr
5. the figure above represents a frame; the shaded regions represent the openings in the frame. if all line segments in the figure are either horizontal or vertical and the openings are the same size. what are the dimensions of each opening?
(a) 4.5 cm by 5 cm
(b) 4.5 cm by 6.5 cm
(c) 5 cm by 5.5 cm
(d) 5 cm by 9 cm
(e) 5 cm by 11 cm
6. jaime earned enough money by selling seashell at 25 cents each to buy several used paperback books at 55 cents each. if he spent all of the money he earned selling seashells to buy the books, what is the least number of seashells he could have sold?
(a) 5
(b) 11
(c) 17
(d) 25
(e) 30
7. a wildlife preserve is being planned for 3.000 rhinoceroses. the preserve is to contain a total of 10.000 acres of watering area. plus 100 acres of grazing area for each rhinoceros. if the number of rhinoceroses is expected to increase by 10 percent. how many thousand acres should the preserve have in order to provide for the increased population?
(a) 340
(b) 330
(c) 320
(d) 310
(e) 300
8. for the positive numbers n. n+1. n+2. n+4. and n+8. the mean is how much greater than the median?
(a) 0
(b) 1
(c) n+1
(d) n+2
(e)
9. the figure above shows the dimensions of an isosceles triangle in terms of x. what is the area of the triangle?
(a) 24
(b) 30
(c) 48
(d) 60
(e) 96
10. in a certain animal population, for eac