Critical reasoning - basics

What is a CR qn ?

-A kind of question in which a passage is given and a question is

asked

-The focus is on the ARGUMENT

-ARGUMENTS, which are made of

• Premise
• Assumption ( POSSIBLY)
• Conclusion
 ALL X ARE Y
SOME X ARE Z - a syllogism
SOME Y ARE Z

Compare the above with

. In general, a professional athlete is offered a million-dollar contract only if he or she has just
completed an unusually successful season. However, a study shows that an athlete signing
such a contract usually suffers a decline in performance the following season. This study
supports the theory that a million-dollar contract tends to weaken an athlete’s desire to excel
by diminishing his or her economic incentive.
Types of questions
1. Assumption
2.Inference
3. Strengthen
4.Weaken
5. Flaw
6.Mimic the logic of the argument
7.Method of argumentation
8.Complete the argument
9.Main point of the argument / paragraph
10. Explain or resolve the paradox
What is an assumption ?
-an unstated premise

Look at the following example -

Hitler was a great orator

Naturally, he was a great leader

What is an assumption ?
-an unstated premise

Look at the following example -

Hitler was a great orator

Naturally, he was a great leader

The above argument can’t be correct without

Great orators are great leaders

Statistical assumption

90 percent of the interviewed dentists said that PEPSIMENT is

the best tooth paste in the market. We can safely say that
PEPSIMENT enjoys the approval of this dentist community.

which of the following has been assumed ?

1. Pepsiment is a toothpaste
2. Pepsiment is liked by the dentist community
3.The opinions of the interviewed dentist represent the opinion
of the dentist comuinity.
4. All the dentists were in the city have been interviewed
The earth’s resources are being depleted much too fast. To correct this, the United
States must keep its resource consumption at present levels for many years to come.

The argument above depends on which of the following assumptions?

(A) Per capita resource consumption in the United States is at an all-time high.
(B) The United States wastes resources.
(C) The United States uses more resources than any other country.
(D) The United States imports most of the resources it uses.
(E) Curbing U.S. resource consumption will significantly retard world resource
depletion.
The upcoming presidential election in the West African republic of Ganelon is of grave
concern to the U.S. State Department. Ganelon presently has strong political and military
ties to the United States. However, the Socialist party is widely expected to win the election,
leading to fears that Ganelon will soon break away from the pro-American bloc and adopt a
nonaligned or openly anti-American stance.

Which of the following is an assumption made in the passage above?

(A) A Socialist party government in Ganelon is more likely to oppose the United States than is
a non-Socialist party government.
(B) The people of the United States recognize their nation’s interest in the political stability
of West Africa.
(C) A weakening of U.S. political ties with Ganelon could have serious consequences for U.S.
relations with other African nations.
(D) The Socialist party leaders in Ganelon believe that their nation’s interests would best be
served by an alliance with anti-American forces.
(E) The Socialist party will win the upcoming election in Ganelon
The Asian American History Association receives approximately 1,000 proposals each year
from individuals who wish to present papers at its annual meeting. The association’s officers
would like to ensure constant standards of quality in the presentations from year to year. The
officers have therefore decided to accept for presentation each year only the best 300 papers
selected on the basis of the quality of the proposals submitted.
The officers’ plan assumes that
(A) Professional associations cannot accept all papers submitted for presentation at their
annual meetings.
(B) The total number of proposals submitted to the association will remain at approximately
1,000 in future years.
(C) Each proposal submitted to the association deserves to be considered a serious candidate
for presentation.
(D) It is difficult to judge the quality of a paper on the basis of the proposal alone.
(E) The best 300 papers submitted to the association for presentation will be of the standard
that is expected
Two groups of laboratory mice were injected with cancerous cells. One group’s
cages were rotated in a disorienting manner. Two-thirds of these mice
developed cancers. One-tenth of the mice in stationary cages developed
cancers. The researchers concluded that stress enhances the development of
cancer in laboratory mice.

The researchers’ conclusion logically depends on which of the following

assumptions?

(A) Rotating the cages in disorienting manner produced stress in the mice in
those cages.
(B) The injections given to the two groups of mice were not of equal strength.
(C) Injecting the mice with cancerous cells caused stress in the mice.
(D) Even without the injections the mice in the rotated cages would have
developed cancers.
(E) Even the rotation of cages in a manner that is not disorienting is likely to
produce stress in mice in those cages.
A mail order company recently had a big jump in clothing sales after hiring a
copywriter and a graphic artist to give its clothing catalog a magazinelike
format designed to appeal to a more upscale clientele. The company is now
planning to launch a housewares catalog using the same concept.
The company’s plan assumes that
(A) other housewares catalogs with magazinelike formats do not already exist
(B) an upscale clientele would be interested in a housewares catalog
(C) the same copywriter and graphic artist could be employed for both the
clothing and housewares catalogs
(D) a magazinelike format requires a copywriter and a graphic artist
(E) customers to whom the old clothing catalog appealed would continue to
make purchases from catalogs with the new format
Although parapsychology is often considered a pseudoscience, it is in fact a
genuine scientific enterprise, for it uses scientific methods such as controlled
experiments and statistical tests of clearly stated hypotheses to examine the
questions it raises.

The conclusion above is properly drawn if which of the following is assumed?

(A) If a field of study can conclusively answer the questions it raises, then it is a
genuine science.
(B) Since parapsychology uses scientific methods, it will produce credible results.
(C) Any enterprise that does not use controlled experiments and statistical tests is
not genuine science.
(D) Any field of study that employs scientific methods is a genuine scientific
enterprise.
(E) Since parapsychology raises clearly statable questions, they can be tested in
controlled experiments.
.Studies of fatal automobile accidents show that in a large number of
cases in which one occupant of an automobile is killed while the other
survives , it is the passenger who is killed. The driver survives and often
suffers only minor injuries. It is ironic that the innocent passenger pays
for the drivers carelessness.

Which of the following is an assumption made by the argument?

(A)In most fatal automobile accidents in which an occupant is killed, the

driver of the car is at fault
(B)Drivers of cars are not killed in automobile accidents
(C)Fatalities in automobile accidents are suffered by passengers of cars
rather than pedestrians
(D) There should be more protection for passengers of cars
. The simple facts are these: the number of people killed each year by grizzly
bears is about the same as the number of people killed by lightning on golf
courses. And the number of people killed by lightning on golf courses each year
is about the same as the number of people electrocuted by electric blenders. All
the horrible myths and gruesome stories aside, therefore, a grizzly bear is in fact
about as dangerous as an electric blender or a game of golf.

Which one of the following is an assumption that the author relies upon in the
passage?

(A) Most incidents involving grizzly bears are fatal.

(B) Grizzly bears are no longer the danger they once were.
(C) The number of fatalities per year is an adequate indication of something’s
dangerousness.
(D) A golf course is a particularly dangerous place to be in a thunderstorm.
(E) Something is dangerous only if it results in death in the majority of cases.
Manufacturers of household appliances are still urging the public to purchase food
processors. The various manufacturers’ advertisements all point out that the prices of
these appliances are now lower than ever and that each food processor comes with a
lifetime service warranty. In addition, many manufacturers offer sizable rebates to
customers who purchase food processors within a given time period. With these
incentives, the advertisements contend, people can hardly afford not to purchase food
processors.
Which answer choice is a logically prior issue that the manufacturers’ advertisements fail
to address?
(A) Whether the cost of repairs to the food processors over the years will cancel out the
savings currently being offered
(B) Whether potential customers have enough uses for food processors to justify
purchasing them
(C) Whether the heads of the companies manufacturing food processors own food
processors themselves
(D) Whether the food processors currently being advertised will be outdated within the
next five years
(E) Whether accessories and replacement parts will be readily available at retail outlets
 Handwriting analysis—also known as graphology—is a poor way to
predict personality types, even though it is used by 3,000 United States
firms and by a majority of European companies. In a recent study, five
graphologists scored no better than chance in predicting the occupations
of forty professionals.

Which one of the following is an assumption necessary to the argument?

(A) People in the same occupation usually do not have the same
personality type.
(B) Graphology is an effective means of predicting personality types in
non-business contexts.
(C) There are more United States firms that do not use graphology than
all the United States and European firms that do use it.
(D) There are several other techniques for predicting personality types
that are more accurate than graphology.
(E) There is a correspondence between type of personality and choice of
occupation
WHAT IS AN INFERENCE ?

ANYTHING THAT IS CORRECT / MOST LIKELY TO BE CORRECT, GIVEN

THE INFORMATION IN THE PASSAGE.
In the effort to fire a Civil Service employee, his or her manager may have to spend up to
$100,000 of tax money. Since Civil Service employees know how hard it is to fire them, they
tend to loaf. This explains in large part why the government is so inefficient.

It can be properly inferred on the basis of the statements above that the author believes which
of the following?
I. Too much job security can have a negative influence on workers.
II. More government workers should be fired.
III. Most government workers are Civil Service employees.
(A) I only
(B) I and III only
(C) II only
(D) I, II, and III
(E) III only
Freud’s theories of the workings of the mind, while brilliant for their day, were formulated
before most of this century’s great advances in neurophysiology and biochemistry. Today, we
have a far deeper understanding of the biological components of thought, emotion, and
behavior than was dreamed of eighty years ago. It would be foolish to continue parroting
Freud’s psychological theories as if these advances had never occurred.

It can be inferred from the passage above that the author would be most likely to favor

(A) the abandonment of most of Freud’s theories

(B) a greater reliance on biological rather than psychological explanations of behavior
(C) a critical reexamination of Freud’s place in the history of psychology
(D) a reexamination of Freud’s theories in the light of contemporary biology
(E) increased financial support for studies in neurophysiology and biochemistry
Dear Applicant:
Thank you for your application. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer you a position in
our local government office for the summer. As you know, funding for summer jobs is
limited, and it is impossible for us to offer jobs to all those who want them.
Consequently, we are forced to reject many highly qualified applicants.
Which of the following can be inferred from the letter?
(A) The number of applicants for summer jobs in the government office exceeded the
number of summer jobs available.
(B) The applicant who received the letter was considered highly qualified.
(C) Very little funding was available for summer jobs in the government office.
(D) The application of the person who received the letter was considered carefully
before being rejected.
(E) Most of those who applied for summer jobs were considered qualified for the
available positions.
Partly because of bad weather, but also partly because some major pepper growers have
switched to high-priced cocoa, world production of pepper has been running well below
worldwide sales for three years. Pepper is consequently in relatively short supply. The price
of pepper has soared in response: it now equals that of cocoa.

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

(A) Pepper is a profitable crop only if it is grown on a large scale.

(B) World consumption of pepper has been unusually high for three years.
(C) World production of pepper will return to previous levels once normal weather returns.
(D) Surplus stocks of pepper have been reduced in the past three years.
(E) The profits that the growers of pepper have made in the past three years have been
unprecedented
There is little point in looking to artists for insights into political issues. Most of them hold
political views that are less insightful than those of any reasonably well-educated person
who is not an artist. Indeed, when taken as a whole, the statements made by artists,
including those considered to be great, indicate that artistic talent and political insight are
rarely found together.
Which one of the following can be inferred from the passage?

(A) There are no artists who have insights into political issues.
(B) A thorough education in art makes a person reasonably well educated.
(C) Every reasonably well-educated person who is not an artist has more insight into political
issues than any artist.
(D) Politicians rarely have any artistic talent.
(E) Some artists are no less politically insightful than some reasonably well-educated persons
who are not artists.
Informed people generally assimilate information from several divergent sources
before coming to an opinion. However, most popular news organizations view foreign
affairs solely through the eyes of our State Department. In reporting the political crisis
in foreign country B, news organizations must endeavor to find alternative sources of
information.

Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the argument above?

(A) To the degree that a news source gives an account of another country that mirrors
that of our State Department, that reporting is suspect.
(B) To protect their integrity, news media should avoid the influence of State
Department releases in their coverage of foreign affairs.
(C) Reporting that is not influenced by the State Department is usually more accurate
than are other accounts.
(D) The alternative sources of information mentioned in the passage would probably
not share the same views as the State Department.
(E) A report cannot be seen as influenced by the State Department if it accurately
depicts the events in a foreign country.
Radio interferometry is a technique for studying details of celestial objects that
combines signals intercepted by widely spaced radio telescopes. This technique
requires ultraprecise timing, exact knowledge of the locations of the telescopes, and
sophisticated computer programs. The successful interferometric linking of an Earth-
based radio telescope with a radio telescope on an orbiting satellite was therefore a
significant technological accomplishment.
Which of the following can be correctly inferred from the statements above?

(A) Special care was taken in the launching of the satellite so that the calculations of its
orbit would be facilitated.
(B) The signals received on the satellite are stronger than those received by a terrestrial
telescope.
(C) The resolution of detail achieved by the satellite-Earth interferometer system is
inferior to that achieved by exclusively terrestrial systems.
(D) The computer programs required for making use of the signals received by the
satellite required a long time for development.
(E) The location of an orbiting satellite relative to locations on Earth can be well enough
known for interferometric purposes
A number of charges have been raised against me, some serious, some trivial.
Individuals seeking to control the corporation for their own purposes have demanded
my resignation. Remember that no court of law in any state has found me guilty of any
criminal offense whatsoever. In the American tradition, as you know, an individual is
considered innocent until proven guilty. Furthermore, as the corporation’s unbroken
six-year record of growth will show, my conduct of my official duties as chairman has
only helped enhance the success of the corporation, and so benefited every
stockholder.
Which of the following can be properly inferred from the excerpt?
(A) The chairman believes that all those who have demanded his resignation are
motivated by desire to control the corporation for their own purposes.
(B) Any misdeeds that the chairman may have committed were motivated by his desire
to enhance the success of the corporation.
(C) The chairman is innocent of any criminal offense.
(D) The corporation has expanded steadily over the past six years.
(E) Any legal proceedings against the chairman have resulted in his acquittal.
One of the more reliable methods of determining regional climatic conditions in
prehistoric periods is to examine plant pollen trapped in glacial ice during ancient
times. By comparing such pollen samples with spores taken from modern vegetation,
scientists can figure out approximately what the weather was like at the time of pollen
deposition. Furthermore, by submitting the prehistoric samples to radiocarbon dating
techniques, we can also determine when certain climatic conditions were prevalent in
that portion of the globe.
Which one of the following may be inferred from the information in the passage?

(A) The earth has undergone several glacial periods.

(B) Radiocarbon dating can be corroborated by glacial evidence.
(C) Similarities between prehistoric and contemporary climates do not exist.
(D) Pollen deposition is a fairly continuous process.
(E) Certain flora are reliably associated with particular climatic conditions.
According to a recent study, fifteen corporations in the United States that follow a credo of
social responsibility are also very profitable. Because of their credos, these fifteen
corporations give generously to charity, follow stringent environmental-protection policies,
and have vigorous affirmative-action programs.

Which of the following can be correctly inferred from the statements above?

(A) Following a credo of social responsibility helps to make a corporation very profitable.
(B) It is possible for a corporation that follows a credo of social responsibility to be very
profitable.
(C) A corporation that gives generously to charity must be doing so because of its credo of
social responsibility.
(D) Corporations that are very profitable tend to give generously to charity.
(E) Corporations that have vigorous affirmative-action programs also tend to follow
stringent environmental-protection policies.
When the government of a nation announced recently that a leader of the nation’s political
opposition had died of a mysterious illness in prison, few seasoned observers of the regime
were surprised. As the police captain in an old movie remarked when asked about the
condition of a prisoner, “We’re trying to decide whether he committed suicide or died
trying to escape.”
The statements above invite which of the following conclusions?
(A) The opposition leader was probably killed trying to escape from prison.
(B) The opposition leader may not be dead at all.
(C) It is unlikely that the head of the regime knows the true cause of the opposition leader’s
death.
(D) The opposition leader probably killed himself.
(E) The regime very likely was responsible for the death of the opposition leader.
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?
(A) People in advanced industrialized societies have more leisure time than those in
nonindustrialized societies.
(B) An average workday of twelve hours or more is peculiar to economies in the early stages
of industrialization.
(C) Industrialization involves a trade-off between tedious, monotonous jobs and the
benefits of increased leisure.
(D) It is likely that the extended workday of an industrializing country will eventually be
shortened.
(E) As industrialization progresses, people tend to look for self-fulfillment in leisure rather
than work
STRENGTHEN THE ARGUMENT ?

-TO FURTHER SUPPORT/VALIDATE/ LEND CREDENCE TO THE ARGUMENT

WEAKEN THE ARGUMENT ?

- TO MITIGATE/LESSEN/REDUCE THE VALIDITY OF THE ARGUMENT

A research study found that listening to music can improve the academic
performance of students. Studies shows that music helps in coordinating
the parts of brain that control creativity and logic. Thus, channeling
thoughts and increasing concentration.

The argument which is presented in the passage above would be most

strengthened if which of the following were true?

A. Students scored higher marks at tests taken while listening to Beethoven

Piano Fur Elise than they did when they were tested in silence.
B. Students in music scored better in tests than those of commerce
discipline.
C. Students scored better when they were tested after listening to violin
recital than when they were tested after listening to a rock concert.
D. Students fared better in music and instrument related test than in
science related tests.
Two decades after the Emerald River Dam was built, none of the eight fish species native to the
Emerald River was still reproducing adequately in the river below the dam. Since the dam
reduced the annual range of water temperature in the river below the dam from 50 degrees to
6 degrees, scientists have hypothesized that sharply rising water temperatures must be
involved in signaling the native species to begin the reproductive cycle.

Which of the following statements, if true, would most strengthen the scientists’ hypothesis?

(A) The native fish species were still able to reproduce only in side streams of the river below
the dam where the annual temperature range remains approximately 50 degrees.
(B) Before the dam was built, the Emerald River annually overflowed its banks, creating
backwaters that were critical breeding areas for the native species of fish.
(C) The lowest recorded temperature of the Emerald River before the dam was built was 34
degrees, whereas the lowest recorded temperature of the river after the dam was built has
been 43 degrees.
(D) Nonnative species of fish, introduced into the Emerald River after the dam was built, have
begun competing with the declining native fish species for food and space.
(E) Five of the fish species native to the Emerald River are not native to any other river in North
America.
Since the routine use of antibiotics can give rise to resistant bacteria capable of surviving
antibiotic environments, the presence of resistant bacteria in people could be due to the
human use of prescription antibiotics. Some scientists, however, believe that most resistant
bacteria in people derive from human consumption of bacterially infected meat.

Which of the following statements, if true, would most significantly strengthen the
hypothesis of the scientists?
(A) Antibiotics are routinely included in livestock feed so that livestock producers can
increase the rate of growth of their animals.
(B) Most people who develop food poisoning from bacterially infected meat are treated
with prescription antibiotics.
(C) The incidence of resistant bacteria in people has tended to be much higher in urban
areas than in rural areas where meat is of comparable quality.
(D) People who have never taken prescription antibiotics are those least likely to develop
resistant bacteria.
(E) Livestock producers claim that resistant bacteria in animals cannot be transmitted to
people through infected meat.
The ancient city of Cephesa was not buried by an eruption of Mt. Amnos in A.D.
310, as some believe. The eruption in the year 310 damaged the city, but it did not
destroy it. Cephesa survived for another century before it finally met its
destruction in another eruption around A.D. 415.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the author’s claim that the
city of Cephesa was not buried by the eruption of Mt. Amnos in A.D. 310?
(A) The city of Cephesa is mentioned in a historical work known to have been
written in A.D. 400.
(B) Coins bearing the image of an emperor who lived around A.D. 410 have been
discovered in the ruins of Cephesa, which were preserved by the cinders and ashes
that buried the city.
(C) Geological evidence shows that the eruption of Mt. Amnos in A.D. 415
deposited a 10-foot-thick layer of lava on the city of Cephesa.
(D) Artworks from the city of Cephesa have been found in the ruins of another city
known to have been destroyed in A.D. 420.
(E) A historical work written in A.D. 430 refers to the eruption of Mt. Amnos in A.D.
415
In general, a professional athlete is offered a million-dollar contract only if he or
she has just completed an unusually successful season. However, a study shows
that an athlete signing such a contract usually suffers a decline in performance the
following season. This study supports the theory that a million-dollar contract
tends to weaken an athlete’s desire to excel by diminishing his or her economic
incentive.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion drawn
above?
(A) On the average, athletes whose contracts call for relatively small salaries with
possible bonuses for outstanding achievement perform better than other athletes.
(B) Athletes are generally offered million-dollar contracts mainly because of the
increased ticket sales and other revenues they generate.
(C) Many professional athletes have careers marked by year-to-year fluctuations in
their overall levels of performance.
(D) On the average, higher-salaried athletes tend to have longer and more
successful professional careers than do lower-salaried athletes.
(E) Six of the ten leading batters in the National League this season signed million-
dollar contracts during the off-season
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?
(A) Commercial airliners are already required by law to be equipped with
extremely sophisticated radar systems.
(B) Centrally located airports are experiencing over-crowded airspace primarily
because of sharp increases in commercial-airline traffic.
(C) Many pilots of private planes would rather buy radar equipment than be
excluded from centrally located airports.
(D) The number of midair collisions that occur near centrally located airports has
decreased in recent years.
(E) Private planes not equipped with radar systems cause a disproportionately large
number of midair collisions around centrally located airports
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 statements, if true, would most significantly strengthen
the conclusion drawn in the passage?

A. As population density increases in Hawaii, life expectancy figures for that

state are likely to be revised downward.
B. Environmental factors tending to favor longevity are abundant in Hawaii and
less numerous in Louisiana.
C. Studies show that the average life expectancy for Hawaiians who move
permanently to Louisiana is roughly equal to that of Hawaiians who remain in
Hawaii.
D. Over the last decade, average life expectancy has risen at a higher rate for
Louisianans than for Hawaiians.
In 1980, a Danish ten-øre coin minted in 1747 was sold at auction for
$8,000. Eleanor Bixby owns another Danish ten-øre coin minted in 1747.
When she puts it on the market next week, it will fetch a price over
$18,000.

Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion drawn
above?

(A) Since 1980, the average price for rare coins has increased by over 150
percent.
(B) There are only four coins like the one in question in the entire world.
(C) Since 1980, the consumer price index has risen by over 150 percent.
(D) In 1986, a previously unknown cache of one hundred coins just like
the one in question was found.
(E) Thirty prominent, wealthy coin collectors are expected to bid for
Bixby’s coin.
Opponents of laws that require automobile drivers and passengers to wear seat
belts argue that in a free society people have the right to take risks as long as the
people do not harm other as a result of taking the risks. As a result, they conclude
that it should be each person's decision whether or not to wear a seat belt.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion drawn
above?
A. Many new cars are built with seat belts that automatically fasten when someone
sits in the front seat.
B. Automobile insurance rates for all automobile owners are higher because of the
need to pay for the increased injuries or deaths of people not wearing seat belts.
C. Passengers in airplanes are required to wear seat belts during takeoffs and
landings.
D. The rate of automobile fatalities in states that do not have mandatory seat belt
laws is greater than the rate of fatalities in states that do have such laws.
 A survey in 2006 showed a sharp increase in female foeticide compared
to 2000. But the decrease in female foeticide suggests that between
2000 and 2010, government measures to increase gender ratio has paid
off.

Which of the following statements, if true, weakens the above

argument?

A. The increase in literacy rate is one of the reason for lower female
foeticide
B. The survey is done by a private firm and it’s not official, but still it’s
reliable
C. Many incentives and scholarships is granted to female students and
employees
D. The rate of rise in female foeticide between 2000 and 2006 was more
than the rate of fall in female foeticide between 2006 and 2010
A proposed ordinance requires the installation in new homes of sprinklers
automatically triggered by the presence of a fire. However, a home builder
argued that because more than ninety percent of residential fires are
extinguished by a household member, residential sprinklers would only
marginally decrease property damage caused by residential fires.

Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the home builder's
argument?

A. most individuals have no formal training in how to extinguish fires.

B. Since new homes are only a tiny percentage of available housing in the city,
the new ordinance would be extremely narrow in scope.
C. The installation of smoke detectors in new residences costs significantly less
than the installation of sprinklers.
D. The largest proportion of property damage that results from residential fires
is caused by fires that start when no household member is present.
The recent decline in the value of the dollar was triggered by a prediction of
slower economic growth in the coming year. But that prediction would not have
adversely affected the dollar had it not been for the government’s huge budget
deficit, which must therefore be decreased to prevent future currency declines.

Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the conclusion
about how to prevent future currency declines?

(A) The government has made little attempt to reduce the budget deficit.
(B) The budget deficit has not caused a slowdown in economic growth.
(C) The value of the dollar declined several times in the year prior to the recent
prediction of slower economic growth.
(D) Before there was a large budget deficit, predictions of slower economic
growth frequently caused declines in the dollar’s value.
(E) When there is a large budget deficit, other events in addition to predictions
of slower economic growth sometimes trigger declines in currency value.
A greater number of newspapers are sold in Town S than in Town T.
Therefore, the citizens of Town S are better informed about major world
events than are the citizens of Town T.
Each of the following, if true, weakens the conclusion above EXCEPT:
(A) Town S has a larger population than Town T.
(B) Most citizens of Town T work in Town S and buy their newspapers
there.
(C) The average citizen of Town S spends less time reading newspapers
than does the average citizen of Town T.
(D) A weekly newspaper restricted to the coverage of local events is
published in Town S.
(E) The average newsstand price of newspapers sold in Town S is lower
than the average price of newspapers sold in Town T.