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- Logical Reasoning
- Analyzing Arguments
- Section 1
Directions :
Read the paragraph carefully and determine the main point the author is trying to make. What conclusion can be drawn from the argument? Each paragraph is followed by five statements.One statement supports the author's argument better than the others do.
1.
Today’s high school students spend too much
time thinking about trivial and distracting
matters such as fashion. Additionally, they
often dress inappropriately on school
grounds. Rather than spending time writing
another detailed dress policy, we should
make school uniforms mandatory. If students
were required to wear uniforms, it would
increase a sense of community and harmony
in our schools and it would instill a sense of
discipline in our students. Another positive
effect would be that teachers and administrators
would no longer have to act as clothing
police, freeing them up to focus on more
important issues.
This paragraph best supports the statement that
- A.inappropriate clothing leads to failing grades.
- B.students who wear school uniforms get into better colleges.
- C.teachers and administrators spend at least 25% of their time enforcing the dress code.
- D.students are not interested in being part of a community.
- E.school uniforms should be compulsory for high school students.
- Answer & Explanation
- Report
Answer : [E]
Explanation :
Explanation :
| The support for choice e is in the third sentence “. . . we should make school uniforms mandatory.” There is no evidence provided to support choices a, b, and d. And although we know that teachers and administrators are spending some of their time enforcing dress code, the paragraph does not quantify how much of their time is spent that way, so there is no support for choice c. |
2.
It is well known that the world urgently
needs adequate distribution of food, so that
everyone gets enough. Adequate distribution
of medicine is just as urgent. Medical expertise
and medical supplies need to be redistributed
throughout the world so that people in
emerging nations will have proper medical
care.
This paragraph best supports the statement
that
- A.the majority of the people in the world have never been seen by a doctor.
- B.food production in emerging nations has slowed during the past several years.
- C.most of the world’s doctors are selfish about giving time and money to the poor.
- D.the medical-supply industry should step up production of its products.
- E.many people who live in emerging nations are not receiving proper medical care.
- Answer & Explanation
- Report
Answer : [E]
Explanation :
Explanation :
| This answer is implied by the statement that redistribution is needed so that people in emerging nations can have proper medical care. Choices a, b, and c are not mentioned in the passage. Choice d is also incorrect—the passage indicates that the distribution of medicine, not its production, is inadequate. |
3.
Today’s workforce has a new set of social values.
Ten years ago, a manager who was
offered a promotion in a distant city would
not have questioned the move. Today, a manager
in that same situation might choose
family happiness instead of career advancement.
This paragraph best supports the statement
that
- A.most managers are not loyal to the corporations for which they work.
- B.businesses today do not understand their employees' needs.
- C.employees' social values have changed over the past ten years.
- D.career advancement is not important to today's business managers.
- E.companies should require their employees to accept promotions.
- Answer & Explanation
- Report
Answer : [C]
Explanation :
Explanation :
| A change in employee social values over the past ten years is implied in the whole paragraph, but particularly in the first sentence. Choice a is incorrect because the loyalty of the managers to their corporations is never discussed. There is no support for choice b. In choice d, perhaps career advancement is less important than it once was, but the paragraph does not indicate that advancement is unimportant to managers. Choice e is an opinion that is not supported. |
4.
In the past, consumers would rarely walk into
an ice cream store and order low-fat ice
cream. But that isn’t the case today. An
increasing health consciousness combined
with a much bigger selection of tasty low-fat
foods in all categories has made low-fat ice
cream a very profitable item for ice cream
store owners.
This paragraph best supports the statement
that
- A.low-fat ice cream produces more revenue than other low-fat foods.
- B.ice cream store owners would be better off carrying only low-fat ice cream.
- C.ice cream store owners no longer think that low-fat ice cream is an unpopular item.
- D.low-fat ice cream is more popular than other kinds of ice cream.
- E.consumers are fickle and it is impossible to please them.
- Answer & Explanation
- Report
Answer : [C]
Explanation :
Explanation :
| This choice is supported as the best answer because the paragraph indicates that low-fat ice cream was once an unpopular item, but now, because consumers are more health conscious and because there is a wider array of tasty low-fat foods, low-fat ice cream is a profitable item for ice cream store owners. There is no indication that choices a, b, d, or e are true based on the information given. |
5.
One of the warmest winters on record has
put consumers in the mood to spend money.
Spending is likely to be the strongest in thirteen
years. During the month of February,
sales of existing single-family homes hit an
annual record rate of 4.75 million.
This paragraph best supports the statement that
- A.consumer spending will be higher thirteen years from now than it is today.
- B.more people buy houses in the month of February than in any other month.
- C.during the winter months, the prices of single-family homes are the lowest.
- D.there were about 4 million homes for sale during the month of February.
- E.warm winter weather is likely to affect the rate of home sales.
- Answer & Explanation
- Report
Answer : [E]
Explanation :
Explanation :
| This is clearly the best answer because the paragraph directly states that warm weather affects consumers’ inclination to spend. It furthers states that the sales of single-family homes was at an all-time high. There is no support for choice a or c. Choice b is wrong because even though there were high sales for a particular February, this does not mean that sales are not higher in other months. Choice d presents a misleading figure of 4 million. The paragraph states that the record of 4.75 million was at an annual, not a monthly, rate. |
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