1. Health consciousness is a habit acquired as early as childhood.

The desire to eat right and stay physically fit, for

example, is often stronger in those who grew up with health-conscious parents who stressed the benefits of a
proper diet and regular exercise. Consequently, whether an adult is health conscious is likely to be partially
determined by the environment in which he or she was raised.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of the argument?

(A Health consciousness in adulthood is a reliable indicator of a happy childhood.

)
(B) A person’s upbringing can influence the probability that that person will seek a healthy lifestyle later in life.
(C) Healthy parents are more likely than are non-healthy parents to raise healthy children.
(D The desire to eat right is a larger factor in health consciousness than is the desire to stay physically fit.
)
(E) The amount of exercise one gets as a child is the sole determinant of the quality of one’s health later in life.

2. Small-business owner: I will not require my employees to read Renaldo Pinkerton’s book How to Stop
Procrastinating as I had previously intended, since it makes no sense to promote the ideas of someone who
clearly cannot follow his own advice. The publication of Pinkerton’s book has just been delayed for the third
time.

Business consultant: Your rationale is faulty. The company publishing Pinkerton’s book has fallen behind
schedule in the publication of all of its “How-To” books due to an influx of higher priority projects. However, I
have read Pinkerton’s book and can attest to the fact that it will be of no benefit to your employees. The dialogue
provides the most support for the claim that the small-business owner and the business consultant disagree over
whether

(A one should promote the ideas of someone who cannot follow his own advice
)
(B How to Stop Procrastinating will benefit the small-business owner’s employees
)
(C How to Stop Procrastinating will be a popular business title when it is eventually published
)
 (D Renaldo Pinkerton is responsible for the delay in the publication of How to Stop Procrastinating
)
(E) the small-business owner’s initial rationale for requiring his employees to read How to Stop Procrastinating
was sound

3. Water is composed of molecules that each contain two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Normal oxygen,
O16, contains eight protons and eight neutrons and is the most common oxygen isotope. Approximately one in
every thousand oxygen atoms—an oxygen isotope known as O18—contains eight protons and ten neutrons. O16 is
lighter than O18 and therefore evaporates from water faster than does O18. Evaporation increases as the
temperature of a body of water rises.

All other factors remaining equal, which one of the following must be true of a lake whose temperature was on
average 10 degrees Celsius higher in 2004 than in 2003?

(A) It contained more O18 atoms than O16 atoms in 2003.

(B) It contained fewer hydrogen atoms than oxygen atoms in 2004.
(C) It contained more O16 atoms relative to O18 atoms in 2003 than it did in 2004.
(D) It contained more O18 atoms than atoms of other oxygen isotopes in 2004.
(E) It lost more oxygen atoms from evaporation in 2003 than it did in 2004.
4. Boz’s essay was chosen as the winning essay in his school’s annual essay competition. His essay must therefore
have been considered good enough to qualify for the competition’s final round of evaluations.

The pattern of reasoning exhibited by which one of the following arguments is most similar to that exhibited by
the argument above?

(A The Bellrock High School basketball team won its game on Thursday night. The Bellrock High School
) basketball team must therefore have outscored its opponent in the second half of Thursday night’s game.
(B Since Catherine read the last few pages of her mystery novel first, there is no reason for her to read the rest of
) the book.
(C Sonny has interned at a real estate firm for the past two summers. It is therefore likely that he will do well on
) the real estate licensing exam that he is scheduled to take next week.
(D Since the foundation of the high-rise under construction will be strong enough to support the proposed 25-story
) finished building, the foundation must be strong enough to support the first 18 stories built.
(E Mary Lou is assigned to write a scientific abstract summarizing the experiment conducted in last week’s
) chemistry class. She must therefore include a description of the experiment’s methodology.

5. It is a commonly accepted practice for wilderness hikers to make a great deal of noise when hiking in territory
known to be inhabited by wild bears. The reason is that wild bears generally seek to avoid human contact and
under normal circumstances confront humans only when they happen upon them accidentally. However, when
hiking in the Selkirk Valley, one must balance the advice to follow this practice against the fact that other wild
animals inhabiting that territory have been known to be attracted to human activity in their search for edible
supplies often carried by hikers.
 The fact that hikers in the Selkirk Valley often carry edible supplies plays which one of the following roles in the
argument?

(A It represents the cause of a circumstance that provides a reason why one must carefully weigh the consequences
) of acting in accordance with prevailing wisdom.
(B It supplies the basis for an explanation of why subscribing to a common practice may in some cases not
) succeed in accomplishing the specific objective of that practice.
(C It underscores the futility of adhering to commonly accepted safety procedures when hiking in territories
) inhabited by wild animals.
(D It lends support to the speculation that the most enjoyable hikes take place in territories inhabited by only one
) kind of wild animal.
(E It provides evidence for disregarding a common practice due to the fact that what is accomplished by engaging
) in the practice is outweighed by its risks.

6. Any member of Country X’s governmental intelligence committee who fails a randomly administered polygraph
test is immediately fired. No member of the intelligence committee who took the polygraph test administered
last Tuesday failed it. Therefore, all intelligence committee members who took last Tuesday’s polygraph test
have job security at least until they are tested again.

The argument’s conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?

(A Some employees have been fired from the intelligence committee for failing a polygraph test administered by
) the committee.
(B Any member of Country X’s government who has job security has never failed a polygraph test.
)
(C Anyone who has been fired from the intelligence committee has failed a polygraph test administered by the
) committee.
(D Everyone who passes the intelligence committee’s polygraph test has job security at least until they are tested
) again.
(E) There is no possibility that someone who has failed the polygraph test is actually telling the truth.
7. The director of a children’s tennis camp categorized participants in the camp’s singles tournament according to
beginner, intermediate, and advanced skill levels. Each participant played the same number of matches during
the tournament. At the end of the tournament, it was found that many players in the advanced category won
fewer matches than the majority of players in the intermediate category. It is clear that the director incorrectly
categorized at least some of the tournament’s participants.

Which one of the following statements, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

(A No beginner participant played in a greater number of matches than any intermediate or advanced participant.
)
(B All of the children attending the camp performed the same drills and learned the same techniques regardless of
) skill level.
(C Advanced participants competed against only other advanced participants in the tournament, whereas
) intermediate participants competed against other intermediate participants and beginner participants.
(D A few beginner participants beat intermediate participants in matches prior to the tournament.
)
(E At the beginning of the camp, the director selected all those later categorized as the advanced participants in the
) tournament and created for them a special regimen including endurance training and advanced techniques.

8. Student: I am here to protest the poor grade you assigned for my presentation on abstract art. You claim that my
presentation was vague, unfocused, and strangely structured. Clearly you did not understand my intention to
demonstrate through the mechanism of my presentation the very qualities inherent in the art form I described.

Professor: Unfortunately you described nothing of the sort, since the mode of discourse you adopted succeeded
only in obscuring your observations entirely, thus warranting the feedback I provided and the grade I assigned.
The professor responds to the student’s allegation that the professor misunderstood the student’s presentation by

(A further demonstrating that he did not understand that the student purposely intended to present information
) about abstract art in an abstract manner
(B explaining that the student’s poor choice of subject matter was primarily responsible for his receiving critical
) comments and a poor grade
(C purposely ignoring the student’s main claim in an attempt to justify the feedback he provided and the grade he
 ) assigned
(D arguing that the student misunderstood the meaning of the critical feedback provided on the presentation
)
(E pointing out that presenting information in the style of the subject under consideration was inappropriate
)

9. People should aid a family member in need, except for cases in which granting such aid might encourage a
behavior that caused the need to arise.

The decision in which one of the following situations most closely conforms to the principle asserted above?

(A Melvin requested permission to live with his parents after college to save money for medical school, but his
) parents chose not to allow him to do so.
(B When Rosina received a substantial inheritance, she decided to share it with her three brothers and two sisters.
)
(C Vicky decided against looking after her 90-year-old ailing mother because she preferred to spend time on her
) hobbies.
(D After Joseph’s cousin received a recording contract, Joseph sought a job helping his cousin’s band load
) equipment and set up for performances and was offered the position.
(E When Randolph gambled away his stipend for college tuition, his parents refused to loan him money to meet
) his tuition costs.
10. Parents of children in school district 22 have complained that due to curriculum changes implemented only in
district 22, schools in that district are not providing the basics that their children need to succeed in math.
However, citywide testing of third and fifth graders has revealed that the schools in district 22 rank in the top 3
percent of all city schools with respect to math proficiency.

Each of the following, if true, helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy above EXCEPT:

(A The only schools in district 22 affected by the curriculum changes are high schools.
)
(B Surveys indicate that the majority of parents in school districts other than district 22 would welcome changes to
) the math curriculum taught at their schools.
(C As a group, parents are not as capable as curriculum developers at determining the educational approaches that
) best lead to math proficiency.
(D Because of the parents’ dissatisfaction with the math curriculum, most students in district 22 receive some form
) of extracurricular math tutoring.
(E The curriculum changes were first implemented a few days before the testing that showed district 22’s schools
) to be in the top 3 percent of all city schools with respect to math proficiency.

11. Edris: The assertion that human activities dating from the middle of the twentieth century to the present are
contributing to global warming is supported by climate change evidence from our region. This region
experienced its first winter snowfall this year on January 9, the latest that the region has received its first winter
snowfall in recent memory.

Guy: But historical records indicate that in 1883 the region received its first winter snowfall that year on
January 21, an event that obviously preceded the human activities you cite. Clearly those who assert that global
warming is occurring are wrong. The reasoning in Guy’s response to Edris’s argument is most vulnerable to
criticism on the grounds that it

(A mistakes the weakening of evidence supporting one contributing factor to a phenomenon for proof of that
) phenomenon’s invalidity
(B documents an event that is irrelevant to the position that he is attempting to counter
)
(C assumes without warrant that the region will receive more snow this year than it received in 1883
)
(D does not indicate the latest recorded first winter snowfall that the region received in the years between 1883
) and this year
(E inaccurately accuses the opposing argument of mistaking a factor necessary for bringing about a result for a
) factor sufficient for guaranteeing that result
12. Music industry analyst: Contrary to industry expectations, more people who bought music online in 2006
bought the music of non-performing recording artists than recording artists who toured at some point during that
year. Therefore, the revenues from the online sale of music of recording artists who did not tour in 2006 must
have been greater than the revenues from the online sale of music of recording artists who did tour that year.

Which one of the following statements, if true, most strengthens the music industry analyst’s argument?

(A Online music vendors pay greater royalties on the music of touring recording artists sold on their websites than
) they pay on the music of non-performing recording artists sold on their websites.
(B Many of the recording artists who toured in 2006 did not tour in at least one of the three years prior to 2006.
)
(C After factoring in promotional and other expenses, most online music vendors made greater profits in 2006
) from the music of recording artists who toured that year than they made from the music of non-performing
recording artists.
(D Many non-performing recording artists have been reluctant to make their songs available for sale online for fear
) that doing so would negatively affect the sale of their music in stores.
(E People who purchase the music of a non-performing recording artist typically purchase a majority of the songs
) from that artist’s catalogue, while those who purchase the music of a touring recording artist often purchase
only that artist’s most popular song.