英文逻辑推理题

英文逻辑推理题

1.

Nearly one in three subscribers to Financial Forecaster is a millionaire, and over

half are in top management. Shouldn’t you subscribe to Financial Forecaster now?A

reader who is neither a millionaire nor in top management would be most likely to act

in accordance with the advertisement’s suggestion if he or she drew which of the

following questionable conclusions invited by the advertisement?

(A) Among finance-related periodicals. Financial Forecaster provides the most

detailed financial information.

(B) Top managers cannot do their jobs properly without reading Financial Forecaster.

(C) The advertisement is placed where those who will be likely to read it are

millionaires.

(D) The subscribers mentioned were helped to become millionaires or join top

management by reading Financial Forecaster.

(E) Only those who will in fact become millionaires, or at least top managers, will

read the advertisement.

Questions 2-3 are based on the following.

Contrary to the charges made by some of its opponents, the provisions of the new

deficit-reduction law for indiscriminate cuts in the federal budget are justified.

Opponents should remember that the New Deal pulled this country out of great

economic troubles even though some of its programs were later found to be

unconstitutional.

2.

The author’s method of attacking the charges of certain opponents of the new

deficit-reduction law is to

(A) attack the character of the opponents rather than their claim

(B) imply an analogy between the law and some New Deal programs

(C) point out that the opponents’ claims imply a dilemma

(D) show that the opponents’ reasoning leads to an absurd conclusion

(E) show that the New Deal also called for indiscriminate cuts in the federal budget

3.

The opponents could effec

tively defend their position against the author’s

strategy by pointing out that

(A) the expertise of those opposing the law is outstanding

(B) the lack of justification for the new law does not imply that those who drew it up

were either inept or immoral

(C) the practical application of the new law will not entail indiscriminate budget cuts

(D) economic troubles present at the time of the New Deal were equal in severity to

those that have led to the present law

(E) the fact that certain flawed programs or laws have improved the economy does not

prove that every such program can do so

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4.

In Millington, a city of 50,000 people, Mercedes Pedrosa, a realtor, calculated

that a family with Millington’s median family income, $$28,000 a year, could afford to

buy Millington’s median

-priced $$77,000 house. This calculation was based on an 11.2

percent mortgage interest rate and on the realtor’s assumption that a family could only

afford to pay up to 25 percent of its income for housing.

Which of the following corrections of a figure appearing in the passage above, if

it were the only correction that needed to be made, would yield a new calculation

showing that even incomes below the median family income would enable families in

Millington to afford Millington

’s median

-priced house?

(A) Millington’s total population was 45,000 people.

(B) Millington’s median annual family income was $$27,000.

(C) Millington’s median

-priced house cost $$80,000.

(D) The rate at which people in Millington had to pay mortgage interest was only 10

percent.

(E) Families in Millington could only afford to pay up to 22 percent of their annual

income for housing.

5.

Psychological research indicates that college hockey and football players are

more quickly moved to hostility and aggression than are college athletes in noncontact

sports such as swimming. But the researchers’ conclusion—

that contact sports

encourage and teach participants to be hostile and aggressive

—

is untenable. The

football and hockey players were probably more hostile and aggressive to start with

than the swimmers.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion drawn by the

psychological researchers?

(A) The football and hockey players became more hostile and aggressive during the

season and remained so during the off-season, whereas there was no increase in

aggressiveness among the swimmers.

(B) The football and hockey players, but not the swimmers, were aware at the start of

the experiment that they were being tested for aggressiveness.

(C) The same psychological research indicated that the football and hockey players

had a great respect for cooperation and team play, whereas the swimmers were most

concerned with excelling as individual competitors.

(D) The research studies were designed to include no college athletes who

participated in both contact and noncontact sports

(E) Throughout the United States, more incidents of fan violence occur at baseball

games than occur at hockey or football games.

1. D

2. B

3. E

4. D

5. A

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1. Although 90 percent of the population believes itself to be well inFORMed about

health care, only 20 percent knows enough about DNA. So apparently at least 80

percent of the population does not know enough about medical concepts to make

well-inFORMed personal medical choices or to make good public policy decisions

about health care.

The argument's reasoning is questionable because the argument fails to

demonstrate that

(A) those people who can understand news stories about DNA are able to make

well-inFORMed personal medical choices

(B) more than 20 percent of the population needs to be well inFORMed about

health care for good public policy decisions about health care to be made

(C) one's being able to make well-inFORMed personal medical choices ensures

that one makes good public policy decisions about health care

(D) an understanding of DNA is essential to making well- inFORMed personal

medical choices or to making good public policy decisions about health care

(E) since 90 percent of the population believes itself to be well inFORMed about

health care, at least 70 percent of the population is mistaken in that belief.

2. During the 1980's, Japanese collectors were very active in the market for

European art, especially as purchasers of nineteenth-century Impressionist paintings.

This striking pattern surely reflects a specific preference on the part of many Japanese

collectors for certain aesthetic attributes they found in nineteenth-century

Impressionist paintings.

Which one of the following, if true, most strongly supports the explanation above?

(A) Impressionist paintings first became popular among art collectors in Europe

at the beginning of the twentieth century.

(B) During the 1980's, the Japanese economy underwent a sustained expansion

that was unprecedented in the country's recent history.

(C) Several nineteenth-century Impressionist painters adopted certain techniques

and visual effects found in Japanese prints that are highly estee

11. The average cable television company offers its customers 50 channels, but

new fiber- optic lines will enable telephone companies to provide 100 to 150 television

channels to their customers for the same price as cable companies charge for 50.

Therefore, cable companies will be displaced by the new companies within a few

years.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to strengthen the argument?

(A) The initial cost per household of installing new fiber-optic television service

will exceed the current cost of installing cable television service.

(B) The most popular movies and programs on channels carried by cable

companies will also be offered on channels carried by the fiber-optic lines owned by

the telephone companies.

(C) Cable television companies will respond to competition from the telephone

companies by increasing the number of channels they offer.

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(D) Some telephone companies own cable companies in areas other than those in

which they provide telephone services.

(E) The new fiber-optic services offered by telephone companies will be subject

to more stringent governmental programming regulations than those to which cable

companies are now subject.

12. The only physical factor preventing a human journey to Mars has been

weight. Carrying enough fuel to propel a conventional spacecraft to Mars and back

would make even the lightest craft too heavy to be launched from Earth. A device has

recently been invented, however, that allows an otherwise conventional spacecraft to

refill the craft's fuel tanks with fuel manufactured from the Martian atmosphere for

the return trip. Therefore, it is possible for people to go to Mars in a spacecraft that

carries this device and then return.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

(A) The amount of fuel needed for a spacecraft to return from Mars is the same

as the amount of fuel needed to travel from Earth to Mars.

(B) The fuel manufactured from the Martian atmosphere would not differ in

composition from the fuel used to travel to Mars.

(C) The device for manufacturing fuel from the Martian atmosphere would not

take up any of the spaceship crew's living space.

(D) A conventional spacecraft equipped with the device would not be

appreciably more expensive to construct than current spacecraft typically are.

(E) The device for manufacturing fuel for the return to Earth weighs less than the

tanks of fuel that a conventional spacecraft would otherwise need to carry from Earth

for the return trip.

13. In 1712 the government of Country Y appointed a censor to prohibit the

publication of any book critical of Country Y's government; all new books legally

published in the country after 1712 were approved by a censor. Under the first censor,

one half of the book manus submitted to the censor were not approved for publication.

Under the next censor, only one quarter of the book manus submitted were not

approved, but the number of book manus that were approved was the same under both

censors. If the statements in the passage are true, which one of the following can be

properly concluded from them?

(A) More books critical of Country Y's governments were published before the

appointment of the first censor than after it.

(B) The first censor and the second censor prohibited the publication of the same

number of book manus.

(C) More book manus were submitted for approval to the first censor than to the

second.

(D) The second censor allowed some book manus to the published that the first censor

would have considered critical of Country Y's government.

(E) The number of writers who wrote unpublished manus was greater under the first

censor than under the second.

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14. If the government increases its funding for civilian scientific research, private

patrons and industries will believe that such research has become primarily the

government's responsibility. When they believe that research is no longer primarily

their responsibility, private patrons and industries will decrease their contributions

toward research. Therefore, in order to keep from depressing the overall level of

funding for civilian scientific research, the government should not increase its own

funding.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument relies?

(A) Governments should bear the majority of the financial burden of funding for

civilian scientific research.

(B) Any increase in government funding would displace more private funding

for civilian scientific research than it would provide.

(C) Private donations toward research are no longer welcomed by researchers

whose work receives government funding.

(D) Civilian scientific research cannot be conducted efficiently with more than

one source of funding.

(E) funding for civilian scientific research is currently at the highest possible

level.

15. Dental researcher: Filling a cavity in a tooth is not a harmless procedure: it

inevitably damages some of the healthy parts of the tooth. Cavities are harmful only if

the decay reaches the nerves inside the tooth, and many cavities, if left untreated,

never progress to that point. Therefore, dentists should not fill a cavity unless the

nerves inside the tooth are in imminent danger from that cavity.

Which one of the following principles, if valid, most strongly supports the

researcher's reasoning?

(A) Dentists should perform any procedure that is likely to be beneficial in the

long term, but only if the procedure does not cause immediate damage.

(B) Dentists should help their patients to prevent cavities rather than waiting

until cavities are present to begin treatment.

(C) A condition that is only potentially harmful should not be treated using a

method that is definitely harmful.

(D) A condition that is typically progressive should not be treated using methods

that provide only temporary relief.

(E) A condition that is potentially harmful should not be left untreated unless it

can be kept under constant surveillance.

16. The axis of Earth's daily rotation is tilted with respect to the plane of its orbit at an

angle of roughly 23 degrees. That angle can be kept fairly stable only by the

gravitational influence of Earth's large, nearby Moon. Without such a stable and

moderate axis tilt, a planet's climate is too extreme and unstable to support life. Mars,

for example, has only very small moons, tilts at wildly fluctuating angles, and cannot

support life.

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If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be

true on the basis of them?

(A) If Mars had a sufficiently large nearby moon, Mars would be able to support

life.

(B) If Earth's Moon were to leave Earth's orbit, Earth's climate would be unable

to support life.

(C) Any planet with a stable, moderate axis tilt can support life.

(D) Gravitational influences other than moons have little or no effect on the

magnitude of the tilt angle of either Earth's or Mars's axis.

(E) No planet that has more than one moon can support life

17. Psychologist: Some astrologers claim that our horoscopes completely

determine our personalities, but this claim is false, I concede that identical

twins

——

who are, of course, born at practically the same time

——

often do have

similar personalities. However, birth records were examined to find two individuals

who were born 40 years ago on the same day and at exactly the same time

——

one in

a hospital in Toronto and one in a hospital in New York. Personalities of these two

individuals are in fact different.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the psychologist's

argument depends?

(A) Astrologers have not subjected their claims to rigorous experimentation.

(B) The personality differences between the two individuals cannot be explained

by the cultural difference between Toronto and New York.

(C) The geographical difference between Toronto and New York did not result in

the two individuals having different horoscopes.

(D) Complete birth records for the past 40 years were kept at both hospitals.

(E) Identical twins have identical genetic structures and usually have similar

home environments.

18. Modern navigation systems, which are found in most of today's commercial

aircraft, are made with low-power circuitry, which is more susceptible to interference

than the vacuum-tube circuitry found in older planes. During landing, navigation

systems receive radio signals from the airport to guide the plane to the runway.

Recently, one plane with low-power circuitry veered off course during landing, its

dials dimming, when a passenger turned on a laptop computer. Clearly, modern

aircraft navigation systems are being put at risk by the electronic devices that

passengers carry on board, such as cassette players and laptop computers.

Which one of the following, if true, LEAST strengthens the argument above?

(A) After the laptop computer was turned off, the plane regained course and its

navigation instruments and dials returned to normal.

(B) When in use all electronic devices emit electromagnetic radiation, which is

known to interfere with circuitry.

(C) No problems with navigational equipment or instrument dials have been

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reported on flights with no passenger-owned electronic devices on board.

(D) Significant electromagnetic radiation from portable electronic devices can

travel up to eight meters, and some passenger seats on modern aircraft are located

within four meters of the navigation systems.

(E) Planes were first equipped with low-power circuitry at about the same time

portable electronic devices became popular.

Jane: Television programs and movies that depict violence among teenagers are

extremely popular. Given how influential these media are, we have good reason to

believe that these depictions cause young people to engage in violent behavior. Hence,

depictions of violence among teenagers should be prohibited from movies and

television programs, if only in those programs and movies promoted to young

audiences.

Maurice: But you are recommending nothing short of censorship! Besides which,

your claim that television and movie depictions of violence cause violence is mistaken:

violence among young people predates movies and television by centuries.

19. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens Jane's argument?

(A) The most violent characters depicted in movies and on television programs

are adult characters who are portrayed by adult actors.

(B) The movies that have been shown to have the most influence on young

people's behavior are those that are promoted to young audiences.

(C) The people who make the most profits in the movie and television industry

are those who can successfully promote their work to both young and old audiences.

(D) Many adolescents who engage in violent behavior had already displayed

such behavior before they were exposed violence in movies.

(E) Among the producers who make both movies and television programs, many

voluntarily restrict the subject matter of films directed toward young audiences.

20. A rise in the percentage of all 18-year-olds who were recruited by the armed

services of a small republic between 1980 and 1986 correlates with a rise in the

percentage of young people who dropped out of high school in that republic. Since

18-year-olds in the republic are generally either high school graduates or high school

dropouts, the correlation leads to the conclusion that the republic's recruitment rates

for 18-year-olds depend substantially on recruitment rates for high school dropouts.

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

(A) A large number of 18-year-old high school graduates were recruited for the

republic's armed services in 1986 than in 1980.

(B) Many of the high-technology systems used by the republic's armed services

can be operated only by individuals who have completed a high school education.

(C) Between 1980 and 1986 the percentage of high school graduates among

18-year-olds recruited in the republic rose sharply.

(D) Personnel of the republic's armed services are strongly encouraged to finish

their high school education.

(E) The proportion of recruits who had completed at least two years of college

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education was greater in 1986 than in 1980.

21. Historian: We can learn about the medical history of individuals through

chemical analysis of their hair. It is likely, for example, that Isaac Newton's

psychological problems were due to mercury poisoning; traces of mercury were found

in his hair. Analysis is now being done on a lock of Beethoven's hair. Although no

convincing argument has shown that Beethoven ever had a venereal disease, some

people hypothesize that venereal disease caused his deafness. Since mercury was

commonly ingested in Beethoven's time to treat venereal disease, if researchers find a

trace of mercury in his hair, we can conclude that this hypothesis is correct.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the historian's argument

depends?

(A) None of the mercury introduced into the body can be eliminated.

(B) Some people in Beethoven's time did not ingest mercury.

(C) Mercury is an effective treatment for venereal disease.

(D) Mercury poisoning can cause deafness in people with venereal disease.

(E) Beethoven suffered from psychological problems of the same severity as

Newton's.

22. In 1992, a major newspaper circulated throughout North American paid its

reporters an average salary paid by its principle competitors to their reporters. An

executive of the newspaper argued that this practice was justified, since any shortfall

that might exist in the reporters' salaries is fully compensated by the valuable training

they receive through their assignments.

Which one of the following, if true about the newspaper in 1992, most seriously

undermines the justification offered by the executive?

(A) Senior reporters at the newspaper earned as much as reporters of similar

stature who worked for the newspaper's principle competitors.

(B) Most of the newspaper's reporters had worked there for more than ten years.

(C) The circulation of the newspaper had recently reached a plateau, after it had

increased steadily throughout the 1980s.

(D) The union that represented reporters at the newspaper was different from the

union that represented reporters at the newspaper's competitors.

(E) The newspaper was widely read throughout continental Europe and Great

Britain as well as North America.

23. On a certain day, nine scheduled flights on Swift Airlines were canceled.

Ordinarily, a cancellation is due to mechanical problems with the airplane scheduled

for a certain flight. However, since it is unlikely that Swift would have the mechanical

problems with more than one or two scheduled flights on a single day, some of the

nine cancellations were probably due to something else.

(A) More than one or two airplanes were scheduled for the nine canceled flights.

(B) Swift Airlines has fewer mechanical problems than do other airlines of the

same size.

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