Analyzing Arguments And Answers

Part 6
Answer questions 44 and 45 on the basis of the information
below.
Frances: Studies show that eating a healthy breakfast improves young children’s ability to learn. However, it is not the responsibility of the schools to provide this meal; it is the responsibility of each child’s parents.
Lars: Although it would be nice if the schools could provide each child with a healthy breakfast, the cost of doing that takes money away from other, more important learning resources, such as the purchase of new computers. In the long run, children learn more when the schools concentrate on the services they traditionally provide and the parents do what they are supposed to do.

44. In what way does Lars’s comment relate to
Frances’s?
a. It weakens Frances’s argument by changing
the focus of the discussion.
b. It strengthens Frances’s argument by providing
support for her premise.
c. It states the logical outcome of Frances’s
views.
d. It cannot be true if Frances’s assertion
about parental responsibility is true.
e. It provides an argument that is the opposite
of Frances’s views.
45. What main assumption underlies each
statement?
a. As teachers become more scarce, schools
will have to learn to be more cost-effective
in recruiting new teachers.
b. In the information age, the equipment
schools must purchase for their students is
getting more expensive.
c. The study about students and breakfast is
inconclusive at best, and more studies
should be conducted to find out if school
breakfasts are healthy.
d. Schools have never had the responsibility
for supplying students with breakfast;
rather, they spend their money on teachers,
books, and other tangibles of education.
e. Parents are not assuming enough responsibility
for their children’s education and
should become more involved in school
issues.
Answer questions 46 through 48 on the basis of the
information below.

Analyzing Arguments And Answers

Part 5
Answer question 36 on the basis of the information
below.
I know that our rules prohibit members from bringing more than one guest at a time to the club, but I think there should be an exception to the rule on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Members should be allowed to bring multiple guests on those days, since the majority of members use the club facilities on the other four days of the week.

36. The rules restricting the number of guests a
member can bring to the club probably are
intended to
a. assure that members are not crowded by
the presence of guests.
b. provide extra income for the club on
slow days.
c. allow members to bring guests to the club
for special events.
d. restrict guests to public areas of the club.
e. control the exact number of people in the
club at any time.
Answer questions 37 and 38 on the basis of the
information below.
A recent study on professional football players showed that this new ointment helps relieve
joint pain. My mother has arthritis, and I told her she should try it, but she says it probably won’t help her.

37. What argument should the mother use to
point out why the ointment probably will not
help her arthritis?
a. The ointment was just experimental.
b. The ointment is expensive.
c. Football players’ joint pain is not the result
of arthritis.
d. She has already tried another ointment and
it didn’t work.
e. Football players are generally younger than
she is.
38. Which of the following, if true, would
strengthen the speaker’s argument?
a. The mother used to be a professional
bowler.
b. Football players’ injuries are rarely painful.
c. The mother’s arthritis only flares up in bad
weather.
d. The mother finds exercise helps her arthritis.
e. Football players who are injured tend to
develop arthritis.
Answer questions 39 through 41 on the basis of the
information below.
Giving children computers in grade school is a waste of money and teachers’ time. These children are too young to learn how to use computers effectively and need to spend time on learning the basics, like arithmetic and reading. After all, a baby has to crawl before she can walk.

39. Which of the following methods of argument
is used in the previous passage?
a. a specific example that illustrates the
speaker’s point
b. attacking the beliefs of those who disagree
with the speaker
c. relying on an analogy to prove the speaker’s
point
d. displaying statistics that back up the
speaker’s point
e. comparing different methods of learning
40. Which of the following, if true, would
strengthen the speaker’s argument?
a. studies showing computers are expensive
b. research on the effect of computer games
on children
c. examples of high school students who use
computers improperly
d. proof that the cost of computers is coming
down
e. evidence that using computers makes learning
to read difficult
41. Which of the following, if true, would
weaken the speaker’s argument?
a. a demonstration that computers can be
used to teach reading and arithmetic
b. analysis of the cost-effectiveness of new
computers versus repairing old computers
c. examples of adults who do not know how
to use computers
d. recent grade reports of students in the computer
classes
e. a visit to a classroom where computers are
being used
Answer questions 42 and 43 on the basis of the information
below.

Analyzing Arguments And Answers

Part 4
Answer questions 29 and 30 on the basis of the information
below.
According to last week’s newspaper, doctors in large cities make more money than doctors in small towns or rural areas. It does not seem fair that just because a doctor’s office is in a fancy building or at a fancy address, he or she can charge the patients more. Of course, some medical schools cost more than others, but basically all
doctors spend a lot of money and a long time in school. There’s no proof that graduates of the more expensive schools practice in big cities and graduates of the less expensive schools practice in small towns. All doctors should charge the same. Whether a patient goes to a doctor in a big city or small town, the cost should be the same.

29. A person seeking to refute the argument might argue that
a. all doctors charge too much money and
should lower their fees.
b. medical practices are more expensive to
maintain in large cities than in small towns
and rural areas.
c. doctors who owe student loans should
charge more than other doctors.
d. medical care from small-town doctors is
better than medical care from large-city
doctors.
e. certain medical specialists should charge
more than others.
30. A major flaw in the argument is that the speaker assumes that
a. all doctors are specialists.
b. all patients carry health insurance.
c. all doctors have huge student loans.
d. all patients take too much time.
e. all doctors see the same number of patients.
Answer questions 31 and 32 on the basis of the information
below.
English ought to be the official language of the United States. There is no reason for the government to spend money printing documents in several different languages, just to cater to people who cannot speak English. The government has better ways to spend our money. People who come to this country should learn to speak English right away.

31. Which of the following, if true, would make the speaker’s argument stronger?
a. There is currently a law that says the
government must provide people with
documents in their native language.
b. Most people in the United States who do
not speak English were born here.
c. Immigration rates have decreased in recent
years.
d. Many other countries have an official
language.
e. Canada has two official languages.
32. Which of the following, if true, would make
the speaker’s argument weaker?
a. The government currently translates official
documents into more than twenty
languages.
b. English is the most difficult language in the
world to learn.
c. Most people who immigrate to the United
States learn English within two years of
their arrival.
d. Making English the official language is a
politically unpopular idea.
e. People who are bilingual are usually highly
educated.
Answer questions 33 through 35 on the basis of the
information below.

Analyzing Arguments And Answers

Part 3
21. For too long, school cafeterias, in an effort to provide food they thought would be appetizing to young people, mimicked fast-food restaurants, serving items such as burgers
and fries, pizza, hot dogs, and fried chicken. School districts nationwide are now addressing this trend by incorporating some simple and inexpensive options that will make cafeteria lunches healthier while still appealing to students.
This paragraph best supports the statement
that
a. school cafeterias have always emphasized
nutritional guidelines over any other
considerations.
b. young people would rather eat in a school
cafeteria than a local fast-food restaurant.
c. school lunch menus are becoming healthier
due to major new initiatives on the part of
school districts.
d. it is possible to make school lunches both
healthier and appealing without spending a
great deal of money and undertaking a radical
transformation.
e. vegetarian lunch options would greatly
improve the nutritional value of the school
lunch program.
22. During the last six years, the number of practicing physicians has increased by about 20%. During the same time period, the number of healthcare managers has increased by more than 600%. These percentages mean that many doctors have lost the authority to make their own schedules, determine the fees that they charge, and decide on prescribed treatments.
This paragraph best supports the statement
that doctors
a. resent the interference of healthcare
managers.
b. no longer have adequate training.
c. care a great deal about their patients.
d. are less independent than they used to be.
e. are making a lot less money than they used
to make.
23. By the time they reach adulthood, most people can perform many different activities
involving motor skills. Motor skills involve such diverse tasks as riding a bicycle, threading
a needle, and cooking a dinner. What all these activities have in common is their
dependence on precision and timing of muscular movement.
This paragraph best supports the statement
that
a. most adults have not refined their motor
skills.
b. all adults know how to ride a bicycle.
c. refined motor skills are specifically limited
to adults.
d. children perform fewer fine motor activities
in a day than adults do.
e. threading a needle is a precise motor skill.
24. Close-up images of Mars by the Mariner 9 probe indicated networks of valleys that
looked like the stream beds on Earth. These images also implied that Mars once had an
atmosphere that was thick enough to trap the sun’s heat. If this were true, something happened to Mars billions of years ago that stripped away the planet’s atmosphere.
This paragraph best supports the statement
that
a. Mars now has little or no atmosphere.
b. Mars once had a thicker atmosphere than
Earth does.
c. the Mariner 9 probe took the first pictures
of Mars.
d. Mars is closer to the sun than Earth is.
e. Mars is more mountainous than Earth is.
25. Forest fires feed on decades-long accumulations of debris and leap from the tops of young trees into the branches of mature trees. Fires that jump from treetop to treetop can be devastating. In old-growth forests, however, the shade of mature trees keeps thickets of small trees from sprouting, and the lower branches of mature trees are too high to catch the flames.
This paragraph best supports the statement
that
a. forest fire damage is reduced in old-growth
forests.
b. small trees should be cut down to prevent
forest fires.
c. mature trees should be thinned out to prevent
forest fires.
d. forest fires do the most damage in oldgrowth
forests.
e. old-growth forests have a larger accumulation
of forest debris.
26. Originating in the 1920s, the Pyramid scheme is one of the oldest con games going. Honest people are often pulled in, thinking the scheme is a legitimate investment enterprise. The first customer to “fall for” the Pyramid scheme will actually make big
money and will therefore persuade friends and relatives to join also. The chain then continues with the con artist who originated the scheme pocketing, rather than investing, the money. Finally, the pyramid collapses, but by that time, the scam artist will usually have moved out of town, leaving no forwarding address.
This paragraph best supports the statement
that
a. it is fairly easy to spot a Pyramid scheme in
the making.
b. the first customer of a Pyramid scheme is
the most gullible.
c. the people who set up Pyramid schemes are
able to fool honest people.
d. the Pyramid scheme had its heyday in the
1920s, but it’s making a comeback.
e. the Pyramid scheme got its name from its
structure.

Analyzing Arguments And Answers

Part 2
11. Critical reading is a demanding process. To read critically, you must slow down your
reading and, with pencil in hand, performbspecific operations on the text. Mark up the text with your reactions, conclusions, and questions. When you read, become an active participant. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. critical reading is a slow, dull, but essential
process.
b. the best critical reading happens at critical
times in a person’s life.
c. readers should get in the habit of questioning
the truth of what they read.
d. critical reading requires thoughtful and
careful attention.
e. critical reading should take place at the
same time each day.
12. There are no effective boundaries when it comes to pollutants. Studies have shown that toxic insecticides that have been banned in many countries are riding the wind from
countries where they remain legal. Compounds such as DDT and toxaphene have been found in remote places like the Yukon and other Arctic regions. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. toxic insecticides such as DDT have not
been banned throughout the world.
b. more pollutants find their way into polar
climates than they do into warmer areas.
c. studies have proven that many countries
have ignored their own antipollution laws.
d. DDT and toxaphene are the two most toxic
insecticides in the world.
e. even a worldwide ban on toxic insecticides
would not stop the spread of DDT pollution.
13. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects citizens against unreasonable
searches and seizures. No search of a person’s home or personal effects may be conducted without a written search warrant issued on probable cause. This means that a neutral judge must approve the factual basis justifying a search before it can be conducted. This paragraph best supports the statement that the police cannot search a person’s home
or private papers unless they have
a. legal authorization.
b. direct evidence of a crime.
c. read the person his or her constitutional
rights.
d. a reasonable belief that a crime has occurred.
e. requested that a judge be present.
14. During colonial times in America, juries were encouraged to ask questions of the parties in the courtroom. The jurors were, in fact, expected to investigate the facts of the case themselves. If jurors conducted an investigation today, we would throw out the case.
This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. juries are less important today than they
were in colonial times.
b. jurors today are less interested in court
cases than they were in colonial times.
c. courtrooms today are more efficient than
they were in colonial times.
d. jurors in colonial times were more
informed than jurors today.
e. the jury system in America has changed
since colonial times.
15. Mathematics allows us to expand our consciousness. Mathematics tells us about economic trends, patterns of disease, and the growth of populations. Math is good at
exposing the truth, but it can also perpetuate misunderstandings and untruths. Figures
have the power to mislead people. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. the study of mathematics is dangerous.
b. words are more truthful than figures.
c. the study of mathematics is more important
than other disciplines.
d. the power of numbers is that they
cannot lie.
e. figures are sometimes used to deceive
people.
16. Human technology developed from the first stone tools about two and a half million years ago. At the beginning, the rate of development was slow. Hundreds of thousands of years passed without much change. Today, new technologies are reported daily on television and in newspapers. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. stone tools were not really technology.
b. stone tools were in use for two and a half
million years.
c. there is no way to know when stone tools
first came into use.
d. In today’s world, new technologies are constantly
being developed.
e. none of the latest technologies is as significant
as the development of stone tools.