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754
|
Sammy: For my arthritis, I am going to try my aunts diet: large amounts of wheat germ and garlic. She was able to move more easily right after she started that diet
Pat: When my brother began that diet, his arthritis got worse. But he has been doing much better since he stopped eating vegetables in the nightshade family, such as tomatoes and peppers
Which of the following, if true, would provide a basis for explaining the fact that Sammy's aunt and Pats brother had contrasting experiences with the same diet?
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755
|
In the 1960s, surveys of Florida`s alligator population indicated that the population was dwindling rapidly. Hunting alligators was banned. By the early 1990s, the alligator population had recovered, and restricted hunting was allowed. Over the course of the 1990s, reports of alligators appearing on golf courses and lawns increased dramatically. Therefore, in spite of whatever alligator hunting went on, the alligator population must have increased significantly over the decade of the 1990s.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
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756
|
Infotek, a computer manufacturer in Katrovia, has just introduced a new personal computer model that sells for significantly less than any other model. Market research shows, however, that very few Katrovian households without personal computers would buy a computer, regardless of its price. Therefore, introducing the new model is unlikely to increase the number of computers in Katrovian homes.Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
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757
|
Fast-food restaurants make up 45 percent of all restaurants in Cantaria. Customers at these restaurants tend to be young; in fact, studies have shown that the older people get, the less likely they are to eat in fast-food restaurants. Since the average age of the Canatrian population is gradually rising and will continue to do so, the number of fast-food restaurants is likely to decrease.Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
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758
|
Last year a chain of fast-food restaurants, whose menu had always centered on hamburger, added its first vegetarian sandwich, much lower in fat than the chain`s other offerings. Despite heavy marketing, the new sandwich accounts for a very small proportion of the chain`s sales. The sandwich`s sales would have to quadruple to cover the costs associated with including it on the menu. Since such an increase is unlikely, the chain would be more profitable if it dropped the sandwich. Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
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759
|
Transportation expenses accounted for a large portion of the total dollar amount spent on trips for pleasure by residents of the United States in 1997, and about half of the total dollar amount spent on the transportation was airfare. However, the large majority of United States residents who took trips for pleasure in 1997 did not travel by airplane but used other means of transportation.If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true about United States residents who took trips for pleasure in 1997?
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760
|
Voters commonly condemn politicians for being insincere, but politicians often must disguise their true feelings when they make public statements. If they expressed their honest views-about, say, their party`s policies-then achieving politically necessary compromises would be much more difficult. Clearly, the very insincerity that people decry shows that our government is functioning well.Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines this reasoning?
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761
|
Duckbill dinosaurs, like today's monitor lizards had particularly long tails, which they could whip at considerable speed. Monitor lizards use their tails to strike predators. However, although duckbill tails were otherwise very similar to those of monitor lizards, the duckbill`s tailbones were proportionately much thinner and thus more delicate. Moreover, to ward off their proportionately much larger predators, duckbills would have had to whip their tails considerably faster than monitor lizards do.
The information given, if accurate, provides the strongest support for which of the following hypotheses?
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762
|
In an attempt to produce a coffee plant that would yield beans containing no caffeine. the synthesis of a substance known to be integral to the initial stages of caffeine production was blocked either in the beans, in the leaves, or both. For those plants in which synthesis of the substance was blocked only in the leaves. the resulting beans contained no caffeine.
Any of the following. if true, would provide the basis for an explanation of the observed results
EXCEPT:
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763
|
Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
Laminated glass is much harder to break than the glass typically used in the windows of cars driven in Relnia. It is more difficult for thieves to break into cars with laminated glass windows than into cars with ordinary glass windows, and laminated glass windows are less likely to break in a collision. Nevertheless, considerations of security and safety do not unambiguously support a proposal to require that in Relnia all glass installed in cars be laminated glass, since_________.
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764
|
Consultant: Ace Repairs ends up having to redo a significant number of the complex repair jobs it undertakes, but when those repairs are redone, they are invariably done right. Since we have established that there is no systematic difference between the mechanics who are assigned to do the initial repairs and those who are assigned to redo unsatisfactory jobs, we must reject the
hypothesis that mistakes made in the initial repairs are due to the mechanics' lack of competence. Rather, it is likely that complex repairs require a level of focused attention that the company's mechanics apply consistently only to repair jobs that have not been done right on the first try.
In the consultant's reasoning, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
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765
|
To reduce waste of raw materials, the government of Sperland is considering requiring household appliances to be broken down for salvage when discarded. To cover the cost of salvage, the government is planning to charge a fee, which would be imposed when the appliance is first sold. Imposing the fee at the time of salvage would reduce waste more effectively, however, because consumers tend to keep old appliances longer if they are faced with a fee for discarding them.Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
|
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766
|
When there is less rainfall than normal, the water level of Australian rivers falls and the rivers flow more slowly. Because algae whose habitat is river water grow best in slow-moving water, the amount of algae per unit of water generally increases when there has been little rain. By contrast, however, following a period of extreme drought, algae levels are low even in very slow-moving river water.Which of the following, if true, does most to explain the contrast described above?
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767
|
Increased use of incineration is sometimes advocated as a safe way to dispose of chemical waste. But opponents of incineration point to the 40 incidents involving unexpected releases of dangerous chemical agents that were reported just last year at two existing incinerators commissioned to destroy a quantity of chemical waste material. Since designs for proposed new incinerators include no additional means of preventing such releases, leaks will only become more prevalent if use of incineration increases. Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
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768
|
Public health expert: Increasing the urgency of a public health message may be counterproductive. In addition to irritating the majority who already behave responsibly, it may undermine all government pronouncements on health by convincing people that such messages are overly cautious. And there is no reason to believe that those who ignore measured voices will listen to shouting.The two sections in boldface play which of the following roles in the public health expert`s argument?
|
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769
|
Several industries have recently switched at least partly from older technologies powered by fossil fuels to new technologies powered by electricity. It is thus evident that less fossil fuel is being used as a result of the operations of these industries than would have been used if these industries had retained their older technologies.Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument above?
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770
|
The difference in average annual income in favor of employees who have college degrees, compared with those who do not have such degrees, doubled between 1980 and 1990. Some analysts have hypothesized that increased competition between employers for employees with college degrees drove up income for such employees.Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the explanation described above?
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771
|
Which of the following most logically completes the passage? According to the last pre-election poll in Whippleton, most voters believe that the three problems government needs to address, in order of importance, air pollution, crime, and unemployment. Yet in the election, candidates from parties perceived as strongly against pollution were defeated, while those elected were all from parties with a history of opposing legislation designed to reduce pollution. These results should not be taken to indicate that the poll was inaccurate, however, since _______ .
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772
|
Manufacturing plants in Arundia have recently been acquired in substantial numbers by investors from abroad. Arundian politicians are proposing legislative action to stop such investment, justifying the proposal by arguing that foreign investors, opportunistically exploiting a recent fall in the value of the Arundian currency, were able to buy Arundian assets at less than their true value.Which of the following, if true, casts the most serious doubt on the adequacy of the Arundian politicians` justification for the proposed legislation?
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773
|
Proposal: Carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere block the escape of heat into space. So emission df these "greenhouse" gases contributes to global warming. In order to reduce global warming, emission of greenhouse gases needs to be reduced. Therefore, the methane now emitted from open landfills should instead be burned to produce electricity.
Objection: The burning of methane generates carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere.
Which of the following, if true, most adequately counters the objection made to the proposal?
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