1.

Birthday parties for children are times when parents want to

demonstrate their appreciation and love. Birthday balloons are a
common staple of children’s birthday parties, but parents should be
careful about giving helium-filled balloons to their children under any
circumstance. Many children like to inhale the helium from balloons to
make their voices change into high-pitched tones. Surely, this makes
people laugh for a minute or two, but children who try to be too funny
and inhale too much helium are prone to asphyxiation and brain damage.
Which of the following is the main point of the passage?

(A) Balloons should never be given to children at birthday parties.

(B) Inhaling too much helium can cause asphyxiation and brain damage.

(C) Parties should be given only to children whose parents appreciate

them.

(D) Parents should take care when helium balloons are present at
birthday parties.

(E) Birthday balloons should be filled with inert argon gas instead of
helium.

2. Soft drinks have been around for a number of years, but the effects of
drinking them have not been adequately analyzed until recently.
Children who drink at least two soft drinks a day tend to have a blood-
sugar level that is three times the level that is considered healthy for a
child. Additionally, children who drink this many soft drinks tend to
have behavioral problems that cause them to run into trouble with the
authority figures at their schools. Therefore, parents who want a child to
succeed in school must prohibit the child from drinking soft drinks.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument most
depends?
(A) Behavioral problems do not cause children to be more inclined to
drink soft drinks.

(B) Soft drinks cause children to have behavioral problems.

(C) Heightened blood-sugar levels cause children to have behavioral

problems that get them into trouble at school.

(D) Schools should develop programs that warn parents of the risk
involved in allowing their children to drink soft drinks.

(E) Children should be allowed to drink only one soft drink or less per
day to avoid a drastic effect on their blood- sugar levels.

3. Training for their particular sport is the only way for athletes to excel.
Natural talent is one thing, and certainly it is great, but it will not take
someone very far unless it is combined with rigorous training and long
hours of dedicated practice. In fact, some athletes have shown that
people with supreme natural athletic abilities can be far outstripped by
people who have trained themselves in a particular sport. Based on these
assertions, it is clear that innate natural talent is never enough to take
someone to the top of the sports world. Which the following, if true,
would tend to support the conclusion?

(A) James Avery is a famous baseball player who never trained a day in
his life.

(B) All athletes train and practice for their sport without exception.

(C) Julio Ibaniz is a famous swimmer who trained with unparalleled

dedication.

(D) Only people who train hard can rise to the top of the sports world.
(E) There have been chess players who have never studied the game of
chess but still became world champions.

4. Reformist: With the passage of the new tort reform laws, the average
cost of a doctor’s insurance premium will decrease by $300 per month.
Clearly, the savings from tort reform are in the interest of both doctors
and patients. Which of the following, if true, would most seriously call
into question the conclusion of the reformist’s argument?

(A) If tort reform laws are enacted, doctors will be more likely to make
costly errors that will harm patients.

(B) Tort reform laws will enable doctors and patients to pay less per
medical transaction.

(C) Insurance companies will not respond to tort reform laws by

charging more money for other types of insurance.

(D) Healthcare, a major insurance provider, will pass along this $300
benefit to patients.

(E) Doctors and patients will behave differently toward each other if tort
reform laws are passed.

5. If two people sit on a lawn in the spring for an hour, each will receive
an average of nine mosquito bites. Under the same conditions, three
people will receive six mosquito bites each on average. However, six
people sitting under the same conditions will receive three mosquito
bites each on average. Which of the following, if true, would explain
why the people in different groups receive different numbers of bites on
average?

(A) More people attract more mosquitoes, but only to a certain point
when the mosquitoes become full.

(B) Mosquitoes are frightened by groups and tend to avoid collections of

people in favor of attacking individuals.

(C) When a group of people is present, the total number of mosquito

bites is distributed evenly among the people in the group.

(D) Mosquitoes are attracted to the CO2 released by breathing, and the
more people in a group, the more CO2 is released to attract nearby
mosquitoes.

(E) Mosquitoes tend to attack in summer as opposed to the spring, but

even then, the numbers would be fairly similar to the ones given.

6. Food shopper: People love chocolate for its sweet and creamy taste,
but chocolate also has many hidden benefits. The cocoa bean contains
antioxidant compounds that deter aging, debilitating illnesses, and
emaciation. Doctors recommend ingesting these antioxidants once a
week for good health. Therefore, I will eat several bars of chocolate
every day to make sure I get the antioxidants I need to stay healthy. The
major flaw in the argument is that it.

(A) ignores a prominent reason why people choose to pursue a certain

action
(B) mistakes a condition necessary for an outcome with a condition that
causes that outcome

(C) draws a conclusion based on evidence that is obviously fallacious

(D) assumes that something that is beneficial in small amounts will be

even more beneficial in large amounts

(E) appeals to the opinions of scientists to support a personal decision

7. Today, when so many people are looking to combat problems like

obesity with quick fixes like low-carbohydrate diets and diet pills, it is
still clear that none of these quick fixes is the answer. Exercise is the
only way to keep in good shape and lose weight. People can try all of the
quick fixes they like, but without exercise, no one will lose weight.
Quick fixes are popular only because salespeople and advertisements
encourage people to believe that being lazy is okay so long as they take
a certain pill every day. Advertisers spend billions each year to promote
quick fixes, but the payoff is huge because people believe the
advertisers’ claims. Which of the following can be inferred from the
passage?

(A) All salespeople want people to be obese.

(B) Exercise is required for a person to lose weight.

(C) Diet pills and exercise do not work together to promote weight loss.

(D) People who are lazy will never lose weight.

(E) Low-carbohydrate diet books earn billions each year.
8. Driving teacher: Cars should be driven and not aimed. You have to
take into account both road conditions and weather conditions when you
drive. You are most likely to be involved in a traffic accident when you
are not paying close attention to the road or when you are not prepared
for the unexpected. To prevent accidents from occurring, you must
anticipate them, thus protecting yourself and others from the dangers of
a collision. Which of the following is assumed by the argument?

(A) The unexpected can be prepared for. (B) No person wants to get into
a collision.

(C) Accidents occur when people are paying attention.

(D) Cars that are aimed can be deemed to be driven well.

(E) Driving teachers drive better than most of their students do.

9. Onscreen Television Company introduced its new line of televisions

to the market this year. The quality of the new Onscreen television is
undeniably worse than that of all its competitors, but still On screen’s
marketing director felt certain that the new television line would be
financially successful. Remarkably, his predictions came true. This
year’s recession that hurt most other television companies actually
boosted sales of on screen's new television line. Which of the following
would explain why On screen’s new televisions sold well during the
recession compared to the competing products?

(A) On screen’s competitors did not point out the inferior quality of On
screen’s televisions even though most purchasers knew of this fact.

(B) Onscreen televisions were attractive to a particular segment of the

population because of the ethnicity of the company’s founder.
(C) On screen’s televisions were easier to carry than one competing
brand, easier to use than one competing brand, and had better screen
quality than one competing brand.

(D) Despite the recession, more television sets were sold during this past
year than in any previous year.

(E) The poor quality of on screen’s televisions allowed the company to

sell them at a low price, which was attractive to buyers during the
recession.

10. Running in hot weather is more dangerous than running in cooler

weather and requires large amounts of hydration. In hot weather the
body produces more perspiration in order to cool off. As a result, the
body requires more hydration so that it can continue to break down
energy and make more perspiration. People who run in the cold should
also take certain precautions in order to prevent injury. Stretching is
necessary before exercising because it warms up muscles. If cold
muscles are not warmed up, they are subject to tearing or being pulled.
Which of the following is the main point of the passage?

(A) Stretching is necessary before running in order to prevent muscle

pulls or tears.

(B) There are precautions that should be taken when running in hot or
cold weather.

(C) Hydration is not important in cool weather running because the body
does not perspire as much.

(D) Inclement weather can cause injury.

(E) Runners run faster in the cold weather than in warm weather.
11. Herman Hesse was one of the most renowned 20th-century authors.
He is remembered as the father of German modernist literature by virtue
of his astounding literary achievements in the novels Siddhartha and
Steppenwolf. However, some literary critics claim that Goethe was the
greatest writer of the modern era from Germany due to his penchant for
romanticism and lucid descriptive technique. These divergent opinions
about great writers show how taste-specific the study of literature really
is. What is the main point of the passage?

(A) Herman Hesse is thought by many to be the greatest modern

German writer.

(B) German authors were the preeminent writers of the 20th century.

(C) Some claim that Hesse was the most distinguished German writer
while others claim that Goethe was the greatest.

(D) Differences in opinion about the merits of literature demonstrate the

fact that much of its worth is assessed subjectively.

(E) One must study German literature in order to understand great

writing.

12. Sociologist: Theories of gender roles based on biological

predisposition undervalue the influence of socialization on human
psycho-social development. Such theories, which contend that males
may be expected to seek throughout their lives more procreative partners
than females, make such assertions wholly on the basis of biological
assumptions, which in reality, are not only counterfactual but also
indicative of the masculine hegemony and antifeminine bias inherent in
the intellectual precedent established by the antiquated doctrine of Freud
and Jung. Which of the following is the main point of the sociologist’s
argument?
(A) Socialization rather than biological influences should be the
prevailing model in gender studies.

(B) Modern psychologists, drawing upon the Freudian and Jungian

precedent, dominate the gender dialogue with their masculine bias.

(C) Gender role explanations predicated entirely upon biology are not
only erroneous but also inherently misogynistic.

(D) Future psycho-sociology will prove that gender roles are indeed
socialized.

(E) It is a myth that females will seek fewer sexual partners in their
lifetimes than will males.

13. The phenomenon of American artists of all races drawing on

African-American musical influences is remarkable and far-reaching.
Simply take a look at practically every major popular musical movement
in the second half of the 20th century, and this becomes strikingly
obvious. Had there been no Little Richard or Chuck Berry, there would
never have been such luminaries as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the
Rolling Stones, or any other artists we herald as rock and roll masters or
legends. Rock and roll can, in fact, be traced all the way back through
early Roots Music, which never would have arisen if not for the nascent
forms of rhythm and blues, which itself sprang from the Call-and-
Response Songs popular among American slaves in the mid-19th
century. It can be concluded on the basis of the statements above that:

(A) Even early 20th-century popular forms of music, such as Big Band
and Swing, owe a great deal to their black predecessors.
(B) No veritably original form of modern music does not have roots in
early African-American music.

(C) Buddy Holly, a rock and roll legend, would not have been so had it
not been for the influence from songs sung by slaves.

(D) Elvis Presley and the Beatles should not be considered as artistically
great as Little Richard and Chuck Berry, since Richard and Berry
preceded and influenced them.

(E) Caucasian artists will eventually dominate modern urban musical

movements such as hip-hop and rap.

14. According to many critics, Shakespeare’s greatest gift to English

literature was the introduction of the evolving character, that is, one who
changes throughout the course of the work by virtue of his or her own
words and thoughts. King Lear and Hamlet are two fine examples.
Often, this achievement is what critics cite as justification for dubbing
Shakespeare the greatest writer in the English language. However, it is a
little-known fact that Chaucer achieved this very effect some 200 years
before, with his masterfully penned pilgrims Alisoun of Bath and the
Pardoner. Which of the following statements can best be inferred from
the passage?

(A) Chaucer was the greatest English writer.

(B) Chaucer’s Alisoun and the Pardoner resemble Shakespeare’s Lear

and Hamlet in more ways than one.

(C) If whoever introduced the evolving character deserves the title of

“the greatest writer in English,” then Chaucer should hold that
distinction.
(D) The only reason Chaucer is not considered the greatest writer in the
English language is because he wrote in Middle, and not modern,
English.

(E) “Greatest” is a term that cannot be applied to writers.

15. Politician: For a society to come into existence and perpetuate itself,
a group of people must have first formed a government. If there is no
society, then there is no way for people to be safe. Safety is necessary
for humans to live happily. Which of the following is an inference that
can be made from the passage?

(A) The United States would be best served by ensuring its people’s
safety.

(B) If a government is created, then a society will be formed.

(C) If a society is happy, then it will not be safe.

(D) If there is no government, then the society cannot be happy.

(E) Governments are created only by happy and safe societies.

16. Not unlike their counterparts in Europe and parts of Asia, many
American students are required to study a foreign language for two
years, or often more, at the high school level. Quite frequently, these
students continue their language study in college; the culmination of this
study, the predicating assumption holds, is communicative competency
formed through a method of tutelage in the areas of grammar,
vocabulary, conjugation, and sentence structure. However, research
shows that once students have been away from the classroom for over a
year, the vast majority of them have failed to retain almost all of their
foreign language skills. The argument above supports which of the
following claims?
(A) The American system of foreign language study pales in comparison
to the competing systems of Europe and

Asia.

(B) The majority of language-learning programs in America need to

strengthen their tutelage of grammar,

vocabulary, conjugation, and sentence structure.

(C) The methods of foreign language study in the American curriculum

are in and of themselves insufficient to achieve retention.

(D) American students should be immersed in a country that speaks the

language they are studying in order to truly pick up the language.

(E) American students feel less inclination to learn a second language,

since English is currently the dominant

imperial language.

17. The Russian Revolution could easily have been prevented had the
czarist government been more cognizant of and attentive to the needs of
its populace. A sentiment of unrest pervaded the Russian commoners for
a long period of time preceding the revolution, which they expressed
nonviolently for some years to no apparent avail. This was especially
true in the potato fields, where thousands slaved away so that a few
could gorge themselves on the fat of the land. Of course, the people
eventually revolted. This model holds true for all governments; any
leader would be wise to heed the example. If the statements above are
held to be true, it can be concluded that:

(A) If a government does not respond to the needs of its populace, the
populace will revolt.
(B) The Russian commoners revolted because they were starving.

(C) Nonviolent expression of discontent is usually less effective than

real action.

(D) A government must either meet the needs of the people or possess
the military capacity to quell a potential revolt.

(E)If people choose to revolt against their government, the government

will be forced to meet their needs.

18. In the 1920s, doctors advised that everyone over the age of eighteen
should consume at least a third of a cup of pure butter each day, the
theory being that doing so would help lubricate the arteries and therefore
provide better circulation. As recently as the 1950s, physicians
recommended that a person smoke a cigarette following each meal in
order to facilitate better digestion. Modern physicians would balk at such
suggestions, while wholeheartedly recommending dietary habits such as
two glasses of wine per day, a low carbohydrate, high-fat and protein
diet, and the substitution of artificially sweetened sodas and teas over
more natural alternatives. Which of the following is the main point of
the passage?

(A) The claims and suggestions of modern medicine may one day seem
as faulty as those of the past seem to us today.

(B) Medicine today puts many more restrictions on an enjoyable

lifestyle than it used to.

(C) Fewer people die from preventable disease now than in the past
because of the many advancements of medical study.
(D) Cigarettes and high-fat foods such as butter may not be as unhealthy
as doctors tell us they are.

(E)Modern physicians contradict themselves quite often.

19. It is an irrefutable fact that no great pianists were not trained

classically. Many jazz and rock pianists were not trained classically.
Many great pianists are also jazz pianists. Only some rock pianists are
great pianists. All great pianists, no matter what style they practice, are
also great lovers of classical music. If the information above is accepted
as true, which of the following can be concluded?

(A) No rock pianists were trained classically.

(B)Great pianists are classically trained and love classical music.

(C)Jazz and rock pianists are inferior to classical pianists.

(D)All classical pianists learned their craft methodically.

(E)All great pianists eventually choose classical music over jazz or rock.

20. On a remote island in the South Pacific live a people known as the
Yami. The Yami, to the average Western observer, would appear to
epitomize the term “uncivilized”—clad in loincloths, living in dung
hovels, and subsisting from day to day on the fresh dolphin they manage
to spear in the mornings. And yet, an exhaustive cultural anthropological
study of the tribe has revealed extensive and intricate mythological and
religious beliefs and practices, a thoroughly functional and seemingly
fair judicial system, and a language that technically rivals modern
English in linguistic complexity and variance of structure. Which of the
following is the main point of the passage?
(A) We should be ashamed of the way we think of and judge cultures
that differ from our own.

(B) When the Yami are more closely and intimately observed, it is clear
that they are more cultured than we are.

(C) We could learn much from studying cultures such as the Yami that
we tend to think of as savage or uncivilized.

(D) The Yami, a people many would dismiss as savages, have societal
elements rivaling some of those in Western civilization.

(E) Not enough people have studied the Yami to fully understand the
intricacies of their culture.

21. Most oil is transported around the world by sea in large oil barges.
Along with this travel comes the small risk of a shipwreck that would
spill the oil into the ocean, destroying the habitat of many sea creatures.
The waters near Spain have had two major oil spills in the last year and a
half. This summer, a third oil barge called to Spanish harbors requesting
port since it was badly spilling oil. The captain wanted to stop this spill
immediately, but even though the Spanish government highly values
preventing oil spills, it did not allow the barge to dock and forced the
captain to turn further out to sea. Which of the following, if true, most
explains the actions of the Spanish government?

(A) It costs more to clean up a spill that is far from the coast than a spill
that is nearer to the coast.

(B)Most staunch environmentalists would have immediately given the

barge permission to dock in a Spanish port.

(C) A leaking barge journeying to a Spanish port would destroy more

sea life near Spain than one turning away to deeper waters.
(D) The barge was not spilling badly when it made the call, but the spill
would eventually worsen if left untreated.

(E) The oil in the ship could not be salvaged and sold for a profit by the
Spanish government.

22. Early genetic research demonstrated that when beans with different
traits are crossbred, they produce offspring that possess the traits of the
parents according to a specific pattern: If there is a dominant trait, it will
be displayed in all the offspring. There are two varieties of height in
green beans, long and short. The short gene is recessive (not dominant),
but when Sam breeds his green beans, the next season’s offspring are
always of the short variety. Which of the following, if true, would best
explain why the offspring of Sam’s beans are always short?

(A) Sometimes mixes of beans produce beans that are of the short
variety.

(B) Sam would rather have short green beans than long green beans in
his garden.

(C) The dominant allele in black beans is the gene for short height.

(D) Sam cross-breeds beans that only have the recessive trait for height.

(E) Ten years ago, only short green beans grew in Sam’s garden.

23. If two parents have type O blood, then all of their children will have
type O blood. A happily married couple has had three children with type
O blood and assumes that the fourth, due next May, will also have type
O blood. However, after a blood test, the doctor informs them that their
fourth child will have type A blood. Which of the following, if true,
would best account for this turn of events?

(A) The father of the family next door has type O blood.

(B) People who do not have type O blood can have children with type O
blood.

(C) The three older children were born during the winter, while this
child will be born during the summer.

(D) Due to a genetic mutation, 2% of the children of type O parents will

have type B blood.

(E) Scientific documents regarding certain particularities of blood have

been found to be untrue.

24. Many crops are grown in the same place and on the same soil for
many years, so they naturally deplete the minerals in the soil. These
minerals include nutrients that the crops need to survive. By using
organic fertilizers, farmers can restore these vital nutrients. Some
overeager farmers take fresh organic fertilizers and put them
immediately on their crops. This often causes the crops to die within a
week. Which of the following, if true, would help to resolve the
unexpected finding reported in the passage?

(A) Organic fertilizers must be aged for up to several weeks in order to

lose their acidic content.

(B) Farmers often put the wrong fertilizer on a crop.

(C) Fertilizers contain compounds that are very toxic to many species.
(D)Eager farmers are more likely than patient farmers to apply their
fertilizers correctly.

(E) Fertilizers derived from manure can harm crops if applied in

excessive quantities.

25. Types of artificial sweeteners have been manufactured that do not

include sugar. The absence of sugar allows people to make their foods
sweet without also including calories that would lead to fat and obesity.
However, many proponents of dieting, health, and fitness decry the use
of artificial sweeteners. Instead, they recommend that people take the
extra calories present in sugar. Which of the following, if true, would
explain why fitness experts do not advocate the use of artificial
sweeteners?
(A) Fitness experts would be out of a job if everyone were suddenly to
lose weight.

(B) Sugar has positive benefits for people in addition to the negative
ones that most people realize.

(C)Artificial sweeteners replace sugar with compounds that are even

more deleterious to the body.

(D) It has been proven that using artificial sweeteners can lead to
obesity.

(E) Foods can be sweet, healthy, and tasty even though they have a
remarkably high sugar content.