QUESTIONS 1-4 are from the following passage:

After the end of World War II, a pervasive, but unfortunately fallacious, economic perspective
took hold. Based on the United States’ successful emergence from the Depression, the idea that war
was good for an economy became fashionable. However, linking the United States economic recovery
with its entry into World War II is a prime example of flawed economic thinking.

Supporters of the war benefits economy theory hold that a country at war is a country with a booming
economy. Industry must produce weapons, supplies, food, and clothing for the troops. The increased
production necessitates the hiring of more people, reducing unemployment. More employment
means more money in the pockets of citizens, who are then likely to go out and spend that money,
helping the retail sector of the economy. Retail shops experience an increase in business and may
need to hire more workers, further reducing unemployment and adding to the economic momentum.
While this scenario sounds good in theory, it does not accurately represent what truly happens in a
war time economy.

In reality, the government can fund a war in a combination of three ways. It can raise taxes, cut
spending on other areas, or increase the national debt. Each of these strategies has a negative impact
on the economy. An increase in taxes takes money out of an individual’s hands, leading to a reduction
in consumer spending. Clearly, there is no net benefit to the economy in that case. Cutting spending
in other areas has its costs as well, even if they are not as obvious. Any reduction in government
spending means the imposition of a greater burden on the benefactors of that government spending.
Cutbacks in a particular program mean that the people who normally depend on that program now
must spend more of their money to make up for the government cuts. This also takes money out of
consumers’ hands and leaves the economy depressed. Of course, a government could go into debt
during the war, but such a strategy simply means that at some point in the future, taxes must be
increased or spending decreased. Plus, the interest on the debt must be paid as well.

1. The “pervasive…economic perspective” mentioned in line 1 took hold because

A. observers took the appearance of one phenomenon with another to indicate that one caused the
other

B. the U.S. would not have emerged from the Depression had it not entered World War II

C. the booming economy during wartime created thousands of jobs in the U.S.

D. most people are not trained to think in economic terms

E. economists confused an event that was necessary for an outcome to occur with one that is merely
sufficient to bring about that outcome

2. Which of the following situations best mirrors the effect that cutting spending in government
programs has, as detailed in the passage?

A. Government cutbacks on public works maintenance lead to a deterioration of roads, which creates
more work for private construction firms.

B. A decrease in the federal education budget causes certain schools to close, which forces families to
send their children to schools that are farther away.
C. A federal decrease in unemployment payments causes some individuals who would otherwise
remain on unemployment to seek jobs.

D. Government cuts in housing subsidies results in fewer houses being built.

E. A reduction in the federal spending on food safety inspections leads to a rash of illnesses and an
increase in the amount of money spent on medicine.

3. The passage implies which of the following about a government that funds a war by increasing the
national debt?

A. It is no worse off than it would be funding a war by cutting spending or increasing taxes.

B. The initial costs it incurs are less than with the other two methods, but the future costs are greater.

C. It must increase taxes in order to pay off the interest on the debt.

D. If the government does not increase taxes or decrease spending, its economy will not recover.

E. It receives a net benefit to the economy greater than it would achieve with either of the other two
methods.

4. The second paragraph of the passage performs which of the following functions?

A. It describes the common economic benefits of a wartime economy.

B. It provides the background information necessary to understand

the information in the third paragraph.

C. It explains what happened to the United States’ economy during World War II.

D. It presents a possible objection to the author’s main thesis.

E. It helps explain why individuals might hold the viewpoint presented in the first paragraph

Questions 5-8 are from the following passage:

Currently the focus of research into artificial intelligence (AI) is on relatively limited applications,
including guiding airplanes and missiles, understanding language, detecting credit card fraud, and
diagnosing medical conditions from electrocardiograms. While these avenues certainly contain
promise for commercial and industrial interests, the populace at large typically is more interested in
a slightly less consequential application of AI. In 1997, Deep Blue, a chess playing computer program,
defeated grand master Gary Kasparov in a tournament, marking the first time a computer was able to
best a human world champion.

But these more “frivolous” applications of AI are actually valuable indicators of the state of
technology. Computer engineers are constantly reviving and reinventing the programming algorithms
in an effort to make computers think more like people do. And the exponential increases in processing
and storage technology are allowing artificial intelligence researchers to greatly increase the power of
AI programs while simultaneously reducing the size and computing needs of the machines. For
example, the Deep Blue program required 256 specialized processors to analyze the millions and
millions of combinations of moves. Each of these processors was about one hundred times faster than
a standard home computer, which means Deep Blue was about 25,600 times faster than a 1997
personal computer.

Only five years later, in 2002, AI engineers unleashed a new chess playing program, Deep Fritz. Deep
Fritz played Vladimir Kramnik, the highest ranked chess player in the world, to a draw, but this result
was anything but a failure to the AI community. Whereas Deep Blue required 256 processors to
achieve its victory, Deep Fritz had a mere eight. Deep Blue could analyze 200 million moves per second,
but Deep Fritz could deal with only 2.5 million. Yet Deep Fritz’s chess playing abilities more closely
resemble those of a person. Deep Blue was able to defeat Kasparov by brute strength alone,
calculating millions of possible moves and counter moves. Deep Fritz played Kramnik to a draw by
using advanced pattern recognition skills, which allowed it to be competitive despite considering
fewer move combinations.

5. The main idea of the passage is that

A. computer chess programs will soon be able to defeat any human challenger

B. computer chess programs are now being designed to be more efficient and perform fewer
calculations

C. certain applications of AI technology provide insight into advances in the field

D. the public pays too much attention to frivolous applications of AI technology

E. the Deep Fritz chess program is more successful than the Deep Blue program

6. According to the passage, the AI community did not view Deep Fritz’s draw as a failure because

A. Kramnik was a higher ranked chess player than Kasparov and was thus harder to defeat

B. researchers did not expect Deep Fritz to win because it only had eight processors

C. Deep Fritz’s performance suggested that programmers were approaching one of their goals

D. Deep Blue’s victory had already proven that a computer could beat a grand champion in chess

E. human players had five years to adapt to competing against chess programs

7. The author implies that human chess players

A. will not lose to Deep Fritz

B. will soon be unable to defeat most computer chess programs

C. are not able to analyze possible move combinations when playing chess

D. rely on pattern recognition skills when playing chess

E. could potentially beat Deep Fritz but not Deep Blue

8. The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. contrast the abilities of two computer programs

B. encourage researchers to pursue more serious inquiries

C. detail the state of research in a particular field

D. compare human chess players to computer chess programs

E. challenge a long-held assumption about AI

Questions 9-12 are from the following passage:

On the whole, the American population has very little taste for income redistribution as economic
policy. Beginning in the 1930s, public opinion polls have rarely shown strong support for income
redistribution; during times of economic hardship, the percentage of Americans in favour of such a
system has barely crested 50 percent. Similarly, Americans have been reluctant to press for a limit on
the profits of big corporations, with less than a third of those polled in the 20-year span between 1950
and 1970 favouring such a policy.

Even during the Depression, the populace was reluctant to embrace income redistribution as a
solution to the country’s woes. In 1939, over 60 percent of respondents indicated that the government
should not increase taxes on the wealthy and an overwhelming majority—over 80 percent—rejected
the idea of the government confiscating wealth. Clearly, the American spirit of Lockean liberalism and
rugged individualism runs deep. It appears that most people are content to trust income distribution
to the private market.

Of course, while overall support for income distribution remains low on average, there are some
significant differences in levels of support based on income levels. As expected, those in the lowest
income bracket demonstrate the strongest support for employment and income maintenance
programs. However, contrary to expectations, these differences in support were not largest during
the volatile economic times of the 1930s and 1940s. Rather, the documented differences in support
based on income have been relatively stable over time. On the whole, political scientists have noticed
anywhere from a 22 percent to 34 percent difference between the opinions of those classified as
“prosperous” and those classified as “poor” on the question of income redistribution.

9. The main point made by the passage is that

A. The American spirit of Lockean liberalism is primarily responsible for the population’s rejection of
income redistribution.

B. Despite some variations in support based on income levels, the American population on the whole
views income redistribution policies with disfavour, even during times of economic hardship.

C. Although polls have indicated some variation in response level, on the whole, less than 50 percent
of Americans support income redistribution.

D. Poll results on government income redistribution policies have remained stable over time, even
during periods of economic hardship.

E. Income redistribution is not viewed as the solution to economic difficulties by the majority of
American citizens.

10. The passage states that differences in support for governmental income redistribution policies

A. defied expectations by showing that those in lower income brackets had less support for these
programs than those in higher income brackets
B. vary greatly depending the income level of respondents and the economic conditions at the time
the poll is taken

C. are not, for the most part, significantly affected by outside influences

D. are not significantly different due to the American ideal of rugged individualism

E. are based solely on differences in the income levels of respondents

11. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

I. During the Depression, a smaller percentage of Americans supported raising taxes than supported
government confiscation of wealth

II. Today, about a third of Americans support limits on corporate profits

III. Before 1930, a majority of Americans supported income distribution

A. none

B. I only

C. I and II only

D. I and III only

E. I, II, and III

12. An assumption underlying the author’s assertion in the second paragraph is that

A. the private market is the best way to distribute income in an economy

B. Americans had never experienced economic hardships as severe as those experienced during the
Great Depression

C. Lockean liberalism and rugged individualism entail a reliance on private markets for income
distribution

D. the government had no intentions of confiscating property during the Great Depression

E. income redistribution would be insufficient to solve the country’s economic woes during the Great
Depression