Digital-SAT-Support-Weaken-Inference

By Thầy Phùng Nhật Minh
2024
Digital SAT Reading Review
Support/Weaken/Inference Questions
Content
 1. Support Questions
 2. Weaken Questions
 3. Inference Questions
 4. Practice
1
1 – Support Questions
 Fact sets are a collection of statements without a conclusion, as in the following
example:
“The Jacksonville area has just over one million residents. The Cincinnati area has
almost two million residents. The New York area has almost twenty million residents.”
 Additional Premise Indicators: furthermore, moreover, besides, in addition, what’s

more….. For example:
 Every professor at Fillmore University teaches exactly one class per semester.
Fillmore’s Professor Jackson, therefore, is teaching exactly one class this semester.
Moreover, I heard Professor Jackson say she was teaching only a single class.
 The additional premise is sometimes non-essential to the argument, but provides

additional proof for the conclusion. 2
 Premise and Conclusion Recognition Exercise
 Identify the conclusion and the premise(s) in the following problems:
 So, as indicated by the newly released data, we should push forward with our efforts
to recolonize the forest with snowy tree crickets.
 Television has a harmful effect on society. This can be seen from the poor school
performance of children who watch significant amounts of television and from the fact
that children who watch more than six hours of television a day tend to read less than
non-television watching children.
 The rapid diminishment of the ecosystem of the Amazon threatens the entire planet.
Consequently, we must take immediate steps to convince the Brazilian government
that planned development projects need to be curtailed for the simple reason that
these development projects will greatly accelerate the toss of currently protected land.
 Counter-premise indicators: but, yet, however, on the other hand, admittedly, in
contrast, although, even though, still, whereas, in spite of, despite, after all
 Counter-premises can be ideas that compare and contrast with the argument, or work
against a previously raised point. For example:
 During last night’s robbery, the thief was unable to open the safe. Thus, last night’s
robbery was unsuccessful despite the fact that the thief stole several documents. After
all, nothing in those documents was as valuable as the money in the safe.
3
 Keep these fundamental rules in mind when approaching Support questions
 1. In order to maximize your chances of success you must identity, isolate,

and assess the premise (including a set of facts and/or surveys/experiments)
and the conclusion/hypothesis/claim of the argument.
 2. Focus on the conclusion/hypothesis/claim.
 3. There may be reasoning errors/weaknesses present in the argument.
 Wrong answer
 1. Opposite Answers. These answers do the exact opposite of what is needed—they

weaken the argument.
 2. Shell Game Answers. A Shell Game occurs when an idea or concept is raised in
the passage and then a very similar idea appears in the answer choice, but the idea is
changed just enough to be incorrect but still attractive.
 3. Out of Scope Answers. These answers simply miss the point of the argument and
support issues that are either unrelated to the argument or tangential to the argument.
4
 Advertisement: At most jewelry stores, the person assessing the diamond is the person
selling it so you can see why an assessor might say that a diamond is of higher quality
than it really is. But because all diamonds sold at Gem World are certified in writing,
you’re assured of a fair price when purchasing a diamond from Gem World.
 Which finding, if true, would most directly support the reasoning in the advertisement?
 (A) Many jewelry stores other than Gem World also provide written certification of the
quality of their diamonds.
 (B) The certifications of diamonds at Gem World are written by people with years of
experience in appraising gems.
 (C) The diamonds sold at Gem World are generally of higher quality than those sold at
other jewelry stores.
 (D) The written certifications of diamonds at Gem World are provided by an
independent company of gem specialists.
 If you were standing there in the store and you were told that Gem World has written
certification, wouldn’t you ask who does the certification? This is the essence of
personalizing the argument - place yourself inside the situation and think how you
would react.
 As soon as you do that in this question, the weakness in the argument becomes
apparent.
 Then, since this is a Support question, you can look for an answer choice that
eliminates this weakness.
 Answer choice (D) addresses the hole in the argument by indicating that the
individuals who provide the written certification are not the same people who are selling
the diamonds at Gem World. 5
 Answer choice (A): The conclusion addresses the fair price of diamonds at Gem World,
not other stores. The fact that other stores have written certification does not help the
Gem World advertisement.
 Answer choice (B): The answer is incorrect because it fails to address the point raised
in the first sentence, namely that the person assessing the diamond has a personal
stake in the outcome.
 Answer choice (C): The argument asserts that a fair price is assured when purchasing
a diamond at Gem World. No claim to comparative quality is made in the
advertisement, and thus this answer does not strengthen the argument.
 Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer. As mentioned above, this answer
addresses the separation of the certification writer from the seller.
 Researchers have discovered a new poison, bromethalin, that is lethal to all rats, even
to those species that have become immune to other poisons, as well as to those rats
that eat only the most minute quantities. Tests have demonstrated that rats will not
learn to avoid bromethalin, and the researchers claim that carcasses of rats killed by
bromethalin pose no threat to the well-being of other animals.
 Which of the following statements, if true, would directly support the researchers'
claim?
 (A) Animals, prompted by curiosity, often examine carcasses that appear in their
territory.
 (B) Chemicals in the digestive tract of dead rats quickly break bromethalin down into a
nontoxic substance.
 (C) Traces of bromethalin remain in the rat's mouth and saliva after the rat eats the
poison.
 (D) Certain animals are scavengers and feed habitually on refuse and dead flesh. 6
 According to the theory of continental drift, in prehistoric times, many of today’s
separate continents were part of a single huge landmass. As the plates on which this
landmass rested began to move, the mass broke apart, and ocean water tilled the
newly created chasms. It is hypothesized, for example, that South America was once
joined on its east coast with what is now the west coast of Africa.
 Which one of the following discoveries, if it were made, would most support the above
hypothesis about South America and Africa?
 (A) A large band of ancient rock of a rare type along the east coast of South America is
of the same type as a band on the west coast of Africa.
 (B) The climates of western Africa and of the east coast of South America resemble
each other.
 (C) Some of the oldest tribes of people living in eastern South America speak
languages linguistically similar to various languages spoken by certain western African
peoples.
 (D) Several species of plants found in western Africa closely resemble plants growing
in South America.
 Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer, and this is the only answer that
addresses the land. By tying the rock strata of each continent together, the answer
supports the idea that there was once a physical connection between the two
continents.
 Answer choice (B): The similarity of climates does not help establish that the
landmasses were once connected.
 Answer choice (C): The language of the people does not mean the continents were
connected. Australians and Americans share the same language, but this is because
both areas were populated in modem times by English-speaking people from Britain.
 Answer choice (D): The resemblance of plants in both areas does not suggest or
strengthen the idea that the continents were joined.
7
 Medical doctor: Sleep deprivation is the cause of many social ills, ranging from
irritability to potentially dangerous instances of impaired decision making. Most people
today suffer from sleep deprivation to some degree. Therefore we should restructure
the workday to allow people flexibility in scheduling their work hours.
 Which finding, if true, would most support the medical doctor’s argument?
 (A) The primary cause of sleep deprivation is overwork.

 (B) Employees would get more sleep if they had greater latitude in scheduling their
work hours.
 (C) More people would suffer from sleep deprivation today than did in the past if the
average number of hours worked per week had not decreased.
 (D) The extent of one’s sleep deprivation is proportional to the length of one’s workday.
 The first premise contains a causal assertion (not a causal conclusion), and the second
premise indicates that most people suffer from the stated cause. This combination
would lead to the conclusion that most people have a social ill (which could be
irritability or impaired decision making, or something in between).
 However, the conclusion in the argument leaps over this idea to conclude that the
workday should be restructured. The missing link—or assumption—in the argument is
that restructuring the workday would alleviate the sleep deprivation. As always,
whenever you see a gap in the argument, you can strengthen the argument by
eliminating that gap. By relating sleep to work, answer choice (B) closes the gap in the
argument.
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 Answer choice (A): This is a tricky answer, and the key word is “overwork.” While the
author clearly believes that work schedules affect sleep, this does not mean that
employees are being overworked.
 Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer. By indicating that employees would
avoid sleep deprivation with a revised workday, this answer affirms that the leap made
in the argument is not an unreasonable one.
 Answer choice (C): This answer may hurt the argument by suggesting that some
individuals cannot be helped by the restructuring of the workday.
 Answer choice (D): The argument does not suggest that the workday will be shortened,
only that the day will be structured so that people have more flexibility in scheduling
their hours.
2 – Weaken Questions
 How to Weaken an Argument
 When evaluating an answer, ask yourself, “Would this answer choice make the author
reconsider his or her position or force the author to respond?” If so, you have the
correct answer.
 The conclusion is the part of the argument that is most likely to be attacked, but the
correct answer choice will not simply contradict the conclusion. Instead, the correct
answer will undermine the conclusion by showing that the conclusion fails to account
for some element or possibility. In this sense, the correct answer often shows that the
conclusion does not necessarily follow from the premises even if the premises are
true.
9
 Consider the following example:
 All my neighbors own blue cars. Therefore I own a blue car.
 Even though the statement that the neighbors have blue cars is entirely reasonable,
the weakness in the argument is that this fact has no impact on the color of the car I
own.
 In this overly simplified problem, the correct weakening answer would be something
along the lines of, “The cars of one’s neighbors have no determinative effect on the
car any individual owns.”
 Answers that weaken the argument’s conclusion will attack assumptions made by the
author. In the example above, the author assumes that the neighbors’ ownership of
blue cars has an impact on the color of the car that he owns, if this assumption were
shown to be questionable, the argument would be undermined.
 The passage for weaken questions contain errors of assumption. Typically, the author
will fail to consider other possibilities or leave out a key piece of information. In
this sense the author assumes that these elements do not exist when he or she
makes the conclusion, and if you see a gap or hole in the argument immediately
consider that the correct answer might attack this hole.
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 Three Incorrect Answer Traps
 1. Opposite Answers. These answers do the exact opposite of what is needed. In

this case, they strengthen the argument as opposed to weakening it.
 2. Shell Game Answers. In Weaken questions, the Shell Game is usually used to
attack a conclusion that is similar to, but slightly different from, the one presented in
the passage.
 3. Out of Scope Answers. These answers simply miss the point of the argument and
raise issues that are either not related to the argument or tangential to the argument.
 Carl is clearly an incompetent detective. He has solved a smaller percentage of the
cases assigned to him in the last 3 years—only 1 out of 25—than any other detective
on the police force.
 Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?
 (A) Because the police chief regards Carl as the most capable detective, she assigns
him only the most difficult cases, ones that others have failed to solve.
 (B) Before he became a detective, Carl was a neighborhood police officer and was
highly respected by the residents of the neighborhood he patrolled.
 (C) Detectives on the police force on which Carl serves are provided with extensive
resources, including the use of a large computer database, to help them solve crimes.
 (D) Many of the officers in the police department in which Carl serves were hired or
promoted within the last 5 years. 11
 The passage uses a premise about success rate to form a conclusion about Carl's
competency as a detective. Ask yourself—does the premise prove the conclusion?
No, because there are many factors that could have affected Carl’s performance.
 In this sense, the passage has incomplete information, and we should try to discover a
relevant piece of information in one of the answer choices that will shed more light on
why Carl’s success rate is so low.
 Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer. We discover that Carl receives the
hardest cases, and one would expect that the hardest cases would yield a lower
success rate.
 Answer choice (B): This answer is irrelevant. It tries to use the opinion of others about
Carl’s performance in one capacity to refute facts about his performance in another
capacity.
 Answer choice (C): This is an Opposite answer that strengthens the claim that Carl is
incompetent.
 Answer choice (D): This answer goes beyond the scope of the argument by
discussing the promotions of other officers. These promotions do not impact Carl's job
and no information is given about Carl’s promotions.
12
 Beverage company representative: The plastic rings that hold six-packs of beverage cans
together pose a threat to wild animals, which often become entangled in the discarded rings
and suffocate as a result. Following our lead all beverage companies will soon use only
those rings consisting of a new plastic that disintegrates after only three days’ exposure to
sunlight. Once we all complete the switchover from the old to the new plastic rings,
therefore, the threat of suffocation that plastic rings pose to wild animals will be eliminated.
 Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the representative’s argument?
 (A) The switchover to the new plastic rings will take at least two more years to complete.
 (B) After the beverage companies have switched over to the new plastic rings, a substantial
number of the old plastic rings will persist in most aquatic and woodland environments.
 (C) The new plastic rings rarely disintegrate during shipping of beverage six-packs because
most trucks that transport canned beverages protect their cargo from sunlight.
 (D) The new plastic rings disintegrate into substances that are harmful to aquatic animals
when ingested in substantial quantities by them.
 Answer choice (A): This answer does not hurt the argument because the author
qualified the conclusion to account for the date of the switchover.
 Answer choice (B); This is the correct answer. This answer undermines the
representative’s conclusion by showing that even after the switchover is complete, the
threat to animals from plastic rings will persist.
 Answer choice (C): this answer does not affect the conclusion because it does not
address the threat of suffocation to animals.
 Answer choice (D): This is the most commonly chosen answer, and it is a perfect
example of a Shell Game. The conclusion is specifically about suffocation, and answer
choice (D) does not address suffocation.
13
 Loggerhead turtles live and breed in distinct groups, of which some are in the Pacific
Ocean and some are in the Atlantic. New evidence suggests that juvenile Pacific
loggerheads that feed near the Baja peninsula hatch in Japanese waters 10,000
kilometers away. Ninety-five percent of the DNA samples taken from the Baja turtles
match those taken from turtles at the Japanese nesting sites.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the reasoning above?
(A) Nesting sites of loggerhead turtles have been found off the Pacific coast of North
America several thousand kilometers north of the Baja peninsula.
(B) The distance between nesting sites and feeding sites of Atlantic loggerhead turtles
is less than 5,000 kilometers.
(C) Loggerhead hatchlings in Japanese waters have been declining in number for the
last decade while the number of nesting sites near the Baja peninsula has
remained constant.
(D) Ninety-five percent of the DNA samples taken from the Baja turtles match those
taken from Atlantic loggerhead turtles.
 The argument uses the premise that Baja turtles and Japanese turtles share ninety-
five percent of their DNA to conclude that Baja turtles hatch in Japanese waters
10,000 kilometers away.
 This sounds like convincing statistical evidence unless you realize that many
organisms share DNA. For example, humans and chimpanzees share about 98% of
their DNA (we share about 75% of our DNA with dogs, for that matter). Since Baja and
Japanese turtles come from the same species, it is not surprising that they would
share a high percentage of their DNA.
 Regardless of whether or not you saw this connection, you should have been skeptical
of the reference to juvenile turtles travelling 10,000 kilometers. Such a lengthy trip by
a juvenile animal is unlikely, and calls into question the soundness of the argument.
14
 Answer choice (A): This answer does not impact the argument because no details—
DNA or otherwise— are given about the turtles at these nesting sites off the Pacific
coast of North America.
 Answer choice (B): The fact that Atlantic turtles have nesting and feeding sites no
more than 5,000 kilometers apart does not attack the argument because the argument
is about Baja turtles.
 Answer choice (C): This answer attempts to weaken the argument by inducing you to
conclude that if the Japanese hatchlings are declining but Baja sites are constant,
then the Baja sites cannot be supplied by the Japanese hatchlings. But, the answer
choice moves from the number of hatchlings to the number of sites.
 Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer. The answer shows that all turtles in the
argument have the same ninety-five percent DNA, meaning that the Baja turtles did
not have to take the 10,000 kilometer trip.
3 – Inference Questions
 Inference questions require you to select an answer choice that is proven by
the information presented in the passage. The correct answer choice can be
a paraphrase of part of the passage or it can be a logical consequence of
one or more parts of the passage.
 Inference questions appear in a variety of formats, but one of the following

words appears consistently: infer, imply, suggest, indicate, therefore, thus,
consequently, as a result, conclude.
15
 Flavonoids are a common component of almost all plants, but a specific variety of
flavonoid in apples has been found to be an antioxidant. Antioxidants are known to be
a factor in the prevention of heart disease. Therefore, it can properly be inferred that
______
 Which choice most logically completes the text?
 (A) A diet composed largely of fruits and vegetables will help to prevent heart disease.
 (B) Flavonoids are essential to preventing heart disease.
 (C) Eating at least one apple each day will prevent heart disease.
 (D) At least one type of flavonoid helps to prevent heart disease.
 The passage is short, and can be broken down into three components:
 First Statement: Flavonoids are a common component of almost all plants,

 Second Statement: a specific variety of flavonoid in apples has been found to be an
antioxidant.
 Third Statement: Antioxidants are known to be a factor in the prevention of heart
disease.
 The first and second premises have “flavonoid” in common, and the second and third
premises have “antioxidant” in common. Take a moment to examine each connection.
 The antioxidant connection in the last two premises is more revealing. The second
premise indicates that flavonoid in apples is an antioxidant, and the third premise
states that antioxidants are a factor in preventing heart disease. 16
 Adding these two points together, we can deduce that the specific flavonoid in apples
is a factor in preventing heart disease.
 Answer choice (A) is too broad to be supported by the facts: nowhere are we told that
a diet of fruits and vegetables will help prevent heart disease.
 Answer choice (B): Nothing in the passage supports the rather strong statement that
flavonoids are essential to preventing heart disease.
 Answer choice (C) is incorrect because the language is too strong: the passage only
stated that apples contain an element that was a factor in preventing heart disease,
not that they definitely will prevent heart disease.
 Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer.
 The importance of the ozone layer to terrestrial animals is that it entirely filters out
some wavelengths of light but lets others through. Holes in the ozone layer and the
dangers associated with these holes are well documented. However, one danger that
has not been given sufficient attention is that these holes could lead to severe eye
damage for animals of many species, suggesting that ______
 (A) All wavelengths of sunlight that can cause eye damage are filtered out by the
ozone layer where it is intact.
 (B) Few species of animals live on a part of the earth’s surface that is not threatened
by holes in the ozone layer.
 (C) Some species of animals have eyes that will not suffer any damage when exposed
to unfiltered sunlight.
 (D) Some wavelengths of sunlight that cause eye damage are more likely to reach the
earth’s surface where there are holes in the ozone layer than where there are not. 17
 Answer choice (A): the word “all” should be a red flag. The passage only states that
the ozone layer filters “some” wavelengths and let others through.
 Answer choice (B): we do not know that few of the animal species live in non-
threatened areas.
 Answer choice (C): nothing in the passage proves this.
 Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer. Holes must be letting some damaging
wavelengths of light through.
 Correct Answers in Inference Questions
 1. Paraphrased Answers: answers that restate a portion of the passage in different

terms. Sometimes the answer can appear to be almost too obvious since it is drawn
directly from the passage.
 2. Answers that are the sum of two or more passage’s statements (Combination
Answers)
18
 Incorrect Answers in Inference Questions
 1. Could Be True or Likely to Be True Answers: these answers are attractive because
there is nothing demonstrably wrong with them. Regardless, these answers fail the
Fact test. Remember, you must select an answer choice that must occur based on
what you have read.
 2. Exaggerated Answers: take information from the passage and then stretch that
information to make a broader statement that is not supported by the passage. Here is
an example:
 If the passage states “Some software vendors recently implemented more rigorous
licensing procedures.”
 An incorrect answer would exaggerate one or more of the elements: “Most software
vendors recently implemented more rigorous licensing procedures.”
 Here is another example:
 If the passage states “Recent advances in the field of molecular biology make it likely
that many school textbooks will be rewritten.”
 The exaggerated and paraphrased version would be: “Many school textbooks about
molecular biology will be rewritten.”
 3. The Opposite Answer. As the name suggests, the Opposite Answer provides an
answer that is completely opposite of the stated facts of the passage. Opposite
Answers are very attractive to students who are reading too quickly or carelessly.
19
 The increasing complexity of scientific inquiry has led to a proliferation of multi-authored
technical articles. Reports of clinical trials involving patients from several hospitals are
usually coauthored by physicians from each participating hospital. Likewise, physics papers
reporting results from experiments using subsystems developed at various laboratories
generally have authors from each laboratory. If all of the statements above are true, it can
be inferred that ______
 (A) Clinical trials involving patients from several hospitals are never conducted solely by
physicians from just one hospital.
 (B) Many reports of clinical trials involving patients from several hospitals have multiple
authors.
 (C) When a technical article has multiple authors, they are usually from different institutions.
 (D) Physics papers authored by researchers from multiple laboratories usually report results
from experiments using subsystems developed at each laboratory.
 A: First, the passage never discusses who conducts the studies, only who authors the
reports. The answer choice is also incorrect because the passage indicates that reports
involving patients from several hospitals are usually coauthored.
 B: This answer choice is a direct paraphrase of the second sentence. It translates “usually”
into “many,” and "coauthored by physicians from each participating hospital” into “multiple
authors”. This is the correct answer.
 C: No comment is made about the frequency of multi-authored technical articles.
 D: This is a Reverse answer.
20
4 – Practice
 Boreal owls range over a much larger area than do other owls of similar size. The
reason for this behavior is that the small mammals on which owls feed are especially
scarce in the forests where boreal owls live, and the relative scarcity of prey requires
the owls to range more extensively to find sufficient food.
 Which of the following, if true, most helps to support the explanation above?
 A) Some boreal owls range over an area eight times larger than the area over which
any other owl of similar size ranges.
B) Boreal owls range over larger areas in regions where food of the sort eaten by
small mammals is sparse than they do in regions where such food is abundant.
C) After their young hatch, boreal owls must hunt more often than before in order to
feed both themselves and their newly hatched young.
D) Sometimes individual boreal owls hunt near a single location for many weeks at a
time and do not range farther than a few hundred yards.
4 – Practice
 PhishCo runs a number of farms in the arid province of Nufa, depending largely on the
irrigation. Now, as a part of a plan to efficiently increase the farms' total production, it
plans to drill down to an aquifer containing warm, slightly salty water that will be used
to raise fish in ponds. The water from the ponds will later be used to supplement
piped-in irrigation water for PhishCo's vegetable fields, and the ponds and
accompanying vegetation should help reduce the heat in the area of the farms.
 Which of the following, if true, most helps to support the plan above?
 A) Most of the vegetation to be placed around the ponds is native to Nufa.

B) Fish raised on PhishCo's farms are likely to be saleable in the nearest urban areas.
C) Organic waste from fish in the pond water will help to fertilize fields where it is used
for irrigation.
D) The government of Nufa will help to arrange loan financing to partially cover the
costs of drilling.
22
4 – Practice
 Two decades after the Emerald River Dam was built, none of the eight fish species native to
the Emerald River was still reproducing adequately in the river below the dam. Since the
dam reduced the annual range of water temperature in the river below the dam from 50
degrees to 6 degrees, scientists have hypothesized that sharply rising water temperatures
must be involved in signaling the native species to begin the reproductive cycle.
 Which of the following, if true, would most support the scientists’ hypothesis?
A) The native fish species were still able to reproduce only in side streams of the river below
the dam where the annual temperature range remains approximately 50 degrees.
B) Before the dam was built, the Emerald River annually overflowed its banks, creating
backwaters that were critical breeding areas for the native species of fish.
C) The lowest recorded temperature of the Emerald River before the dam was built was 34
degrees, whereas the lowest recorded temperature of the river after the dam was built has
been 43 degrees.
D) Nonnative species of fish, introduced into the Emerald River after the dam was built,
have begun competing with the declining native fish species for food and space.
4 – Practice
 Two experimental garden plots were each planted with the same number of tomato
plants. Magnesium salts were added to the first plot but not to the second. The first
plot produced 20 pounds of tomatoes and the second plot produced 10 pounds. Since
nothing else but water was added to either plot, the higher yields in the first plot must
have been due to the magnesium salts.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?
A) Tomato plants in a third experimental plot, to which a high-nitrogen fertilizer was

added, but no magnesium salts, produced 15 pounds of tomatoes.
B) Four different types of tomatoes were grown in equal proportions in each of the
plots.
C) Some weeds that compete with tomatoes cannot tolerate high amounts of
magnesium salts in the soil.
D) The two experimental plots differed from each other with respect to soil texture and
exposure to sunlight.
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4 – Practice
 Using computer techniques, researchers analyze layers of paint that lie buried
beneath the surface layers of old paintings. They claim, for example, that additional
mountainous scenery once appeared in Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, which
was later painted over. Skeptics reply to these claims, however, that X-ray
examinations of the Mona Lisa do not show hidden mountains.
Which of the following, if true, would tend most to weaken the force of the skeptics’
objections?
A) There is no written or anecdotal record that Leonardo da Vinci ever painted over
major areas of his Mona Lisa.
B) Painters of da Vinci’s time commonly created images of mountainous scenery in
the backgrounds of portraits like the Mona Lisa.
C) No one knows for certain what parts of the Mona Lisa may have been painted by
da Vinci’s assistants rather than by da Vinci himself.
D) Analysis relying on X-rays only has the capacity to detect lead-based white
pigments in layers of paint beneath a painting’s surface layers.
4 – Practice
 People who do regular volunteer work tend to live longer, on average, than people
who do not. It has been found that “doing good,” a category that certainly includes
volunteer work, releases endorphins, the brain's natural opiates, which induce in
people a feeling of well-being. Clearly, there is a connection: Regular releases of
endorphins must in some way help to extend people's lives.
Which of the following, it true most seriously weakens the force of the evidence given
as support for the hypothesis that endorphins promote longevity?
A) People who do regular volunteer work are only somewhat more likely than others to
characterize the work they do for a living as “doing good.”
B) Although extremely high levels of endorphins could be harmful to health, such
levels are never reached as a result of the natural release of endorphins.
C) There are many people who have done some volunteer work but who do not do
such work regularly.
D) People tend not to become involved in regular volunteer work unless they are
healthy and energetic to begin with. 24
4 – Practice
 People often pronounce a word differently when asked to read written material aloud
than when speaking spontaneously. These differences may cause problems for those
who develop computers that recognize speech. Usually the developers “train” the
computers by using samples of written material read by the people who will be using
the compute. The observations above provide most evidence for the conclusion that
______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
A) it will be impossible to develop computers that decode spontaneous speech.

B) when reading written material, people who have different accents pronounce the
same word in the same way as one another.
C) computers may be less reliable in decoding spontaneous speech than in decoding
samples that have been read aloud.
D) a “trained” computer never correctly decodes the spontaneous speech of a person
whose voice sample was used to train it.
4 – Practice
 Journalist: Obviously, though some animals are purely carnivorous, none would
survive without plants. But the dependence is mutual. Many plant species would never
have come to be had there been no animals to pollinate, fertilize, and broadcast their
seeds. Also, plants’ photosynthetic activity would deplete the carbon dioxide in Earth’s
atmosphere were it not constantly being replenished by the exhalation of animals,
engine fumes, and smoke from fires, many set by human beings. The main conclusion
of the journalist’s argument is that ______
A) the photosynthetic activity of plants is necessary for animal life, but animal life is
also necessary for the occurrence of photosynthesis in plants.
B) the chemical composition of Earth and its atmosphere depends, at least to some
extent, one the existence and activities of the animals that populate Earth.
C) human activity is part of what prevents plants from depleting the oxygen in Earth’s
atmosphere on which plants and animals alike depends.
D) just as animals are dependent on plants for their survival, plants are dependent on
animals for theirs. 25
4 – Practice
 The chances that tropical storms will develop in a given area increase whenever the
temperature of a large body of water in that area exceeds 26 degrees Celsius to a
depth of about 60 meters. If the amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere
continues to increase, the temperatures of all of the Earth’s waters will rise, with the
result that the number of large bodies of water whose temperatures exceed 26
degrees Celsius to a depth of about 60 meters will eventually be greater than it is
today. The statements above most strongly support the conclusion that ______
A) there are likely to be more tropical storms if the amount of carbon dioxide in the
Earth’s atmosphere continues to increase.
B) tropical storms can occur only when the air temperature exceeds 26 degrees
Celsius.
C) the number of large bodies of water whose temperatures exceed 26 degrees
Celsius to a depth of about 60 meters is greater today than it ever was.
D) the ferocity of tropical storms does not depend on the amount of carbon dioxide in
the Earth’s atmosphere.
4 – Practice
 Rural households have more purchasing power than do urban or suburban
households at the same income level, since some of the income urban and
suburban households use for food and shelter can be used by rural households for
other needs. From the statement made above, it can be inferred that ______
A) the average rural household includes more people than does the average urban or
suburban household.
B) rural households have lower food and housing costs than do either urban or
suburban households.
C) suburban households generally have more purchasing power than do either rural or
urban households.
D) the median income of urban and suburban households is generally higher than that
of rural households.
26
4 – Practice
 Speakers of a language rely on their general knowledge of the world in order to make
sense of statements they hear or read. Computers can easily be "taught" the formal
rules of a human language, but supplying them with this general knowledge is
another matter. It is extremely difficult to develop computers that can extract the
meaning of ordinary sentences. From the passage above, it can be validly inferred
that ______
A) the interpretation of the meaning of ordinary sentences is dependent on a general

knowledge of the world.
B) computers that can be “taught” the rules of a human language can understand
statements in that language.
C) it is futile to try to "teach" computers the formal rules of any language.
D) speakers of a language often must reject the formal rules of that language in order
to understand simple sentences.
4 – Practice
 The only fossilized bones of large prey found in and around settlements of early
humans bear teeth marks of nonhuman predators on areas of the skeleton that had
the most meat, and cut marks made by humans on the areas that had the least
meat. The predators that hunted large prey invariably ate the meatiest parts of the
carcasses, leaving uneaten remains behind. If the information above is true, it
provides the most support that ______
A) early humans were predators of small prey, not of large prey.

B) early humans ate fruits and edible roots as well as meat.
C) early humans would have been more effective hunters of large prey if they had
hunted in large groups rather than individually.
D) early humans were not hunters of large prey but scavenged the uneaten remains of
prey killed by other predators.
27
Thầy Minh’s Education Studio
Support/Weaken/Inference
Practice Test
28
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Arts advocate: Few universities require that 1
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
students who are specializing in science and Which of the following would, if true, most
technology take many art courses. However, support the argument above?
real progress in science and technology requires
an element of creativity, which the arts foster. A) Universities required more art courses for
Thus, to help science and technology students science and technology students in the
succeed in their careers, universities should past.
increase the number of art courses required for B) Participation in art courses increases
them. students' creative thinking in their science
and technology courses.
C) More students who are interested in art
would specialize in science and
technology if the number of art courses
required for those programs were
increased.
D) Some of the most prominent scientists
began their careers as artists.
Half of the subjects in an experiment—the 2

experimental group—consumed large quantities Which of the following, if true, would best
of a popular artificial sweetener. Afterward, this support the conclusion that some ingredient
group showed lower cognitive abilities than did of the sweetener was responsible for the
the other half of the subjects—the control group experimental results?
—who did not consume the sweetener. The
detrimental effects were attributed to an amino A) Most consumers of the sweetener do not
acid that is one of the sweetener's principal consume as much of it as the experimental
constituents. group members did.
B) The amino acid referred to in the
conclusion is a component of all proteins,
some of which must be consumed for
adequate nutrition.
C) The quantity of the sweetener consumed
by individuals in the experimental group is
considered safe by federal food regulators.
D) The two groups of subjects were evenly
matched with regard to cognitive abilities
prior to the experiment.
29
Unauthorized copying or reuse of any part of this page is illegal. CO NTI N U E
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3
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The Testament of William Thorpe was
published around 1530 as an appendix to Which of the following, if true, would most
Thorpe's longer Examination. Many scholars, support the scholar's hypothesis concerning
however, doubt the attribution of the Testament the date of the Testament?
to Thorpe because, whereas the Examination is
dated 1406, the Testament is dated 1460. One A) The sole evidence that historians have
scholar has recently argued that the 1460 date be had that William Thorpe died no earlier
amended to 1409, based on the observation that than 1460 was the presumed date of
when these numbers are expressed as Roman publication of the Testament.
numerals, MCCCCLX and MCCCCIX, it B) In the preface to the 1530 publication, the
becomes easy to see how the dates might have editor attributes both works to William
become confused through scribal error. Thorpe.
C) Few writers in fifteenth-century England
marked dates in their works using only
Roman numerals.
D) The Testament alludes to a date, "Friday,
September 20," as apparently
contemporaneous with the writing of the
Testament, and September 20 fell on a
Friday in 1409 but not in 1460.
By competing with rodents for seeds, black 4

ants help control rodent populations that pose a Which of the following, if true, most supports
public health risk. However, a very aggressive the argument?
species of black ant, the Loma ant, which has
recently invaded a certain region, has a A) Ant flies do not attack black ants other
venomous sting that is often fatal to humans. than Loma ants.
Therefore, the planned introduction into that B) Loma ants are less effective than many
region of ant flies, which prey on Loma ants, bird species in competing with rodents for
would benefit public health. seeds.
C) Certain other species of black ants are
more effective than Loma ants in
competing with rodents for seeds.
D) The sting of Loma ants can also be fatal to
rodents.
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Many agriculturally intensive areas of the 5
world are beginning to encounter water scarcity Which of the following, it true, would most
problems. As a result, many farmers in these strongly support the prediction that the
areas are likely to reduce their output as the group's plan will succeed?
water supply they need in order to maintain
production shrinks. However, one group of A) Farmers that can gain a larger share of
farmers in such a region plans to increase their the food market in their regions will be
production by implementing techniques for better positioned to control more water
water conservation. resources.
B) Most agricultural practices in areas with
water shortages are water intensive.
C) Demand for agricultural products in the
group's region is not expected to decline.
D) More than halt the water used for
agriculture in the farmers’ region is lost
to evaporation or leakage from irrigation
channels.
Brown tides are growths of algae on the sea's 6

surface that prevent sunlight from reaching Which of the following, if true, provides the
marine plants below, thereby destroying not most support for the conclusion of the
only the plants but also the shellfish that live off argument?
these plants. Biologists recently isolated a virus
that, when added to seawater, kills the algae that A) When applied in large quantities, the virus
cause brown tides. Adding large quantities of not only kills the algae that cause brown
this virus to waters affected by brown tides will tides but also many harmless kinds of
therefore make it possible to save the algae.
populations of shellfish that inhabit those B) Marine animals that prey on shellfish
waters. avoid areas of the sea in which brown tides
are occurring.
C) The number of different kinds of virus
present in seawater is far greater than
many marine biologists had, until recently,
believed.
D) The presence of large quantities of the
virus in seawater does not adversely affect
the growth of marine plants.
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When feeding, aquatic birds known as 7
phalaropes often spin rapidly on the water’s Which of the following, if true, most strongly
surface, pecking for food during each supports the hypothesis?
revolution. To execute these spins, phalaropes
kick one leg harder than the other. This action A) A given phalarope spins exclusively either
creates upwelling currents. Because plankton on to the right or to the left.
which phalaropes feed typically occurs in B) Phalaropes sometimes spin when they are
greater quantities well below the surface, it is not feeding.
hypothesized that by spinning phalaropes gain C) Different phalaropes spin at somewhat
access to food that would otherwise be beyond different rates.
their reach.
D) Phalaropes do not usually spin when food
is abundant at the surface.
Aphasia, an impairment of the capacity to 8

use language, often occurs when a stroke Which of the following, if true, most strongly
damages the left half of the brain. Many people supports the explanation?
with stroke-related aphasia recover at least
some capacity to use language within a year. A) In a study of local brain activity in people
One proposed explanation for such recoveries is performing a language task, people with
that the right side of the brain, which is not stroke related aphasia showed higher
usually the major language center, develops its activity levels in the right half of the brain
latent language capabilities to compensate for than people who did not have aphasia.
the damage to the left side. B) A blow to the head injuring the left half of
the brain can result in impairment of the
capacity to use language indistinguishable
from that produced by a stroke.
C) Among people with stroke-related
aphasia, recovering lost capacity to use
language does not lead to any impairment
of those capacities normally controlled by
the right half of the brain.
D) A stroke that damages the left half of the
brain often causes physical impairments of
the right side of the body that lessen over
time.
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In Country X's last election, the Reform 9
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Party beat its main opponent, the Conservative Which of the following statements, if true,
Party, although pollsters, employing in-person would most support the argument in the
interviews shortly before the vote, had projected passage?
a Conservative Party victory. Afterwards, the
pollsters determined that, unlike Conservative A) The number of voters in Country X's
Party supporters, Reform Party supporters were next election will be significantly larger
less likely to express their party preference than the number of voters in the last
during in-person interviews than they were election.
during telephone interviews. Therefore, using B) The Conservative Party will win the next
only telephone interviews instead would likely election.
result in more accurate projections for the next C) For each person interviewed in telephone
election. polls before the next election, pollsters
will be able to reasonably determine the
likelihood of that person voting.
D) People who expressed no party
preference during the in-person
interviews shortly before Country X's last
election did not outnumber the people
who expressed a preference for the
Conservative Party.
Wood smoke contains dangerous toxins that 10

cause changes in human cells. Because wood Which of the following, if true, provides
smoke presents such a high health risk, the most support for the argument above?
legislation is needed to regulate the use of open-
air fires and wood-burning stoves. A) The amount of dangerous toxins
contained in wood smoke is much less
than the amount contained in an equal
volume of automobile exhaust.
B) Smoke produced by coal-burning stoves is
significantly more toxic than smoke from
wood-burning stoves.
C) No significant beneficial effect on air
quality would result if open-air fires were
banned within the jurisdiction covered by
the proposed legislation.
D) In valleys where wood is used as the
primary heating fuel, the concentration of
smoke results in poor air quality.
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Many people suffer an allergic reaction to 11
sulfites, including those that are commonly Which of the following, if true, most seriously
added to wine as preservatives. However, since weakens the argument?
there are several winemakers producing wine to
which no sulfites are added, those who would A) Sulfites occur naturally in most wine.
like to drink wine but are allergic to sulfites can B) The sulfites that can produce an allergic
drink these wines without risking an allergic reaction are also commonly found in
reaction to sulfites. beverages other than wine.
C) Wines without added sulfites tend to be
at least moderately expensive.
D) Apart from sulfites, there are other
substances commonly present in wine
that can trigger allergic reactions.
Editorial: The roof of Northtown's municipal 12

equipment-storage building collapsed under the Which of the following, if true, most seriously
weight of last week's heavy snowfall. The weakens the editorial's argument?
building was constructed recently and met local
building-safety codes in every particular, except A) The only other buildings to suffer roof
that the nails used for attaching roof supports to collapses from the weight of the snowfall
the building's columns were of a smaller size were older buildings constructed
than the codes specify for this purpose. Clearly, according to less exacting standards than
this collapse exemplifies how even a single, those in the codes.
apparently insignificant departure from safety B) The amount of snow that accumulated on
standards can have severe consequences. the roof of the equipment-storage
building was greater than the predicted
maximum that was used in drawing up
the safety codes.
C) Because the equipment-storage building
was not intended for human occupation,
some safety-code provisions that would
have applied to an office building did not
apply to it.
D) The municipality of Northtown itself has
the responsibility for ensuring that
buildings constructed within its
boundaries meet the provisions of the
building-safety codes.
34
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Currently, warm-blooded pets are allowed to 13
enter the country only if they have a certificate Which one of the following, if true, most
showing that they have been vaccinated against substantially weakens the argument?
rabies. This policy is flawed because
vaccinations sometimes fail to take effect. If the A) Under the proposed policy, some pets
vaccination is successful, the animal has a high that have not been infected with rabies
level of rabies antibodies in its blood. Therefore, might be prevented from entering the
a more effective means of preventing pets with country.
rabies from entering the country would be to B) There is no way to distinguish between
administer blood tests and refuse entry to any high antibody levels caused by active
pets whose blood did not contain a high level of infection and high levels caused by
rabies antibodies. successful immunization.
C) Under existing policies, some species of
animals are quarantined and observed for
symptoms of rabies before a decision is
made to allow them into the country.
D) The proposed policy would be ineffective
in preventing wild animals infected with
rabies from entering the country.
Networks of blood vessels in bats’ wings 14

serve only to disperse heat generated in Which of the following, if true, most seriously
flight. This heat is generated only because weakens the argument in the passage?
bats flap their wings. Thus paleontologists’
recent discovery that the winged dinosaur A) Sandactylus’ wings were far more similar
Sandactylus had similar networks of blood to the wings of bats than to the wings of
vessels in the skin of its wings provides birds.
evidence for the hypothesis that Sandactylus B) The mechanism used by bats for
flew by flapping its wings, not just by gliding. dispersing heat in flight could, in
principle, work for much larger flying
creatures, such as Sandactylus.
C) Not all the bats that use the mechanism
described in the passage for dispersing
heat in flight live in climates similar to the
climate in which Sandactylus lived.
D) Other winged dinosaurs that flew only by
gliding had networks of blood vessels in
the skin of their wings similar to those that
Sandactylus had.
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Suitable habitats for gray wolves have greatly 15
diminished in area. In spite of this fact, the The argument above would be most
most sensible course would be to refrain from significantly weakened if which of the
reestablishing gray wolves in places where following were true?
previously they have been hunted out of
existence. Striving to bring back these animals A) Effective laws against the hunting of gray
to places where they will only face lethal human wolves have been enacted.
hostility is immoral. B) Ranchers, farmers, and hunters still have
an ingrained bias against gray wolves.
C) Programs for increasing the gray wolf
population are not aided by federal laws
that require the licensing of hunters of
certain predators.
D) Suggested programs for increasing the
gray wolf population have been criticized
by environmentalists and biologists.
Early in the twentieth century, Lake Konfa 16

became very polluted. Recently fish populations Which of the following, if true, seriously
have recovered as release of industrial weakens the argument?
pollutants has declined and the lake' waters
have become cleaner. Fears are now being A) The Pipeline's construction will disturb
voiced that the planned construction of an oil sediments at the bottom of the lake,
pipeline across the lake’s bottom might revive dispersing into the water toxic pollutants
pollution and cause the fish population to that have settled there.
decline again. However, a technology for B) Changes in the land use and drainage
preventing leaks is being installed. Therefore, patterns around the lake mean that the
provided this technology is effective, those fears lake's waters are increasingly likely to be
are groundless. affected by agricultural runoff.
C) A major leak of oil from the pipeline
would harm not only the lake's fish but
also populations of other aquatic animals
and plants.
D) Since the beginning of the twentieth
century, non native species of fish have
been introduced into the lake and now
make up a considerable proportion of its
overall fish population.
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Motorists in a certain country frequently 17
complain that traffic congestion is much worse Which of the following, if true, most seriously
now than it was 20 years ago. No real measure weakens the argument?
of how much traffic congestion there was 20
years ago exists, but the motorists' complaints A) Most automobile travel is local, and the
are almost certainly unwarranted. The country's networks of roads and streets in the
highway capacity has tripled in the last twenty country's settled areas have changed little
years, thanks to a vigorous highway over the last 20 years.
construction program, whereas the number of B) Gasoline prices are high, and miles
automobiles registered in the country has traveled per car per year have not changed
increased by only 75 percent. much over the last 20 years.
C) The country's urban centers have well-
developed public transit systems that carry
most of the people who commute into
those centers.
D) The average age of automobiles registered
in the country is lower now than it was 20
years ago.
Less than 50 percent of a certain tropical 18

country’s wildlands remains intact. Efforts are Which of the following, if true, most
under way to restore biological diversity in that significantly weakens the argument of the
country by restoring some destroyed wild opponents of conservation efforts?
habitats and extending some relatively intact
portions of forests. However, opponents argue A) As much, if not more, effort is required to
that these efforts are not needed because there is restore a wild habitat as to preserve an
still plenty of wildland left. intact habitat.
B) Existing conservation laws have been very
effective in preserving biological diversity
within the wildlands that remain intact.
C) For many tropical species native to that
country, the tropical wildlands that are
still relatively intact do not provide
appropriate habitats for reproduction.
D) If a suitable population of plants and
animals is introduced and is permitted to
disperse and grow, tropical habitats can
most certainly be restored.
37
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19
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The island country of Donia is severely
polluted by nitrogen dioxide from automobile Which of the following, if true, most strongly
emissions. Because the vast majority of weakens the likelihood that implementing the
automobiles in Donia are owned by people who plan would accomplish the Donian
live in the capital city, the pollution is government's goal?
particularly heavy there. In order to
significantly reduce the population's exposure A) The number of automobiles in Donia is
to nitrogen dioxide, the Donian government is unlikely to decline significantly in the
considering a plan to mandate that catalytic foreseeable future.
converters, devices designed to reduce such B) The government's plan to mandate
emissions, be installed on every automobile in catalytic converters is likely to be strongly
the country. opposed by some members of the Donian
legislature.
C) Most automobile trips in Donia's capital
city are too short for the catalytic
converter to reach its effective working
temperature.
D) The average life of an automobile used in
the capital city is shorter than the average
life of a car that is mostly used outside it.
The painted spider spins webs that are much 20

stickier than the webs spun by the other species Which one of the following, if true, most
of spiders that share the same habitat. Stickier seriously weakens the argument?
webs are more efficient at trapping insects that
fly into them. Spiders prey on insects by A) Not all of the species of insects living in
trapping them in their webs. Therefore, it can the painted spider’s habitat are flying
be concluded that the painted spider is a more insects.
successful predator than its competitors. B) Butterflies and moths which can shed
scales are especially unlikely to be trapped
by spider webs that are not very sticky.
C) Although the painted spider’s venom does
not kill insects quickly, it paralyzes them
almost instantaneously.
D) Stickier webs reflect more light and so are
more visible to insects than are less-sticky
webs.
38
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Researchers have concluded from a survey of 21
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people aged 65 that emotional well-being in Which choice most logically completes the text?
adulthood is closely related to intimacy with
siblings earlier in life. Those surveyed who had A) some people who attended college as
never had any siblings or who said that at young adults are likely as a result to be
college age they were emotionally distant from emotionally better off at age 65.
their siblings were emotionally less well B) the emotional well-being of people aged
adjusted at 65 than were those who had been 65 depends on the emotional well-being of
close to at least one brother or sister. If the their siblings.
researchers’ conclusion is accurate, it follows
C) it is closeness to siblings rather than just
that ______
having siblings that is more relevant to
people’s emotional well-being at age 65.
D) people who are emotionally well off at
college age are more likely to be
emotionally well off at age 65 as well.
Something must be done to ease traffic 22

congestion. In traditional small towns, people Which choice most logically completes the text?
used to work and shop in the same town in
which they lived, but now that stores and A) people who now travel on major
workplaces are located far away from residential highways should be encouraged to travel
areas, people cannot avoid travelling long on secondary roads instead.
distances each day. Traffic congestion is so B) residents of the remaining traditional
heavy on all roads that, even on major small towns should be encouraged to
highways, the maximum speed averages only 35 move to the suburbs.
miles per hour. Therefore, ______ C) drivers who travel well below the
maximum speed limit on major highways
should be fined.
D) new businesses should be encouraged to
locate closer to where their workers
would live.
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Although most smoking-related illnesses are 23
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
caused by inhaling the tar in tobacco smoke, it Which choice most logically completes the text?
is addiction to nicotine that prevents most
smokers from quitting. In an effort to decrease A) the average quantity of tar inhaled by
the incidence of smoking-related illnesses, Sandonian smokers who are currently
lawmakers in Sandonia plan to reduce the addicted to nicotine will probably not
average quantity of nicotine per cigarette by decrease during the next five years.
half over the next five years. Unfortunately, B) Sandonian smokers who are not already
smokers who are already addicted to nicotine addicted to nicotine will probably also
tend to react to such reductions by smoking begin to smoke more cigarettes during
correspondingly more cigarettes. Therefore, it the next five years than they had
can be predicted that ______ previously.
C) the annual number of Sandonian
smokers developing smoking-related
illnesses will probably decrease during
the next five years.
D) the proportion of Sandonian's
attempting to quit smoking who succeed
in that attempt will probably decrease
during the next five years.
From 1973 to 1986, growth in the United 24

States economy was over 33 percent, while the Which choice most logically completes the text?
percent growth in United States energy
consumption was zero. The number of barrels A) it is more difficult to find new sources of
of oil being saved per day by energy-efficiency oil than to institute new energy-
improvements made since 1973 is now 13 conservation measures.
million. If this information is correct, it can be B) oil imports cannot be reduced unless
concluded that ______ energy consumption does not grow at all.
C) a reduction in the consumption of
gasoline was the reason overall energy
consumption remained steady.
D) it is possible for an economy to grow
without consuming additional energy.
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Moralist: Humans have a natural disposition 25
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to altruism—that is, to behavior that serves the Which choice most logically completes the text?
needs of others regardless of one’s own needs—
but that very disposition prevents some acts of A) all moral codes prohibit selfishness.
altruism from counting as moral. Reason plays B) all moral behavior is motivated by
an essential role in any moral behavior. Only altruism.
behavior that is intended to be in accordance
C) behavior must serve the needs of others
with a formal set of rules, or moral code, can be
in order to be moral behavior.
considered moral behavior. The main
conclusion of the moralist’s argument is that D) not all altruistic acts are moral behavior.
______
Stronger patent laws are needed to protect 26

inventions from being pirated. With that
protection, manufacturers would be encouraged
to invest in the development of new products A) increased productivity in manufacturing
and technologies. Such investment frequently is likely to be accompanied by the creation
results in an increase in a manufacturer’s of more manufacturing jobs.
productivity. From the information above, it B) manufacturers will decrease investment in
can be concluded that ______ the development of new products and
technologies unless there are stronger
patent laws.
C) the weakness of current patent laws has
been a cause of economic recession.
D) stronger patent laws would stimulate
improvements in productivity for many
manufacturers.
41
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A computer equipped with signature- 27
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recognition software, which restricts access to a Which choice most logically completes the text?
computer to those people whose signatures are
on file, identifies a person's signature by A) the time it takes to record and analyze a
analyzing not only the form of the signature but signature makes the software impractical
also such characteristics as pen pressure and for everyday use.
signing speed. Even the most adept forgers B) computers equipped with the software
cannot duplicate all of the characteristics the will soon be installed in most banks.
program analyzes. It can be logically concluded C) nobody can gain access to a computer
from the information above that ______ equipped with the software solely by
virtue of skill at forging signatures.
D) signature-recognition software has taken
many years to develop and perfect.
It has been found that job prospects for 28

college graduates have never been better. The
trend is likely to continue over the next decade.
A recent survey found that most employers A) soon, more graduates are likely to be
simply did not know that the number of competing for fewer jobs.
students graduating would drop by 25 percent B) soon, there is likely to be a shortage of
over the past ten years, and had not anticipated graduates to fill certain vacancies.
or planned for this trend. Most employers were
C) employers are aware of changing trends
not aware that, although the supply of graduates
in subjects studied by undergraduates.
currently meets demand, this situation could
change. The same survey revealed that the D) soon, fewer graduates are likely to be
number of undergraduates choosing to study competing for fewer available jobs.
subjects in high demand, like mathematics and
engineering, has dropped substantially. This
trend is likely to continue over the next decade.
It can properly be concluded from the above
information that ______
42
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When a polygraph test is judged 29
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inconclusive, there is no reflection on the Which choice most logically completes the text?
examinee. Rather, such a judgement means that
the test has failed to show whether the A) most examinees with inconclusive
examinee was truthful or untruthful. polygraph test results are in fact
Nevertheless, employers will sometimes refuse untruthful.
to hire a job applicant because of an B) polygraph tests should not be used by
inconclusive polygraph test result. It can most employers in the consideration of job
properly be drawn from the information above applicants.
that ______ C) an inconclusive polygraph test result is
sometimes unfairly held against the
examinee.
D) a polygraph test indicating that an
examinee is untruthful can sometimes be
mistaken.
A certain gene can be stimulated by 30

chemicals in cigarette smoke, causing lung cells Which choice most logically completes the text?
to metabolize the chemicals in a way that
makes the cells cancerous. Yet smokers in A) stimulation of the gene by chemicals in
whom this gene is not stimulated have as high a cigarette smoke is not the only factor
risk of developing lung cancer from smoking as affecting the risk for smokers of
other smokers do. If the statements above are developing lung cancer.
true, it can be concluded on the basis of them B) nonsmokers have as high a risk of
that ______ developing lung cancer as do smokers in
whom the gene has not been stimulated.
C) smokers in whom the gene has been
stimulated are more likely to develop lung
cancer than are other smokers.
D) the gene is more likely to be stimulated by
chemicals in cigarette smoke than by other
chemicals.
43
1 1
Sales taxes tend to be regressive, affecting 31
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
poor people more severely than wealthy people. Which choice most logically completes the text?
When all purchases of consumer goods are
taxed at a fixed percentage of the purchase A) poor people constitute a larger
price, poor people pay a larger proportion of proportion of the taxpaying population
their income in sales taxes than wealthy people than wealthy people do.
do. It can be correctly inferred on the basis of B) poor people spend a larger proportion of
the statements above that ______ their income on purchases of consumer
goods than wealthy people do.
C) wealthy people pay, on average, a larger
amount of sales taxes than poor people
do.
D) the total amount spent by all poor people
on purchases of consumer goods exceeds
the total amount spent by all wealthy
people on consumer goods.
In response to requests made by the dairy 32

industry, the government is considering
whether to approve the synthetic hormone BST
for use in dairy cows. BST increases milk A) the government is unlikely to approve the
production but also leads to recurring udder synthetic hormone BST for use in cows.
inflammation, decreased fertility, and B) the proportion of cows that suffer from
symptoms of stress in cows who receive the udder inflammation, decreased fertility,
hormone. All of these problems can be kept and symptoms of stress are currently
under control with constant veterinary care, but greater on big dairy farms than on small
such levels of veterinary help would cost big ones.
farms far less per cow than they would small
C) at the present time, milk from cows raised
farms. If the statements above are true, it can be
on small farms is safer to drink than milk
inferred that ______
from cows raised on big farms.
D) owners of big farms stand to gain more
from government approval of BST than
do owners of small farms.
44
1 1
High levels of fertilizer and pesticides, 33
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
needed when farmers try to produce high yields Which choice most logically completes the text?
of the same crop year after year, pollute water
supplies. Experts therefore urge farmers to A) the rules for governmental support of
diversify their crops and to rotate their farm prices work against efforts to reduce
plantings yearly. To receive governmental water pollution.
price-support benefits for a crop, farmers must B) the only solution to the problem of water
have produced that same crop for the past pollution from fertilizers and pesticides is
several years. The statement above, if true, best to take farmland out of production.
support the conclusion that ______ C) farmers can continue to make a profit by
rotating diverse crops, thus reducing
costs for chemicals, but not by planting
the same crop each year.
D) new farming techniques will be developed
to make it possible for farmers to reduce
the application of fertilizers and
pesticides.
Neuroscientist: Memory evolved to help 34

animals react appropriately to situations they Which choice most logically completes the text?
encounter by drawing on the past experience of
similar situations. But this does not require that A) perfectly recalling every detail of all their
animals perfectly recall every detail of all their past experiences could help at least some
experiences. Instead, to function well, memory animals react more appropriately than
should generalize from past experiences that are they otherwise would to new situations
similar to the current one. The neuroscientist's they encounter.
statements, if true, most strongly support the B) generalizing from past experiences
conclusion that ______ requires clear memories of most if not all
the details of those experiences.
C) recalling every detail of all past
experiences would be incompatible with
any ability to generalize from those
experiences.
D) animals can often react more
appropriately than they otherwise would
to situations they encounter if they draw
on generalizations from past experiences
of similar situations.
45
1 1
The sustained massive use of pesticides in 35
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
farming has two effects that are especially Which choice most logically completes the text?
pernicious. First, it often kills off the pests'
natural enemies in the area. Second, it often A) using only chemically stable insecticides.
unintentionally gives rise to insecticide- B) periodically switching the type of
resistant pests, since those insects that survive a insecticide used.
particular insecticide will be the ones most C) gradually increasing the quantities of
resistant to it, and they are the ones left to pesticides used.
breed. From the information above, it can be
D) leaving a few fields fallow every year.
properly inferred that the effectiveness of the
sustained massive use of pesticides can be
extended by ______
Useful protein drugs, such as insulin, must 36

still be administered by the cumbersome
procedure of injection under the skin. If
proteins are taken orally, they are digested and A) coats insulin with compounds that are
cannot reach their target cells. Certain broken down by target cells, but whose
nonprotein drugs, however, contain chemical chemical bonds are resistant to digestion.
bonds that are not broken down by the B) converts into protein compounds, by
digestive system. They can, thus, be taken procedures that work in the laboratory,
orally. The statements above most strongly the nonprotein drugs that resist digestion.
support a claim that a research procedure
C) removes permanently from the digestive
would be beneficial to users of protein drugs if
system any substances that digest
it successfully ______
proteins.
D) determinines, in a systematic way, what
enzymes and bacteria are present in the
normal digestive system and whether they
tend to be broken down within the body.
46
1 1
In a study of the relationship between 37
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
aggression and television viewing in nursery Which choice most logically completes the text?
school children, many interesting interactions
among family styles, aggression, and television A) low levels of television viewing often lead
viewing were found. High aggression occurred to high levels of aggression among
in both high-viewing and low-viewing children children.
and this seemed to be related to parental B) the level of aggression of a child cannot be
lifestyle. High-achieving, competitive, middle- predicted from levels of television viewing
class parents, whose children did not watch alone.
much television, had more aggressive children C) if high-achieving, competitive parents
than parents who planned their lives in an were more child-centered, their children
organized, child-centered way, which included would be less aggressive.
larger amounts of television viewing. Therefore,
D) high levels of television viewing can
it can be concluded that ______
explain high levels of aggression among
children only when the parents are not
child-centered.
United Lumber will use trees from its forests 38

for two products. The tree trunks will be used Which choice most logically completes the text?
for lumber and the branches converted into
wood chips to make fiberboard. The cost of this A) converting the branches into wood chips
conversion would be the same whether done at at the logging site would require
the logging site, where the trees are transporting a fully assembled wood-
debranched, or at United's factory. However, chipping machine to and from the site.
wood chips occupy less than half the volume of B) the debranching of trees and the
the branches from which they are made. The conversion of the branches into chips are
information given, if accurate, most strongly the only stages in the processing of
supports the conclusion that ______ branches that it would be in United's
economic advantage to perform at the
logging site.
C) transportation costs from the logging site
to the factory that are determined by
volume of cargo would be lower if the
conversion into chips is done at the
logging site rather than at the factory.
D) in the wood-processing industry,
branches are used only for the production
of wood chips for fiberboard.
47
1 1
Social scientists are underrepresented on the 39
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
advisory councils of the National Institutes of Which choice most logically completes the text?
Health(NIH). Since these councils advise NIH
directors and recommend policy, the A) a significant increase in the size of NIH
underrepresentation of social scientists results advisory councils would be required in
in a relative lack of NIH financial support for order to increase the representation of
research in the social sciences. If the statements social scientists on these councils.
above are correct, they most strongly support B) a significant increase in the representation
the conclusion that ______ of social scientists on NIH advisory
councils would result in an increase in
NIH funding for social science research.
C) a significant increase in funding for social
science research would result in improved
policy recommendations to NIH
directors.
D) a significant increase in funding for the
training of social scientists would result in
an increase in the number of social
scientists on NIH advisory councils.
Increases in the level of high-density 40

lipoprotein (HDL) in the human bloodstream Which choice most logically completes the text?
lower bloodstream cholesterol levels by
increasing the body’s capacity to rid itself of A) individuals who are underweight do not
excess cholesterol. Levels of HDL in the run any risk of developing high levels of
bloodstream of some individuals are cholesterol in the bloodstream.
significantly increased by a program of regular B) individuals who do not exercise regularly
exercise and weight reduction. It can be have a high risk of developing high levels
correctly inferred from the statements above of cholesterol in the bloodstream late in
that ______ life.
C) exercise and weight reduction are the
most effective methods of lowering
bloodstream cholesterol levels in humans.
D) a program of regular exercise and weight
reduction lowers cholesterol levels in the
bloodstream of some individuals.
48

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By Thầy Phùng Nhật Minh

Digital SAT Reading Review

 Additional Premise Indicators: furthermore, moreover, besides, in addition, what’s

 The additional premise is sometimes non-essential to the argument, but provides

 1. In order to maximize your chances of success you must identity, isolate,

 2. Focus on the conclusion/hypothesis/claim.

 3. There may be reasoning errors/weaknesses present in the argument.

 1. Opposite Answers. These answers do the exact opposite of what is needed—they

 (A) The primary cause of sleep deprivation is overwork.

 All my neighbors own blue cars. Therefore I own a blue car.

 1. Opposite Answers. These answers do the exact opposite of what is needed. In

 Inference questions appear in a variety of formats, but one of the following

 Which choice most logically completes the text?

 First Statement: Flavonoids are a common component of almost all plants,

 Which choice most logically completes the text?

 Answer choice (C): nothing in the passage proves this.

 1. Paraphrased Answers: answers that restate a portion of the passage in different

 Which choice most logically completes the text?

 C: No comment is made about the frequency of multi-authored technical articles.

 D: This is a Reverse answer.

 A) Most of the vegetation to be placed around the ponds is native to Nufa.

A) Tomato plants in a third experimental plot, to which a high-nitrogen fertilizer was

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) it will be impossible to develop computers that decode spontaneous speech.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) the interpretation of the meaning of ordinary sentences is dependent on a general

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) early humans were predators of small prey, not of large prey.

Half of the subjects in an experiment—the 2

By competing with rodents for seeds, black 4

Brown tides are growths of algae on the sea's 6

Aphasia, an impairment of the capacity to 8

Wood smoke contains dangerous toxins that 10

Editorial: The roof of Northtown's municipal 12

Networks of blood vessels in bats’ wings 14

Early in the twentieth century, Lake Konfa 16

Less than 50 percent of a certain tropical 18

The painted spider spins webs that are much 20

Something must be done to ease traffic 22

From 1973 to 1986, growth in the United 24

Stronger patent laws are needed to protect 26

It has been found that job prospects for 28

A certain gene can be stimulated by 30

In response to requests made by the dairy 32

Neuroscientist: Memory evolved to help 34

Useful protein drugs, such as insulin, must 36

United Lumber will use trees from its forests 38

Increases in the level of high-density 40

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