GMAT
Which of the following most logically completes the editorial below?Editorial in Golbindian Newspaper: For almost three months, opposition parties have been mounting daily street demonstrations in the capital in an effort to pressure the ruling party into calling an election. Though the demonstrations were well attended at first, attendance has declined steadily in recent weeks. However, the decline in attendance does not indicate that popular support for the opposition's demands is dropping, since
Springfield Fire Commissioner: the vast majority of false fire alarms are prank calls made anonymously from fire alarm boxes on street corners. Since virtually everyone has access to a private telephone, these alarm boxes have outlived their usefulness. Therefore, we propose to remove the boxes. Removing the boxes will reduce the number of prank calls without hampering people's ability to report a fire.Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the claim that the proposal, if carried out, will have the announced effect?
Museums that house Renaissance oil paintings typically store them in environment that are carefully kept within narrow margins of temperature and humidity to inhibit any deterioration. Laboratory tests have shown that the kind of oil paint used in these paintings actually adjusts to climatic changes quite well. If, as some museum directors believe, paint is the most sensitive substance in these works, then by relaxing the standards for temperature and humidity control, museums can reduce energy costs without risking damage to these paintings. Museums would be rash to relax those standards, however, since results of preliminary tests indicate that gesso, a compound routinely used by Renaissance artists to help paint adhere to the canvas, is unable to withstand significant variations in humidity.In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
When trying to identify new technologies that promise to transform the marketplace, market researchers survey the managers of those companies that are developing new technologies. Such managers have an enormous stake in succeeding, so they invariably overstate the potential of their new technologies. Surprisingly, however, market researchers typically do not survey a new technology's potential buyers, even though it is the buyers-not the producers-who will ultimately determine a technology's commercial success.Which of the following, if true, best accounts for the typical survey practices among market researchers?
The chemical adenosine is released by brain cells when those cells are active. Adenosine then binds to more and more sites on cells in certain areas of the brain, as the total amount released gradually increases during wakefulness. During sleep, the number of sites to which adenosine is bound decreases. Some researchers have hypothesized that it is the cumulative binding of adenosine to a large number of sites that causes the onset of sleep.Which of the following, if true, provides the most support for the researchers' hypothesis?
Plantings of cotton bioengineered to produce its own insecticide against bollworms, a major cause of crop failure, sustained little bollworm damage until this year. This year the plantings are being seriously damaged by bollworms. Bollworms, however, are not necessarily developing resistance to the cotton's insecticide. Bollworms breed on corn, and last year more corn than usual was planted throughout cotton-growing regions. So it is likely that the cotton is simply being overwhelmed by corn-bred bollworms.In evaluating the argument, which of the following would it be most useful to establish?
Consumers planning to buy recreational equipment tend to buy higher quality, more expensive equipment when the economy is strong than when it is weak. Hill and Dale is a business that sells high-quality, expensive camping and hiking equipment in Boravia. Although all the signs are that Boravia's economy is now entering a period of sustained strength, the managers of the business do not expect a substantial increase in sales.Which of the following, if true, would provide the strongest justification for the managers' judgment?
Lawmaker: Raising taxes is not the only means of reducing government debt. The government's stockpile of helium is worth 25 percent more, at current market prices, than the debt accumulated in acquiring and storing it. Therefore, by selling the helium, the government can not only pay off that debt but reduce its overall debt as well.Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A medieval manuscript called L contains all eighteen extant tragedies by the Greek playwright Euripides. Of these, ten called the "select plays," are accompanied in L by ancient commentaries and also appear in other medieval manuscripts; this group includes some of Euripides' best-known works, including the Medea. The other eight, which appear only in L, are called the "alphabeticals" because they appear in alphabetical order, without commentary. The Electra is one of the "alphabeticals".Which of the following can be reliably concluded on the basis of the Statements given?
Excavations of the Roman city of Sepphoris have uncovered numerous detailed mosaics depicting several readily identifiable animal species: a hare, a partridge, and various Mediterranean fish. Oddly, most of the species represented did not live in the Sepphoris region when these mosaics were created. Since identical motifs appear in mosaics found in other Roman cities, however, the mosaics of Sepphoris were very likely created by traveling artisans from some other part of the Roman Empire.Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
People who have spent a lot of time in contact with animals often develop animal-induced allergies, some of them quite serious. In a survey of current employees in major zoos, about 30 percent had animal-induced allergies. Based on this sample, experts conclude that among members of the general population who have spent a similarly large amount of time in close contact with animals, the percentage with animal-induced allergies is not 30 percent but substantially more.Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest grounds for the experts' conclusion?
People who have spent a lot of time in contact with animals often develop animal-induced allergies, a significant percentage of which are quite serious. In a survey of current employees in major zoos, about 30 percent had animal-induced allergies. However, a zoo employee who develops a serious animal-induced allergy is very likely to switch to some other occupation.Which of the following hypotheses receives the strongest support from the information given?
Educational Theorist: Recent editorials have called for limits on the amount of homework assigned to children. They point out that free-time activities play an important role in childhood development and that large amounts of homework reduce children's free time, hindering their development. But the average homework time for a ten year old, for example, is little more than 30 minutes per night. Clearly, therefore, there is no need to impose the limits these editorials are calling for.Which of the following is an assumption on which the educational theorist's argument relies?
When people engage in activities that help others, their brain releases endorphins, the brain's natural opiates, which induce in people a feeling of well-being. It has been suggested that regular release of endorphins increases people's longevity.And a statistic on adults who regularly engage in volunteer work helping others shows that they live longer, on average, than adults who do not volunteer. However, that statistic would be what we would expect even if volunteering does not boost longevity, because_______.Which of the following most logically completes the argument?
Kate: The recent decline in numbers of the Tennessee warbler, a North American songbird that migrates each fall to coffee plantations in South America, is due to the elimination of the dense tree cover that formerly was a feature of most South American coffee plantations.Scott: The population of the spruce budworm, the warbler's favorite prey in North America, has been dropping. This is a more likely explanation of the warbler's decline.Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls Scott's hypothesis into question?
In Gandania, where the government has a monopoly on tobacco sales, the incidence of smoking-related health problems has risen steadily for the last twenty years. The health secretary recently proposed a series of laws aimed at curtailing tobacco use in Gandania. Profits from tobacco sales, however, account for ten percent of Gandania's annual revenues. Therefore, Gandania cannot afford to institute the proposed laws.Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
Q2:Electronic computer chips made of tiny silicon wafers now regularly contain millions of electronic switches. Unfortunately, electronic switches that are this small cannot withstand intense radiation. Micro-Mechanics plans to produce a chip that, because it uses only microscopic mechanical switches, will be invulnerable to radiation damage. The switches will, however, be slower than electronic switches and the chip will contain only 12,000 switches.For there to be a market for Micro-Mechanics' chip as a result of the apparent advantage described above, each of the following would have to be true EXCEPT:
Political advocacy groups have begun to use information services to disseminate information that is then accessed by the public via personal computer. Since many groups are thus able to bypass traditional news sources, whose reporting is selective, and to present their political views directly to the public, information services present a more balanced picture of the complexities of political issues than any traditional news source presents.Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument above depends?
In order to raise revenue, the federal government planned a tax amnesty program that allows tax delinquents to pay all owed tax without added financial penalty. However, economists projected that the federal government would collect a far lower percentage of total tax owed by delinquents than did state governments implementing similar programs.Which of the following, if true, would most contribute to an explanation of the economists' projections?
Which of the following, if true, provides evidence that most logically completes the argument below?According to a widely held economic hypothesis, imposing strict environmental regulations reduces economic growth. This hypothesis is undermined by the fact that the states with the strictest environmental regulations also have the highest economic growth. This fact does not show that environmental regulations promote growth, however, since ______.