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OG12 OG15 OG16
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Commentator: The theory of trade retaliation states that countries closed out of any of another country's markets should close some of their own markets to the other country in order to pressure the other country to reopen its markets. If every country acted according to this theory, no country would trade with any other.The commentator's argument relies on which of the following assumptions?
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OG12 OG15 OG16 GWD OG17 OG18
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Studies in restaurants show that the tips left by customers who pay their bill in cash tend to be larger when the bill is presented on a tray that bears a credit card logo. Consumer psychologists hypothesize that simply seeing a credit-card logo makes many creditcard holders willing to spend more because it reminds them that their spending power exceeds the cash they have immediately available.Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the psychologists' interpretation of the studies?
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OG12 OG15 OG16 OG17
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One way to judge the performance of a company is to compare it with other companies. This technique, commonly called "benchmarking," permits the manager of a company to discover better industrial practices and can provide a justification for the adoption of good practices.Any of the following, if true, is a valid reason for benchmarking the performance of a company against companies with which it is not in competition rather than against competitors EXCEPT:
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OG12 OG15
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For a trade embargo against a particular country to succeed, a high degree of both international accord and ability to prevent goods from entering or leaving that country must be sustained. A total blockade of Patria's ports is necessary to an embargo, but such an action would be likely to cause international discord over the embargo.The claims above, if true, most strongly support which of the following conclusions?
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OG12 OG15 OG16 OG17 GWD
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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?
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OG12 PREP2012
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Correctly measuring the productivity of service workers is complex. Consider, for example, postal workers: they are often said to be more productive if more letters are delivered per postal worker. But is this really true? What if more letters are lost or delayed per worker at the same time that more are delivered?The objection implied above to the productivity measure described is based on doubts about the truth of which of the following statements?
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OG12 OG15 OG16 GWD OG17 OG18 OG19 OG20 OG2022
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Guidebook writer: I have visited hotels throughout the country and have noticed that in those built before 1930 the quality of the original carpentry work is generally superior to that in hotels built afterward. Clearly carpenters working on hotels before 1930 typically worked with more skill, care, and effort than carpenters who have worked on hotels built subsequently.Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the guidebook writer's argument?
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OG12 OG15
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Codex Berinensis, a Florentine copy of an ancient Roman medical treatise, is undated but contains clues to when it was produced. Its first 80 pages are by a single copyist, but the remaining 20 pages are by three different copyists, which indicates some significant disruption. Since a letter in handwriting identified as that of the fourth copyist mentions a plague that killed many people in Florence in 1148, Codex Berinensis was probably produced in that year.Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the hypothesis that Codex Berinensis was produced in 1148?
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In order to increase profits during a prolonged slowdown in sales, the largest manufacturers of automobiles in the United States have instituted record-setting price increases on all their models. The manufacturers believe that this strategy will succeed, even though it is inconsistent with the normal relationship between price and demand.The manufacturers' plan to increase profits relies on which of the following assumptions?
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Not all life depends on energy from sunlight. Microbial life has been found in bedrock more than five kilometers below the surface of the Earth, and bacteria have been found on the deep ocean floor feeding on hydrogen and other gases rising from the interior of the Earth through vents in the ocean floor.The statements above, if true, best support which of the following as a conclusion?
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Opponents of laws that require automobile drivers and passengers to wear seat belts argue that in a free society people have the right to take risks as long as the people do not harm others as a result of taking the risks. As a result, they conclude that it should be each person's decision whether or not to wear a seat belt.Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion drawn above?
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With the emergence of biotechnology companies, it was feared that they would impose silence about proprietary results on their in-house researchers and their academic consultants. This constraint, in turn, would slow the development of biological science and engineering.Which of the following, if true, would tend to weaken most seriously the prediction of scientific secrecy described above?
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In many corporations, employees are being replaced by automated equipment in order to save money. However, many workers who lose their jobs to automation will need government assistance to survive, and the same corporations that are laying people off will eventually pay for that assistance through increased taxes and unemployment insurance payments.The author is arguing that
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OG12 PREP07 Test 1
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A company's two divisions performed with remarkable consistency over the past three years: in each of those years, the pharmaceuticals division has accounted for roughly 20 percent of dollar sales and 40 percent of profits, and the chemicals division for the balance.Regarding the past three years, which of the following can properly be inferred from the statement above?
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OG12
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Advertisement: Today's customers expect high quality. Every advance in the quality of manufactured products raises customer expectations. The company that is satisfied with the current quality of its products will soon find that its customers are not. At MegaCorp, meeting or exceeding customer expectations is our goal.Which of the following must be true on the basis of the statements in the advertisement above?
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Many companies now have employee assistance programs that enable employees, free of charge, to improve their physical fitness, reduce stress, and learn ways to stop smoking. These programs increase worker productivity, reduce absenteeism, and lessen insurance costs for employee health care. Therefore, these programs benefit the company as well as the employee.Which of the following, if true, most significantly strengthens the conclusion above?
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OG12 OG15
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Last year the rate of inflation was 1.2 percent, but during the current year it has been 4 percent. We can conclude that inflation is on an upward trend and the rate will be still higher next year.Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion above?
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Fewer families lose their houses because of major disasters such as fire or flood than because of a wage earner's illness that results in death or disability. Yet, whereas most mortgage companies require borrowers to carry insurance to protect against major disasters, they do not require insurance to protect against the death or disability of a wage earner.Which of the following, if true, would contribute most to an explanation of the difference in insurance requirements?
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Biometric access-control systems—those using fingerprints, voiceprints, and so forth, to regulate admittance to restricted areas—work by degrees of similarity, not by identity. After all, even the same finger will rarely leave exactly identical prints. Such systems can be adjusted to minimize refusals of access to legitimate access seekers. Such adjustments, however, increase the likelihood of admitting impostors.Which of the following conclusions is most strongly supported by the information above?
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Low-income families are often unable to afford as much child care as they need. One government program would award low-income families a refund on the income taxes they pay of as much as $1,000 for each child under age four. This program would make it possible for all low-income families with children under age four to obtain more child care than they otherwise would have been able to afford.Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the claim that the program would make it possible for all low-income families to obtain more child care?
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