Laws making it more difficult to discharge debt can reduce the rates of bankruptcy. However, because some debtors have no recourse but to file for bankruptcy, those laws should only apply in circumstances where discharging debt is unnecessary. In fact, the only individuals who should be subject to those laws are those for whom declaring bankruptcy would be a form of fraud.

Which of the following conclusions could be most properly drawn from the information given above?

In the context of the passage, the phrase “poor outcomes” () most closely corresponds to which of the following phrases?

The passage mentions each of the following as desirable legislative action EXCEPT

The committee recommends that principals should devise intervention plans, their staffs should be organized into collaborative teams, and demand accountability.

The voice box has been a subject of considerable investigation among researchers studying the origins of language because they have believed for a long time that if humans did not have a low larynx, the use of vocal language was always impossible.

Kazuo Ishiguro’s literary roots in England, where he has lived since the age of five, are obvious in novels that range in style from his Booker-Prize-winning portrayal of a devoted butler in The Remains of the Day and his fantasy depiction of Britain in the days after King Arthur, The Buried Giant.

Many psychologists believe that while some poor choices by parents can certainly damage their children’s social development, no family can truly be expected to check or limit all of the complicated social media that shape a child’s awareness of the world.

The Charles Hudson School has for years pursued a consistent strategy aimed at tutoring its weakest students and strengthening the effectiveness of its student support services.

The chief minister of Herod the Great wrote the first reliable description of the assassination of Julius Caesar in a biography of the emperor Augustus.

A lawyer charging a judge with misconduct may find it challenging to establish her argument if there is a lack of some other lawyer to corroborate about inappropriate legal proceedings.

In comparable restaurants with similar diner profiles, the total cost of a steak dinner has always been greater in Fairview than in Centerville, two towns of about equal populations. However, consumer studies indicate that steakhouses in Fairview process more meal transactions than steakhouses in Centerville. Therefore it is obvious that restaurant owners in Fairview are more successful than those in Centerville.

In evaluating the argument, it would be most useful to compare

Individuals who heavily use social media tend to score more poorly on tests administered by psychologists to measure happiness than those who do not. It has been found that experiencing “status envy,” a state afflicting those who see themselves as being worse off than others—especially common among those who make use of social media—depletes the brain of chemicals responsible for feelings of joy and contentment. Obviously, there is a causal relationship: Extensive use of social media must be making people unhappy.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the force of the evidence given as support for the hypothesis that social media promotes unhappiness?

Day Sales Outstanding (DSO) is a measure of how many days a company is left waiting on payment for services rendered. The construction industry faces especially high rates of late payment, with an average DSO of about 80 days. Such late payments make it extremely difficult for construction companies to manage their cash flow.

Which of the following plans, if feasible, would best allow a company to address the problem of late payments?

High school principal: Many students will complete and hand in assigned homework, even if doing so isn’t compulsory. Some will do more than assigned because they recognize it is an effective means of studying. Our school could therefore increase the amount of homework completed by students if we make doing so optional and present it as an alternative method of studying.

Teacher: This plan is likely to fail. A significant number of students will decide that all homework is optional and use the opportunity to spend less time overall on academics.

Which of the following, if true, would best support the principal’s plan, in light of the teacher’s concern?

Which of the following most logically completes the argument below?

Traditional treatments that fight cancer through the application of radiation and destructive chemicals pose a significant problem: how to destroy the cancer without losing the patient. For some individuals, enhanced genetic screening methods may reveal predisposition to the disease. Preventative treatment loses effectiveness upon the appearance of cancer cells. Therefore, genetic screenings will be especially effective for patients who _______.

To settle their stomachs, young wild dogs often eat a particular type of grass. This grass has properties that prevent certain types of illness-causing bacteria from proliferating in their intestines. When the dogs have reached maturity, though, they seldom eat grass, and thus a significant amount of the bacteria can be found in their intestines. Strangely enough, in areas where little grass is available for consumption, few young dogs are found to have the illness caused by the bacteria.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the strange finding?

A common criticism of capitalist economies is that they encourage greed, but participants in capitalist systems must often act in their own self-interest. If they did otherwise—say they sold their product at a loss—then sustaining their companies, and the economy in general, would be difficult, if not impossible. Obviously, the greed people ascribe to capitalist economies is indicative of well-functioning economic systems.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines this reasoning?

Hypnerotomachia Poliphili is a romance published in 1499 that, though the author was originally anonymous, has been attributed to Francesco Colonna. Some academics, however, doubt that Colonna is the author because, as a Dominican monk, he would not have the skill or experience to produce such a work. One academic has recently made the assertion that the attribution is correct, citing as evidence Colonna’s proximity to the text’s publisher, Aldus Manutius, and the wealth of other complex Renaissance works of literature confirmed to be written and compiled by talented members of the clergy. In light of this argument, it is clear that it is indeed possible that a member of a monastic order may have produced such a text.

Which of the following, if true, would most support the academic’s recent hypothesis concerning the authorship of Hypnerotomachia Poliphili?

To increase productivity and prevent workers from leaving early, Company Z instituted a strict attendance policy dictating that all employees be present at work from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. unless they are called away by an emergency. Six months after the policy had been implemented, however, internal analysis revealed that overall productivity during work hours had declined.

Which of the following, if true, would best explain why the policy produced the reverse of its intended effect?

Teeth-whitening kits available for retail purchase are demonstrably effective at reducing plaque buildup and returning teeth to their natural shade, but only for periods of about two or three months. They require additional purchases and application. Professional cleaning by dental hygienists, however, can be effective at reducing plaque buildup and improving tooth appearance for six months to a year. Thus, for people looking to improve the appearance of their teeth in the long term, retail teeth-whitening kits should play no part in maintaining dental hygiene.

The argument is most vulnerable to the objection that it fails to