17. <11{6[1(07)71]}> The higher the price of an antique, the greater people’s expectation that the object is rare. That, in turn, makes the antique appear more valuable.
If the statements above are correct, then offering an antique for sale at a bargain price (Points : 1)
will likely increase people’s expectations that the antique is valuable
will guarantee that the antique will not sell at a profit
should be encouraged because it increases the likelihood that antique will be sold
@ should be discouraged because it lessens a quality that makes that antique desirable
18. <21{6[3(08)72]}> Some drugs combat obesity or alcohol addiction by turning off pleasure centers in the brain. However, if the dosage is too high, there’s a risk that people taking them will be plunged into depression.
The statements above, if true, support which one of the following assertions? (Points : 1)
It is useless to try to treat obesity or alcohol addiction through drugs.
@ All drugs, if taken at too high a dosage, pose the risk that the people taking them will be plunged into depression.
The benefits of a medication may be at least somewhat offset by its side effects.
Drugs that affect pleasure centers in the brain are often taken at dosages considered to be too high.
19. <7{6[3(02)66]}> In a survey of 10 film historians, half voted for Nosferatu as the greatest vampire film ever made, and the other half voted for Dracula. However, when asked which lead vampire character they considered more charismatic, all of the film critics chose Dracula over Nosferatu.
Based on the information above, it must be true that for some film critics, their feelings about the charisma of the lead character (Points : 1)
is the least important factor they consider when comparing two films
is the most important factor they consider when comparing two films
@ is not the most important factor they consider when comparing two films
is the only factor they consider when comparing two films
20. <11{7[3(08)84]}> The president spoke to 19 congressmen from Texas to encourage them to vote for a bill. Since four of the 19 congressmen went on to vote for the bill, it is clear that the president persuaded those four to vote the way they did.
The argument above assumes that (Points : 1)
@ the bill will not pass because a majority of Texas congressmen did not vote for it
the Texas congressmen who voted against the bill were persuaded by someone other than the president to vote the way they did
the president did not try to influence the votes of any congressmen outside of Texas
the four Texas congressmen who voted for the bill were against it before they spoke to the president
21. <11{7[2(03)79]}> Looking to increase the profits of his lemonade stand, Johann doubled the price of a cup of lemonade from 25 cents to 50 cents. This clearly shows Johann’s lack of business sense, for now he’ll almost certainly sell fewer cups at the new price and therefore make less money than before.
The argument above assumes that (Points : 1)
Johann is looking to double the profits of his lemonade stand
the price increase will likely put Johann out of business
@ profits from the price increase will not offset the money lost when fewer cups are sold
even if Johann sells more cups at the new price than he did at the old price, he’ll still lose money on the lemonade stand
22. <11{7[1(01)77]}> Detective: The robbery at the mall was carried out by a mall employee acting alone roughly one hour after the mall closed last Saturday night. The only employees present at the mall at the time of the robbery were security guards Evans and Clark. Since the mall’s surveillance system was disabled by the thief just before the robbery, the thief must be Evans.
The argument above would be valid if (Points : 1)
Clark is incapable of disabling the mall’s surveillance system
both Evans and Clark are capable of disabling the mall’s surveillance system
Evans and Clark are the mall’s only security guards
the mall’s surveillance system is usually used 24 hours a day, seven days a week
23. <21{8[1(07)95]}> Political science professor: Many people insist that the Internet is revolutionizing the political process. They argue that Internet debates and online political polls and chat rooms give people greater access to political information. And they’re right that online political chatter increases daily. But offering or reading anonymous online opinions does not by itself make for active political participation. In the past one would attend a rally, protest, or town meeting to engage in real politics. Today, people sit passively in front of computer screens under the illusion that they are connecting with their fellow citizens.
Which one of the following best expresses the main idea of the professor’s argument? (Points : 1)
Internet debates and online political polls and chat rooms give people greater access to political information.
Political organizations of the past bear no resemblance to the political organizations of today.
While the Internet has made more political content available, meaningful political involvement has decreased.
The Internet has revolutionized the political process because it has allowed many more political viewpoints to be expressed.
24. <11{8[1(10)98]}> Sometimes people get caught in a “downward spiral,” a case in which something leads to a result which in turn leads to more of the original thing, bringing on more of the result. As the process continues, the result continually gets worse and worse. An example is when people turn to binge eating when depressed, which causes them to put on weight and feel unhealthy, which then makes them more depressed, leading to more overeating, and so on.
The author is mainly concerned with (Points : 1)
convincing people not to overeat
explaining the process of the “downward spiral”
showing how overeating can lead to depression
showing how some processes lead to surprising results
25. <11{8[1(04)92]}> The very large increase in allergies over the last thirty years is due to the great success of immunizations administered over this time period. Since immunizations have nearly eliminated life-threatening diseases such as polio, the human immune system increasingly targets other environmental substances in order to keep working properly. Allergy symptoms such as runny nose and itchy eyes result when the immune system attacks pollen that is breathed in from the air.
Which one of the following best expresses the main point of the passage above? (Points : 1)
Immunizations often have surprising side effects.
Immunizations have been very successful in eliminating life-threatening diseases.
Viruses that once caused polio now cause allergies.
The use of immunizations has led to an increase in allergies.
17-19 are correct.
20. I would assume the last alternative. Why would the President try to persuade those already in favor?
22. First, the theft without the victim being present is a burglary, not a robbery. What alternative did you choose?
Indicate your choices for the remaining questions, so I can evaluate them.
<11{8[1(04)92]}> The very large increase in allergies over the last thirty years is due to the great success of immunizations administered over this time period. Since immunizations have nearly eliminated life-threatening diseases such as polio, the human immune system increasingly targets other environmental substances in order to keep working properly. Allergy symptoms such as runny nose and itchy eyes result when the immune system attacks pollen that is breathed in from the air.
Which one of the following best expresses the main point of the passage above?
Group of answer choices
The use of immunizations has led to an increase in allergies.
Viruses that once caused polio now cause allergies.
Immunizations have been very successful in eliminating life-threatening diseases.
Immunizations often have surprising side effects.
The use of immunizations has led to an increase in allergies.
17. If the statements above are correct, then offering an antique for sale at a bargain price would likely increase people’s expectations that the antique is valuable. The higher the price of an antique, the greater people's expectation that it is rare, which in turn makes it appear more valuable. So, by offering it at a bargain price, it would create the perception that it is valuable because people would assume that it is a rare find at such a low price.
18. The statements above, if true, support the assertion that all drugs, if taken at too high a dosage, pose the risk that the people taking them will be plunged into depression. The passage states that some drugs combat obesity or alcohol addiction by turning off pleasure centers in the brain, but if the dosage is too high, there's a risk of depression. So, it can be inferred that taking any drug at too high a dosage can lead to depression.
19. Based on the information above, it must be true that for some film critics, their feelings about the charisma of the lead character is not the most important factor they consider when comparing two films. The passage states that half of the film historians voted for Nosferatu as the greatest vampire film ever made, and the other half voted for Dracula. However, when asked about the charisma of the lead vampire character, all of the film critics chose Dracula over Nosferatu. This implies that while they may have voted for Dracula as the greatest film, their feelings about charisma were not the sole determining factor in their decision.
20. The argument above assumes that the president persuaded those four Texas congressmen to vote the way they did because the bill will not pass since a majority of Texas congressmen did not vote for it. The passage states that the president spoke to 19 congressmen from Texas to encourage them to vote for a bill, and four of them went on to vote for the bill. It can be assumed that the president's persuasion was necessary for those four congressmen to vote for the bill, and their votes are significant because without them, a majority of Texas congressmen did not vote for it.
21. The argument above assumes that profits from the price increase will not offset the money lost when fewer cups are sold. The passage states that Johann doubled the price of a cup of lemonade from 25 cents to 50 cents, and the argument claims that Johann's lack of business sense is evident because he will almost certainly sell fewer cups at the new price, resulting in less money earned compared to before. This assumption is based on the belief that the increase in price will not compensate for the decrease in sales.
22. The argument above would be valid if the thief must be Evans because Clark is incapable of disabling the mall's surveillance system. The passage states that the robbery was carried out roughly one hour after the mall closed, and the only employees present at the time were security guards Evans and Clark. Since the mall's surveillance system was disabled by the thief just before the robbery, the argument assumes that the thief must be Evans because Clark is incapable of disabling the surveillance system.
23. The main idea of the professor's argument is that while the Internet has made more political content available, meaningful political involvement has decreased. The passage states that many people insist that the Internet is revolutionizing the political process by providing greater access to political information, but merely offering or reading anonymous online opinions does not constitute active political participation. The professor argues that in the past, people engaged in real politics by attending rallies, protests, or town meetings, while today, people passively sit in front of computer screens, under the illusion of connecting with fellow citizens. Thus, the main idea is that while access to political information has increased, meaningful political involvement has decreased.
24. The author is mainly concerned with explaining the process of the "downward spiral." The passage describes situations where people get caught in a "downward spiral," where something leads to a result that in turn leads to more of the original thing, resulting in a continually worsening outcome. The author uses the example of binge eating when depressed, which leads to weight gain and feeling unhealthy, which then worsens the depression, leading to more overeating, and so on. The main focus is on explaining this process of the "downward spiral."
25. The main point of the passage is that the use of immunizations has led to an increase in allergies. The passage states that the large increase in allergies over the last thirty years is due to the success of immunizations administered during that time period. Immunizations have nearly eliminated life-threatening diseases such as polio, but as a result, the human immune system increasingly targets other environmental substances, like pollen, to keep working properly. This leads to allergy symptoms such as a runny nose and itchy eyes when the immune system attacks allergens in the air. Therefore, the main point is that immunizations have led to an increase in allergies.