Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
On the whole, scientists do their most creative work before age forty, a tendency that has been taken to show that aging carries with it a loss of creative capacity. An alternative explanation is that by age forty most scientists have worked in their field for fifteen or more years and that by then they have exhausted the opportunity for creative work in that field. Supporting this explanation is the finding that ______.
- the average age of recipients of scientific research grants is significantly greater than forty
- a disproportionately large number of the scientists who produce highly creative work beyond age forty entered their field at an older age than is common
- many scientists temper their own expectations of what they can achieve in their research work by their belief that their creativity will decline as they age
- scientists who are older than forty tend to find more satisfaction in other activities, such as teaching and mentoring, than they do in pursuing their own research
- there is a similar diminution of creativity with age in nonscientific fields, such as poetry and musical composition
B
Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
Appendicitis (inflammation of the appendix) is potentially fatal; consequently, patients with symptoms strongly suggesting appendicitis almost have their appendix removed. The appropriate surgery is low-risk but performed unnecessarily in about 20 percent of all cases. A newly developed internal scan for appendicitis is highly accurate, producing two misdiagnoses for every 98 correct diagnoses. Clearly, using this test, doctors can largely avoid unnecessary removals of the appendix without, however, performing any fewer necessary ones than before, since .
A. the patients who are correctly diagnosed with this test as not having appendicitis invariably have medical conditions that are much less serious than appendicitis
B. the misdiagnoses produced by this test are always instances of attributing appendicitis to someone who does not, in fact, have it
C. all of the patients who are diagnosed with this test as having appendicitis do, in fact, have appendicitis
D. every patient who is diagnosed with this test as having appendicitis has more than one of the symptoms generally associated with appendicitis
E. the only patients who are misdiagnosed using this test are patients who lack one or more of the symptoms that are generally associated with appendicitis
B
Mastitis is an infection of the udder in cows that, although not dangerous, causes them to give poor-quality milk. Most cases of mastitis are caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, against which antibiotics are ineffective. However, a related bacterium, Staphylococcus simulans, quickly clears up even severe infections of S. aureus simply by displacing the bacteria. S. simulans is nevertheless unlikely to become the preferred treatment for cases of mastitis, since .
A. certain dangerous bacteria that normally cannot take hold can do so in the presence of S. simulans.
B. the current resistance of S. aureus to antibiotics derives in part from a past pattern of overuse of those antibiotics
C. the milk from cows infected with S. aureus is generally not of such poor quality as to be entirely unusable
D. careful farming practice can reduce the incidence of mastitis to a minimum
E. the only symptom of mild cases of mastitis is the deterioration in the quality of the milk produced
A
Mel: The official salary for judges has always been too low to attract the best
Candidates to the job. The legislature’s move to raise the salary has
done nothing to improve the situation, because it was coupled with
a ban on receiving money for lectures and teaching engagements.
Pat: No, the raise in salary really does improve the situation. Since very few
judges teach or give lectures, the ban will have little or no negative
effect.
Pat’s response to Mel is inadequate in that it
A. attempts to assess how a certain change will affect potential members
of a group by providing evidence about its effect on the current members.
B. mistakenly takes the cause of a certain change to be an effect of that change
C. attempts to argue that a certain change will have a positive effect merely
by pointing to the absence of negative effects
D. simply denies Mel’s claim without putting forward any evidence in support
of that denial
E. assumes that changes that benefit the most able members of a group
necessarily benefit all members of that group.
A
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
A. the opposition’s demands have not changed during the period when the
street demonstrations have been mounted.
B. No foreign governments have expressed any support for the opposition’s
demands.
C. The state-controlled media have ceased any mention of the demonstrations,
leaving many citizens outside the capital with no way of knowing that
demonstrations continue.
D. There have not recently been any antigovernment demonstrations in cities
other than the capital.
E. A recent sharp decrease in unemployment has led to increased popular
support for the government.
C
Which of the following most logically completes the argument??
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. How-
ever, that statistic would be what we would expect even if volunteering does not
boost longevity, because .
A. in the communities studied, women were much more likely to do regular
volunteer work than men were, and women tend to live longer than men do.
B. the number of young adults who do regular volunteer work is on the increase
C. the feelings of well-being induced by endorphins can, at least for a time, mask
the symptoms of various conditions and diseases, provided the symptoms are
mild.
D. it is rare for a person to keep up a regular schedule of volunteer work through-
out his or her life.
E. Some people find that keeping a commitment to do regular volunteer work
becomes a source of stress in their lives.
C
Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
Concerned about financial well-being of its elderly citizens, the government of Runagia decided two years ago to increase by 20 percent the government-provided pension paid to all Runagians over 65. Inflation in the intervening period has been negligible, and the increase has been duly received by all eligible Runagians. Nevertheless, many of them are no better off financially than they were before the increase, in large part because ______.
A: They rely entirely on the government pension for their income
B: Runagian banks are so inefficient that it can take up to three weeks to cash a pension check
C: They buy goods whose prices tend to rise especially fast in times of inflation
D: The pension was increased when the number of elderly Runagians below the poverty level reached an all-time high
E: In Runagia children typically supplement the income of elderly parents, but only by enough to provide them with a comfortable living
E
Which of the following most logically completes the argument?
A certain cultivated herb is one of a group of closely related plants that thrive in soil with high concentrations of metals that are toxic to most other plants. Agronomists studying the herb have discovered that it produces large amounts of histidine, an amino acid that, in test-tube solutions, renders these metals chemically inert. Possibly, therefore, the herb’s high histidine production is what allows it to grow in metal-rich soils, a hypothesis that would gain support if ______.
A: histidine is found in all parts of the plant – roots, stem, leaves, and flowers
B: the herb’s high level of histidine production is found to be associated with an unusually low level of production of other amino acids
C: others of the closely related group of plants are also found to produce histidine in large quantities
D: cultivation of the herb in soil with high concentrations of the metals will, over an extended period, make the soil suitable for plants to which the metals are toxic
E: the concentration of histidine in the growing herb declines as the plant approaches maturity
C
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 ______.
- those states with the strictest environmental regulations invest the most in education and job training
- even those states that have only moderately strict environmental regulations have higher growth than those with the least-strict regulations
- many states that are experiencing reduced economic growth are considering weakening their environmental regulations
- after introducing stricter environmental regulations, many states experienced increased economic growth
- even those states with very weak environmental regulations have experienced at least some growth
A major health insurance company in Lagolia pays for special procedures prescribed by physicians only if the procedure is first approved as “medically necessary” by a company-appointed review panel. The rule is intended to save the company the money it might otherwise spend on medically unnecessary procedures. The company has recently announced that in order to reduce its costs, it will abandon this rule.
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest justification for the company’s decision?
A. Patients often register dissatisfaction with physicians who prescribe nothing for their ailments.
B. Physicians often prescribe special procedures that are helpful but not altogether necessary for the health of the patient.
C. The review process is expensive and practically always results in approval of the prescribed procedure.
D. The company’s review process does not interfere with the prerogative of physicians, in cases where more than one effective procedure is available, to select the one they personally prefer.
E. The number of members of the company-appointed review panel who review a given procedure depends on the cost of the procedure.
C
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?
- If a new technology succeeds, the commercial benefits accrue largely to the producers, not to the buyers, of that technology.
- People who promote the virtues of a new technology typically fail to consider that the old technology that is currently in use continues to be improved, often substantially.
- Investors are unlikely to invest substantial amounts of capital in a company whose own managers are skeptical about the commercial prospects of a new technology they are developing.
- The potential buyers for not-yet-available technologies can seldom be reliably identified.
- The developers of a new technology are generally no better positioned than its potential buyers to gauge how rapidly the new technology can be efficiently mass-produced.
D
In Kantovia, physicians’ income comes from insurance companies, which require
physicians to document their decisions in treating patients and to justify deviations
from the companies’ treatment guidelines. Ten years ago physicians were allowed
more discretion. Most physicians believe that the companies’ requirements now
prevent them from spending enough time with patients. Yet the average amount of
time a patient spends with a physician during an office visit has actually increased
somewhat over the last ten years.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy
between physicians’ perceptions and the change in the actual time spent?
A. Patients are more likely to be in a hurry nowadays and are less willing to
wait a long time to see their physician.
B. Physicians today typically have a wider range of options in diagnosis and
treatment to consider with the patient before prescribing.
C. Physicians are increasingly likely to work in group practices, sharing the
responsibility of night and weekend work.
D. Most patients would rather trust their physicians than their insurance
companies to make decisions about their treatment.
E. Since the insurance companies pay physicians a set amount for each
office visit, it is to physicians’ financial advantage to see as many
Patients as possible.
B
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?
A. A significant proportion of Hill and Dale’s sales are made to
customers who enter the store in order to buy one particular
item but, once there, find other items to buy as well.
B. In Boravia when the economy is strong, those who might
otherwise go camping tend to take vacations overseas.
C. The economic upturn is likely to allow Boravia’s nati-
onal parks, where most of the camping and hiking is
done, to receive extra funding to improve their visitor facilities.
D. Advances in materials technology have led to the
development of hiking and camping equipment that
is more comfortable and lightweight than before.
E. Many people in Boravia not only are committed to
preserving the country’s wilderness areas but also
are interested in spending some time in them.
C
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?
A. A zoo employee who develops a serious animal-induced allergy is very likely to switch to some other occupation.
B. A zoo employee is more likely than a person in the general population to keep one or more animal pets at home
C. The percentage of the general population whose level of exposure to animals matches that of a zoo employee is quite small.
D. Exposure to domestic pets is, on the whole, less likely to cause animal-induced allergy than exposure to many of the animals kept in zoos.
E. Zoo employees seldom wear protective gear when they handle animals in their care.
A
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?
- Tax amnesty programs are only successful if they are widely publicized.
- Most people who honestly pay their state tax are equally honest in paying their federal tax.
- Although federal tax delinquents usually must pay high financial penalties, the states require far lower financial penalties.
- The state tax rate varies considerably from state to state, but the federal tax is levied according to laws which apply to citizens of all the states.
- Unlike most federal tax delinquents, most state tax delinquents fail to pay state tax because of an oversight rather than a decision not to pay.
E
Background information: This year, each film submitted to the Barbizon Film Festival was submitted in one of ten categories. For each category, there was a panel that decided which submitted films to accept.
Fact 1: Within each category, the rate of acceptance for domestic films was the same as that for foreign films.
Fact 2: The overall rate of acceptance of domestic films was significantly higher than that of foreign films.
In light of the background information, which of the following, if true, can account for fact 1 and fact 2 both being true of the submissions to this year’s Barbizon Film Festival?
A. In each category, the selection panel was composed of filmmakers, and some selection panels included no foreign filmmakers.
B. Significantly more domestic films than foreign films were submitted to the festival.
C. In each of the past three years, the overall acceptance rate was higher for foreign than for domestic films, an outcome that had upset some domestic filmmakers.
D. The number of films to be selected in each category was predetermined, but in no category was it required that the acceptance rate of foreign films should equal that of domestic films.
E. Most foreign films, unlike most domestic films, were submitted in categories with high prestige, but with correspondingly low rates of acceptance.
E
In order to reduce the number of items damaged while in transit to customers, packaging consultants recommended that the TrueSave mail-order company increase the amount of packing material so as to fill any empty spaces in its cartons. Accordingly, TrueSave officials instructed the company’s packers to use more packing material than before, and the packers zealously acted on these instructions and used as much as they could. Nevertheless, customer reports of damaged items rose somewhat.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain why acting on the consultants’ recommendation failed to achieve its goal?
- The change in packing policy led to an increase in expenditure on packing material and labor.
- When packing material is compressed too densely, it loses some of its capacity to absorb shock.
- The amount of packing material used in a carton does not significantly influence the ease with which a customer can unpack the package.
- Most of the goods that TrueSave ships are electronic products that are highly vulnerable to being damaged in transit.
- TrueSave has lost some of its regular customers as a result of the high number of damaged items they received.
B
It is crucially important to farmers that the herbicides they use to control weeds not (?) damage their crops. One very effective herbicide is safe for corn, but soybeans are damaged even by the herbicide’s residue, which remains in the soil more than a year after the herbicide is applied. Soybeans and corn are not sown together in the same filed; nevertheless, most farmers are reluctant to use the herbicide on their corn.
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest justification for the farmers’ reluctance?
A: The residue of the herbicide in the soil a year after application is not enough to control most weeds effectively.
B: To maintain the nutrients in the soil, corn and soybeans are often planted in a field in alternate years.
C: The demand for soybeans is growing faster than is the demand for corn.
D: For maximum yield, soybean plants are grown closer together to each other than are corn plants.
E: The application of herbicides is less critical for soybean than for corn crops.
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发表于 2007-4-20 09:02:00
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