GMAT - Critical Reasoning - Test 3

Read the passage and choose the option that best answer the question.

1. The number of people diagnosed with dengue fever (which is contracted from the bite of an infected mosquito) in North India this year is twice the number diagnosed last year. The authorities have concluded that measures to control the mosquito population have failed in this region.1.

All of the following, if true, would cast doubt on the authorities? conclusion except

A. more cases are now reported because of increases in administrative efficiency
B. a very high proportion of the cases were in people who had recently returned from neighboring countries
C. an effective diagnostic test was introduced about nine months ago
D. the disease is prevalent only in some industrialized areas which have shown a dramatic increase in population due to migration
E. the incidence (number of cases per thousand) of malaria, also contracted from mosquito bites, has increased

2. In many surveys, American consumers have expressed a willingness to spend up to 10 percent more for products that are ecologically sound. Encouraged by such surveys, Bleach-O Corporation promoted a new laundry detergent, Bleach-O Green, as safer for the environment. Bleach-O Green cost 5 percent more than typical detergents. After one year, Bleach-O Green had failed to capture a significant share of the detergent market and was withdrawn from sale. Which of the following questions is LEAST likely to be relevant in determining the reasons for the failure of Bleach-O Green?

A. How effective as a detergent was Bleach-O Green?
B. How many other detergents on the market were promoted as safe for the environment?
C. How much more did Bleach-O Green cost to manufacture than ordinary detergents?
D. To what extent did consumers accept the validity of Bleach-O Green advertised and promoted to consumers?
E. How effectively was Bleach-O Green advertised and promoted to consumers?

3. A sociologist recently studied two sets of teenagers. The members of one set spent 10 or more hours per week watching violent television programs, and the members of the other set spent 2 hours or less per week watching violent television programs. A significantly greater proportion of the teenagers in the former group exhibited aggressive behavior during the period of the study. The sociologists reasoned that the prolonged exposure to television violence caused the aggressive behavior. Which of the following, if true, of the teenagers in the study, provides the strongest challenge to the sociologist's conclusion?

A. Some teenagers who watched more than 10 hours of violent television programming per week behaved less aggressively than others in the same group of teenagers.
B. Some teenagers who watched 2 hours of violent television programming per week did not behave aggressively.
C. Some teenagers voluntarily stopped watching violent television programs after being victims of violence.
D. Some teenagers watched violent television programs alone, while others did so in groups.
E. Many of the teenagers in the first group exhibited aggressive behavior before the study began.

4. According to an independent computer-industry analyst, the new Regent microcomputer is of high quality, is fast, and costs less than any currently existing competing model. It is reasonable to conclude, therefore, as the manufacturer's prospectus does, that the Regent will quickly establish itself as a fast-selling, low-priced alternative to currently available microcomputers. Which of the following, if true, would LEAST weaken the argument above?

A. Many retailers already carry one or more low-priced microcomputer models and are disinclined to carry another.
B. Several faster and lower-priced models of microcomputers will soon be introduced by other computer manufacturers.
C. The Regent Corporation's microcomputer can be used in conjunction with higher-priced microcomputers manufactured by other companies.
D. Most of those individuals and companies that could be expected to make up the potential market for the Regent microcomputer have already filled their microcomputer needs.
E. The independent computer-industry analyst whose assessment was incorporated in the prospectus has used measures of quality that are not universally accepted by the computer-buying public.

5. Recent evidence appears to contradict earlier findings that suggested that those who are physically fit cope better with stressful real-life events. Of a group of healthy women, those randomly assigned to a ten-week program of aerobic exercises performed no better in laboratory tests simulating stressful situations than did the subgroup assigned to a program without exercise. Which of the following, if true, provides evidence for determining whether physical fitness makes one react better to stress?

A. Superior reaction to laboratory stress situations was found to be more prevalent among women than among men.
B. Healthy men, after training six months in weight lifting, encountered fewer potentially stressful situations in the subsequent six months.
C. Subjects following a regimen during which they perfected their skills in a variety of relaxation techniques found that their lives seemed calmer after they began the regimen.
D. College students with previous high levels of stressful life events showed a markedly reduced reaction to such events after training in aerobics for six months.
E. Subjects with a high level of self-esteem more often engaged in physical-fitness regimens than did a control group of subjects with average levels of self-esteem.

6. An electric-power company gained greater profits and provided electricity to consumers at lower rates per unit of electricity by building larger-capacity more efficient plants and by stimulating greater use of electricity within its area. To continue these financial trends, the company planned to replace an old plant by a plant with triple the capacity of its largest plant. The company's plan as described above assumed each of the following EXCEPT:

A. Demand for electricity within the company's area of service would increase in the future.
B. Expenses would not rise beyond the level that could be compensated for by efficiency or volume of operation, or both.
C. The planned plant would be sufficiently reliable in service to contribute a net financial benefit to the company as a whole.
D. Safety measures to be instituted for the new plant would be the same as those for the plant it would replace.
E. The tripling of capacity would not result in insuperable technological obstacles to efficiency.

7. Recent estimates predict that between 1982 and 1995 the greatest increase in the number of people employed will be in the category of low-paying service occupations. This category, however, will not increase its share of total employment, whereas the category of high-paying service occupations will increase its share. If the estimates above are accurate, which of the following conclusions can be drawn?

A. In 1982 more people were working in low-paying service occupations than were working in high-paying service occupations.
B. In 1995 more people will be working in high-paying service occupations than will be working in low-paying service occupations.
C. Nonservice occupations will account for the same share of total employment in 1995 as in 1982.
D. Many of the people who were working in low-paying service occupations in 1982 will be working in high-paying service occupations by 1995.
E. The rate of growth for low-paying service occupations will be greater than the overall rate of employment growth between 1982 and 1995.

8. In the United States, injuries to passengers involved in automobile accidents are typically more severe than in Europe, where laws require a different kind of safety belt. It is clear from this that the United States needs to adopt more stringent standards for safety belt design to protect automobile passengers better. Each of the following, if true, weakens the argument above EXCEPT:

A. Europeans are more likely to wear safety belts than are people in the United States.
B. Unlike United States drivers, European drivers receive training in how best to react in the event of an accident to minimize injuries to themselves and to their passengers.
C. Cars built for the European market tend to have more sturdy construction than do cars built for the United States market.
D. Automobile passengers in the United States have a greater statistical chance of being involved in an accident than do passengers in Europe.
E. States that have recently begun requiring the European safety belt have experienced no reduction in the average severity of injuries suffered by passengers in automobile accidents.

9. Consumers in California seeking personal loans have fewer banks to turn to than do consumers elsewhere in the United States. This shortage of competition among banks explains why interest rates on personal loans in California are higher than in any other region of the United States. Which of the following, if true, most substantially weakens the conclusion above?

A. Because of the comparatively high wages they must pay to attract qualified workers, California banks charge depositors more than banks elsewhere do for many of the services they offer.
B. Personal loans are riskier than other types of loans, such as home mortgage loans, that banks make.
C. Since bank deposits in California are covered by the same type of insurance that guarantees bank deposits in other parts of the United States, they are no less secure than deposits elsewhere.
D. The proportion of consumers who default on their personal loans is lower in California than in any other region of the United States.
E. Interest rates paid by California banks to depositors are lower than those paid by banks in other parts of the United States because in California there is less competition to attract depositors.

10. Holiday receipts?the total sales recorded in the fourth quarter of the year?determine the economic success or failure of many retail businesses. Camco , a retailer selling just one camera model, is an excellent example. Camco's holiday receipts, on average, account for a third of its yearly total receipts and about half of its yearly profits. If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true about Camco on the basis of them?

A. Its fixed expenses per camera sold are higher during the fourth quarter than for any of the other three quarters.
B. It makes more profit during the first and third quarters combined than during the fourth quarter.
C. Its per-camera retail price is lower, on average, during the fourth quarter than during any one of the first three quarters.
D. It makes less profit, on average, for a given dollar amount of sales during the first three quarters combined than during the fourth quarter.
E. The per-camera price it pays to wholesalers is higher, on average, during the fourth quarter than during any of the other three quarters.