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GMAT - Critical Reasoning - Test 43

in Critical Reasoning

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

1. Many people report that exposure to certain foods such as cheese, red wine, and chocolate, are associated with the onset of migraine headaches. Other people report that exposure to certain smells (especially strong perfumes) seems to trigger a migraine headache, and some note that exposure to bright and flickering lights can be followed by a migraine. It would seem that a person with a tendency to get migraines should try to find which of these situations is associated with the onset of the headache and then avoid this stimulus.

All of the following, if true, would indicate potential problems with the recommendation above except

A. the time delay between the trigger and the onset of the headache can make it exceptionally difficult to identify the trigger
B. the presence of a known trigger doesn?t always cause a migraine
C. in many cases an internal hormonal change triggers a migraine
D. in a high proportion of cases the patients report multiple triggers for their headaches
E. most of the known triggers are common and almost unavoidable features of modern life

2. In 1981, for the first time in over two decades, the average scores of high school students on standardized math and English tests did not decline. During the same year, millions of American students enjoyed their first exposure to the new world of the microcomputer, whether in schools, video arcades, or other settings. The conclusion is clear: far from stultifying the intellectual capacities of students, exposure to computers can actually enhance them. The most serious weakness of the argument above is its failure to

A. discuss the underlying causes of the twenty-year decline in students' test scores
B. cite specific figures documenting the increases in test scores
C. distinguish among the various types of computer being used by high school students
D. define the intellectual capacities tested by the standardized math and English tests referred to
E. explain exactly how high school students' abilities on math and English tests could have been enhanced by exposure to computers

3. A light bulb company produces 2,000 light bulbs per week. The manager wants to ensure that standards of quality remain constant from week to week. The manager, therefore, claims that out of 2,000 light bulbs produced per week, 500 light bulbs are rejected. Of the following, the best criticism of the manager's plan is that the plan assumes that

A. light bulb manufacturers cannot accept all light bulbs that produced
B. the overall quality of the light bulbs would not be improved if the total number of light bulbs produced were reduced
C. each light bulb that is reviewed is worthy of being reviewed
D. it is difficult to judge the quality of a light bulb
E. the 1,500 light bulbs that are accepted will be of the same quality from week to week

4. In 1984 Exco , which sells it s products only through mail-order catalogs, began distributing its catalog to people who had never purchased Exco's products, while it continued to distribute the catalog to previous customers. Total dollar sales increased in 1984, but Exco's profits that year were smaller than in 1983. Which of the following, if true, contributes most to an explanation of Exco's smaller profits in 1984, as compared to 1983?

A. There was a two percent increase in 1984 in the sales tax that consumers had to pay on all purchases from the catalog.
B. A greater number of catalogs were sent to previous customers than to people who never purchased products from Exco .
C. In 1984 Exco's product-manufacturing costs increased by a smaller amount than the products' selling prices increased.
D. Customers who never previously purchased products from Exco purchased, on the average, fewer products in 1984 than did previous customers.
E. The increase between 1983 and 1984 in the cost of mailing the catalogs was greater than the increase in sales from 1983 to 1984.

5. Rural households have more purchasing power than do urban or suburban households at the same income level, since some of the income urban and suburban households use for food and shelter can be used by rural households for other needs. Which of the following inferences is best supported by the statement made above?

A. The average rural household includes more people than does the average urban or suburban household.
B. Rural households have lower food and housing costs than do either urban or suburban households.
C. Suburban households generally have more purchasing power than do either rural or urban households.
D. The median income of urban and suburban households is generally higher than that of rural households.
E. All three types of households spend more of their income on food and housing than on all other purchases combined.

6. A recent report determined that although only three percent of drivers on Maryland highways equipped their vehicles with radar detectors, thirty-three percent of all vehicles ticketed for exceeding the speed limit were equipped with them. Clearly, drivers who equip their vehicles with radar detectors are more likely to exceed the speed limit regularly than are drivers who do not. The conclusion drawn above depends on which of the following assumptions?

A. Drivers who equip their vehicles with radar detectors are less likely to be ticketed for exceeding the speed limit than are drivers who do not.
B. Drivers who are ticketed for exceeding the speed limit are more likely to exceed the speed limit regularly than are drivers who are not ticketed.
C. The number of vehicles that were ticketed for exceeding the speed limit was greater than the number of vehicles that were equipped with radar detectors.
D. Many of the vehicles that were ticketed for exceeding the speed limit were ticketed more than once in the time period covered by the report.
E. Drivers on Maryland highways exceeded the speed limit more often than did drivers on other state highways not covered in the report.

7. Consumer income reports produced by the government distinguish between households and families by means of the following definition: ?A family is a household containing a householder and at least one person related to the householder.? Except for the homeless and people in group living quarters, most people live in households. According to the definition above, which of the following must be true?

A. All householders are members of families.
B. All families include a householder.
C. All of the people related to a householder form a family.
D. Some people residing in group living quarters are members of families.
E. Some homeless people reside in group living quarters.

8. When a person is under intense psychological stress, his or her cardiovascular response is the same as it is during vigorous physical exercise. Psychological stress, then, must be beneficial for the heart as is vigorous physical exercise. The argument above relies on which of the following assumptions?

A. Exercise is an effective means of relieving psychological stress.
B. The body's short-term cardiovascular response to any activity indicates that activity's long-term effect on the body.
C. Cardiovascular response during an activity is an adequate measure of how beneficial the activity is for the heart.
D. Psychological stress can have a positive effect on the body.
E. Vigorous exercise is the most reliable method of maintaining a healthy heart.

9. Companies in the country of Kollontay can sell semiconductors in the country of Valdivia at a price that is below the cost to Valdivian companies of producing them. To help those Valdivian companies, the Valdivian legislature plans to set a minimum selling price in Valdivia for semiconductors manufactured in Kollontay that is ten percent greater than the average production costs for companies in Valdivia. Which of the following, if true, most seriously threatens the success of the plan?

A. The annual rate of inflation in Kollontay is expected to exceed ten percent within the next year.
B. Valdivia is not the only country where companies in Kollontay currently sell semiconductors.
C. Some Valdivian companies that sell semiconductors have announced that they plan to decrease their price for semiconductors.
D. The government of Kollontay will also set a minimum price for selling semiconductors in that country.
E. Emerging companies in countries other than Kollontay will still be able to sell semiconductors in Valdivia at a price below the cost to Valdivian companies to manufacture them.

10. In several cities, the government is going ahead with ambitious construction projects despite the high office vacancy rates in those cities. The vacant offices, though available for leasing, unfortunately do not meet the requirements for the facilities needed, such as court houses and laboratories. The government, therefore, is not guilty of any fiscal wastefulness. Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument above depends?

A. Adaptation of vacant office space to meet the government's requirements, if possible, would not make leasing such office space a more cost-effective alternative to new construction.
B. The government prefers leasing facilities to owning them in cases where the two alternatives are equally cost-effective.
C. If facilities available for leasing come very close to meeting the government's requirements for facilities the government needs, the government can relax its own requirements slightly and consider those facilities in compliance.
D. The government's construction projects would not on being completed, add to the stock of facilities available for leasing in the cities concerned.
E. Before embarking on any major construction project, the government is required by law to establish beyond any reasonable doubt that there are no alternatives that are most cost-effective.