Linda: In the 1800s, it was found that one in every six women who gave birth in hospitals died of a fever they had contracted after delivering the child and that the mortality was not as high if they gave birth at home with the help of a mid wife. It was found that the doctors had a poorer sense of hygiene and that their dirty hands and instruments were leading to pathogens entering a woman's bloodstream. Thankfully, hygienic conditions today are much better and women are safer.
Fiona: But doctors today are so overworked that a number of doctors, while aware of the need for better hygiene, barely find the time to wash their hands. The likelihood of infections caused by doctors is probably not any better.
Which of the following can be used by Fiona to further establish that Linda need not be correct in her reasoning?
The Americans with disabilities act (ADA) was designed to ensure that there is no discrimination against and unfair termination of differently-abled workers in the workplace. However, after the act was introduced, there has been a marked increase in unemployment among the differently-abled.
Which of the following best explains this seeming discrepancy?
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In an effort to curb drug abuse, the government has imposed strict laws to prosecute the dealers. However, such an initiative is unlikely to be effective. Prosecuting dealers will lead to a shortage of drugs. At the same time, because no efforts are being taken to curb demand, drugs will be sold at a premium, attracting more people to the very remunerative job of drug dealing. Therefore, to effectively reduce drug abuse, the government will have to prosecute the drug users and not dealers.
Which of the following is the most relevant information in evaluating the credibility of the argument?
Alan: In the last 15 years, most of the criminals who were convicted of theft or murder were from the lower income classes and had not completed high school. Therefore, the government has to spend more money on reducing poverty and increase funding to education. Because terrorism is the most severe of all crimes, such measures would bring down overall crime rate and reduce threat from terrorism.
Dylan: A study that was conducted in a country known to produce a number of terrorists showed that on average the terrorists were better educated than the overall population and that they did not necessarily come from lower income classes. This is probably because crimes such as theft are committed for personal gain while terrorism is for political or religious gain.
Which of the following best describes Dylan's response to Alan?
During the last 50 years in England, the national football team has had at least 60℅ of its players born during the months January to March. Similarly, in Germany, at least 50℅ of the team has been born during the first three months of the year. In fact, this statistic holds true for most European countries. This shows that in most European countries, parents with kids born early in the year are more likely to encourage a football career.
Which of the following best explains why the conclusion need not be the best explanation for the statistic?
Studies have established that children who watched 2 more hours of TV on an average daily basis during the first 15 years of their life were 50℅ more likely to be arrested for property crimes in the country. Researchers believe that these studies clearly establish that violence in movies and TV contribute to aggressive behavior in real life. On the other hand, there is no clear evidence that the programs that the kids watched on TV were violent in the first place. Even if we were to accept that TV watching contributed to the increased crime rate, it need not have been because of the nature of the programs. Perhaps, children who watched programs such as Adams and Samson, a funny sit-com about two blundering cops began perceiving all cops as incompetent.
( Bold face statements are given in Underlined format)
What is the role of the sentences in boldface?
During mediaeval times, the administrative system was organized such that jobs were traditionally held within the same family. The eldest son of the village's blacksmith will take up his father’s business and become the next blacksmith. The other sons would join the army or serve the king in some fashion while the daughters did what their mother did. Although the world has undergone innumerable changes, the dynastic system has not undergone any change whatsoever. Children who have fathers who played major league baseball are 800 times more likely than other kids to become major league players themselves.
Which of the following best refutes the author's reasoning?
A survey conducted recently in the city indicated that most college welfare-aid applicants understate the number of luxury items - such as cars and TVs – that their family owned, in an effort to maximize the amount of aid they can claim from the city. Paradoxically, the same study also found that many applicants claimed that they had running water and a gas connection even when they did not.
Which of the following best explains the apparent paradox?
Terrorist attacks invariably lead to tremendous losses in life, property, and morale of a country. The effects of a terrorist attack are not just immediate and can have long-lasting, trickle-down effects as well. The fear, for example, takes a long time to die down. However, some of these repercussions can be beneficial to the country. Take for instance, the recent terrorist attack on our capital city. In the weeks following the attack, the crime rate in the city came down significantly from what it was just before the attack. This must primarily be due to the increased presence of police resources that were moved to the area and is thus an indirect effect of the attack.
Which of the following options gives one more option as to why the crime rate decreased because of the terrorist attacks?
In 2009, there was a sharp increase in the number of people who were reported to have died in the country during the first week of the year, compared with the first week of the previous ten years. There seems to be no reason to explain this disproportionately high number of deaths especially because the reports were widespread in the country and there was no epidemic spreading through the country at that point in time. Moreover, most of the deaths were not among the young and could not even be attributed to binge drinking in celebration of the new year.
Which of the following can then explain the discrepancy?
It seems that medical care is constantly improving and is far better today than it was a few years ago. New medicines are being developed, and at a lower cost. Technological advancements are being made and new treatments are devised. However, hospital care has not improved as much as expected. Most hospitals do not have a large enough ER that can handle a sudden influx of patients and the number of people who die in a hospital due to reasons other than what they got admitted for is staggeringly high.
All of the following underscore the author’s argument EXCEPT
Industrial and automobile pollution have long been thought to contribute to global warming. However, researchers have identified that the carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide released into the atmosphere are not as potent as the methane emitted by cud-chewing animals such as cows when they fart or belch. Therefore, if you drive a hybrid electric car to the grocery, any favor that you would do to the environment would be offset if you end up buying beef.
Which of the following best describes the author's reasoning?
There are several scientific studies and research findings that are constantly discussed and publicized in the news media. Some of these are contrary to other research studies that are published. This conflict in information makes people believe that either science is inaccurate or that they can ‘choose’ which scientific result they want to believe in. However, neither of these beliefs is accurate. Science is not inaccurate or subjective. Most of the time, scientific studies show inconsistent results either because of inaccuracies in methodology adopted or because of misrepresentation of actual results by the news media. For example, a recent study done on just 15 women showed that eating chocolate was not necessarily harmful during pregnancy and the media reported that chocolate was actually beneficial to the foetus.
Which of the following best further corroborate the author’s argument?
John: A study has identified that many soldiers received less-than-honorable discharges from the army due to charges of misconduct that can actually be attributed to conditions such as PTSD and traumatic brain injury. This is a military practice that is unfair and must be avoided. The army must take responsibility for the same and stop discharging their soldiers dishonorably.
Christy: While it is true that it is unfair to the soldiers to be discharged so from the army, it has also been found that there are no sufficient measures or systems that have been created to identify whether the misconduct was due to trauma or due to other reasons. Moreover, to enforce discipline in the ranks, it is important for the army to follow a uniform rule for all the soldiers.
Which of the following statements can Christy further add to her argument?
Jess: To be a woman in this century is far better than to be a woman in centuries past. Life expectancy for women has - for the first time - surpassed that for men and while only around 20℅ of college students in the late 1800s were women, today, almost 60℅ of college students are women.
Sam: However, women educated in the top-ranked colleges in the country earn only about 70℅ of what their male counterparts earn. Also, studies show that even today, in a number of industries, women are refused top management positions simply because they are women.
Which of the following is Jess most likely to say in response to Sam?
Artistic success as an actor is directly dependent on how well an actor has developed his craft. This has been demonstrated by the discovery of a positive relationship between the number of classes taken by an actor and the number of professional productions in which the actor has appeared in the past two years.
Each of the following, if true, cast doubt on the author's argument about artistic success for actors EXCEPT:
Music Industry executives have claimed that online file-sharing networks are significantly hurting their business because potential consumers are getting music for free that they would otherwise purchase. However, after file-sharing networks started to become popular, CD sales actually increased.
Which of the following, if true, best explains the apparent contradictions described above?
Parents of high school students argue that poor attendance is the result of poor motivation. If students' attitudes improve, regular attendance will result. The administration, they believe, should concentrate less on making stricter attendance policies and more increasing students' learning.
Which of the following, if true, would most effectively weaken the parents' argument?
A study of children's television-watching habits by the federal Department of Education found that children aged 7-10 who watched more than 25 hours of television per week performed worse in school than children of the same age who watched fewer than 25 hours of television per week. Therefore, parents of children aged 7-10 should prohibit their children from watching more than 25 hours of television per week.
Which of the following, if true, would be best to strengthen the argument above?
When limitations were in effect on nuclear-arms testing, people tended to save more of their money, but when nuclear-arms testing increased, people tended to spend more of their money. The perceived threat of nuclear catastrophe, therefore, decreases the willingness of people to postpone consumption for the sake of saving money.
The argument above assumes that