Test: Boldface - GMAT MCQ
20 Questions MCQ Test - Test: Boldface
Astronomer: Among recently-observed stars, LV-426 has been exhibiting signs of turbulent activity. Prior to this observation, scientists speculated over whether LV-426 could become a supernova, but dismissed the possibility since the star was dormant for a prolonged period of time. It now seems likely that LV-426 will explode into a supernova, since turbulent surges of activity have been observed in every star that has transformed into a supernova.
In the astronomer’s argument, which of the following roles do the boldfaced portions play?
The stock price of companies that have high earnings per share growth increases fast. Because "CEO compensation is tied to the increase in stock price, many companies use cash from operations to buy back shares to increase the overall earnings per share." However, in practice, this strategy is often counterproductive as this leaves little cash to be invested in developing new products and services. In the long run this reduces the overall earnings per share and the stock price.
In the passage above, the two bold faced portions play the following roles:
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Fast food chains constantly face the problem of low employee retention, to counter which the companies offer high salaries. The companies have come up with the solution of hiring retired people who have a very low attrition rate. However, their time taken to service an order is more and they require going through long training programs at regular intervals. Thus, for most fast food chains the gain in employee retention does not compensate for the increase in time taken to serve each customer. Nevertheless, since the customers continue to be more appreciative when served by retired people, their employment is likely to become an industry-wide feature.
In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
It is widely known that oxidants are toxic in large amounts, and our cells naturally generate their own anti-oxidants to neutralize them. Accordingly it is advised that people boost the intake of antioxidants to counter the effects of toxic "reactive oxygen species," or ROS, the elevated levels of which are connected with various cancers. However, such advice may not have any substantial medical grounds as new research shows that tumor-promoting ROS are produced at cellular energy factories called mitochondria whereas supplements and dietary antioxidants tend to accumulate at scattered distant sites in the cell not connected with mitochondria at all.
In the argument above, the two bold-face portions play which of the following roles?
When the world-wide economic recession began in December 2007, 60% of the under-25 population was in the labor force, meaning they were either working or looking for work. Today, that figure has fallen to 55%.The decline in the participation rate among the young cannot be fully attributed to the recession. Labor force participation among young people peaked at just under 70% in 1989 and has trended downward ever since, primarily because of rising rates of college attendance. The presence of other factors that have driven the decline in the last few years cannot be discounted. The number of young people saying they’re “discouraged” — meaning they aren’t looking for jobs because they don’t think they can find one — has been trending upwards.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
Customers are aware that most of the faults that arise in their mobile phones are due to the excessive exposure of these phones to moisture or water. Accordingly, engineers at Talkit Inc. have developed a water-resistant phone that can stay underwater for at least 30 minutes without any resultant damage to either its hardware or software. However, since the manufacturing cost of the phone is anywhere between 25-30% more than that of an ordinary phone, the phone will be very expensive and as such not be able to find enough customers.
In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
The sales of a product increases as the number of people who have used it increases. Sampling is a good method to increase the awareness of the products. Therefore, many energy drink manufacturers put stalls around each city they are targeting and distribute free energy drinks as each flavor is launched. Such distribution increases the demand for the new flavor, forcing competitors to come up with a similar flavor of the energy drink and reducing the overall sales and profits of that flavors. Eventually energy drink manufacturers are forced to keep producing new flavors.
In the argument above, the two portions play which of the following roles?
Studies show that families in which both the husband and the wife are working normally tend to be single-child families. It is commonly understood that such partners prefer to have only one child because of the lack of time on their hands to raise more than one child. However, other studies have shown that in households that have both the husband and wife working but that have more than one child, the partners married each other in their early twenties. Since majority of the working parents in single-child households marry post the age of thirty-five, it is clear that the real reason such families have only one child is the age of the parents that does not biologically allow them to have more than one child.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
Tenured professors at higher education institutions are certainly given more prestige than other lecturers are. But they are not better teachers as shown by a working paper published by National Education Research Institute (NERI). NERI collected, from more than 15,000 students, ratings for both tenured and non-tenured professors. Even though we would expect tenured professors to get much better ratings because of their much greater experience, the results showed otherwise. Non-tenured professors got better ratings, slightly though, than tenured professors. This clearly shows that there is an immediate need to do course correction – after all, the whole purpose of the existence of the education system is to provide quality teaching to the students.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
Products that are full of novel features generally have higher profit margins than simpler products. Because the stock market rewards higher returns on research and development and a company’s decisions are driven by stock prices, incumbents in any industry invest their research and development efforts on making products more complex, leaving the products that provide the lowest profit margins to competitors. However, such a strategy can easily backfire since it allows competitors to build competence and slowly come after those high margin products. Therefore, the best strategy for an incumbent is to invest to maintain leading positions in both low margin and high margin products.
In the above argument, the two boldface portions play which of the following roles?
It may seem that no group has been hit harder by the recession than the young since the official unemployment rate for those under age 25 is 16.2%, more than double the rate for the population as a whole. However, the figures may not provide the correct picture. The worst – hit group could be people above 60, an age-group in which the impact has been so severe that people have stopped even looking for jobs. Since the government considers only those jobless people unemployed who are actively looking for work, people who stop looking are instead considered “not in the labor force,” even if they prefer to work given the opportunity.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
The US and New Zealand are the only two countries where direct to consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs is legal. Many research organizations and pharmaceutical industry groups contend that the ads are educational and provide consumers with important information that may benefit their health. Opponents counter that DTC drug ads are often just sales pitches which pressure doctors to provide unnecessary medications and cause patients to seek unhelpful and costly remedies. The recently published data speaks amply in favor of the latter group: the average number of prescriptions for new drugs with DTC advertising is currently nine times greater than prescriptions for new drugs without DTC ads. The claims that only the most reliable companies pursue DTC ads and therefore, this data is expected, are not rooted on facts since a number of such heavily advertised drugs have been shown to have long term safety problems.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
Artists who have won prestigious awards usually receive much more glowing praise from critics than do artists who have not won any noteworthy awards. Since popularity tends to be short-lived and artists desire to make the most of their reputations, several artists produce as much work as they can in a short span of time. However, too much output may lead critics to believe that the artist has compromised on the quality of his or her work. Therefore, the best course of action for artists who have received prestigious awards and who want to continue to receive positive critical reviews is to ensure that they do not produce too much work in too short a period.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
Many people choose listening to a particular kind of music that is compatible with the mental state they are in. However, studies have shown that people can report feeling happier and calm after listening to sad music. Nevertheless, it is uncalled for to conclude that sad music actually makes people happy. The studies also found that the people only felt positive emotions after listening to sad music when the purpose of listening to it was to release emotions. Contrarily, when the purpose of listening to such music was to recall memories, people felt even more morose after listening to sad music.
In the above argument, the two boldface portions play which of the following roles?
Although in the past the media had been abuzz with rumors that the famous film director Ben Zu would send his entry to the prestigious Film Directors’ Guild competition, which invites entries every year from script-writers/directors who are ready to sign the undertaking that their scripts are based on original-story plots, many critics dismissed these rumors, citing the signing of this undertaking as the main impediment to his entering the yearly competition. This year, it is possible that Zu, whose last few films were adaptations of some bestselling Chinese novels, will finally enter the competition as he has signed the required disclosure.
Which of the following options best describes the functions of the statements in boldface?
A prominent investor in a trading firm has alleged that stock exchanges, in a bid to generate more revenue, are tying up with trading firms and giving such firms unfair advantages over individual investors. The claim has resulted in an inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Since there have been previous claims about trading firms unfairly using computer algorithms to their advantage, the inquiry will likely lead to the finding that the investor’s allegations are justified.
In the above argument, which of the following functions are played by the portions in boldface?
Although the e-commerce industry in Inasia is not profitable as yet, as most companies in the sector suffer from challenges such as inefficient supply chains and insufficient funds, Nile Corporation, a world leader in the e-commerce sector has recently made its foray into the Inasian market. Its decision to enter the market is correct regardless of all the opposing theories. Most analysts believe that e-commerce will gain a sizeable market share in Inasia as more young people with higher disposable incomes will start buying products online over the next five years.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
The increasing costs of fossil fuels such as gas, coal and oil due to the depleting resources of such fuels have prompted many to suggest bio-fuels as a cheaper and greener substitute for them. While biofuels may be more environment-friendly, it is highly debatable whether such fuels will in fact present a significant cost advantage. For instance, many common crops used as resources for biofuels can be economically grown only in limited parts of the world; in other regions the same crops would be impossible or extremely costly to grow.
Which of the following, if true, would serve the same function in the argument as the statement in boldface?
Achievers’ Administrative Officer: At Achievers’ School, students from economically underprivileged backgrounds, who study free of charge under the company’s social responsibility clause, tend to spend less time in school than the financially well-to-do, fee-paying students. This is despite the fact that on average, economically underprivileged children generally have more pressing academic needs than the fee-paying students. Critics of the school have concluded that the economically underprivileged students are not receiving proper academic attention. However, this conclusion is almost certainly baseless. Careful investigation has recently shown two things: students from financially well to do households hang around in school premises to discuss their after-school parties, and tend to stay back in the school after classes to attend such optional sports activities that have nothing to do with a student’s academic development.
In the administrative officer’s argument, the two boldface portions play which of the following roles?
Editor: The Economic Council’s declaration that budget cuts are effectively insignificant because there is no evidence that such cuts lead to lower economic growth is irresponsible and self-serving. A recent study has shown that budget cuts lead to a reduction in a country’s income over a long term period. Since these cuts are usually enforced following an increase in national debt, which in turn has an impact on a country’s income, budget cuts clearly curtail a country’s long-term economic growth.
In the editor’s argument, the statements in boldface play which of the following roles?
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