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GMAT - Critical Reasoning - Test 15

in Critical Reasoning

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

1. Photography is no longer an art form. Nowadays everyone has access to digital cameras that only need to be pointed at the subject in order to generate a perfect image.

The writer of the argument apparently assumes that

A. the selection of the subject is not an important artistic factor in photography
B. digital cameras will continue to improve in quality
C. digital cameras can never go wrong
D. photography with all other types of camera is an art form
E. art is not perfect

2. Bill: Smoke-detecting fire alarms can save lives. I believe that every apartment in this city should be required by law to be equipped with a smoke detector. Joe: I disagree with your proposal. Smoke detectors are just as important for safety in private houses as they are in apartment. From this exchange, it can be inferred that Joe has interpreted Bill's statement to mean that

A. the city should be responsible for providing smoke detectors for apartments
B. residences outside the city should not be equipped with smoke detectors
C. only apartments should be equipped with smoke detectors
D. the risk of fire is not as great in private houses as it is in apartments
E. the rate of death by fire is unusually high in the city in question

3. Since the invention of digital readout, machine designers have rushed to replace conventional dials and gauges with digital units. Yet the digital gauge has drawbacks in some situations. Since it presents an exact numeric value, it must be decoded and analyzed by a human operator; its meaning cannot be read in an instantaneous scanning. An analog dial or gauge can be marked with red to alert the operator when a value is entering a danger zone; a digital gauge cannot. And it is difficult to tell whether a digital readout is increasing or decreasing over time, while the up or down movement of a pointer on an analog gauge can be quickly and easily observed. The author of the passage above would probably recommend the use of digital gauge in cases when I. warning of a sudden rise or fall in value is needed II. an operator must read and interpret several gauges within a few seconds III. a precise numeric value is essential

A. I only
B. III only
C. I and III only
D. II and III only
E. I, II, and III

4. The cost of producing radios in Country Q is ten percent less than the cost of producing radios in Country Y. Even after transportation fees and tariff charges are added, it is still cheaper for a company to import radios from Country Q to Country Y than to produce radios in Country Y. The statements above, if true, best support which of the following assertions?

A. Labor costs in Country Q are ten percent below those in Country Y.
B. Importing radios from Country Q to Country Y will eliminate ten percent of the manufacturing jobs in Country Y.
C. The tariff on a radio imported from Country Q to Country Y is less than ten percent of the cost of manufacturing the radio in Country Y.
D. The fee for transporting a radio from Country Q to Country Y is more than ten percent of the cost of manufacturing the radio in Country Q.
E. It takes ten percent less time to manufacture a radio in Country Q than it does in Country Y.

5. A recent spate of launching and operating mishaps with television satellites led to a corresponding surge in claims against companies underwriting satellite insurance. As a result, insurance premiums shot up, making satellites more expensive to launch and operate. This, in turn, has added to the pressure to squeeze more performance out of currently operating satellites. Which of the following, if true, taken together with the information above, best supports the conclusion that the cost of television satellites will continue to increase?

A. Since the risk to insurers of satellites is spread over relatively few units, insurance premiums are necessarily very high.
B. When satellites reach orbit and then fail, the causes of failure are generally impossible to pinpoint with confidence.
C. The greater the performance demands placed on satellites, the more frequently those satellites break down.
D. Most satellites are produced in such small numbers that no economies of scale can be realized.
E. Since many satellites are built by unwieldy international consortia, inefficiencies are inevitable.

6. Correctly measuring the productivity of service workers is complex. Consider, for example, postal workers: they are often said to be more productive if more letters are delivered per postal worker. But is this really true? What if more letters are lost or delayed per worker at the same time that more are delivered? The objection implied above to the productivity measure described is based on doubts about the truth of which of the following statements?

A. Postal workers are representative of service workers in general.
B. The delivery of letters is the primary activity of the postal service.
C. Productivity should be ascribed to categories of workers, not to individuals.
D. The quality of services rendered can appropriately be ignored in computing productivity.
E. The number of letters delivered is relevant to measuring the productivity of postal workers.

7. The country of Maravia has severe air pollution, 80 percent of which is caused by the exhaust fumes of cars. In order to reduce the number of cars on the road, the government is raising taxes on the cost of buying and running a car by 20 percent. This tax increase, therefore, will significantly reduce air pollution in Maravia . Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?

A. The government of Maravia is in the process of building a significant number of roadways.
B. Maravia is an oil-producing country and is able to refine an amount of gasoline sufficient for the needs of its population.
C. Maravia has had an excellent public transportation system for many years.
D. Ninety percent of the population of Maravia is very prosperous and has a substantial amount of disposable income.
E. In Maravia , cars that emit relatively low levels of pollutants cost 10 percent less to operate, on average, than do cars that emit high levels of pollutants.

8. One variety of partially biodegradable plastic beverage container is manufactured from small bits of plastic bound together by a degradable bonding agent such as cornstarch. Since only the bonding agent degrades, leaving the small bits of plastic, no less plastic refuse per container is produced when such containers are discarded than when comparable nonbiodegradable containers are discarded. Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument above?

A. Both partially biodegradable and nonbiodegradable plastic beverage containers can be crushed completely flat by refuse compactors.
B. The partially biodegradable plastic beverage containers are made with more plastic than comparable nonbiodegradable ones in order to compensate for the weakening effect of the bounding agents.
C. Many consumers are ecology-minded and prefer to buy a product sold in the partially biodegradable plastic beverage containers rather than in nonbiodegradable containers, even if the price is higher.
D. The manufacturing process for the partially biodegradable plastic beverage containers results in less plastic waste than the manufacturing process for nonbiodegradable plastic beverage containers.
E. Technological problems with recycling currently prevent the reuse as food or beverage containers of the plastic from either type of plastic beverage container.

9. Under current federal law, employers are allowed to offer their employees free parking spaces as a tax-free benefit, but they can offer employees only up to $180 per year as a tax-free benefit for using mass transit. The government could significantly increase mass transit ridership by raising the limit of this benefit to meet commuters' transportation costs. The proposal above to increase mass transit ridership assumes that

A. current mass transit systems are subject to unexpected route closings and delays
B. using mass transit creates less air pollution per person than using a private automobile
C. the parking spaces offered by employers as tax-free benefits can be worth as much as $2,500 per year
D. many employees are deterred by financial considerations from using mass transit to commute to their places of employment
E. because of traffic congestion on major commuter routes, it is often faster to travel to one's place of employment by means of mass transit than by private automobile

10. Investigator: XYZ Coins has misled its clients by promoting some coins as ?extremely rare? when in fact those coins are relatively common and readily available. XYZ agent: That is ridiculous. XYZ Coins is one of the largest coin dealers in the world. We authenticate the coins we sell through a nationally recognized firm and operate a licensed coin dealership. The XYZ agent's reply is most vulnerable to the criticism that it

A. exaggerates the investigator's a claims in order to make them appear absurd
B. accuses the investigator of bias but presents no evidence to support that accusation
C. fails to establish that other coin dealers do not also authenticate the coins those dealers sell
D. lists strengths of XYZ Coins while failing to address the investigator's charge
E. provides no definition for the inherently vague phrase ?extremely rare?