Environmental organizations want to preserve the land surrounding the Wilgrinn Wilderness Area from residential

development. They plan to do this by purchasing that land from the farmers who own it. That plan is ill-conceived: if the farmers did
sell their land, they would sell it to the highest bidder, and developers would outbid any other bidders. On the other hand, these
farmers will never actually sell any of the land, provided that farming it remains viable. But farming will not remain viable if the
farms are left unmodernized, and most of the farmers lack the financial resources that modernization requires. And that is exactly
why a more sensible preservation strategy would be to assist the farmers to modernize their farms to the extent needed to maintain
viability.
In the argument as a whole, the two BOLDFACE proportions play which of the following roles?

 The first presents a goal that the argument rejects as ill-conceived; the second is evidence that is presented as grounds
for that rejection.
 The first presents a goal that the argument concludes can be attained; the second is a reason offered in support of that
conclusion.
 The first presents a goal that the argument concludes can be attained; the second is a judgment disputing that conclusion.
 The first presents a goal, strategies for achieving which are being evaluated in the argument; the second is a judgment
providing a basis for the argument's advocacy of a particular strategy.
 The first presents a goal that the argument endorses; the second presents a situation that the argument contends must be
changed if that goal is to be met in the foreseeable future.

Critics of certain pollution-control regulations have claimed that the money spent over the last decade in order to reduce
emissions of carbon monoxide and of volatile organic compounds has been wasted.The evidence they offer in support of this
claim might appear compelling: despite the money spent, annual emissions of these pollutants have been increasing steadily. This
evidence is far from adequate, however, since over the last decade a substantial number of new industrial facilities that emit
these pollutants have been built.
In the reasoning given, the two portions in BOLDFACE play which of the following roles?

 The first identifies a claim that the reasoning seeks to show is false; the second is evidence that has been cited by others
in support of that claim.
 The first identifies a claim that the reasoning seeks to show is false; the second is a position for which the reasoning
seeks to provide support.
 The first is a position that the reasoning contends is inadequately supported by the evidence; the second is a position for
which the reasoning seeks to provide support.
 The first is a position that the reasoning contends is inadequately supported by the evidence; the second is evidence used
to support the reasoning's contention.
 The first is a position that the reasoning contends is inadequately supported by the evidence; the second is evidence that
has been used to support that position.

People who have spent a lot of time in contact with animals often develop animal-induced allergies, a significant percentage of
which are quite serious.In a survey of current employees in major zoos, about 30 percent had animal-induced allergies. However, a
zoo employee who develops a serious animal-induced allergy is very likely to switch to some other occupation.
Which of the following hypotheses receives the strongest support from the information given?

 The incidence of serious animal-induced allergies among current zoo employees is lower than that among the general
population.
 Zoo employees tend to develop animal-induced allergies that are more serious than those of other people who spend
equally large amounts of time with animals.
 Exposure to domestic pets is, on the whole, less likely to cause animal-induced allergy than is exposure to the kinds of
animals that are kept in zoos.
 There is no occupation for which the risk of developing an animal-induced allergy is higher than 30 percent.
 Among members of the general population who have spent as much time with animals as zoo employees typically have,
the percentage with animal-induced allergies is significantly more than 30 percent.
It is true of both men and women that those who marry as young adults live longer than those who never marry.
This does not show that marriage causes people to live longer, since, as compared with other people of the same
age, young adults who are about to get married have fewer of the unhealthy habits that can cause a person to have
a shorter life, most notably smoking and immoderate drinking of alcohol.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument above?

(A) Marriage tends to cause people to engage less regularly in sports that involve risk of bodily harm.

(B) A married person who has an unhealthy habit is more likely to give up that habit than a person with the same
habit who is unmarried.

(C) A person who smokes is much more likely than a nonsmoker to marry a person who smokes at the time of
marriage, and the same is true for people who drink alcohol immoderately.

(D) Among people who marry as young adults, most of those who give up an unhealthy habit after marriage do not
resume the habit later in life.

(E) Among people who as young adults neither drink alcohol immoderately nor smoke, those who never marry live as
long as those who marry.

The total market value of real estate in Altonville has steadily declined over the past four years. This decline has meant that the
overall figure on which the city’s property tax is based—the assessed value of that real estate—has also declined. The percentage
of assessed value that was paid as property taxes to the city, however, did not change from year to year during this period.
The information above most strongly supports which of the following?

 The percentage of Altonville's yearly revenue that comes from money collected in property taxes did not change over the
past four years.
 The percentage of Altonville's yearly revenue that comes from money collected in property taxes has declined steadily
over the past four years.
 The amount of revenue that Altonville collected from property taxes was lower last year than it was four years ago.
 During the past four years, Altonville officials increased tax rates on other sources of revenue such as retail sales and
business profits.
 Altonville will soon require property owners to pay a higher percentage of the assessed value of their property as property
tax.
It is true of both men and women that those who marry as young adults live longer than those who never marry.This does not show
that marriage causes people to live longer, since, as compared with other people of the same age, young adults who are about to
get married have fewer of the unhealthy habits that can cause a person to have a shorter life, most notably smoking and
immoderate drinking of alcohol.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument above?

 Marriage tends to cause people to engage less regularly in sports that involve risk of bodily harm.
 A married person who has an unhealthy habit is more likely to give up that habit than a person with the same habit who is
unmarried.
 A person who smokes is much more likely than a nonsmoker to marry a person who smokes at the time of marriage, and
the same is true for people who drink alcohol immoderately.
 Among people who marry as young adults, most of those who give up an unhealthy habit after marriage do not resume
the habit later in life.
 Among people who as young adults neither drink alcohol immoderately nor smoke, those who never marry live as long as
those who marry.
Historian:In the Drindian Empire, censuses were conducted annually to determine the population of each village. Village census
records for the last half of the 1600's are remarkably complete. This very completeness makes one point stand out; in five
different years, villages overwhelmingly reported significant population declines. Tellingly, each of those five years immediately
followed an increase in a certain Drindian tax. This tax, which was assessed on villages, was computed by the central government
using the annual census figures. Obviously, whenever the tax went up, villages had an especially powerful economic incentive to
minimize the number of people they recorded; and concealing the size of a village's population from government census takers
would have been easy. Therefore, it is reasonable to think that the reported declines did not happen.
In the historian's argument, the two portions in BOLDFACE play which of the following roles?

 The first supplies a context for the historian's argument; the second acknowledges a consideration that has been used to
argue against the position the historian seeks to establish.
 The first presents evidence to support the position that the historian seeks to establish; the second acknowledges a
consideration that has been used to argue against that position.
 The first provides a context for certain evidence that supports the position that the historian seeks to establish; the second
is that position.
 The first is a position for which the historian argues; the second is an assumption that serves as the basis of that
argument.
 The first is an assumption that the historian explicitly makes in arguing for a certain position; the second acknowledges a
consideration that calls that assumption into question.

The violent crime rate (number of violent crimes per 1,000 residents) in Meadowbrook is 60 percent higher now than
it was four years ago. The corresponding increase for Parkdale is only 10 percent. These figures support the
conclusion that residents of Meadowbrook are more likely to become victims of violent crime than are residents of
Parkdale.

The argument above is flawed because it fails to take into account

(A) changes in the population density of both Parkdale and Meadowbrook over the past four years

(B) how the rate of population growth in Meadowbrook over the past four years compares to the corresponding rate
for Parkdale

(C) the ratio of violent to nonviolent crimes committed during the past four years in Meadowbrook and Parkdale

(D) the violent crime rates in Meadowbrook and Parkdale four years ago

(E) how Meadowbrook’s expenditures for crime prevention over the past four years compare to Parkdale’s
expenditures

Major airlines will purchase many of the new aircrafts capable of carrying more than 500 passengers on
transcontinental and transoceanic flights. These airlines currently rely on "hub and spoke" systems of routing, in
which large planes, which can seat 400 people and are capable of transoceanic flight, fly into hubs that have
runways sufficiently long to handle them. From there, passengers are dispatched to local airports on connecting
flights on small planes. With takeoff and landing time slots almost completely booked at most hubs, and little new
runway construction expected, airlines will want to expand the volume of passengers they can fly in a given time
slot.
The argument above would be most weakened if which of the following were true?

A. The new 500 seat aircraft cost more per seat than existing aircraft

B. Air traffic control systems at most hub airports cannot handle any more flights per hour than they currently do.

C. The new 500 seat aircraft require boarding times substantially longer than those of existing aircraft

D. Small passenger aircraft, capable of efficient transcontinental and transoceanic flight and able to land on short
runways, have come into service

E. Transoceanic air flights are currently running at near maximum capacity

Answers

1. D
2. D
3. E
4. E
5. C
6. E
7. C
8. D
9. D