CRITICAL REASONING PRACTICE EXERCISE
(Arguments and LR Samples)
Ref: CRPE1002001
Directions for questions 1 to 20: Select the correct
alternative from the given choices.
1. Dr. Michael Clarke, an obesity researcher, has put
forward the hypothesis that obesity is linked to
profession. According to him, the brain consumes
more energy than any other organ in the body, and
the more it is used, the more energy it consumes. He
concludes that people who are in professions like
medicine, engineering, teaching and scientific
research are less likely to be obese than those in
professions like marketing, sales and manufacturing.
Which of the following is an assumption that
Dr. Clarke has made?
(A) Physical activity has no role to play in
determining a person’s weight.
(B) Professions like marketing place negligible
demands on the intellect.
(C) Doctors and scientists are in general more
intelligent than marketers.
(D) Professions like marketing are less intellectually
demanding than are professions like medicine
and scientific research.
2. Some popular energy drinks available in the market
can provide 100 percent of the recommended daily
requirement of vitamins. Nevertheless, a well-
balanced meal, including a variety of foods, is a better
source of those vitamins than are such fortified
energy drinks alone.
Which of the following, if true, would most strongly
support the position above?
(A) Since buying one bottle of such drinks requires
less effort than planning and selecting food items
to make a balanced diet, people prefer the
former.
(B) People may not get their daily requirement of
vitamins from foods since they eat insufficient
fruits and vegetables.
(C) The combination of vitamins with other nutrients
in food makes those vitamins more usable by the
body than vitamins added to energy drinks.
(D) Natural food products are easier to digest than
fortified energy drinks.
3. In Rajasthan, the number of people diagnosed as
suffering from polio has dropped significantly this
year, as compared to last year. Health officials
attribute this decrease entirely to the immunisation
programme, which was launched a few years ago.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously
weaken the health officials' explanation for the lower
incidence of the disease?
(A) Many new polio vaccine research centres have
been built in Rajasthan in the last five years.
(B) A new diagnostic technique recognises
Elephantiasis which was earlier lumped together
with polio.
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(C) Because of advances in medicine this year, far
fewer people who contract the polio virus will
develop deformity.
(D) Due to the tireless efforts of the Rajasthan health
officials, awareness regarding the disease and
the need for immunisation has spread among the
people.
4. A famous American T-shirt giant recently won
a lawsuit against an Indian T-shirt firm for imitating its
logo. As a result of the lawsuit, Indian T-shirt
companies will stop imitating logos of American
T-shirt companies. Therefore, average household
expenditure will rise, since branded American
T-shirts cost more than fake Indian ones.
The conclusion above is based on which of the
following assumptions?
(A) Most people are unable to distinguish a branded
American T-shirt from an imitation.
(B) Other T-shirt companies from the US would
benefit from the decision.
(C) The demand for American T-shirts is inelastic.
(D) Indian firms will continue imitating American
T-shirts.
5. It is a well-known fact, duly supported by statistics
compiled by leading research agencies, that more
and more people are building residential properties in
the suburbs than in the heart of a metro. So, in order
to boost its sagging sales, Bheem Cable Internet
should try to focus more on the suburban market than
on the centrally located markets.
What does the above argument assume?
(A) There is no movement of people from suburbs to
the central areas.
(B) Bheem Cable’s sales have declined recently.
(C) Sale and purchase of property is a crucial
parameter to be considered in marketing Internet
connections.
(D) Purchasers of property in the suburbs do not
keep the property idle.
6. The Bill passed this year to control the smuggling of
liquor into the country has obviously failed since the
wholesale price of illicit alcohol would not otherwise
have dropped so drastically this year.
The argument in the passage would be most
seriously weakened if it were true that
(A) Domestic production of illicit alcohol increased
substantially this year.
(B) Illicit liquor gives a greater kick than foreign
liquor.
(C) The country's citizens spent considerably more
money on illicit alcohol this year than they have
ever done before.
(D) Buyer's prefer imported illicit alcohol over that
made indigenously.
CRPE1002001/1
7. Goa and Madhya Pradesh are vying with each other
for the "Safest State" award. In Goa, around 1250
serious crimes are reported per year. In Madhya
Pradesh, around 2500 serious crimes are reported
per year. In order to win the award, officials in the
Goan Administrative Services are using these
statistics to claim that their state has a lower crime
rate and hence is the safer of the two.
Which of the following, if true, would expose the flaw
in the argument of the Goan officials?
(A) Last year the number of serious crimes in
Madhya Pradesh was less than 2500.
(B) There is no standard definition of a serious crime.
(C) The population of Madhya Pradesh is more than
30 times that of Goa.
(D) Madhya pradesh has a larger police force than
Goa.
8. A recent study revealed that most successful
business tycoons in Indonesia admitted to lying,
cheating and bribing officials. The study also showed
that most businessmen who could not make it big
were by and large honest and did not resort to such
practices. The study concludes that in Indonesia, if a
person wants to make it big in business, he should be
dishonest.
Which of the following is an assumption that has been
made in arriving at the conclusion?
(A) Success or failure in business in Indonesia is
determined by ethics alone.
(B) An honest person can never be a successful
businessman in Indonesia.
(C) When competing against dishonest
businessmen, a person can survive only if he
himself is dishonest.
(D) Telling the truth never pays in Indonesia,
especially when it comes to making it big in
business.
9. A garment manufacturer who sells his products for a
fixed price decides that he must increase his income.
Since he does not believe that customers will pay
more for his products, he decides to cut costs by
using cheaper cloth and cheaper dyes. He expects
that by cutting costs, he will increase his profit margin
per garment and thus increase his net annual income.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the
argument above?
(A) The manufacturer has failed to consider other
options, such as renting cheaper manufacturing
space.
(B) If the economy were to enter a period of inflation,
the manufacturer's projected increase in income
could be wiped out by increases in the price of
the raw material.
(C) Other garment manufacturers charge more for
their products than this manufacturer.
(D) Inferior quality will cause a reduction in sales.
10. Because of the Bird-flu scare in Tamil-Nadu, and the
culling that followed, the price of chicken and related
poultry products was expected to become four times
the usual price. This was expected to drive up the
price of eggs sold under the banner of the National
Egg Co-ordination Committee.
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Which of the following, if true, would have most
seriously weakened the argument above?
(A) The Bird-flu scare was just a rumour and had not
affected the poultry in Tamil Nadu.
(B) Tamil Nadu was not the only state supplying
eggs to the National Egg Co-ordination
Committee.
(C) Egg is not the staple food item of many people in
India.
(D) The Bird-flu was not as severe as scientists had
predicted.
11. In a family of five, the monthly electricity bill totals to
over `.2000. Shocked at this trend, the head of the
family insists that the use of television, music system
and personal computer be restricted to an average of
4 hours a day. Over the next 3 months the electricity
bill drops to about `.1200 per month, showing that the
family has been following the restrictions imposed on
them.
Which of the following, if true, shows the most serious
flaw in the above conclusion?
(A) The combined cost of using the computer,
television set and music system for a period of
6 hours totals to `.700 per month.
(B) The new electricity tariff introduced by the
government has cut bills by almost 40%.
(C) Household appliances such as washing
machine, refrigerator, air conditioner, and
microwave draw far more power than the TV, PC,
or music system put together.
(D) During the three months that saw a reduction in
the electricity bill, two members of the family
were preparing for exams.
12. The British approach to training was conditioned until
recently by their belief in the principles of 'training by
doing' and 'in learning from mistakes.'
Which of the following is not a situation where the
above principle can be applied successfully?
(A) Learning how to solve a particular problem.
(B) Learning how to handle explosives by using
actual explosives.
(C) Learning how to swim by swimming in shallow
waters.
(D) Learning how to manage people by committing
errors.
13. The world famous cricket bats manufactured in the
Kashmir valley can, at present, be produced only
from the trunk of the Kashmir willow. It takes the
trunks of 11 willow trees to make thirty cricket bats. It
follows, therefore, that continued production of such
bats must inevitably lead to the extinction of the
Kashmir willow.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously
weakens the argument above?
(A) Willow trees have many medicinal uses.
(B) It has been found that the trunk of the Eucalyptus
tree can also be used to make cricket bats of
good quality.
(C) These bats are very expensive and hence out of
the reach of a majority of cricket lovers in India.
(D) The Kashmir willow can be propagated easily
and grown quickly in plantations.
14. In 2005, the Indian Railways reported an increase, over
the previous year, in the total number of passengers it
carried, but a decrease in total revenues – even though
prices for its tickets on all routes remained unchanged
during the two-year period.
Which of the following, if true, best reconciles the
apparent paradox described above?
(A) The Indian Railways was a victim of a mild
recession in 2005.
(B) Expenditure on employees' salary remained
constant during the two-year period.
(C) Passengers travelled shorter distances in 2005.
(D) The Indian Railways did not buy any new
equipment or hire any new staff in 2005.
15. Experienced car drivers seem to have more trouble than
novices in learning to drive the recently developed ultra-
light cars. As the experienced car drivers are
accustomed to heavier cars, they seem to be troubled
whenever the wind speed is higher than normal.
The passage implies that heavier cars are
(A) not as difficult to handle as ultra-light cars in
windy conditions.
(B) not as safe as the ultra-light cars in high speed
winds.
(C) not as popular with drivers as the ultra-light cars.
(D) harder to control than ultra-light cars when wind
speed is higher than normal.
16. Your appearance and learning are passive factors.
You have to follow it up with some positive, quick and
favourable action. Action can be created by the use of
your voice and the use of your limbs. You may follow up
your smile with a warm greeting. You can happily wish
the other individual a good morning, good day or good
evening. That greeting may be followed up with a
friendly, firm and manly handshake. In case you are
greeting a member of the opposite sex who may not
respond to a handshake, you may fold your hands and
greet her or him with an exquisitely executed ‘namaste’.
With elderly people, you can do ‘pranam’ or otherwise
you can bow your head and convey your greetings.
Which of the following can be inferred from the above
passage?
(A) A handshake is the western equivalent of the
namaste or ‘pranam’ practised in India.
(B) If you greet a member of the opposite sex, you
should not shake hands.
(C) Action provides different ways of greeting people
and it does not have to differ from person to
person, age to age and gender to gender.
(D) Your behaviour is as important as your looks in
making a good impression.
17. 90% of the patients suffering from schizophrenia
have reported an alleviation of their condition when
they skip meals. Yet, doctors treating such patients
do not encourage them to miss their meals, although
the conventional drugs often have serious side-
effects.
Which of the following, if true, best explains this
apparent contradiction?
(A) Schizophrenia returns in full force as soon as the
patient has a meal.
(B) For a small number of schizophrenics, missing a
meal induces a temporary sense of well-being.
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(C) Missing meals could impair the patient's immune
system.
(D) Doctors advise patients not to take medicines on
empty stomach.
18. He cannot be a good actor because he is barely
presentable. A bad hair-cut, cheap clothes, and dirty
lapels are his trademarks. Anyone that shabby
cannot be an actor of any merit.
Which of the following is an assumption in the
argument above?
(A) The writer of the above text considers good looks
important.
(B) Generally speaking, actors set the trend in
fashion.
(C) The physical appearance of an actor is indicative
of his acting skills.
(D) Actors in general are conscious of their
appearance and so dress well.
19. Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Handel are legendary
composers whose symphonies command instant
admiration from music lovers the world over for the
wealth of pure, uninstalled, emotional genius that
they represent. Hardcore music lovers scorn the idea
that computer-generated music could ever match the
quality and depth of a human being’s effort. However,
in the recent past, a large percentage of the CDs sold
are of computer-generated music symphonies.
Which of the following, if true, would explain the
paradox mentioned in the above argument?
(A) Many music lovers view computer-generated
music as another trend in the fascinating
progress of technology, but they miss in it the
depth experienced in the works of original
composers.
(B) Computer-generated music relies on the
identification of recurrent structures in a popular
composer’s output and the reusing of those
structures in new arrangements, thus making it
appealing.
(C) Cope, a professor at the University of California,
has developed a computer-generated
programme that caters to the tastes of the
modern generation, by using music relevant to
their modes of living.
(D) Since computer-generated music depends on
software written by a programmer, the emotional
quality and intensity of feeling of the programmer
become part of the fabric of the software.
20. The Marketing Department of Munchkin Motors
released the following advertisement. “Munchkin
Motors manufactures the safest cars. Last year Auto
Re-Search, a reputed magazine, reported that in the
last five years, Munchkin Cars were involved in at
least 20% fewer accidents than cars built by any other
manufacturer.”
What does this ad unfairly infer?
(A) Munchkin Motors follows better safety systems
while manufacturing.
(B) The report published by Auto Re-Search has in-
built bias.
(C) Munchkin cars manufactured this year are as
safe as the cars manufactured last year.
(D) Fewer accidents is an indicator of the vehicle
being safe.
Directions for questions 21 and 22: Read the following
excerpt from a sci-fi book about alien animals called
mainakinos, and answer the questions that follow it.
The colours of mainakinos are useful for concealment from
their prey and from other mainakinos that prey upon them.
A certain mainakino, for instance, is scarcely visible as it
crouches on the sand or among desert rocks and stones.
Some mainakinos are so tinted and mottled that their
detection is difficult. A certain mainakino living amid ice and
snow is white. Some mainakinos are so coloured as to be
almost invisible in the grass or gravel where they rest. Many
mainakinos are so like the leaves on which they feed that
when motionless, they cannot be discerned. Some
mainakinos resemble dead, dry or decaying leaves so
closely as to elude discovery. Every individual mainakino that
is better protected by colour than others, has a better chance
for life, and of transmitting its hues. Some harmless
mainakinos are so like their predators as to be left alone.
21. Based on the information in the text, which of the
following statements must be true about the colors of
mainakinos?
(A) Many mainakinos are so colored that it is not
difficult for them to be distinguished from the
leaves they feed on.
(B) Some mainakinos act dead to prevent detection.
(C) Some mainakinos are like some other harmless
mainakinos to scare away those which dread the
dangerous ones.
(D) Colors play a vital role in the natural selection of
mainakinos.
22. Based on the information in the text which of the following
statements is false about the colors of mainakinos?
(A) Many mainakinos are so colored that it is not
difficult for them to be distinguished from the
leaves they feed on.
(B) Some mainakinos change their colors according
to their geographical location which help them in
preventing their detection by their prey.
(C) Some mainakinos are like some other harmless
mainakinos to scare away those which dread the
dangerous ones.
(D) All mainakinos that are disadvantaged by their colors
have not inherited their colors from their ancestors
who were equally disadvantaged by their colors.
Directions for questions 23 and 24: Read the following
excerpt and answer the questions that follow.
The great Teutonic tribe entered Europe after to the Keltic
tribes. They occupied a large part of Northern Central Europe,
from which the attempts of the Romans to dispossess them
proved futile. Of their early history, we know very little. Bishop
Percy contrasts their love of making records, as shown by the
Runic inscriptions, with the Keltic law of secrecy. The Druids
forbade any communication of their mysteries by writing, but
the Germans put all their beliefs into popular songs, and
revered literature as a gift of the gods. Yet, we have very little
information concerning these tribes before the days of Cæsar.
Cæsar describes them as warlike, huge in stature, having no
regular priests, and paying little regard to sacrifices. He says
that they occupied their lives in hunting and war. They were a
pastoral rather than agricultural people; no one owning land,
but each having it assigned to him temporarily. The object of
this provision was to prevent accumulation of wealth and the
loss of warlike habits. They fought with cavalry supported by
infantry. In the time of Augustus, all attempts at conquering
Germany were relinquished, and war was maintained only in
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the hope of avenging the destruction of Varus and his three
legions by the famous German chief Arminius.
23. Based on the information in the text, identify which of
the following statements must be true about the
German tribe.
(A) The Runic inscriptions belonging to the era
before Caesar have been lost.
(B) The Romans could not conquer Germany as they
fought war with the Germans only to avenge one
of their leaders of legions.
(C) The Romans thought that accumulation of wealth
leads to loss of war-like habits.
(D) The Germans were theists.
24. Based on the information in the text, identify which of
the following statements must be false about the
German tribe.
(A) The Romans made a number of attempts to drive the
German tribe out of the Northern Central Europe.
(B) Druids belonged to the Keltic tribes.
(C) The Runic inscriptions belonging to the era
before Caesar have been lost.
(D) The Romans could not conquer Germany as they
fought war with the Germans only to avenge one
of their leaders of legions.
Directions for question 25: Read the following passage
and answer the question that follows it.
The importance of art societies for the creatively inclined is to
provide them with a forum and platform to share their views, as
well as overcome the creative block that established artists
tend to go through from time to time caused solely due to lack
of funds. Some art societies function as a platform for new
artists to interact with the maestros, so that they can seek
guidance, as well as critical appreciation for their work. There
are some local societies formed for art lovers to interact with
artists, to understand the person behind the canvas creation.
These societies function as educational, as well as social
forums. Overall, art societies play a vital role in the propagation
of art. Although governments should fund such art societies,
very few art societies receive financial support from the
government. There are some small popular artist-run socieites
that are funded solely by a patron of the popular artist who runs
them. Sometimes, certain art societies have prospered in
states or countries where the priorites of the governments are
too far above art. However, in these states and countries,
people have a very great regard for art which prompts them to
visit museums and art galleries that sell tickets. Some of these
people also buy paintings which generate a lot of income for
such societies.
25. Based on the information given in the passage,
identify which of the given inferences is True.
(A) A layman can understand the artist who painted
an exquisite painting only when an art society
acts as a mediator between him and the artist.
(B) In states or countries where the priorities of the
governments are too far above art and where there
are ticket paying art enthusiasts, if an artist suffers
from the creative block he will continue to do so to no
avail.
(C) In the countries where we are likely to find patron-
supported, popular artist-run art societies, art is
generally regarded higher than in countries where we
are likely to see a ticket-paying museum visitor.
(D) A government of a society which places a high
value on art can afford not to fund art without
negatively affecting the development of art.
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