Questions 10-11
A distemper virus has caused two-thirds of the seal population in the North Sea to die since May 1988. The explanation for the deaths cannot rest here, however. There must be a reason the normally latent virus could prevail so suddenly： clearly the severe pollution of the North Sea waters must have weakened the immune system of the seals so that they could no longer withstand the virus.
10. The argument concerning the immune system of the seals presupposes which one of the following？
（A） There has been a gradual decline in the seal population of the North Sea during the past two centuries.
（B） No further sources of pollution have been added since May 1988 to the already existing sources of pollution in the North Sea.
（C） There was no sudden mutation in the distemper virus which would have allowed the virus successfully to attack healthy North Sea seals by May 1988.
（D） Pollution in the North Sea is no greater than pollution in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of North America, or in the Sea of Japan.
（E） Some species that provide food for the seals have nearly become extinct as a result of the pollution.
11. Which one of the following, if true, most strongly supports the explanation given in the argument？
（A） At various times during the last ten years, several species of shellfish and seabirds in the North Sea have experienced unprecedented steep drops in population.
（B） By reducing pollution at its source, Northern Europe and Scandinavia have been taking the lead in preventing pollution from reaching the waters of the North Sea.
（C） For many years, fish for human consumption have been taken from the waters of the North Sea.
（D） There are two species of seal found throughout the North Sea area, the common seal and the gray seal.
（E） The distemper caused by the virus was a disease that was new to the population of North Sea seals in May 1988, and so the seals' immune systems were unprepared to counter it.
12. It is clear that none of the volleyball players at yesterday's office beach party came to work today since everyone who played volleyball at that party got badly sunburned and no one at work today is even slightly sunburned.
Which one of the following exhibits a pattern of reasoning that most closely parallels that in the argument above？
（A） Since everyone employed by TRF who was given the opportunity to purchase dental insurance did so and everyone who purchased dental insurance saw a dentist, it is clear that no one who failed to see a dentist is employed by TRF.
（B） Since no one who was promoted during the past year failed to attend the awards banquet, evidently none of the office managers attended the banquet this year since they were all denied promotion.
（C） Since the Donnely report was not finished on time, no one in John's group could have been assigned to contribute to that report since everyone in John's group has a reputation for getting assignments in on time.
（D） Everyone with an office on the second floor works directly for the president and, as a result, no one with a second floor office will take a July vacation because no one who works for the president will be able to take time off during July.
（E） Since all of the people who are now on the MXM Corporation payroll have been employed in the same job for the past five years, it is clear that no one who frequently changes jobs is likely to be hired by MXM.
Questions 13-14
The dean of computing must be respected by the academic staff and be competent to oversee the use of computers on campus. The only deans whom academics respect are those who hold doctoral degrees, and only someone who really knows about computers can competently oversee the use of computers on campus.
Furthermore, the board of trustees has decided that the dean of computing must be selected from among this university's staff. Therefore, the dean of computing must be a professor from this university's computer science department.
13. Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends？
（A） Academics respect only people who hold doctoral degrees.
（B） All of this university's professors have obtained doctoral degrees.
（C） At this university, every professor who holds a doctoral degree in computer science really knows about computers.
（D） All academics who hold doctoral degrees are respected by their academic colleagues.
（E） Among this university's staff members with doctoral degrees, only those in the computer science department really know about computers.
14. Which one of the following statements, if true, would weaken the argument？
（A） There are members of this university's staff who hold doctoral degrees and who are not professors but who really know about computers.
（B） There are members of this university's philosophy department who do not hold doctoral degrees but who really know about computers.
（C） Computer science professors who hold doctoral degrees but who are not members of this university's staff have applied for the position of dean of computing.
（D） Several members of the board of trustees of this university do not hold doctoral degrees.
（E） Some members of the computer science department at this university are not respected by academics in other departments.
责任编辑：wangpeng6151
