13. Alia: Hawthorne admits that he has influence with high government officials. He further admits that he sold that influence to an environmental interest group. There can be no justification for this kind of unethical behavior.
Martha: I disagree that he was unethical. The group that retained Hawthorne’s services is dedicated to the cause of preventing water pollution. So, in using his influence to benefit this group, Hawthorne also benefited the public.
Alia and Martha disagree on whether
(A) the meaning of ethical behavior has changed over time
(B) the consequences of Hawthorne’s behavior can ethically justify that behavior
(C) the standards for judging ethical behavior can be imposed on Hawthorne by another
(D) the meaning of ethical behavior is the same in a public situation as in a private one(B)
(E) the definition of ethical behavior is rooted in philosophy or religion
14. The mayor boasts that the average ambulance turnaround time, the time from summons to delivery of the patient, has been reduced this year for top-priority emergencies. This is a serious misrepresentation. This “reduction” was produced simply by redefining “top priority.” Such emergencies used to include gunshot wounds and electrocutions, the most time-consuming cases. Now they are limited strictly to heart attacks and strokes.
Which one of the following would strengthen the author’s conclusion that it was the redefinition of “top priority” that produced the reduction in turnaround time?
(A) The number of heart attacks and strokes declined this year.
(B) The mayor redefined the city’s financial priorities this year.
(C) Experts disagree with the mayor’s definition of “top-priority emergency.”
(D) Other cities include gunshot wound cases in their category o top-priority emergencies.(E)
(E) One half of all of last year’s top-priority emergencies were gunshot wounds and electrocution cases.
15. In a large residential building, there is a rule that no pets are allowed. A group of pet lovers tried to change that rule but failed. The rule-changing procedure outlined in the building’s regulations st
ates that only if a group of tenants can obtain the signatures of 10 percent of the tenants on a petition to change a rule will the proposed change be put to a majority vote of all the tenants in the building. It follows that the pet lovers were voted down on their proposal by the majority of the tenants.
The argument depends on which one of the following assumptions?
(A) The pet lovers succeeded in obtaining the signatures of 10 percent of the tenants on their petition.
(B) The signatures of less than 10 percent of the tenants were obtained on the pet lovers’ petition.
(C) Ninety percent of the tenants are against changing the rule forbidding pets.
(D) The support of 10 percent of the tenants for a rule change ensures that the rule change will be adopted.(A)
(E) The failure of the pet lovers to obtain the signatures of 10 percent of the tenants on their petition for a rule change ensures that the rule change will be voted down by a majority of the tenants.
16. Nuclear fusion is a process whereby the nuclei of atoms are joined, or “fused,” and in which energy is released. One of the by-products of fusion is helium-4 gas. A recent fusion experiment was conducted using “heavy” water contained in a sealed flask. The flask was, in turn, contained in an air-filled chamber designed to eliminate extraneous vibration. After the experiment, a measurable amount of helium-4 gas was found in the air of the chamber. The experimenters cited this evidence in support of their conclusion that fusion had been achieved.
Which one of the following, if true, would cast doubt on the experimenters’ conclusion?
(A) Helium-4 was not the only gas found in the experiment chamber.
(B) When fusion is achieved, it normally produces several by-products, including tritium and gamma rays.
(C) The amount of helium-4 found in the chamber’s air did not exceed the amount of helium-4 that is found in ordinary air.
(D) Helium-4 gas rapidly breaks down, forming ordinary helium gas after a few hours.(C)
(E) Nuclear fusion reactions are characterized by the release of large amounts of heat.
17. Every photograph, because it involves the light rays that something emits hitting film, must in some obvious sense be true. But because it could always have been made to show things differently than it does, it cannot express the whole truth and, in that sense, is false. Therefore, nothing can ever be definitively proved with a photograph.
Which one of the following is an assumption that would permit the conclusion above to be properly drawn?
(A) Whatever is false in the sense that it cannot express the whole truth cannot furnish definitive proof.
(B) The whole truth cannot be known.
(C) It is not possible to determine the truthfulness of a photograph in any sense.
(D) It is possible to use a photograph as corroborative evidence if there is additional evidence establishing the truth about the scene photographed.(A)
(E) If something is being photographed, then it is possible to prove definitively the truth about it.
Questions 18-19
Some cleaning fluids, synthetic carpets, wall paneling, and other products release toxins, such as formaldehyde and benzene, into the household air supply. This is not a problem in well-ventilated houses, but it is a problem in houses that are so well insulated that they trap toxins as well as heat. Recent tests, however, demonstrate that houseplants remove some household toxins from the air and thereby eliminate their danger. In one test, 20 large plants eliminated formaldehyde from a small, well-insulated house.
18. Assume that a person who lives in a small, well-insulated house that contains toxin-releasing products places houseplants, such as those tested, in the house. Which one of the following can be expected as a result?
(A) There will no longer be any need to ventilate the house.
(B) The concentration of toxins in the household air supply will remain the same.
(C) The house will be warm and have a safe air supply.
(D) If there is formaldehyde in the household air supply, its level will decrease.(D)
(E) If formaldehyde and benzene are being released into the household air supply, the quantities released of each will decrease.
19. The passage is structured to lead to which one of the following conclusions?
(A) Houseplants can remove benzene from the air.
(B) Nonsynthetic products do not release toxins into houses.
(C) Keeping houseplants is an effective means of trapping heat in a poorly insulated house.
(D) Keeping houseplants can compensate for some of the negative effects of poor ventilation.(D)
(E) The air in a well-insulated house with houseplants will contain fewer toxins than the air in a well-ventilated house without houseplants.
20. Normal full-term babies are all born with certain instinctive reflexes that disappear by the age of two months. Because this three-month-old baby exhibits these reflexes, this baby is not a normal full-term baby.
Which one of the following has a logical structure most like that of the argument above?
(A) Because carbon dioxide turns limewater milky and this gas is oxygen, it will not turn limewater milky.
(B) Because no ape can talk and Suzy is an ape, Suzy cannot talk.
(C) Because humans are social animals and Henry is sociable, Henry is normal.
(D) Because opossums have abdominal pouches and this animal lacks any such pouch, this animal is not an opossum.(D)
(E) Because some types of trees shed their leaves annually and this tree has not shed its leaves, it is not normal.
21. Efficiency and redundancy are contradictory characteristics of linguistic systems: however, they can be used together to achieve usefulness and reliability in communication. If a spoken language is completely efficient, then every possible permutation of its basic language sounds can be an understandable word. However, if the human auditory system is an imperfect receptor of sounds, then it is not true that every possible permutation of a spoken language’s basic language sounds can be an understandable word.
If all of the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true?
(A) Efficiency causes a spoken language to be useful and redundancy causes it to be reliable.
(B) Neither efficiency nor redundancy can be completely achieved in spoken language.
(C) If a spoken language were completely redundant, then it could not be useful.
(D) If the human auditory system were a perfect receptor of sounds, then every permutation of language sounds would be an understandable word.(E)
(E) If the human auditory system is an imperfect receptor of sounds, then a spoken language cannot be completely efficient.
22. All intelligent people are nearsighted. I am very nearsighted. So I must be a genius.
Which one of the following exhibits both of the logical flaws exhibited in the argument above?
(A) I must be stupid because all intelligent people are nearsighted and I have perfect eyesight.
(B) All chickens have beaks. This bird has a beak. So this bird must be a chicken.
(C) All pigs have four legs, but this spider has eight legs. So this spider must be twice as big as any pig.
(D) John is extremely happy, so he must be extremely tall because all tall people are happy.(D)
(E) All geniuses are very nearsighted. I must be very nearsighted since I am a genius.
23. An advertisements states:
Like Danaxil, all headache pills can stop your headache. But when you are in pain, you want relief right away. Danaxil is for you—no headache pill stops pain more quickly.
Evelyn and Jane are each suffering from a headache. Suppose Evelyn takes Danaxil and Jane takes its leading competitor.
Which one of the following can be properly concluded from the claims in the advertisement?
(A) Evelyn’s headache pain will be relieved, but Jane’s will not.
(B) Evelyn’s headache pain will be relieved more quickly than Jane’s.
(C) Evelyn’s headache will be relieved at least as quickly as Jane’s.
(D) Jane’s headache pain will be relieved at the same time as is Evelyn’s.(C)
(E) Jane will be taking Danaxil for relief from headache pain.
Questions 24-25
In opposing the 1970 Clean Air Act, the United States automobile industry argued that meeting the act’s standards for automobile emissions was neither economically feasible nor environmentally necessary. However, the catalytic converter, invented in 1967, enabled automakers to meet the 1970 standards efficiently. Currently, automakers are lobbying against the government’s attempt to pass legislation that would tighten restrictions on automobile emissions. The automakers contend that these new restrictions would be overly expensive and unnecessary to efforts to curb air pollution. Clearly, the automobile industry’s position should not be heeded.
24. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the method used to counter the automakers’ current position?
(A) The automakers’ premises are shown to lead to a contradiction.
(B) Facts are mentioned that show that the automakers are relying on false information.
(C) A flaw is pointed out in the reasoning used by the automakers to reach their conclusion.
(D) A comparison is drawn between the automakers’ current position and a position they held in the past.(D)
(E) Evidence is provided that the new emissions legislation is both economically feasible and environmentally necessary.
25. Which one of the following, if true, lends the most support to the automakers’ current position?
(A) The more stringent the legislation restricting emissions becomes, the more difficult it becomes for automakers to provide the required technology economically.
(B) Emissions-restriction technology can often be engineered so as to avoid reducing the efficiency with which an automobile uses fuel.
责任编辑：mman
