Weekly Target Test-NPLC

NISHANT PRAKASH LAW CLASSES

CRITICAL REASONING TEST- 4

TIME: 40 MINUTES

Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements
or passages...
1. If a country’s manufacturing capacity is fully utilized, there can be no industrial growth without new
capital investment. Any reduction in interest rates produces new capital investment. Which one of the
following can be properly concluded from the statements above?

(A) Interest rates might in exceptional cases be reduced without there being any subsequent investment
of new capital.

(B) A reduction in interest rates might cause a precondition for industrial growth to be met.

(C) If a country’s manufacturing capacity is underutilized, interest rates should be held constant.

(D) New capital investment that takes place while interest rates are rising cannot lead to industrial growth.

(E) Manufacturing capacity newly created by capital investment needs to be fully utilized if it is to lead to
industrial growth.

2. A certain type of insect trap uses a scented lure to attract rose beetles into a plastic bag from which it is
difficult for them to escape. If several of these traps are installed in a backyard garden, the number of rose
beetles in the garden will be greatly reduced. If only one trap is installed, however, the number of rose
beetles in the garden will actually increase. Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the
apparent discrepancy?

(A) The scent of a single trap’s lure usually cannot be detected throughout a backyard garden by rose
beetles.

(B) Several traps are better able to catch a large number of rose beetles than is one trap alone, since any
rose beetles that evade one trap are likely to encounter another trap if there are several traps in the
garden.

(C) When there are several traps in a garden, they each capture fewer rose beetles than any single trap
would if it were the only trap in the garden.

(D) The presence of any traps in a backyard garden will attract more rose beetles than one trap can catch,
but several traps will not attract significantly more rose beetles to a garden than one trap will.

(E) When there is only one trap in the garden, the plastic bag quickly becomes filled to capacity, allowing
some rose beetles to escape.

3. The current move to patent computer programs is a move in the wrong direction and should be stopped.
The patent system was originally designed solely to protect small-time inventors from exploitation, not to
give large corporations control over a methodology. Any computer program is merely the implementation
of a methodology. Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

(A) Computer programs should be developed not only be large corporations but by small-time inventors as
well.

(B) Implementing a methodology always requires less creative effort than does true invention.
Weekly Target Test-NPLC

(C) The issue of whether or not to patent computer programs presents the patent system with problems
that have never before arisen.

(D) Large corporations should not hold patents for implementations of methodologies.

(E) Small-time inventors who support the move to patent computer programs act contrary to their own
best interests.

Questions 4-5

Walter: For the economically privileged in a society to tolerate an injustice perpetrated against one of
society’s disadvantaged is not only just morally wrong but also shortsighted: a system that inflicts an
injustice on a disadvantaged person today can equally well inflict that same injustice on a well-to-do person
tomorrow. Larissa: In our society, the wealthy as well as the well-educated can protect themselves against
all sorts of injustices suffered by the less well-off. Allowing such injustices to persist is bad policy not
because it places everyone at equal risk of injustice but because it is a potent source of social unrest.

4. Larissa responds to Walter by doing which one of the following?

(A) giving reason to doubt the truth of Walter’s conclusion

(B) drawing implausible consequences from Walter’s assumptions

(C) questioning Walter’s authority to address matters of social policy

(D) providing an alternative reason for accepting the truth of Walter’s conclusion

(E) charging Walter with stopping short of recognizing the full implications of his position

5. Walter and Larissa are logically committed by what they say to disagree about which one of the
following?

(A) whether the poor and the rich are part of the same social fabric

(B) whether the most successful members of a society are that society’s least tolerant people

(C) whether the disadvantaged members of society suffer from injustice

(D) whether those who have the most advantages in a society are morally obligated to correct that society’s
injustices

(E) whether the economically privileged members of a society are less exposed to certain sorts of injustices
than are the economically disadvantaged

6. Three major laundry detergent manufacturers have concentrated their powdered detergents by
reducing the proportion of inactive ingredients in the detergent formulas. The concentrated detergents
will be sold in smaller packages. In explaining the change, the manufacturers cited the desire to reduce
cardboard packaging and other production costs. Market analysts predict that the decision of these three
manufacturers, who control 80 percent of the laundry detergent market, will eventually bring about the
virtual disappearance of old-style bulky detergents. Which one of the following, if true, most strongly
supports the prediction made by the market analysts?

(A) Most smaller manufacturers of laundry detergents will consider it too expensive to retool factories for
the production of the smaller detergent packages.

(B) Many consumers will be skeptical initially that the recommended small amount of concentrated
detergent will clean laundry as effectively as the larger amount of the old-style detergent did.
Weekly Target Test-NPLC

(C) Some analysts believe that consumers will have to pay a greater cost per load of laundry to use the new
concentrated detergent than they did to use the old-style detergent.

(D) Major supermarkets have announced that they will not charge the detergent manufacturers less to
display their detergents even though the detergents will take up less shelf space.

(E) Consumers are increasingly being persuaded by environmental concerns to buy concentrated
detergents when available in order to reduce cardboard waste.

Questions 7-8

Political advocate: Campaigns for elective office should be subsidized with public funds. One reason is that
this would allow politicians to devote less time to fund-raising, thus giving campaigning incumbents more
time to serve the public. A second reason is that such subsidies would make it possible to set caps on
individual campaign contributions, thereby reducing the likelihood that elected officials will be working for
the benefit not of the public but of individual large contributors. Critic: This argument is problematic: the
more the caps constrain contributions, the more time candidates have to spend finding more small
contributors.

7. The critic objects that the advocate’s argument is flawed because

(A) any resourceful large contributor can circumvent caps on individual contributions by sending in smaller
amounts under various names

(B) one of the projected results cited in support of the proposal made is entailed by the other and therefore
does not constitute independent support of the proposal

(C) of the two projected results cited in support of the proposal made, one works against the other

(D) it overlooks the possibility that large contributors will stop contributing if they cannot contribute at will

(E) it overlooks the possibility that incumbents with a few extremely generous contributors will be hit
harder by caps than incumbents with many moderately generous contributors

8. Which one of the following principle, if established, provides a basis for the advocate’s argument?

(A) If complete reliance on private funding of some activity keeps the public from enjoying a benefit that
could be provided if public funds were used, such public funds should be provided.

(B) If election campaigns are to be fended from public funds, terms of office for elected officials should be
lengthened.

(C) If in an election campaign large contributions flow primarily to one candidate, public funds should be
used to support the campaigns of that candidate’s rivals.

(D) If public funding of some activity produces a benefit to the public but also inevitably a special benefit
for specific individuals, the activity should not be fully funded publicly but in part by the individuals deriving
the special benefit.

(E) If a person would not have run for office in the absence of public campaign subsidies, this person should
not be eligible for any such subsidies.

9. Novice bird-watcher: I don’t know much about animal track’s, but I do know that birds typically have
four toes, and most birds have three toes pointing forward and one toe pointing backward. Since this track
was made by an animal with four toes of which three point forward and one points backward, we can
conclude it was made by some kind of bird. The argument is flawed because it

(A) relies on the vagueness of the term “track” (B) does not define birds as animals with four toes
Weekly Target Test-NPLC

(C) fails to identify what kind of bird might have made the track

(D) does not establish that only a bird could have made the track

(E) depends on evidence about an individual bird rather than about birds in general

10. Psychologists have claimed that many people are more susceptible to psychological problems in the
winter than in the summer; the psychologists call this condition seasonal affective disorder. Their claim is
based on the results of surveys in which people were asked to recall how they felt at various times in the
past. However, it is not clear that people are able to report accurately on their past psychological states.
Therefore, these survey results do not justify the psychologists’ claim that there is any such condition as
seasonal affective disorder. The author criticizes the psychologists claim by

(A) offering an alternative explanation of the variation in the occurrence of psychological problems across
seasons

(B) questioning whether any seasonal variation in the occurrence of psychological problems could properly
be labeled a disorder

(C) questioning the representativeness of the population sample surveyed by the psychologists

(D) questioning an assumption that the author attributes to the psychologists

(E) demonstrating that fewer people actually suffer from seasonal affective disorder than psychologists
had previously thought

11. Unless the residents of Glen Hills band together, the proposal to rezone that city will be approved. If it
is, the city will be able to build the water and sewer systems that developers need in order to construct
apartment houses there. These buildings would attract new residents, and the increased population would
probably result in overcrowded schools and would certainly result in roads so congested that new roads
would be built. Neither new roads nor additional schools could be built without substantial tax increases
for the residents of Glen Hills. Ultimately this growth might even destroy the rural atmosphere that makes
Glen Hills so attractive. Which one of the following can be properly concluded from the passage?

(A) If the citizens of Glen Hills band together, developers will not build apartment houses.

(B) If developers build apartment houses in Glen Hills, there will be substantial tax increases for the
residents of Glen Hills.

(C) If the rezoning proposal does not pass, the rural atmosphere in Glen Hills will not be lost. (D) If
developers do not build apartment houses in Glen Hills, the taxes of the residents of Glen Hills will not
increase substantially.

(E) If developers do not build apartment houses in Glen Hills, the schools of Glen Hills will not be
overcrowded and roads will not be congested.

12. One year ago a local government initiated an antismoking advertising campaign in local newspapers
which it financed by imposing a tax on cigarettes of 20 cents per pack. One year later the number of people
in the locality who smoke cigarettes had declined by 3 percent. Clearly, what was said in the advertisements
had an effect, although a small one, on the number of people in the locality who smoke cigarettes. Which
one of the following, if true, most helps to strengthen argument?

(A) Residents of the locality have not increased their use of other tobacco products such as snuff and
chewing tobacco since the campaign went into effect.

(B) A substantial number of cigarette smokers in the locality who did not quit smoking during the campaign
now smoke less than they did before it began.
Weekly Target Test-NPLC

(C) Admissions to the local hospital for chronic respiratory ailments were down by 15 percent one year
after the campaign began.

(D) Merchants in the locality responded to the local tax by reducing the price at which they sold cigarettes
by 20 cents per pack.

(E) Smokers in the locality had incomes that on average were 25 percent lower than those of nonsmokers.

13. No projects that involve historical restorations were granted building permits this month. Since some
of the current projects of the firm of Stein and Sapin are historical restorations, at least some of Stein and
Sapin’s projects were not granted building permits this month. The pattern of reasoning in the argument
above is most similar to that in which one of the following?

(A) None of the doctors working at City Hospital were trained abroad. So, although some hospitals require
doctors trained abroad to pass an extra qualifying exam, until now, at least, this has not been an issue for
City Hospital.

(B) None of the news reports from the economic summit meeting have been encouraging. Since some
other recent economic reports have showed positive trends, however, at least some of the economic news
is encouraging at this time.

(C) None of the new members of the orchestra have completed their paperwork. Since only those people
who have completed their paperwork can be paid this week, at least some of the new members of the
orchestra are likely to be paid late.

(D) Several films directed by Hannah Barker were released this season, but none of the films released this
season were enthusiastically reviewed. Therefore, at least some of Hannah Barker’s films have not received
enthusiastic reviews.

(E) Some of the city’s most beautiful parks are not larger than few acres, and some of the parks only a few
acres in size are among the city’s oldest. Therefore, some of city’s most beautiful parks are also its oldest
parks.

14. Many artists claim that art critics find it is easier to write about art that they dislike than to write about
art that they like. Whether or not this hypothesis is correct, most art criticism is devoted to art works that
fail to satisfy the critic. Hence it follows that most art criticism is devoted to works other than the greatest
works of art. The conclusion above is properly drawn if which one of the following is assumed?

(A) No art critic enjoys writing about art works that he or she dislikes intensely.

(B) All art critics find it difficult to discover art works that truly satisfy them.

(C) A work of art that receives extensive critical attention can thereby become more widely known than it
otherwise would have been.

(D) The greatest works of art are never recognized as such until long after the time of their creation.

(E) The greatest works of art are works that inevitably satisfy all critics.

15. Babies who can hear and have hearing parents who expose them to speech begin to babble at a certain
age as a precursor to speaking. In the same way, deaf babies with deaf parents who communicate with
them and with each other by signing begin to babble in signs at the same age. That is, they make repetitive
hand gestures that constitute, within the language system of signs, the analogue of repeated syllables in
speech. The information above, if accurate, can best be used as evidence against which one of the following
hypotheses?
Weekly Target Test-NPLC

(A) Names of persons or things are the simplest words in a language, since babies use them before using
the names of actions or processes.

(B) The development of language competency in babies depends primarily on the physical maturation of
the vocal tract, a process that requires speech-oriented vocal activity.

(C) In the absence of adults who communicate with each other in their presence, babies develop
idiosyncratic languages.

(D) In babbling, babies are unaware that the sound or gesture combinations they use can be employed in
a purposive way.

(E) The making of hand gestures by hearing babies who have hearing parents should be interpreted as a
part of their developing language.

16. There is strong evidence that the cause of migraines (severe recurrent headaches) is not psychological
but instead is purely physiological. Yet several studies have found that people being professionally treated
for migraines rate higher on a standard psychological scale of anxiety than do people not being
professionally treated for migraines. Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent
discrepancy in the information above?

(A) People who have migraine headaches tend to have relatives who also have migraine headaches.

(B) People who have migraine headaches often suffer these headaches when under emotional stress.

(C) People who rate higher on the standard psychological scale of anxiety are more likely to seek
professional treatment than are people who rate lower on the scale.

(D) Of the many studies done on the cause of migraine headaches, most of those that suggest that
psychological factors such as anxiety cause migraines have been widely publicized.

(E) Most people who have migraines and who seek professional treatment remain in treatment until they
stop having migraines, whether their doctors consider the cause to be physiological or psychological.

17. Not all tenured faculty are full professors. Therefore, although every faculty member in the linguistics
department has tenure, it must be the case that not all of the faculty members in the linguistics department
are full professors. The flawed pattern of reasoning exhibited by the argument above is most similar to that
exhibited by which one of the following?

(A) Although all modern office towers are climate-controlled buildings, not all office buildings are climate-
controlled. Therefore, it must be the case that not all office buildings are modern office towers.

(B) All municipal hospital buildings are massive, but not all municipal hospital buildings are forbidding in
appearance. Therefore, massive buildings need not present a forbidding appearance.

(C) Although some buildings designed by famous architects are not well proportioned, all government
buildings are designed by famous architects. Therefore, some government buildings are not well
proportioned.

(D) Not all public buildings are well designed, but some poorly designed public buildings were originally
intended for private use. Therefore, the poorly designed public buildings were all originally designed for
private use.

(E) Although some cathedrals are not built of stone, every cathedral is impressive. Therefore, buildings can
be impressive even though they are not built of stone.
Weekly Target Test-NPLC

18. When a planetary system forms, the chances that a planet capable of supporting life will be formed are
high. The chances that a large planet the size of Jupiter or Saturn will be formed, however, are low. Without
Jupiter and Saturn, whose gravitational forces have prevented Earth from being frequently struck by large
comets, intelligent life would never have arisen on Earth. Since planetary systems are unlikely to contain
any large planets, the chances that intelligent life will emerge on a planet are, therefore, low. Knowing
which one of the following would be most useful in evaluating the argument?

(A) whether all planetary system are formed from similar amounts of matter

(B) whether intelligent species would be likely to survive if a comet struck their planet

(C) whether large comets could be deflected by only one large planet rather than be two

(D) how high the chances are that planetary systems will contain many large comets

(E) how likely it is that planetary systems containing large planets will also contain planets the size of Earth

19. Construction contractors working on the cutting edge of technology nearly always work on a “cost-
plus” basis only. One kind of cost-plus contract stipulates the contractor’s profit as a fixed percentage of
the contractor’s costs; the other kind stipulates a fixed amount of profit over and above costs. Under the
first kind of contract, higher costs yield higher profits for the contractor, so this is where one might expect
final costs in excess of original cost estimates to be more common. Paradoxically, such cost overruns are
actually more common if the contract is of the fixed-profit kind. Which one of the following, if true, most
helps to resolve the apparent paradox in the situation described above?

(A) Clients are much less likely to agree to a fixed-profit type of cost-plus contract when it is understood
that under certain conditions the project will be scuttled than they are when there is no such
understanding.

(B) On long-term contracts, cost projections take future inflation into account, but since the figures used
are provided by the government, they are usually underestimates.

(C) On any sizable construction project, the contractor bills the client monthly or quarterly, so any tendency
for original cost estimates to be exceeded can be detected early.

(D) Clients billed under a cost-plus contract are free to review individual billings in order to uncover
wasteful expenditures, but they do so only when the contractor’s profit varies with cost.

(E) The practice of submitting deliberately exaggerated cost estimates is most common in the case of fixed-
profit contracts, because it makes the profit, as a percentage of estimated cost, appear modest.

20. That wall is supported by several joists. The only thing that can have caused the bulge that the wall now
has is a broken joist. Therefore, at least one of the joists is broken. Which one of the following arguments
is most similar in its logical features to the argument above?

(A) A least one of the players in the orchestra must have made a mistake, since nothing else would have
made the conductor grimace in the way she just did.

(B) The first piece must have been the easiest, since it was the only piece in the entire concert in which the
orchestra did not make many mistakes.

(C) The players play well only when they like the music, since they tend to make mistakes when they play
something they do not like.

(D) One of the orchestra’s players must be able to play the harp, since in one of the pieces they are playing
at next week’s concert the composer specified that a harp should be played.
Weekly Target Test-NPLC

(E) The emotion of the music is the only thing that can have caused the conductor to look so angry just
then, since the orchestra was playing perfectly.

Questions 21-22

Sasha: Handwriting analysis should be banned in court as evidence of a person’s character: handwriting
analysts called as witnesses habitually exaggerate the reliability of their analyses. Gregory: You are right
that the current use of handwriting analysis as evidence is problematic. But this problem exists only
because there is no licensing board to set professional standards and thus deter irresponsible analyst from
making exaggerated claims. When such a board is established, however, handwriting analysis by licensed
practitioners will be a legitimate courtroom tool for character assessment.

21. Gregory does which one of the following in responding to Sasha’s argument?

(A) He ignores evidence introduced as support for Sasha’s recommendation.

(B) He defends a principle by restricting the class to which it is to be applied.

(C) He abstracts a general principle from specific evidence.

(D) He identifies a self-contradictory statement in Sasha’s argument.

(E) He shows that Sasha’s argument itself manifests the undesirable characteristic that it condemns.

22. Which one of the following, if true, would provide Sasha with the strongest counter to Gregory’s
response?

(A) Courts routinely use means other than handwriting analysis to provide evidence of a person’s character.

(B) Many people can provide two samples of their handwriting so different that only a highly trained
professional could identify them as having been written by the same person.

(C) A licensing board would inevitably refuse to grant licenses to some responsible handwriting analysts for
reasons having nothing to do with their reliability.

(D) The only handwriting analysts who claim that handwriting provides reliable evidence of a person’s
character are irresponsible.

(E) The number of handwriting analysts who could conform to professional standards set by a licensing
board is very small.

23. In his new book on his complex scientific research, R frequently imputes bad faith to researchers
disagreeing with him. A troubling aspect of R’s book is his stated conviction that other investigators’
funding sources often determine what “findings” those investigators report. Add to this that R has often
shown himself to be arrogant, overly ambitious, and sometimes plain nasty, and it becomes clear that R’s
book does not merit attention from serious professionals. The author of the book review commits which
one of the following reasoning errors?

(A) using an attack on the character of the writer of the book as evidence that this person is not competent
on matters of scientific substance

(B) taking it for granted that an investigator is unlikely to report findings that are contrary to the interests
of those funding the investigation

(C) dismissing a scientific theory by giving a biased account of it

(D) presenting as facts several assertions about the book under review that are based only on strong
conviction and would be impossible for others to verify
Weekly Target Test-NPLC

(E) failing to distinguish between the criteria of being true and of being sufficiently interesting to merit
attention

24. Having an efficient, attractive subway system makes good economic sense. So, the city needs to
purchase new subway cars, since the city should always do what makes good economic sense. The
conclusion drawn above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?

(A) The city should invest in an efficient, attractive subway system.

(B) Cost-effective subway cars are an integral part of an efficient subway system.

(C) Investment in new subway cars makes better economic sense than many of the other investment
options open to the city.

(D) New subway cars are financially affordable.

(E) New subway cars are required in order for the city to have a subway system that is efficient and
attractive.

25. Restaurant manager: In response to requests from our patrons for vegetarian main dishes, we recently
introduced three: an eggplant and zucchini casserole with tomatoes, brown rice with mushrooms, and
potatoes baked with cheese. The first two are frequently ordered, but no one orders the potato dish,
although it costs less than the other two. Clearly, then, our patrons prefer not to eat potatoes. Which one
of the following is an error of reasoning in the restaurant manager’s argument?

(A) concluding that two things that occur at the same time have a common cause

(B) drawing a conclusion that is inconsistent with one premise of the argument

(C) ignoring possible differences between what people say they want and what they actually choose

(D) attempting to prove a claim on the basis of evidence that a number of people hold that claim to be true

(E) treating one of several plausible explanations of a phenomenon as the only possible explanation

26. For newborns of age four to six weeks whose mothers have been the primary caregivers, the following
is true: When the newborns are crying due to hunger or other similar discomfort, merely hearing the
mother’s voice will lead to a temporary halt in crying, while the voices of others do not have this effect.
Which one of the following is most reasonably supported by the information above?

(A) Babies more easily learn to recognize the voices of their mothers than the voices of other people.

(B) A mother’s voice is the first thing a baby learns to recognize.

(C) Babies associate the voice of the primary caregiver with release from discomfort.

(D) Often only a primary caregiver can provide comfort to a newborn.

(E) Discomfort in newborns is best relieved by hearing the mother’s voice.

27. Many elementary schools have recently offered computer-assisted educational programs. Students’
reactions after several years have been decidedly mixed. Whereas students have found computers very
useful in studying arithmetic, they have found them of little help in studying science, and of no help at all
with their reading and writing skills. Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the students’
mixed reactions?

(A) Students in these schools began reading and doing arithmetic before learning to use computers.
Weekly Target Test-NPLC

(B) Of the disciplines and skills mentioned, the exactness of arithmetic makes it most suitable to computer-
assisted education.

(C) Many elementary school teachers are reluctant to use computer technology in their classrooms.

(D) Young students are more likely to maintain interest in training programs that use the newest computers
and video graphics than in those that do not.

(E) The elementary schools have offered more computer-assisted programs in reading and writing than in
arithmetic and science.

28. The notion that one might be justified in behaving irrationally in the service of a sufficiently worthy end
is incoherent. For if such action is justified, then one would be behaving rationally, not irrationally. Which
one of the following arguments is most similar in its reasoning to the argument above?

(A) A representative of the law, such as a judge or a police officer, ought not to commit crimes. For if
representatives of the law commit crimes, they will be ineffective in preventing crime.

(B) One cannot intend to spill a glass of water accidentally. Spilling it accidentally means that the act will
not have been done intentionally.

(C) One cannot live the good life and be unhappy. If one’s own neighbors see that one is unhappy, then
they will see that one is not living the good life.

(D) Doctors cannot perform self-diagnosis, for they cannot objectively evaluate their own symptoms, and
thus will be practicing poor medicine.

(E) One ought not to have both a cat and a goldfish. The goldfish is the natural prey of the cat, so it is
unethical to place it at the cat’s disposal.

29. A certain moral system holds that performing good actions is praiseworthy only when one overcomes
a powerful temptation in order to perform them. Yet this same moral system also holds that performing
good actions out of habit is sometimes praiseworthy. Which one of the following, if true, does the most to
reconcile the apparent conflict in the moral system described above?

(A) People who perform good actions out of habit have often acquired this habit after years of having
resisted temptation.

(B) Most people face strong moral temptation from time to time but few people have to endure it regularly.

(C) People virtually always perform actions they think are good, regardless of what other people may think.

(D) Since it is difficult to tell what is going on in another person’s mind, it is often hard to know exactly how
strongly a person is tempted.

(E) It is far more common for people to perform good actions out of habit than for them to do so against
strong temptation.

30. Conservationist: The risk to airplane passengers from collisions between airplanes using the airport and
birds from the wildlife refuge is negligible. In the 10 years since the refuge was established, only 20 planes
have been damaged in collisions with birds, and no passenger has been injured as a result of such a
collision. The wildlife refuge therefore poses no safety risk. Pilot: You neglect to mention that 17 of those
20 collisions occurred within the past 2 years, and that the number of birds in the refuge is rapidly
increasing. As the number of collisions between birds and airplanes increases, so does the likelihood that
at least one such collision will result in passenger injuries. The pilot counters the conservationist by

(A) attempting to show that the conservationist’s description of the fact is misleading
Weekly Target Test-NPLC

(B) questioning the conservationist’s motives for reaching a certain conclusion

(C) asserting that dangerous situations inevitably become more dangerous with the passage of time

(D) discrediting the moral principle on which the conservationist’s argument is based

(E) disputing the accuracy of the figures cited by the conservationist

31. A university study reported that between 1975 and 1983 the length of the average workweek in a
certain country increased significantly. A governmental study, on the other hand, shows a significant
decline in the length of the average workweek for the same period. Examination of the studies shows,
however, that they used different methods of investigation; thus there is no need to look further for an
explanation of the difference in the studies’ results. The argument’s reasoning is flawed because the
argument fails to

(A) distinguish between a study produced for the purposes of the operation of government and a study
produced as part of university research

(B) distinguish between a method of investigation and the purpose of an investigation

(C) recognize that only one of the studies has been properly conducted

(D) recognize that two different methods of investigation can yield identical results

(E) recognize that varying economic conditions result in the average workweek changing in length

32. Although the charter of Westside School states that the student body must include some students with
special educational needs, no students with learning disabilities have yet enrolled in the school. Therefore,
the school is currently in violation of its charter. The conclusion of the argument follows logically if which
one of the following is assumed?

(A) All students with learning disabilities have special educational needs.

(B) The school currently has no students with learning disabilities.

(C) The school should enroll students with special educational needs.

(D) The only students with special educational needs are students with learning disabilities.

(E) The school’s charter cannot be modified in order to avoid its being violated.

33. Some psychologists claim that, in theory, the best way to understand another person would be through
deep empathy, whereby one would gain a direct and complete grasp of that person’s motivations. But
suppose they are right; then there would be no way at all to achieve understanding, since it is
psychologically impossible to gain a direct and complete grasp of another person’s motivations. But
obviously one can understand other people; thus these psychologists are wrong. The argument is most
vulnerable to the criticism that it

(A) fails to adequately define the key phrase “deep empathy”

(B) assumes something that it later denies, resulting in a contradiction

(C) confuses a theoretically best way of accomplishing something with the only way of accomplishing it

(D) accepts a claim on mere authority, without requiring sufficient justification

(E) fails to consider that other psychologists may disagree with the psychologists cited
Weekly Target Test-NPLC

34. The five senses have traditionally been viewed as distinct yet complementary. Each sense is thought to
have its own range of stimuli that are incapable of stimulating the other sense. However, recent research
has discovered that some people taste a banana and claim that they are tasting blue, or see a color and say
that it has a specific smell. This shows that such people, called synesthesiacs, have sense that do not respect
the usual boundaries between the five recognized senses. Which one of the following, if true, most
seriously weakens the argument?

(A) Synesthesiacs demonstrate a general, systematic impairment in their ability to use and understand
words.

(B) Recent evidence strongly suggests that there are other senses besides sight, touch, smell, hearing, and
taste.

(C) The particular ways in which sensory experiences overlap in synesthesiacs follow a definite pattern.

(D) The synesthetic phenomenon has been described in the legends of various cultures.

(E) Synesthesiacs can be temporarily rid of their synesthetic experiences by the use of drugs.

35. Essayist: One of the claims of laissez-faire economics is that increasing the minimum wage reduces the
total number of minimum-wage jobs available. In a recent study, however, it was found that after an
increase in the minimum wage, fast-food restaurants kept on roughly the same number of minimum-wage
employees as before the increase. Therefore, laissez-faire economics is not entirely accurate. The essayist’s
argument depends on assuming which one of the following?

(A) If Laissez-faire economics makes an incorrect prediction about the minimum wages, then all the
doctrines of laissez-faire economics are inaccurate.

(B) Minimum-wage job availability at fast-food restaurants included in the study was representative of
minimum-wage job availability in general.

(C) No study has ever found that a business has decreased the number of its minimum-wage employees
after an increase in the minimum wage.

(D) The fast-food restaurants included in the study did not increase the average wage paid to employees.

(E) The national unemployment rate did not increase following the increase in the minimum wage.

36. Some people claim that every human discovery or invention is an instance of self-expression. But what
they seem to ignore is that, trivially, anything we do is self-expressive. So, until they can give us a more
interesting interpretation of their claim, we are not obliged to take their claim seriously. Which one of the
following, if true, provides the most support for the reasoning above?

(A) All claims that are trivial are uninteresting.

(B) Most people do not take trivial claims seriously.

(C) No claims that are trivial are worthy of serious consideration.

(D) Every claim is open to both interesting and uninteresting interpretations.

(E) Every interpretation is either trivial or uninteresting.