1. Minh: This film director’s newest works are very predictable. He’s pillaging his own catalog, but with diminishing returns. Each film is simply a repetition of his earlier ones. Natalie: You mistake the films’ startling sameness for evidence of a lack of creativity. It would be more accurate to say that he ultimately creates strong new works from the same core elements, and these works are thus original. The dialogue most strongly supports the claim that Minh and Natalie agree on the truth of which one of the following statements about the director’s newest works?

2. Campaign manager: In campaign speeches, our candidate has been reluctant to reveal all the unpleasant consequences of the policies he endorses, but this lapse can be justified. There is no way to get elected while being fully candid. And it is vitally important that our candidate get a chance to help implement a political agenda that is very positive. Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the reasoning in the campaign manager’s argument?

3. Columnist: Although it is our civic duty to protect the population against hazards to public health, we should not reroute high-tension power lines away from heavily populated areas. This is because our limited resources should be devoted to protecting the population only against well-substantiated threats to public health. The conclusion of the columnist’s argument can be properly drawn if which one of the following is assumed?

4. The coat patterns of large cat species correspond to the habitats in which those species live and hunt. Species with spotted coats are at home in trees and dappled forests, while species living in the open plains, such as lions, have plain coats. The only anomaly is the cheetah, a spotted cat that lives in the open savannah. Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the anomaly described above?

5. As the current information explosion forces the print media, television, and the Internet to compete for public attention and for advertiser and subscriber dollars, . journalistic standards are lowered. Consequently, we are increasingly bombarded with inaccurate and trivial information. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the conclusion of the argument?

6. The best way to increase the blood supply in the city of Pulaski is to encourage more donations by people who are regular blood donors. A study conducted in two other cities—Moorestown and that Fredricksburg—indicates it is difficult and expensive to attract first-time blood donors, and that many sporadic donors are reluctant to give more often. But officials in those cities had considerable success convincing many of their cities’ regular donors to increase their donation frequency. Which one of the following; if true, would do most to undermine the conclusion of the argument above?

7. Advertisement: Honey Oat Puffs cereal is made with whole-grain oats. Health experts agree that whole-grain oats are among the most healthful foods, far more healthful than most of the foods in a typical diet. So most people would have more healthful diets if they ate Honey Oat Puffs for breakfast. The reasoning in the advertisement’s argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument

8. Astronomer: Conditions in our solar system have probably favored the emergence of life more than conditions in most other solar systems of similar age. Any conceivable form of life depends on the presence of adequate amounts of chemical elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, and our sun has an unusually high abundance of these heavier elements for its age. Which one of the following most accurately describes the role played in the astronomer’s argument by the claim that any conceivable form of life depends on chemical elements heavier than hydrogen and helium?

9. Political organizer: Our group needs to assemble at least 30 volunteers if Marcia Garson is to have a chance of winning the election, since she will win only if the public is fully informed about her record. To fully inform the public, at least 30 of our people must campaign for her, but we simply cannot afford to pay people for this work. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the conclusion drawn in the political organizer’s argument?

10. Giant ground sloths began disappearing from the Americas about 10,000 years ago, around the time that the last ice age ended, and are now extinct worldwide. Scientists had thought that these sloths failed to adapt to climate changes, but they are now coming to believe that if was the arrival of human beings shortly before that ice age ended that was responsible for the sloths’ disappearance. Which one of the following, if true, provides the most support for the scientists’ new belief?

11. Studies have shown that those who take daily doses of vitamin C are less likely to contract colds than are those who do not. Thus, if a person contracts a cold, he or she probably does not take daily doses of vitamin C. The questionable reasoning in the argument above most closely parallels that in which one of the following?

12. The Discourses, a work attributed to the ancient Stoic philosopher Epictetus, is believed to have been compiled from Epictetus’s lectures by his student Arrian. Some claim that Arrian himself authored The Discourses and falsely attributed authorship to Epictetus. That is, however, highly unlikely. Epictetus’s views were well known by his contemporaries in Roman society; if Arrian tried to pass off his own views as Epictetus’s, this deception would soon be exposed. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

13. A study tested the performance of 70 pilots, half of whom chose to go on a reduced-calorie diet. Those who did not diet performed well, while pilots who were dieting performed worse, although they had performed well before they started their diets. The average level of impairment for the dieters was approximately equal to that caused by consuming two alcoholic drinks on an empty stomach. Each of the following, if true, contributes to an explanation of the study results described above EXCEPT:

14. Guam has 40 times more spiders than nearby islands have. Biologists argue that this is a consequence of the accidental 1940s introduction into Guam of the brown tree snake, which by the 1980s had eliminated ten of twelve native bird species. The biologists attribute the spider population’s increase to the loss of bird species, because many birds prey on spiders and some use spiderwebs in constructing nests. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the biologists’ conclusion?

15. If the glee club pays cash today to rent the equipment it needs for next Saturday’s party, its usual rental agency will accept a much lower price than the club would pay for renting the equipment next Saturday. The club’s party committee knows the costs involved but nonetheless will wait until next Saturday to pay. The committee clearly cares little about saving money. Which one of the following assumptions is required by the argument above?

16. If a novelist is popular he or she can vividly imagine large numbers of characters, each with a personality and attitudes that are completely different from those of the others and from those of the novelist. Such a writer also will be capable of empathizing with people who have goals completely different from his or her own and so will have some doubts about the genuine value of his or her own desires. If the statements above are true then each of the following could also be true EXCEPT:

17. In order to cut costs and thereby maximize his profit, Mr. Kapp used inferior materials in constructing the library. Whether legal or not, it was clearly wrong for him to do so. For, as an experienced and knowledgeable builder, he must have realized that his action would put people at serious risk. The argument’s conclusion is properly drawn if which one of the following is assumed?

18. Most movie critics believe that sentimentality detracts from aesthetic value. But these critics are wrong, since the reason they hold this belief is that sentimentality pervades so many movies that its absence makes a movie more interesting to frequent movie-goers like themselves. It is like someone whose food is usually prepared with a certain type of flavoring concluding that the flavoring itself detracts from the quality of the food. The reasoning in the argument is flawed in that the argument

19. Business owner: Although allowing coal mining in our region would create new jobs, we can expect the number of jobs in the region to decrease overall if it is permitted. Many local businesses depend on our region’s natural beauty, and the heavy industrial activity of coal mining would force most of them to close. Which one of the following most accurately describes the role played in the business owner’s argument by the claim that many local businesses depend on the region’s natural beauty?

20. Columnist: Obviously, money helps one satisfy one’s desires. However, people become less happy as they become more wealthy. For, though wealth allows one to satisfy desires one would not otherwise be able to, it invariably creates an even greater number of desires that will not be satisfied. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the columnist’s argument?

21. Laurie: In a democracy, public art should bring people together either by expressing a consensus on a subject or by helping people to reconcile then- differences and to recognize that no single opinion is definitive. Since contemporary public art creates only acrimony, it has failed in its task. Elsa: If people hold radically different opinions, public art should emphasize that. No art form can do the impossible, which is what you are asking for. Laurie’s and Elsa’s statements provide the most support for holding that they disagree about

22. Environmental ethicist: Since whooping cranes, unlike sandhill cranes, are endangered as a species, the survival of any one whooping crane is much more important to the preservation of its species than the survival of any one sandhill crane is to the preservation of its species. Hence, we have a greater duty to protect the life of an individual whooping crane than we do to protect the life of an individual sandhill crane. The environmental ethicist’s reasoning conforms most closely to which one of the following principles?

23. All of the one-way streets in the city have dedicated bike lanes. City buses do not travel on any street with a dedicated bike lane. Parking is allowed only on streets that do not have a dedicated bike lane. City bus number nine travels the full length of Batchelder Avenue. If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true?

24. Ecological terms like “invasive species” invoke human cultural standards like belonging, citizenship, fair play, and morality and apply them to the natural world. These terms can influence ecologists’ opinions of certain organisms before any data is gathered about their ecological impact. To prevent this, they should avoid using such terms. Which one of the following conforms most closely to the principle illustrated above?

25. Employee: Vernon’s behavior in last month’s incident was certainly unprofessional enough that our company was justified in firing him. But several higher-ranking employees whose behavior in the incident was just as unprofessional haven’t been fired and are treated as employees in good standing. So for the sake of consistency, the company must give Vernon his job back. Which one of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the employee’s argument?