1. Unlike the recognition of ethical lapses in others, many people are disinclined to perceive the same flaws in themselves.

2. The family’s mood, which had been enthusiastic at the beginning of the trip, sank as the temperature has risen, dramatically, but not enough for calling off the whole trip.

3. Advanced market research for the MegaTek Corporation predicts that launching a MegaTek Superstore in a given city would only succeed should the density of repeat customers have been greater than 200 per square mile.

4. Studies have shown that companies that present seminars on workplace safety to their employees actually have higher rates of workplace accidents than do companies that do not present such seminars to their employees. Despite this finding, it is still in the best interests of companies and their employees for companies to present these seminars.
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest support for the argument that the companies should continue to present these seminars?

5. In order to increase revenues, a cell-phone company has decided to change its fee structure. Instead of charging a flat rate of $20 per month and $0.05 for every minute over 200 minutes, the company will now charge $50 per month for unlimited usage.
Which of the following is a consideration that, if true, suggests that the new plan will not actually increase the company’s revenues?

6. Alcohol-control advocates argue that television advertising plays a large role in leading teenagers to drink. In Hungary, however, where television advertising of alcoholic beverages has been prohibited since 1980, teenage alcohol use is higher than in some other European countries where such advertising is allowed.
Which of the following statements draws the most reliable conclusion from the information given above?

7. Health Department statistics demonstrate that children reading high on glucose with family histories of diabetes are twice as likely as the general population to develop diabetes.

8. According to government health statistics, Americans born before 1925 develop obesity by the age of 65 only 8 percent of the time, but 35 percent of those born since 1950 did so by age 35.

9. Intrigued by the new rules that favored quickness over strength, the decision of the coach was to give more playing time to the team’s smaller athletes.

10. A dog enthusiast took home two puppies from the dog shelter. He fed one of the puppies super-premium canned dog food, while he fed the other a generic brand from the grocery store. The dog fed on the generic brand gained weight twice as fast as the dog fed the super-premium brand. Because of the difference in these results, the dog enthusiast concluded that the generic brand actually provided nutrition superior to that of the super-premium brand.
Each of the following, if true, would weaken the evidence for the dog enthusiast’s conclusion except for which of the following?

11. Rising tides of unemployment claims across the state has led the governor to declare the economy to be in a state of emergency.

12. Seeking to decrease the incidence of tooth decay, the American Dental Association is to spend $45 million over the next seven years promoting good dental hygiene.

13. Gastric bypass surgery has been shown to be effective at helping extremely obese people lose weight. Some patients have lost as much as 300 pounds after undergoing the surgery, thereby substantially prolonging their lives. Despite the success of the treatment, most doctors have not embraced the surgery as a weight-loss option.
Which of the following statements, if true, best accounts for the lukewarm reaction of the medical community to gastric bypass surgery?

14. A council of ecologists in Hawaii have concluded that much of the currently uncontrolled invasive species on the island chain were arriving in the holds of cargo ships.

15. Some people say that the answer to crime is to build more prisons, but more sensitive observers argue that instead we should address the sources of crime through reduced poverty, a cut off supply of illicit drugs, and by focusing on keeping kids in school.

16. Federal tax evasion is a serious crime that places an unfair tax burden on those members of society who pay their fair share. To reduce the incidence of tax evasion, the government needs to prosecute a few high-profile individuals whose cases will receive substantial media attention.
The argument above relies on which of the following assumptions?

17. Mary, just as did the other students, objected to the squash casserole.

18. In fisheries in general, when a large harvest is taken one year, there will be fewer fish available to be harvested in the following year, leading to decreasing yields of most fish species over time. The Maine lobster is an anomaly, however. Even though the vast number of lobster traps covering the New England coast pull in more lobsters every year, the number of lobsters in the water has shown no signs of decreasing.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the apparent anomaly concerning the number of Maine lobsters?

19. A brand of cough syrup comes with a measuring cup attached so that customers can measure the proper dosage. A consultant has pointed out that this cup is unnecessary, since most customers have measuring cups at home. Since the cups increase the cost of packaging the cough syrup and reduce the total number of units that can be shipped in a standard package, the consultant advises that the company can increase its net revenue on this product (total revenue minus total costs) by selling the cough syrup without the measuring cups.
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest evidence that the company should not follow the consultant’s advice?

20. Providing adequate public health-care facilities is a crucial task in a county like Travis, where more than 60 percent of household incomes are below the poverty line.

21. The way in which the mighty blue whale and the other baleen whales—the finback, gray, humpback, and right whales—eats was discovered by careful observation by biologists.

22. The rising of the rate of tardiness among MegaTech employees has generated concern among management that the employees are not sufficiently focused on increasing shareholder value.

23. An agricultural cooperative wants to sell more of its less popular vegetables, zucchini in particular. A consultant has suggested that the cooperative’s farmers should attempt to market a purple form of zucchini instead of the conventional green form, because people generally dislike green-colored vegetables.
Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the accuracy of the consultant’s assertion?

24. Bob and Linda are tired of the freezing cold days in Glenmont, so they are considering retiring to either Sunny Glen or Buena Vista. Bob points out that Sunny Glen has an average annual temperature 8 degrees Fahrenheit higher than that of Buena Vista. Linda insists, however, that Buena Vista would be the better choice.
Which of the following, if true, best accounts for Linda’s preference for Buena Vista?

25. No less remarkable than the invention of nuclear power has been the way the technology has prompted governments to reevaluate the nature of international relations.