TEST 2
SECTION II
Time 35 minutes 24 Questions
Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages.

1.     Some people believe that witnessing violence in movies will discharge aggressive energy. Does watching someone else eat fill one’s own stomach?
In which one of the following does the reasoning most closely parallel that employed in the passage?
(A) Some people think appropriating supplies at work for their own personal use is morally wrong. Isn’t shoplifting morally wrong?
(B) Some people think nationalism is defensible. Hasn’t nationalism been the excuse for committing abominable crimes?
(C) Some people think that boxing is fixed just because wrestling usually is. Are the two sports managed by the same sort of people?
(D) Some people think that economists can control inflation. Can meteorologists make the sun shine?（D）
(E) Some people think workaholics are compensating for a lack of interpersonal skills. However, aren’t most doctors workaholics?

2.     Ann: All the campers at Camp Winnehatchee go to Tri-Cities High School
Bill: That’s not true. Some Tri-Cities students are campers at Camp Lakemont.
Bill’s answer can be best explained on the assumption that he has interpreted Ann’s remark to mean that
(A) most of the campers at Camp Lakemont come from high schools other than Tri-Cities
(B) most Tri-Cities High School students are campers at Camp Winnehatchee
(C) some Tri-Cities High School students have withdrawn from Camp Lakemont
(D) all Tri-Cities High School students have withdrawn from Camp Lakemont（E）
(E) only campers at Camp Winnehatchee are students at Tri-Cities High School

3.     More than a year ago, the city announced that police would crack down on illegally parked cars and that resources would be diverted from writing speeding tickets to ticketing illegally parked cars. But no crackdown has taken place. The police chief claims that resources have had to be diverted from writing speeding tickets to combating the city’s staggering drug problem. Yet the police are still writing as many speeding tickets as ever. Therefore, the excuse about resources being tied up in fighting drug-related crime simply is not true.
The conclusion in the passage depends on the assumption that
(A) every member of the police force is qualified to work on combating the city’s drug problem
(B) drug-related crime is not as serious a problem for the city as the police chief claims it is
(C) writing speeding tickets should be as important a priority for the city as combating drug-related crime
(D) the police could be cracking down on illegally parked cars and combating the drug problem without having to reduce writing speeding tickets（E）
(E) the police cannot continue writing as many speeding tickets as ever while diverting resources to combating drug-related crime

4.     Dried grass clippings mixed into garden soil gradually decompose, providing nutrients for beneficial soil bacteria. This results in better-than-average plant growth. Yet mixing fresh grass clippings into garden soil usually causes poorer-than-average plant growth.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the difference in plant growth described above?
(A) The number of beneficial soil bacteria increases whenever any kind of plant material is mixed into garden soil.
(B) Nutrients released by dried grass clippings are immediately available to beneficial soil bacteria.
(C) Some dried grass clippings retain nutrients originally derived from commercial lawn fertilizers, and thus provide additional enrichment to the soil.
(D) Fresh grass clippings mixed into soil decompose rapidly, generating high levels of heat that kill beneficial soil bacteria.（D）
(E) When a mix of fresh and dried grass clippings is mixed into garden soil, plant growth often decreases.

5.     A gas tax of one cent per gallon would raise one billion dollars per year at current consumption rates. Since a tax of fifty cents per gallon would therefore raise fifty billion dollars per year, it seems a perfect way to deal with the federal budget deficit. This tax would have the additional advantage that the resulting drop in the demand for gasoline would be ecologically sound and would keep our country from being too dependent on foreign oil producers.
Which one of the following most clearly identifies an error in the author’s reasoning?
(A) The author cites irrelevant data.
(B) The author relies on incorrect current consumption figures.
(C) The author makes incompatible assumptions.
(D) The author mistakes an effect for a cause.（C）
(E) The author appeals to conscience rather than reason.

6.     As symbols of the freedom of the wilderness, bald eagles have the unique capacity to inspire people and foster in them a sympathetic attitude toward the needs of other threatened species. Clearly, without that sympathy and the political will it engenders, the needs of more obscure species will go unmet. The conservation needs of many obscure species can only be met by beginning with the conservation of this symbolic species, the bald eagle.
Which one of the following is the main point of the passage as a whole?
(A) Because bald eagles symbolize freedom, conservation efforts should be concentrated on them rather than on other, more obscure species.
(B) The conservation of bald eagles is the first necessary step in conserving other endangered species.
(C) Without increased public sympathy for conservation, the needs of many symbolic species will go unmet.
(D) People’s love of the wilderness can be used to engender political support for conservation efforts.（B）
(E) Other threatened species do not inspire people or foster sympathy as much as do bald eagles.