critical reasoning practice questions:1000
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How to Crack CR - Section 1
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Directions: Read
the passages and answer the question given at the beginning / end of each
paragraph:
1.
One morning, George Petersen of Petersen’s Garage watches as a 1995 Da Volo
station wagon is towed onto his lot. Because he knows that nearly 90% of the
1995 Da Volo station wagons brought to his garage for work in the past were
brought in because of malfunctioning power windows, he reasons that there is
an almost 9 to 1 chance that the car he saw this morning has also been
brought in to correct its faulty power windows. Which one of the following
employs flawed reasoning most similar to that employed by George Petersen?
(1)
Mayor Lieberman was reelected by a majority of almost 75%. Since Janine Davis
voted in that mayoral election, the chances are almost 3 to 1 that she voted
for Mayor Lieberman.
(2)
Each week nine out of 10 best-selling paperback books at The Reader’s Nook
are works of fiction. Since Nash’s history of World War II was among the ten
best-selling paperback books at The Reader’s Nook this week, the chances are
9 to 1 that it is a work of fiction
(3)
90% of those who attempt to get into Myrmidon Military Academy are turned
down. Since the previous 10 candidates to the academy were not accepted,
Vladimir’s application will almost certainly be approved.
(4)
Only one out of 50 applications for bypassing zoning regulations and
establishing a new business in the Gedford residential district is accepted.
Since only 12 such applications were made last month, there is virtually no
chance that any of them will be accepted.
2.
Biologists attached a radio transmitter to one of a number of wolves that had
been released earlier in the White River Wilderness Area as part of a
relocation project. The biologists hoped to use this wolf to track the
movements of the whole pack. Wolves usually range over a wide area in search
of prey, and frequently follow the migrations of their prey animals. The
biologists were surprised to find that this particular wolf never moved more
than five miles away from the location in which it was first tagged. Which
one of the following, if true, would by itself most help to explain the
behavior of the wolf tagged by the biologists?
(1)
The area in which the wolves were released was rocky and mountainous, in
contrast to the flat, heavily- wooded area from which they were taken.
(2)
The wolf had been tagged and released by the biologists only three miles away
from a sheep ranch that provided a large, stable population of prey animals.
(3)
The White River Wilderness Area had supported a population of wolves in past
years, but they had been hunted to extinction.
(4)
Although the wolves in the White River Wilderness Area were under government
protection, their numbers had been sharply reduced, within a few years of
their release, by illegal hunting.
3.
It doesn’t surprise me that the critic on our local radio station went off on
another tirade today about the city men’s choir. This is not the first time
that he has criticized the choir. But this time his criticisms were simply
inaccurate and unjustified. For ten minutes, he spoke of nothing but the
choir’s lack of expressiveness. As a professional vocal instructor, I have
met with these singers individually; I can state with complete confidence
that each of the members of the choir has quite an expressive voice. Which
one of the following is the most serious flaw in the author’s reasoning?
(1)
He directs his argument against the critic’s character rather than against
his claims.
(2)
He ignores evidence that the critic’s remarks might in fact be justified.
(3)
He cites his own professional expertise as the sole explanation for his
defense of the choir.
(4)
He assumes that a group will have a given attribute if each of its parts has
that attribute.
4.
Video arcades, legally defined as video parlors having at least five video
games, require a special city license and, in primarily residential areas
such as East view, a zoning variance. The owners of the Video Zone, popular
with East view teenagers, have maintained that their establishment requires
neither an arcade license nor a zoning variance, because it is really a
retail outlet. Which one of the following is an assumption upon which the
argument of the Video Zone’s owners is based?
(1)
The existing East view zoning regulations are unconstitutionally strict.
(2)
At no time are more than four video games in operation at the Video Zone.
(3)
Stores like the Video Zone perform an important social function.
(4)
Retail establishments require no special licenses or zoning variances in East
view.
5. Choose the option that best completes the
passage given. One tax-reform proposal that has gained increasing support
in recent years is the flat tax, which would impose a uniform tax rate on
incomes at every level. Opponents of the flat tax say that a progressive tax
system, which levies a higher rate of taxes on higher-income taxpayers, is
fairer, placing the greater burden on those better able to bear it. However,
the present crazy quilt of tax deductions, exemptions, credits, and loopholes
benefits primarily the high-income taxpayer, who is consequently able to
reduce his or her effective tax rate, often to a level below that paid by the
lower-income taxpayer. Therefore, ______
(1)
higher-income taxpayers are likely to lend their support to the flat-tax
proposal now being considered by Congress
(2)
a flat-tax system that allowed no deductions or exemptions would
substantially increase actual government revenues
(3)
the lower-income taxpayer might well be penalized by the institution of a
flat-tax system in this country
(4)
the progressive nature of our pre sent tax system is more illusory than real
6. Choose the option that best completes the
passage given. The most serious flaw in television's coverage of election
campaigns is its tendency to focus on the horse-race side of politics-that
is, to concentrate on the question "Who's winning?" at the expense
of substantive coverage of the issues and the candidates' positions on them.
The endless interviews with campaign managers, discussions of campaign
strategies, and, especially, the obsession with opinion polls have surrounded
elections with the atmosphere of a football game or a prizefight. To reform
this situation, a first step might well be______
(1)
a shortening of the length of election campaigns to a period of six weeks
(2)
a stringent limit on campaign spending
(3)
a reduction in the television coverage of opinion polls during election
campaigns
(4)
the publication and distribution of voter-education literature to inform the
public about each candidate's position on the major issues
7. Choose the option that best completes the
passage given. In opposing government regulation of business,
conservatives often appeal to the Jeffersonian ideal of limited government,
expressing the wish that government would "get off the backs of the
American people." Yet, paradoxically, many of these same conservatives
address questions of private morality, such as those dealing with sexual behavior, by calling
for______
(1)
a return to the restrictive sexual morality of the Victorian era
(2)
a strengthening of the role of the family in setting moral norms for society
(3)
a limitation on the amount of sexually provocative material appearing in
books, motives, and television shows.
(4)
an increased governmental role in the regulation and control of private
sexual behavior
8.
Johnson is on firm ground when he asserts that the early editors of
Dickinson's poetry often distorted her intentions. Yet Johnson's own, more
faithful, text is still guilty of its own forms of distortion. To standardize
Dickinson's often indecipherable handwritten punctuation by the use of the
dash is to render permanent a casual mode of poetic phrasing that Dickinson
surely never expected to see in print. It implies that Dickinson chose the
dash as her typical mark of punctuation when, in fact, she apparently never
made any definitive choice at all. Which
of the following best summarizes the author's main point in the passage?
(1)
Although Johnson is right in criticizing Dickinson's early editors for their
distortion of her work, his own text is guilty of equally serious
distortions.
(2)
Johnson's use of the dash in his text of Dickinson's poetry misleads readers
about the poet's intentions.
(3)
Because Dickinson never expected her poetry to be published, virtually any
attempt at editing it must run counter to her intentions.
(4)
Although Johnson's attempt to produce a more faithful text of Dickinson's
poetry is well-meaning, his study of the material lacks sufficient
thoroughness.
9.
Enrollment in graduate and professional programs tends to be high in a strong
economy and much lower during recessions. The perceived likelihood of future
job availability, therefore, affects people's willingness to pass up
immediate earning potential in order to invest in career-related training. The
argument above assumes that:
(1)
the perceived likelihood of job availability has decreased in recent years.
(2)
all those who avoid graduate and professional school during an economic slump
do so because of the perceived lack of future jobs.
(3)
perceptions of the likelihood of job availability are related to the state of
the economy.
(4)
those who enroll in graduate and professional schools during a strong economy
help increase the economy's strength.
10.
Staff members at the Willard Detention Center typically oversee student
schedules and make all final decisions regarding the required activities in
which students participate. Students are permitted, however, to make their
own decisions regarding how they spend their free time. Therefore, students
should be permitted to make their own decisions regarding the elective
courses that they wish to take. The
conclusion above would be more reasonably drawn if which of the following
were inserted into the argument as an additional premise?
(1)
Decisions regarding required activities are more important than decisions
regarding the elective courses that students take.
(2)
Students are more willing to take elective courses than to participate in
required Center activities.
(3)
Required activities contribute more to the rehabilitation of students than do
their free-time activities.
(4)
When compared for decision-making purposes, elective courses are more like
free-time activities than required activities.
Solutions
1.
1.
George Petersen gives us a little lesson on how not to use
statistics. He knows that 9 out of 10 Da Volos are brought to his shop
because of malfunctioning windows, so he reasons that this particular Da
Volo, which is being towed in, has probably also been brought in for
malfunctioning windows. Surely the fact that the car is being towed indicates
that there must be some more serious problem. Petersen has mindlessly applied
a numerical formula while ignoring additional information. Where else do we
see such reasoning? (2), the correct answer, uses previous figures to
conclude that there’s a 9 to 1 chance that Nash’s history of World War II is
a work of fiction. (2) ignores the compelling contrary evidence (that this
book is a history) and mindlessly applies a numerical formula where it
clearly shouldn’t be applied. (1)’s use of statistics is reasonable. We don’t
know anything special about Janine Davis; she’s just a voter. Therefore,
since almost 3 out of 4 voters chose Lieberman, there’s an almost 3 out of 4
(or 3 to 1) chance that Janine voted for Lieberman. (3) reasons that
Vladimir’s chances of being admitted into the academy have been improved by
the rejection of the previous candidates. That’s not a persuasive line of
argumentation, but it’s nothing like the stimulus. (4) is a straight
numerical argument. The conclusion seems overstated (even a 1 out of 50
chance isn’t “virtually no chance”), but it’s not at all like the stimulus;
we’re not shown a particular case with special information that goes against
the numbers.
2.
2.
Most wolves range over a wide area in search of prey; this
particular wolf hung around the same area. An explanation that immediately
suggests itself is that this particular wolf found enough prey in this area,
so it didn’t have to run all over looking for food. This is the tack taken
by (2): If the wolf had a large stable population of sheep on which to
prey in the immediate vicinity, there was no need for it to range over a wide
territory looking for food. (1) doesn’t have much direct bearing on this
particular wolf’s lack of mobility. While it’s true that a wolf might find it
harder to move around in mountainous country, the stimulus says that wolves
in general tend to cover great distances in search of food. There’s no hint
that a wolf in a mountainous area should prove an exception to this rule. (3)
is irrelevant: While the White River Wilderness Area may once have supported
a population of wolves, knowing this does nothing to explain the behavior of
this particular wolf. (4), if anything, gives what seems to be a reason for
our wolf to make tracks and migrate somewhere else. Certainly (4) doesn’t
explain why our wolf didn’t follow usual wolf hunting methods.
3.
3.
The flaw in the author’s reasoning lies in his reasoning from
part to whole, which is implied rather than explicitly stated: “Each of the
singers has an expressive voice, therefore all the choir, as a group, must be
expressive and the critic must be wrong.” But just because each voice is
expressive alone doesn’t necessarily mean that all the voices will be
expressive together. (4), therefore, is correct. (1), although the author is
rather vehement in disputing the critic’s claims, he doesn’t address the
critic’s character.
4.
4.
In a nutshell, Video Zone’s owners are concluding that their
operation is exempt from the requirement to have an arcade license and a
zoning variance in Eastview. Their evidence is the fact that they are a
retail outlet. To connect this evidence to this conclusion, they must assume
that no “retail outlet” is required to obtain either the license or the
variance, which is choice (4). (1) Rather than assume the owners have
implicitly accepted the community’s zoning and other regulations; although
they interpret the ordinances in a manner that might be open to question,
they are not criticizing the regulations themselves. (2) We can surmise that
the contrary is the case; i.e., that at least five video games are in
operation at some time. Otherwise, the Video Zone would simply not fall under
the community’s definition of “video parlor,” and the issue of the possible
need for an arcade license would not have arisen. (3) There is no suggestion
in the owners’ argument that they believe, or expect others to believe, that
the business can be viewed as performing a social function. Their argument
concerns classification, not social value.
5.
5.
(4) The sentence after therefore must be the conclusion of the
discussion above in the passage. (4) recapitulates the passage in the best
possible way.
6.
6.
(3) Here the author describes the problem of the television’s
coverage of election campaigns as it introduces a sense of gambling and he
compares opinion polls with the football game or a prize fight. Now the
remedy or the reformation of this situation is to reduce the television
coverage of the opinion polls, which is there in option (3). (1) and (2)
distorts the theme. (4) is not in line with the solution of the problem.
7.
7.
(4) is the only logical sentence that should follow.
8.
8.
(2) is short and concise epitome of the passage.
9.
9.
We are asked to find an assumption. The assumption is the
unstated notion that must be true if the conclusion is to stand. The argument
involves a question of cause and effect. Since enrollment in graduate and
professional programs tends to be high when the economy is strong and low
when it is weak, the reason must be, according to the author, a matter of
perceptions of job availability. Sounds reasonable, but do all the terms
match up with those in this conclusion? We know from the question stem that
they do not. What is missing? Well, the evidence pertains to the state of the
economy. But the conclusion strays into the area of psychology--perceptions.
Are these the same things? The author treats them as such by arguing from
evidence regarding the state of the economy to a conclusion based on
perceptions of the economy. The author takes the relationship between these
for granted, but technically, in order for the argument to work, this must be
established. Choice (2) reveals this basic assumption.
10. We are asked to
find an additional premise that would make the argument more reasonable. This
implies that you must first locate
the evidence and conclusion, then
identify a central assumption, and finally find an answer choice that
supports this assumption. The argument here is a simple one: Since students
at the Willard Detention Center make their own decisions about free time,
they should also make their own decisions about elective courses. The
argument assumes that, for these students, decisions about what to do with
free time are similar to decisions about what electives to take in school.
Since we are looking for a premise to complete the argument, look for a
choice that provides evidence that these things are similar. Choice (4)
provides the evidence we need. If it is true that elective courses are
more akin to free time than to required activities, then the conclusion that
students should be able to choose their own electives is more reasonable
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Quant Ticklers - 5
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13-SEP-2006
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Answers:
1.
Rs. 50/- 2. 4906 3. 90 4. 16.14% 5. 5643
6.
225 7. 250 8. 3:7
9. The
diagonals of a square intersect at 1 point
if no 2 diagonals pass through the same point
10.
8
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How to Crack CR - Section 2
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11. Advertisement:
Quicktrak is gaining more subscribers each year than any other business news
service. Quicktrak offers the most up-to-date international business news,
and the most comprehensive company information needed to make wise investment
decisions. Quicktrak is the only service devoted exclusively to international
business news and the financial analysis of corporations. So, by choosing a
financial news service other than Quicktrak, you are doing your company a
disservice. Which of the following is
an assumption of the argument in the advertisement above?
(1) A subscription to
Quicktrak is not appreciably more expensive than a subscription to standard
business magazines or newspapers.
(2) A significant
portion of any business involves international trade or investing in other
companies.
(3) Quicktrak has
more subscribers than other business news services.
(4) The market share
of Quicktrak is increasing.
12. Bruce: Almost a century ago, country X annexed its neighbor's western
province, clearly an unjust act. It is the obligation of country X to return
the province to its former possessors, even if doing so would involve great
sacrifice on the part of those citizens of country X who are currently living
within that province.
Linda:
A nation's paramount responsibility is the well-being of its
own citizens. Country X should make the sacrifice of returning the province
only if it can be sure that such an act will provide some tangible benefit to
the citizens of country X. The issue of whether the original annexation was
just is a secondary consideration. Linda's reply to Bruce most closely
conforms to which one of the following principles?
(1) A nation is
obliged to make sacrifices only in order to fulfill its paramount
responsibility.
(2) Historical wrongs
can properly be redressed only when all interested parties agree that a wrong
has been committed.
(3) No national
sacrifice is too great, provided that it is undertaken in order to insure the
future well-being of the nation.
(4) The views of the
entire nation should be consulted before the nation takes an action that
involves considerable sacrifice from any part of the nation.
13. In the above paragraph, to which of the
following questions would Bruce and Linda give opposing answers?
(1) Can the original
annexation of the neighboring nation's western province accurately be
characterized as an unjust act?
(2) Would the return
of the annexed province to its original possessors involve appreciable
sacrifice on the part of the citizens of country X?
(3) Would the return
of the annexed province to its original possessors confer any benefit on the
citizens of country X?
(4) Does country X
have the obligation to redress an historic injustice at the risk of providing
no benefit to its own citizens?
14. Choose the option that best completes the
blank in the passage given. With the outbreak of hostilities in the Gulf,
it has become all the more imperative to improve the efficiency of PSUs.
(________). The budget deficit is likely to remain uncomfortable apart from
the precarious balance of payments position. Transport will be affected and
the economy may move into stagnation if there is no early end to the Gulf
war.
(1) Iraq is unlikely
to be able to supply oil for quite some time to come.
(2) India’s oil
import bill has already become burdensome.
(3) PSUs have been
proving to be white elephants for the economy.
(4) India has been
caught in the cross-fire of the Gulf war.
15. Choose the option that best completes the
blank in the passage given. What should be the focus of R & D effort
for the electronics industry? The Central Research Laboratory (CRL) of BEL in
Bangalore and the Electronics Research and Development Centre (ERDC) in
Trivandrum appear to vary in perception. (________). It does not engage
itself in project development, but only works on enabling technologies.
(1) The BEL
laboratory.s focus is basically on communications technology and it is
working at the front-end of this.
(2) Nobody seems to
be quite clear about what the focus of BEL.s R & D should be.
(3) The ERDC seems to
be duplicating some of the R & D work already done by BEL.
(4) The BEL engages
itself in needless .back-biting. of the work done by the ERDC.
16. Choose the option that best completes the
blank in the passage given. Resources are in severe crunch, first and
foremost. With its capital structure consisting of equity and loans from the
Government and public sector undertakings in the ratio of 54 to 46, the plant
is naturally expected to service a large debt component, an uphill task.
(________). Its cost overruns are such that the cost estimate with 1990 first
quarter as base is Rs.7,850 crores. The expenditure since its inception is
Rs.6,442 crores.
(1) The management
seems to be unable to reconcile itself to the task of taking the necessary
steps towards overcoming such a stiff proposition.
(2) In steel plants
abroad, the debt component during the set-up stage is closer to a more
manageable 25 per cent.
(3) The management
has been asking for a restructuring of its capital base with an increase in
the equity component to 70 or 80 percent so that its debt burden will be
lightened in its formative years.
(4) It is certainly
not too much to expect that the management should have taken this into
consideration at the time of setting up the project.
17. Choose the option that best completes the
blank in the passage given. The economy of the road transport industry is
in a bad shape as operational costs have been increasing. Any price control
on tyres will affect the viability of tyre companies, compelling them to
reduce production. (________). The demand for tyres shows no indication of
picking up though the vehicle manufacturing industry, especially the heavy
vehicle segment, does not have much of a problem in turning out vehicles, but
this could only be a pre- budget phenomenon.
(1) There is a boom
period in the offing for the tyre industry.
(2) This is a far cry
from the days when the domestic tyre industry was accused of cartelisation
and price fixing.
(3) A reduction in
production would only further worsen the situation as heavier over head
absorption would be required.
(4) This would, in
turn, seriously affect the road transport industry.
18. Choose the option that best completes the
blank in the passage given. In the initial stages, the floor tiles were
of two categories, glazed and unglazed. The glazed ones were of different
colours. There were plain colours and cloudy effects and self design tiles.
(________). Screen printing involves
an elaborate technique of preparing a design and transferring it to screens
by photographic process. Special screen
printing machines are installed along the glaze line to print tiles.
(1) At the outset
there was a fairly heavy demand for such tiles.
(2) To follow was the
introduction of screen printed tiles with a variety of designs.
(3) Self design tiles
were targeted at individuals who wished to create a designer look by using
such tiles imaginatively.
(4) Cloudy effect
tiles never really caught on in a big way.
19. Of late,
Karnataka in general and Bangalore in particular, have been in the news,
mostly for the wrong reasons. Notwithstanding the good and pleasant people of
the region, unfortunately, Karnataka has figured among the four most corrupt
states of a country, that itselft ranks among the most corrupt and the most
difficult of countries in the world to do business in - a distinction both
Karnataka and India could well do without. And Bangalore has been attracting
flak from the industry for its crumbling infrastructure, its woeful power
situation, its pathetic and narrow roads, the time it takes to commute the
shortest of distances, the time it takes to build the shortest of flyovers,
the clogged drainage, haywire traffic, absent sidewalks, and open sewers,
have all gone to wrinkle the noses of not just the IT czars as widely
reported in the press, but of the common man as well – a fact much less
reported. Choose the option that best
captures the essence of the passage.
(1) Both Karnataka
and India could do without the label as the most corrupt state and country.
Bangalore has been further criticised for its infrastructure which is breaking
down.
(2) Karnataka is
among the four most corrupt states of India, which is also ranked as corrupt
and the most difficult to do business in. Bangalore has been criticised for
its poor infrastructure not only by the IT czars but by the common man as
well.
(3) Bangalore,
Karnataka and India have been criticized for corruption, poor infrastructure
and being difficult to do business in despite the people being good and
pleasant. This has been the case with not only the IT czar but the common man
also.
(4) Both Karnataka
and Bangalore have been in news. The state is among the four in the country
which have traditionally been held to be corrupt and difficult to do business
in Bangalore too has been the butt of critics for its poor power situation;
non-existent roads clogged drains open sewers etc.
20. For decades
asbestos has been known to cause cancer in those who inhale its tiny fibres.
That has triggered restrictions on its use and, ultimately, thousands of
laswsuits in the US and elsewhere. But in Japan, asbestos barely cracked the
headlines over the years, let alone the court system. It was only last
October that Tokyo finally banned asbestos in all but a handful of products -
14 years after similar action int he US. Even then the government implemented
no measures to prevent asbestos - once widely used as fireretardant
insulation - from being released into the air as older buildings were
renovated or torn down. Today the carcinogen is suddenly big news from Kyushu
to Hokkaido. Recently farm machinery maker Kubota Corp acknowledged, in
response to inquiries from the daily ‘Mainichi Shimbun’, that since 1978, 79
of its workers had died after inhaling asbestos fibres. Within days dozens of
companies reported previously undisclosed fatalities blamed on asbestos. Now
the government is scrambling to explain why it paid scant attention to the
issue for so long. “We should have banned asbestos sooner,” health, labour,
and welfatre minister Hidehisa Otsuji told a parliamentary committee
recently. Choose the option that best
captures the essence of the passage.
(1) Inhalation of
asbestos fibre is known to be carcinogenous but it was banned in Japan only
recently. Even then no steps were taken against its release into the air. It
has become news after several companies blamed its inhalation as the reason
for the death of some of their workers.
(2) Lawsuits in the
US have shown asbestos to be carcinogenous but Japan banned it only when
several companies acknolwedged that the inhalation of asbestos fibre was the
reason for the death of some of their workers. The health minister felt it
should have been done earlier.
(3) Asbestos can
cause cancer which is why it is banned in the US and elsewhere. But Japan
woke up to this reality only after the death of workers in several asbestos
company.
(4) Asbestos became
big news in Japan recently when several companies thought their workers had
died and welfare minister felt the step should have been taken when the US
and other countries banned asbestos production.
Solutions
1.We are looking for
an assumption that connects evidence and conclusion. First, read the stimulus
and identify the argument. How are the evidence and conclusion different from
each other? Try to work out the assumption that holds them together. The advertisement
contains an argument built on three pieces of evidence: Quicktrak is
growing fastest; Quicktrak offers the most up-to-date international
business news, and the most comprehensive company information needed to make
wise investment decisions; Quicktrak is the only service devoted exclusively
to these two types of news. Based on this evidence, the advertisement
concludes that subscribing to any other financial news service would be a
disservice to your company. There are many assumptions here. But the most
crucial assumption is that the two types of news Quicktrak provides must be
useful to any company. Choice (2) explicitly states the latter assumption
and is the correct answer.
2. The question wants
the gist of Linda's response to Bruce's claim that regardless of the
sacrifices entailed, country X should give back the province it annexed a
century ago, on the grounds that the annexation was "unjust." Linda
replies, in essence, "unjust, my foot." To her, the unjustness of
the original act is beside the point; what matters is whether the return of
the province will benefit country X's own citizens. (1), therefore, has it
just right, Linda already has defined the enhancement of a country's
well-being as that country's "paramount responsibility." She sees
that well-being as a necessary condition of any act-such as the return of the
province-that would require sacrifice. Choice (3) goes astray on the same
issue-namely, the amount of sacrifice required. Linda never implies that
there is no sacrifice too great for a nation to make (3). Her only concern is
in first establishing the tangible benefit of a course of action before
taking that action. Both choices have other problems, of course: (3)'s
reference to "future well-being" is too far removed from the
concept of "tangible benefit." (4) Linda makes no appeal to
consensus as a precondition for returning the province. We can't be sure how
Linda thinks the "tangible benefit" would be determined, whether
through a poll of the citizenry or by some other means.
3.Here we're asked
for a question that Bruce and Linda would answer differently. Your best
approach is to take each question in turn, and speculate as to how each
debater would respond to it. (1) Bruce would reply with a definite Yes, but
Linda's claim that the injustice issue is "secondary" cannot be
read as any kind of a No. She may well agree that the original annexation was
unjust, but still cares more about the effect on today's citizens of
reversing that act. (2) Linda seems to believe that the answer here is Yes,
but Bruce's phrase "Even if" takes this issue off the table: He
doesn't care whether the answer is Yes or No, because he wants the province
returned regardless. Since Bruce and Linda could agree on a Yes answer to
both (1) and (2), both choices are incorrect. (3) Linda would certainly want
this question answered before agreeing to return the province, but she never
indicates what she thinks the answer would be. Bruce, meanwhile, shows no
interest in the issue so cannot be said to have a position on it. (4)
Bruce clearly believes that the answer is Yes; Linda, who sees tangible
benefits to citizens as a precondition for redress, just as clearly says No.
This is exactly what the test-makers are looking for.
4.of increase in
import bill. Choice (2)
5.Choice (1) is the
most appropriate choice which can complete the paragraph. The paragraph is
about “focus of R & D effort in electronics industry” and choice (1)
tells us about the focus of BEL laboratory. Choices (2), (3) and (4) cannot
fit into the blank logically. Choice (1)
6.Choice (3) is the
appropriate choice because in the paragraph it is mentioned that resources
are in severe crunch because of the capital structure consisting of equity
and loans due to which the management has been asking for a restructuring of
its capital base which is mentioned in (3). Hence (3) is the answer. Choice
(3)
7.Choice (4) is the
appropriate choice because as said in the paragraph price control on tyre
companies compels them to reduce production which in turn would seriously
affect the road transport industry. Choice (4)
8.introduction of
screen printed tiles with a variety of designs. Choice (2)
9.The main points in
this text are: (1) Karnataka is among the four most corrupt states of India. (2)
India ranks among the most corrupt and the most difficult of countries to do
business in. (3) Bangalore has been criticized for its poor infrastructure by
the IT czars as well as the common man. Choice 1 is too brief and misses some
essential points. Choice 2 is right. Choice 3 is incorrect as it clubs
together Bangalore, Karnataka and India on the one hand and the criticism
leveled against each of them on the other, thereby making the criticism
common to all three. Choice 4 is wrong as it gives the examples of poor
infrastructure. Choice (2)
10.The main points in
the text: (1) Inhalation of asbestos fiber is known to cause cancer (2) Japan
banned it only recently, still no steps were taken regarding its release into
the atmosphere. (3) It became big news when several companies attributed the
death of some of their workers to asbestos fiber inhalation. Choice 1 is
right. Choice 2 is wrong because it says lawsuits in the U.S. made people
realize that asbestos is carcinogenus. Choice 3 is incomplete. Choice 4 is
wrong when it attributes to the minister that asbestos should have been
banned when it was done in the U.S. Choice (1)
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How to Crack CR - Section 3
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21.
One of the truisms of the advertising industry is that it is rarely necessary
to say something of substance in an advertisement in order to boost sales.
Instead, one only needs to attract the potential customer's attention; memory
does the rest, for it is more important for sales that people know of a
product than that they know something about it. Which of the following is
assumed by the argument?
(1)
People can remember a product without having much information about it.
(2)
Advertisements, in their own way, function to improve people's memories.
(3)
Attracting a potential customer's attention is a simple matter.
(4)
The advertising industry knows little of substance about the products it
promotes.
22.
Why save endangered species? For the general public, endangered species
appear to be little more than biological oddities. A very different
perception is gained from considering the issue of extinction in a wider
context. The important point is that many major social advances have been
made on the basis of life forms whose worth would never have been perceived
in advance. Consider the impact of rubber-producing plants on contemporary
life and industry: approximately two-thirds of the world's rubber supply
comes from rubber producing plants and is made into objects as diverse as
rubber washers and rubber boots. The point of the passage is made chiefly
by
(1)
acknowledging the validity of two opposing points of view
(2)
appealing to the emotions of the audience rather than to their intellects
(3)
suggesting a useful perspective for viewing the question raised at the
beginning of the passage
(4)
trying to discredit the view of an opponent without presenting an alternative
hypothesis
23. Only a member of the Regionalist party would oppose the
bill for a new recycling law that would protect the environment from industrial
interests. Ellen cannot be a member of the Regionalist party because she
supports the bill. Which of the
following statements points out why the conclusion is invalidly drawn? Choose
the option that best captures the essence of the text.
(1)
Regionalist party members have organized to oppose industrial interests on
several other issues.
(2)
Industrial interests need not oppose the protection of the environment.
(3)
Past attempts to protect the environment through recycling laws have failed
(4)
It is possible that some Regionalist party members may not oppose the bill
for a new recycling law.
24. Roberta was born in 1967, and so in 1976 she was nine
years old It is clear from this example that the last two digits of a person's birth year
will be the same as the last two digits of the year of that person's ninth
birthday, except that the position of the digits will be reversed Which of the following is the best
criticism of the assertions made? Choose the option that best captures the
essence of the text.
(1)
The generalization is valid only for those birth years that do not end in two
zeroes.
(2)
The example does not exhibit the same principle as is expressed in the
generalization based on it.
(3)
The generalization is valid only for those birth years in which the last
digit is one greater than the second-to-last digit.
(4)
The example cannot be shown to be correct unless the truth of the
generalization is already presupposed
25. The greatest chance for the existence of extraterrestrial
life is on a planet beyond our solar system. The Milky Way galaxy alone
contains 100 billion other suns, many of which could be accompanied by
planets similar enough to Earth to make them suitable abodes of life. The statement presupposes which of the
following? Choose the option that best captures the
essence of the text.
(1)
Living creatures on another planet would probably have the same appearance as
those on Earth.
(2)
Life cannot exist on other planets in our solar system.
(3)
If the appropriate physical conditions exist, life is an inevitable
consequence.
(4)
It is likely that life on another planet would require conditions similar to
those on Earth.
26. Some decisions will be fairly obvious - “no-brainers.”
Your bank account is low, but you have a two-week vacation coming up and you
want to get away to some place warm to relax with your family. Will you
accept your in-laws’ offer of free use of their Florida beachfront condo?
Sure. You like your employer and feel ready to move forward in your career. Will
you step in for your boss for three weeks while she attends a professional
development course? Of course. Choose the option that best captures the
essence of the text.
(1) Some decisions are obvious under certain circumstances.
You may, for example, readily accept a relative’s offer of free holiday
accommodation. Or step in for your boss when she is away.
(2) Some decisions are no-brainers. You need not think when
making them. Examples are condo offers from in-laws and job offers from
bosses when your bank account is low or boss is away.
(3) Easy decisions are called “no-brainers” because they do
not require any cerebral activity. Examples such as accepting free holiday
accommodation abound in our lives.
(4) Accepting an offer from in-laws when you are short on
funds and want a holiday is a no-brainer. Another no-brainer is taking the
boss’s job when she is away.
27. Physically, inertia is a feeling that you just can’t move;
mentally, it is a sluggish mind. Even if you try to be sensitive, if your
mind is sluggish, you just don’t feel anything intensely. You may even see a
tragedy enacted in front of your eyes and not be able to respond
meaningfully. You may see one person exploiting another, one group
persecuting another, and not be able to get angry. Your energy is frozen. You
are not deliberately refusing to act; you just don’t have the capacity. Choose
the option that best captures the essence of the text.
(1) Inertia makes your body and mind sluggish. They become
insensitive to tragedies, exploitation, and persecution because it freezes
your energy and decapacitates it
(2) When you have inertia you don’t act although you see one
person exploiting another or one group persecuting another. You don't get
angry because you are incapable.
(3) Inertia is of two types – physical and mental. Physical
inertia restricts bodily movements. Mental inertia prevents mental response
to events enacted in front of your eyes.
(4)Physical inertia stops your body from moving; mental
inertia freezes your energy, and stops your mind from responding meaningfully
to events, even tragedies, in front of you.
28. Try before you buy. We use this memorable saying to urge
you to experience the consequences of an alternative before you choose it,
whenever this is feasible. If you are considering buying a van after having
always owned sedans, rent one for a week or borrow a friend’s. By
experiencing the consequences first hand, they become more meaningful. In
addition, you are likely to identify consequences you had not even thought of
before. May be you will discover that it is difficult to park the van in your
small parking space at work, but that, on the other hand, your elderly father
has a much easier time getting in and out of it. Choose the option that best
captures the essence of the text.
(1)If you are planning to buy a van after being used to
sedans, borrow a van or rent it and try it before deciding to buy it. Then
you may realize that parking a van is difficult while it is easier for your
elderly father to get in and out of it.
(2) Before choosing an alternative, experience its
consequences if feasible. If, for example, you want to change from sedans to
a van, try one before buying it. You will discover aspects you may never have
thought of.
(3) Always try before you buy anything. You are bound to
discover many consequences. One of the consequences of going in for a van is
that it is more difficult to park than sedans at the office car park.
(4) We urge you to try products such as vans before buying them.
Then you can experience consequences you have not thought of such as parking
problems. But your father may find vans more comfortable than cars.
29. It is important for shipping companies to be clear about
the objectives for maintenance and materials management – as to whether the
primary focus is on service level improvement or cost minimization. Often
when certain systems are set in place, the cost minimization objective and
associated procedure become more important than the flexibility required for
service level improvement. The problem really arises since cost minimization
tends to focus on out of pocket costs which are visible, while the
opportunity costs, often greater in value,
are lost sight of. Choose the option that best captures the
essence of the text.
(1)Shipping companies have to either minimize costs or
maximize service quality. If they focus on cost minimization, they will
reduce quality. They should focus on service level improvement, or else
opportunity costs will be lost sight of.
(2)Shipping companies should determine the primary focus of
their maintenance and materials management. Focus on cost minimization may
reduce visible costs, but ignore greater invisible costs and impair service
quality.
(3)Any cost minimization program in shipping is bound to lower
the quality of service. Therefore, shipping companies must be clear about the
primary focus of their maintenance and materials management before embarking
on cost minimization.
(4)Shipping companies should focus on quality level
improvement rather than cost cutting. Cost cutting will lead to untold
opportunity costs. Companies should have systems in place to make the service
level flexible.
30. You seemed at first to take no notice of your
school-fellows, or rather to set yourself against them because they were
strangers to you. They knew as little of you as you did of them; this would
have been the reason for their keeping aloof from you as well, which you
would have felt as a hardship. Learn never to conceive a prejudice against
others because you know nothing of them. It is bad reasoning, and makes
enemies of half the world. Do not think ill of them till they behave ill to
you; and then strive to avoid the faults which you see in them. This will
disarm their hostility sooner than pique or resentment or complaint. Choose
the option that best captures the essence of the text.
(1) The discomfort you felt with your school fellows was
because both sides knew little of each other. You should not complain unless
you find others prejudiced against you and have attempted to carefully
analyze the faults you have observed in them.
(2) The discomfort you felt with your school fellows was
because both sides knew little of each other. Avoid prejudice and negative
thoughts till you encounter bad behaviour from others, and then win them over
by shunning the faults you have observed.
(3) You encountered hardship amongst your school fellows
because you did not know them well. You should learn to not make enemies
because of your prejudices irrespective of their behaviour towards you.
(4) You encountered hardship amongst your school fellows
because you did not know them well. You should learn to not make enemies
because of your prejudices unless they behave badly with you.
Solutions
21. 21.
The passage discusses how advertising usually need only draw
people's attention to a product and need not provide any substance for people
to remember the product. Thus, the passage implies that people can remember a
product without having much information about it, and 1 is the correct
answer. (2) is incorrect. The passage suggests that if advertisements
draw people's attention to a product, the people are more apt to remember the
product. The advertisement is not said to improve people's memories, only to
draw people's attention so they will use their existing memories. (3) is also
incorrect. The passage says that all one usually needs to do is attract a
potential customer's attention. It does not say how easy or difficult that
is. The fourth answer choice is incorrect. The passage says that it is rarely
necessary to say something of substance in an advertisement but does not
suggest that the advertising industry knows little of substance about the
product.
22.The
passage suggests that considering the possibility of extinction with an eye
toward the possible utility of a previously unvalued species will lead to a
different answer to the question than considering the possibility of
extinction from a more general perspective. (3) describes the author's
procedure of suggesting a new perspective and is thus the correct answer. The
first choice is incorrect. The author argues that it is important to preserve
endangered species without endorsing any opposing point of view. The view
attributed to the general public is not accepted; rather, an argument is
given to show what that view misses. (2) is incorrect. The author uses an
approach that is primarily factual, and does not seek to arouse the emotions
of its audience. (4) is also incorrect. The author tries to undermine an
opposing position by presenting an alternative to it.
23.The
fact that only a member of the Regionalist party would oppose the bill does
not imply that all members of the Regionalist party would oppose the bill.
Based on the initial statement, Ellen may or may not be a member of the
Regionalist party if she supports the bill. For the conclusion to be valid,
the initial statement would have to read, "All members of the
Regionalist party would oppose the bill for a new recycling law…" Thus,
the choice of (4) makes the relevant logical point. The first three
answer choices are incorrect. Each presents at best a piece of background
information without being specifically related to the question of whether all
Regionalist party members would oppose the bill.
24.The
generalization is only true for some birth years. A good criticism of the
generalization would show when the generalization is not true. (3) does
just that and thus is the correct answer. (1) is incorrect. It is false
that the generalization holds for all years that do not end in two zeros. For
example, 1970 is a birth year that does not end in two zeros. However, 1970
plus nine equals 1979, and hence this is a case for which the generalization
is not valid. Since this answer choice is false, it cannot be a good
criticism of the assertions. The second answer choice is also incorrect. In
the example, the last two digits of the person's birth year-67-are the same
as the last two digits of the year of the person's ninth birthday-76-except reversed.
Thus, the example does in fact exhibit the same principle as the
generalization. The fourth answer choice is incorrect. The difference between
1976 and 1967 is nine. The correctness of the first statement depends only on
this fact and the fact that Roberta was born in 1967 and was still alive in
1976. Thus, the truth of the generalization is not presupposed.
25.In
stating that planets may exist that are similar enough to Earth to make them
suitable for supporting life, the author implicitly rules out planets
dissimilar to Earth as likely to support life. The assumption underlying the
statement is that life on another planet is likely to require conditions
similar to those on Earth. Therefore, (4) is the correct answer. (1)
is not correct. The statement presupposes nothing about the appearance of
extraterrestrial life. (2) is incorrect. The statement implies that it is
relatively unlikely that life exists on other planets in our solar system,
but it makes no presupposition absolutely ruling out the possibility that
such life exists. The answer choice of (3) is incorrect. Although the
statement suggests that there is the greatest chance for life when physical
conditions are appropriate, it leaves open the possibility that no life will
exist even with appropriate conditions.
26.Ans. (1) The use of the word
“circumstances” makes this the best choice.
27.Ans. (4). A and B do not differentiate between
mental and physical inertias. C doesn’t describe or exemplify the type of
‘events’. Hence D is correct sentence.
28.Ans. (2) It is the best worded of
all.
29.Ans. (2). B is short, simple and precise.
30.Ans. (2).
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