Critical Six

CRITICAL REASONING : SIX
Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages. You are to
choose the best answer; that is, the response that most accurately and completely answers the question. You should not make
assumptions that are by commonsense standards implausible, superfluous, or incompatible with the passage. After you have
chosen the best answer, write it in the corresponding space on your answer sheet.
Questions 1-2 : If the artificial is not better than the natural, to what end are all the arts of life? To dig, to plow, to build, to wear
clothes—all are direct violations of the injunction to follow nature.
1. Which one of the following is an assumption made by the author of the passage?
(A) The arts of life have no useful end.
(B) The artificial is not better than the natural.
(C) Digging, plowing, building, and wearing clothes are better than nature.
(D) The injunction to follow nature should not be violated.
(E) The arts of life are indirect means of following nature.
2. If the author’s argument were challenged on the grounds that the construction of buildings has adverse effects
on the natural environment, which of the following replies might the author use to respond to the challenge
logically?
(A) There are human activities, such as making music, that are environmentally harmless.
(B) Harming the environment is not an end, or purpose, of the arts of life.
(C) The construction could involve the use of natural, not artificial, materials.
(D) Constructing buildings is not an “art of life.”
(E) Even if the natural environment is disturbed by the construction of buildings, it is improved for human use.
3. There are at least three people in the room. At most two people in the room recognize each other. At least one person in
the room recognizes everybody else in the room.
Which one of the following is NOT consistent with the above?
(A) Four people are in the room.
(B) No two people in the room recognize each other.
(C) At most one person in the room recognizes everybody else in the room.
(D) Anyone in the room who recognizes any other person in the room is also recognized by that person.
(E) Two people in the room recognize every one else in the room.
4. Abolish taxes, and real taxpayers would find that their disposable incomes have increased. Abolish taxes, and public
employees would find that their incomes have disappeared.
Which one of the following is a logical conclusion that depends on information in both of the statements
above?
(A) Public offices should be abolished so that disposable incomes will rise.
(B) The only real taxpayers are those who would have more to spend if they did not pay taxes.
(C) Public employees are not real taxpayers.
(D) Public employees’ incomes should not be taxed since they come from taxes.
(E) If there were no taxes, then public employees could not be paid.
5. A low-pressure weather system is approaching Plainville; rainfall results from about 70 percent of such systems in the
Plainville area. Moreover, the current season, spring, is the time of year in which thundershowers, which sometimes result
from low-pressure systems, are most likely to occur in Plainville.
Knowing which one of the following, in addition to the information above, would be most useful for
determining the probability that Plainville will have a thundershower soon?
(A) the percentage of thundershowers in Plainville that occur in the spring
(B) the percentage of spring rainfalls in Plainville that are thundershowers
(C) the percentage of thundershowers in Plainville that result from low-pressure systems
(D) whether low-pressure systems in other areas are associated with rainfall
(E) whether Plainville has more or fewer thundershowers each spring than do nearby towns
6. It is illogical to infer a second and different effect from a cause which is known only by one particular effect. This is
incorrect because the inferred effect must necessarily be produced by some different characteristic of the cause than is the
observed effect, which already serves entirely to describe the cause.
Which one of the following arguments makes the same logical error as the one described by the author in the passage?
(A) An anonymous donor gave a thousand dollars to our historical society. I would guess that that individual also
volunteers at the children’s hospital.
(B) The radioactive material caused a genetic mutation, which, in turn, caused the birth defect. Therefore, the radioactive
material caused the birth defect.
(C) The tiny, unseen atom is the source of immense power. It must be its highly complex structure that produces this
power.
(D) The city orchestra received more funds from the local government this year than ever before. Clearly this
administration is more civic-minded than previous ones.
(E) If I heat water, which is a liquid, it evaporates. If I heat hundreds of other liquids like water, they evaporate.
Therefore, if I heat any liquid like water, it will evaporate.
7. Just as a bicycle chain may be too tight, so may one’s carefulness and conscientiousness be so tense as to hinder the
running of one’s mind.
Which one of the following most closely parallels the reasoning used in the argument above?
(A) Just as a clock may be wound too tightly, so may one’s time be spent fruitlessly in the pursuit of perfection.
(B) Just as a carousel may spin too quickly, so may one’s rapid concentration on several problems prevent a resolution of
difficulties.
(C) Just as a machine may be oiled too much, so may one’s heavy drinking of alcoholic beverages lead to complete
dissipation.
(D) Just as a raging river may be frozen into stillness during the winter, so may one’s career falter at certain times of the
year.
(E) Just as a boxer may become too tense before a big fight, so may one’s personal concerns stand in the way of
professional success.
8. The usefulness of lie detectors cannot be overestimated. Although there is no employee screening procedure that is 100
percent accurate, the lie detector is a valuable tool for employers and employees alike. The lie detector’s usefulness is
amply demonstrated in a recent survey conducted by a prestigious university. In the survey, those employees of a large
company who were applying for a newly created position within the company were asked if they had ever worked on
Project X. More than one-third of the applicants studied lied and said they had worked on the project—a project that
never existed.
Which one of the following best identifies a flaw in the author’s argument about the usefulness of lie
detectors?
(A) The argument depends on the assumption that whatever is good for the employer is good for the employee.
(B) Since lie detectors are known to be less than 100 percent accurate, the test will tend to help only those with
something to hide.
(C) By referring to a prestigious university, the author is appealing to authority rather than to evidence.
(D) The study shows only that certain individual will lie, not that the lie detector can detect them.
(E) The author fails to address the issue that the use of lie detectors may fail to prevent embezzlement.
ANSWERS :
1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7. 8.
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CRITICAL REASONING : SIX

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