1. It seems that Americans are smarter than they were 50 years ago. Many more Americans are attending college now than in the past, and the typical entry-level job in business now requires a college degree.

Which of the following statements, if true, would most seriously weaken the argument in the preceding paragraph?

(A) High school courses are more rigorous now than they were in the past.
(B) Tuition at colleges and universities has more than tripled in the past 25 years.
(C) High school class sizes have gotten smaller, and computers have introduced a more individualized curriculum.
(D) Businesses are not requiring as high a level of writing or math skills as they did in past decades.
(E) Many of the skills and concepts taught in high school 50 years ago are now taught in college.

Questions 2 and 3 are based on the following argument.

     Rachel: The legal drinking age in America should remain at 21, because teens have not yet reached an age where they are able to consume alcohol responsibly. Additionally, the actions of 18-year-olds are more likely to be imitated by teens aged 15 to 17 than are the actions of those who are significantly older, so lowering the drinking age to 18 would also result in increased alcohol consumption by younger teens trying to emulate the actions of their older peers.
    Mackenzie: The drinking age in America should be lowered to 18, because keeping it at 21 has not only failed to curb teen drinking but has encouraged those teens who do drink to do so in private, uncontrolled environments where they are more prone to life-endangering behavior. Many youths in European countries drink from an early age, and those countries have substantially fewer alcohol-related problems than we do in America.

2. Which of the following, if true, would most significantly weaken Mackenzie’s argument?

(A) The idea that Europeans and other nations with low or no minimum drinking ages do not have alcohol-related problems is a myth.
(B) If Americans are allowed to give their lives for this country at age 18, then they should be considered old enough to make the proper decision as to what to put in their bodies.
(C) More American high school students drink now than they did decades ago, when the drinking age was lower.
(D) In European culture, youths are taught at an early age that it is acceptable to either abstain from alcohol entirely or drink in moderation and that it is never acceptable for them to abuse alcohol, regardless of their age.
(E) European youths are just as likely as American youths to drink in private, uncontrolled environments.

3. Rachel’s argument is based on which of the following assumptions?

(A) Those who have reached the age of 21 are able to consume alcohol more responsibly than those who are 18.
(B) When European teenagers consume alcohol, they do so in public, controlled environments.
(C) Teens who are 15 to 17 years old are more impressionable than those who are aged 18 or older.
(D) The impressionability of one’s actions on others should not be a consideration when deciding the legal age to consume alcohol.
(E) Consuming alcohol in private, uncontrolled environments is not more dangerous than consuming alcohol in more public environments, such as bars or restaurants.

4. A recent census of all American females revealed that the current average age that females in America marry is 27. The average age that females have their first child is also 27. According to a census taken 20 years ago, the average ages that females married and had their first child were 23 and 25 years, respectively.

If the information recorded in the two censuses is true, which of the following must also be true about American females?

(A) Currently, more females are having their first child before they marry than they did 20 years ago.
(B) On average, females are currently waiting longer to have their first child than they did 20 years ago.
(C) Females today are more likely to complete their education before getting married and having children than they were 20 years ago.
(D) On average, females had larger families 20 years ago than they have today.
(E) Twenty years ago, most females waited at least two years after they were married to have their first child.

5. Continuous technological advances are critical to many types of business, because they allow machines to do the work previously done by humans — and they don’t have to be compensated. Banking executives are always looking for ways to cut costs, so they support a heavy emphasis on automated technology in the workplace. Yet what customers look for most in their banks is to be recognized by their teller and feel a sense of familiarity and friendliness upon entering, so the reliance of banks on machines should be minimized, rather than exacerbated.

Which of the following best outlines the main idea of the argument?

(A) Banks should reduce their dependence on technology.
(B) Bank patrons desire personal attention.
(C) Machines can work faster than humans.
(D) Bank executives are a greedy bunch.
(E) Bank automation is inevitable.

6. A school board candidate has indicated that cheating through the use of cellphones in the classroom is on the rise this year and has proposed a ban on cellphones in schools altogether. School officials cite only a marginal increase in the number of students who cheat this year in comparison to the last two years, so this is just a ploy to make voters think a quality education is a top priority.

Which of the following, if true, best strengthens the conclusion of the preceding argument?

(A) The school board candidate has continuously voted down proposals to increase the budget for area schools.
(B) The school board candidate has continuously voted in favor of budget increases for area schools.
(C) This year, schools in the district have smaller class sizes and better student/teacher ratios than they have had in past years.
(D) The ratio of teachers to number of students has decreased significantly over the past several years because of a growth in number of students district-wide without a concomitant rise in the number of teachers to accommodate the increase.
(E) The school board candidate has a daughter who attends a school in the district, and the candidate does not want the daughter to own a cellphone.

7. Springfield is the first city to ban fast-food advertisements marketed specifically toward children. Although eating fast food has been linked to weight gain, banning these advertisements will do little to curb childhood obesity, and it should be the job of the parent, not the government, to tell children what to eat.

The argument would be most weakened if which of the following were true?

(A) Families are increasingly relying on the fast-food industry for financial reasons and will continue to frequent these establishments on their own terms, regardless of their children’s preferences.
(B) Studies indicate that, generally speaking, adults tend to be more influenced by advertising than children.
(C) If children learn that adults are trying to limit their fast-food intake, they will want to consume fast food even more.
(D) Those opposed to fast-food marketing geared toward children are welcome to buy airtime for their cause, too.
(E) Watching an advertisement has been shown to increase one’s desires for a product, particularly when the product is a food item.

8. Patients who feel they have a good relationship with their doctors generally show more improvement in their health than those who lack a connection with their doctors. Patients who like their doctors show improved emotional well-being, are less anxious about their symptoms, and are more likely to follow doctors’ advice.

Which one of the following, if true, would provide the most support for the argument?

(A) Patients are more likely to take legal action against a doctor for malpractice if they believe
that the doctor failed to establish a connection with them during their office visits.
(B) Recently, medical schools and health insurers have taken measures to improve doctorpatient communication.
(C) Doctors who work in stressful environments are much less likely to take the time to connect with patients than doctors in more relaxed settings.
(D) The average physician spends about 15 minutes with each patient during routine office visits.
(E) A large number of studies have confirmed that the more anxious patients are, the more protracted their recovery from a medical condition is.

9. The legislature is considering a law banning the use of cellphones by people who are driving a moving car. Drivers texting and talking while driving are distracted by their phone conversations and can’t give their full attention to driving their vehicles. Banning the use of cellphones by drivers will make the roads safer.

The argument depends on assuming which one of the following?

(A) A study by a sociologist has shown that the use of cellphones is occasionally a contributing factor in traffic accidents.
(B) The proper role of the legislature is to enact laws that protect the safety of drivers and passengers in automobiles.
(C) Drivers who hold their cellphones in their hands are more distracted than drivers who use a hands-free headset or speakerphone while driving.
(D) Because drivers talking and texting on cellphones are distracted, they are more prone to getting into accidents.
(E) Many drivers engage in behavior that distracts them from their driving, such as eating, adjusting the radio, reading maps, and talking on cellphones.

10. Many Americans do not take all the vacation time to which they are entitled. There are several reasons for this: They feel that they are indispensable at work, they fear the resentment of co-workers, or they dread discovering that their workplaces can actually function perfectly well without them. This is a mistake; vacation time gives workers a chance to rest, recover, and gain perspective that in turn can lead to more creativity and better performance at work.

The claim that many Americans don’t take all the vacation time to which they are entitled plays which one of the following roles in the argument?

(A) It is a recommendation of a policy that the American workplace should implement.
(B) It is evidence of the author’s claim that vacation time gives workers a chance to rest.
(C) It is the conclusion of the argument.
(D) It is a statement of a principle that the author wishes all people would observe.
(E) It is a statement of fact about which the author expresses an opinion.

11. A large Southern state university has changed its teaching practices. Formerly, instructors without PhDs taught most introductory courses; now professors with PhDs will teach all introductory classes. That means the average class size will increase from 44 students per class to 600 per class, but overall the students’ learning experience should improve.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by this argument?

(A) Requiring professors with PhDs to teach all introductory classes will mean that the university must hire more faculty with doctorates.
(B) Students tend to participate in smaller classes more than they do in large lectures, even when the lectures are supplemented by weekly discussion sections.
(C) Major private universities already have implemented a format in which professors with PhDs teach all introductory classes as large lectures.
(D) A class taught by a PhD, even in a lecture format with hundreds of students, is a better learning environment than a smaller class taught by an instructor without a PhD.
(E) Services that rank colleges and universities usually consider the percentage of classes taught by PhDs when computing rank.