Analyzing Arguments – Page 2 of 4

11. There are no effective boundaries when it comes to pollutants. Studies have shown that toxic insecticides that have been banned in many countries are riding the wind from countries where they remain legal. Compounds such as DDT and toxaphene have been found in remote places like the Yukon and other Arctic regions.
This paragraph best supports the statement that

toxic insecticides such as DDT have not been banned throughout the world.
more pollutants find their way into polar climates than they do into warmer areas.
studies have proven that many countries have ignored their own antipollution laws.
DDT and toxaphene are the two most toxic insecticides in the world.
even a worldwide ban on toxic insecticides would not stop the spread of DDT pollution.

Option “A” is correct.
The support for this choice is in the second sentence, which states that in some countries, toxic insecticides are still legal. Choice b is incorrect because even though polar regions are mentioned in the paragraph, there is no support for the idea that warmer regions are not just as affected. There is no support for choice c. Choice d can be ruled out because there is nothing to indicate that DDT and toxaphene are the most toxic. Choice e is illogical.

12. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures. No search of a person’s home or personal effects may be conducted without a written search warrant issued on probable cause. This means that a neutral judge must approve the factual basis justifying a search before it can be conducted.
This paragraph best supports the statement that the police cannot search a person’s home or private papers unless they have

legal authorization.
direct evidence of a crime.
read the person his or her constitutional rights.
a reasonable belief that a crime has occurred.
requested that a judge be present.

Option “A” is correct.
The second and third sentence combine to give support to choice a. The statement stresses that there must be a judge’s approval (i.e., legal authorization) before a search can be conducted. Choices b and d are wrong because it is not enough for the police to have direct evidence or a reasonable belief—a judge must authorize the search for it to be legal. Choices c and e are not mentioned in the passage.

13. Obesity is a serious problem in this country. Research suggests that obesity can lead to a number of health problems including diabetes, asthma, and heart disease. Recent research has even indicated that there may be a relationship between obesity and some types of cancer. Major public health campaigns that increase awareness and propose simple lifestyle changes that will, with diligence and desire, eliminate or least mitigate the incidence of obesity are a crucial first step in battling this critical problem.
This paragraph best supports the statement that

public health campaigns that raise consciousness and propose lifestyle changes are a productive way to fight obesity.
obesity is the leading cause of diabetes in our country.
people in our country watch too much television and do not exercise enough.
a decline in obesity would radically decrease the incidence of asthma.
fast-food restaurants and unhealthy school lunches contribute greatly to obesity.

Option “A” is correct.
The support for this choice is in the last sentence, which states that major public health campaigns that increase awareness and propose lifestyle changes are important in our fight against obesity. Choice b can be ruled out because although the paragraph states that obesity can lead to diabetes, it doesn’t tell us that it is the leading cause of this disease. Choices c and e might sound reasonable and true, but they are not supported in the paragraph. And although we are told that obesity has been connected to asthma, this fact is not quantified in any way, so choice d is also not supported by the information given.

14. Critical reading is a demanding process. To read critically, you must slow down your reading and, with pencil in hand, perform specific operations on the text. Mark up the text with your reactions, conclusions, and questions. When you read, become an active participant.
This paragraph best supports the statement that

critical reading is a slow, dull, but essential process.
the best critical reading happens at critical times in a person’s life.
readers should get in the habit of questioning the truth of what they read.
critical reading requires thoughtful and careful attention.
critical reading should take place at the same time each day.

Option “D” is correct.
This answer is implied by the whole paragraph. The author stresses the need to read critically by performing thoughtful and careful operations on the text. Choice a is incorrect because the author never says that reading is dull. Choices b, c, and e are not supported by the paragraph.

15. Walk into any supermarket or pharmacy and you will find several shelves of products designed to protect adults and children from the sun. Additionally, a host of public health campaigns have been created, including National Skin Cancer Awareness Month, that warn us about the sun’s damaging UV rays and provide guidelines about protecting ourselves. While warnings about the sun’s dangers are frequent, a recent survey found that fewer than half of all adults adequately protect themselves from the sun.
This paragraph best supports the statement that

children are better protected from the sun’s dangerous rays than adults
sales of sun protection products are at an all-time high.
adults are not heeding the warnings about the dangers of sun exposure seriously enough.
more adults have skin cancer now than ever before.
there is not enough information disseminated about the dangers of sun exposure.

Option “C” is correct.
The last sentence gives direct support for this response. Although children might be better protected from the sun than adults, the paragraph does not specifically cite statistics about children, so we can’t know for sure, ruling out choice a. There is no evidence provided in the paragraph to support choices b and d. Choice e is incorrect since the last sentence tells us that warnings about the sun’s dangers are frequent.

16. The image of a knitter as an older woman sitting in a comfortable, old-fashioned living room with a basket of yarn at her feet and a bun in her hair is one of the past. As knitting continues to become more popular and increasingly trendy, it is much more difficult to describe the average knitter. Knitters today might be 18, 28, 40, or 65. They might live in a big urban center and take classes in a knitting shop that doubles as a café or they may gather in suburban coffee shops to support one another in knitting and other aspects of life. They could be college roommates knitting in their dorm room or two senior citizens knitting in a church hall. Even men are getting in the act. It would be incredibly difficult to come up with an accurate profile of a contemporary knitter to replace that image of the old woman with the basket of yarn!
This paragraph best supports the statement that

people are returning to knitting in an attempt to reconnect with simpler times.
knitting is now more of a group activity, as opposed to an individual hobby.
creating an accurate profile of a particular type of person depends on the people in this group having traits and characteristics in common.
today’s knitters are much less accomplished than knitters of the past.
young people are turning to knitting in record numbers.

Option “C” is correct.
The statement that it is difficult to create an accurate profile of a contemporary knitter comes immediately after a discussion about how different today’s knitters are from one another and from knitters of the past. Choices a and d are not supported by the paragraph. Although the paragraph does discuss knitting done in group settings, it does not specifically say that more of today’s knitting is done in groups; therefore, choice b is incorrect. Young people may be turning to knitting in record numbers, but again, that statement is not verified by the information provided in the paragraph, so choice e must be ruled out as well.

17.Close-up images of Mars by the Mariner 9 probe indicated networks of valleys that looked like the stream beds on Earth. These images also implied that Mars once had an atmosphere that was thick enough to trap the sun’s heat. If this were true, something happened to Mars billions of years ago that stripped away the planet’s atmosphere.
This paragraph best supports the statement that

Mars now has little or no atmosphere.
Mars once had a thicker atmosphere than Earth does.
the Mariner 9 probe took the first pictures of Mars.
Mars is closer to the sun than Earth is.
Mars is more mountainous than Earth is.

Option “A” is correct.
The paragraph states that Mars once had a thick atmosphere, but that it was stripped away. The other choices, true or not, cannot be found in the passage.

18. Originating in the 1920s, the Pyramid scheme is one of the oldest con games going. Honest people are often pulled in, thinking the scheme is a legitimate investment enterprise. The first customer to “fall for” the Pyramid scheme will actually make big money and will therefore persuade friends and relatives to join also. The chain then continues with the con artist who originated the scheme pocketing, rather than investing, the money. Finally, the pyramid collapses, but by that time, the scam artist will usually have moved out of town, leaving no forwarding address.
This paragraph best supports the statement that

it is fairly easy to spot a Pyramid scheme in the making.
he first customer of a Pyramid scheme is the most gullible.
the people who set up Pyramid schemes are able to fool honest people.
the Pyramid scheme had its heyday in the 1920s, but it’s making a comeback.
the Pyramid scheme got its name from its structure.

Option “C” is correct.
The fact that the Pyramid scheme is set up by a con artist suggests that the honest people who invest have been fooled. Choices a and b are contradicted in the passage. The paragraph says that the Pyramid scheme originated in the 1920s, but does not say it had its heyday then; thus, choice d is incorrect. Choice e is a fact, but it is not mentioned in the passage.

19. The image of a knitter as an older woman sitting in a comfortable, old-fashioned living room with a basket of yarn at her feet and a bun in her hair is one of the past. As knitting continues to become more popular and increasingly trendy, it is much more difficult to describe the average knitter. Knitters today might be 18, 28, 40, or 65. They might live in a big urban center and take classes in a knit- ting shop that doubles as a café or they may gather in suburban coffee shops to support one another in knitting and other aspects of life. They could be college roommates knitting in their dorm room or two senior citizens knitting in a church hall. Even men are getting in the act. It would be incredibly difficult to come up with an accurate profile of a contemporary knitter to replace that image of the old woman with the basket of yarn!
This paragraph best supports the statement that

people are returning to knitting in an attempt to reconnect with simpler times.
knitting is now more of a group activity, as opposed to an individual hobby.
creating an accurate profile of a particular type of person depends on the people in this group having traits and characteristics in common.
today’s knitters are much less accomplished than knitters of the past.
young people are turning to knitting in record numbers.

20. Which of the following is similar to the argument made by the speaker?

The rich should not be allowed to “buy” politicians, so the Congress should enact campaign finance reform.
The idea of freedom of religion also means the right not to participate in religion, so mandated school prayer violates freedom of religion.
The Constitution guarantees freedom to own property, so taxes should be illegal.
Convicted felons should not have their convictions overturned on a technicality.
In order to understand what may be constitutional today, one needs to look at what the laws were when the Constitution was enacted.

Option “B” is correct.
This is the best choice because it relates to a situation where a proposed law would actually violate the part of the Constitution it is intended to protect.

Pages: 1 2 3 4