The geese that gather at the pond of a large corporation create a hazard for executives wh

teel. Although the steel thus produced earns more foreign exchange than it costs, that policy is foolish. Country Y s own territory has vast deposits of iron ore, which can be mined with minimal expenditure of foreign exchange. Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest support for Country Y s policy of buying scrap iron abroad?

A．The price of scrap iron international markets rose significantly in 1987.

B．Country Y"s foreign-exchange reserves dropped significantly in 1987.

C．There is virtually no difference in quality between steel produced from scrap iron and that produced from iron ore.

D．Scrap iron is now used in the production of roughly half the steel used in the world today, and experts predict that scrap iron will be used even more extensively in the future.

E．Furnaces that process scrap iron can be built and operated in Country Y with substantially less foreign exchange than can furnaces that process iron ore.

of Town S are better informed about major world events than are the citizens of Town T. Each of the following, if true, weakens the conclusion above EXCEPT:

A．Town S has a larger population than Town T.

B．Most citizens of Town T work in Town S and buy their newspapers there.

C．The average citizen of Town S spends less time reading newspapers than does the average citizen of Town T.

D．A weekly newspaper restricted to the coverage of local events is published in Town S.

E．The average newsstand price of newspapers sold in Town S is lower than the average price of newspapers sold in Town T.

ersonality. A new study, however, has shown that there is more similarity in personality between identical twins raised together than between non-identical twins raised together. The study concluded that genetics, therefore, does play an important role in determining personality. Which of the following, if found to be true, would cast the most doubt on the studys conclusion?

A．Identical twins raised separately in different adoptive families are usually more similar in personality than are nonidentical twins raised separately in different adoptive families.

B．No matter how twins behave, parents treat identical twins in ways that tend to elicit similar personality traits but do not treat nonidentical twins in such ways.

C．Parents of both identical and nonidentical twins have long claimed that their children, from early infanthood, had definite and well-established personality traits.

D．Birth parents and their identical twin children tend to become more similar to each other in personality over time, but adoptive parents and their identical twin children do not.

E．Neither identical nor nonidentical twins are likely to display drastic changes in their individual personalities as they grow up.

s toward children always signifies acceptance and a second set always signifies rejection, for there is remarkable agreement among investigators about the maternal behaviors designated as indicative of these parental attitudes. The conclusion of the psychologists mentioned above logically depends on the assumption that

A．most maternal behaviors have been interpreted as conveying either acceptance or rejection.

B．the maternal behaviors indicating acceptance or rejection are exhibited by fathers as well.

C．the behaviors of fathers toward children have been studied as carefully as have the behaviors of mothers.

D．acceptance and rejection are the easiest to recognize of all parental behaviors.

E．parental attitudes are best conveyed through behaviors that the parents have consciously agreed on.

ence in criminal trials if the judge and jury can be persuaded that the arresting officer was not aware of violating or did not intend to violate the law while seizing the evidence. This proposed "good-faith exception" would weaken everyones constitutional protection, lead to less careful police practices, and promote lying by law enforcement officers in court. The argument above for maintaining the prohibition against illegally obtained evidence assumes that

A．defendants in criminal cases should enjoy greater protection from the law than other citizens do.

B．law enforcement authorities need to be encouraged to pursue criminals assiduously.

C．the legal system will usually find ways to ensure that real crimes do not go unprosecuted.

D．the prohibition now deters some unlawful searches and seizures.

E．courts should consider the motives of law enforcement officers in deciding whether evidence brought forward by the officers is admissible in a trial.

derate climates. Frost rings do not appear in any of the fossilized deciduous trees that have been found in Antarctica. Hence, it is unlikely that such frosts occurred in Antarctica at the time the fossilized trees lived. Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A．There are fossilized nondeciduous trees from Antarctica that bear frost rings.

B．Deciduous trees are more likely to bear frost rings than are other tree varieties.

C．The process of fossilization does not completely obscure frost rings in deciduous trees.

D．Present-day deciduous trees are more sensitive to changes in temperature than were the deciduous trees of ancient Antarctica.

E．Prolonged and unseasonable frosts that might have occurred in Antarctica when the now-fossilized trees were still living did not always produce frost rings in deciduous trees.

tudents were then given a two-day training course in archery technique. The students were tested again and showed a 30 percent increase in accuracy. This result proves that the course was effective in increasing peoples target-shooting accuracy. Which of the following, if true, gives the strongest support to the argument above?

A．The students were all excellent athletes, and excellent athletes tend to be good at target shooting.

B．The first testing session functioned as a practice session for the second testing session.

C．The accuracy with which people can shoot arrows is strongly related to the sharpness of their vision.

D．A similar group of students who were also tested on archery target shooting but were not given the course did not show an increase in accuracy.

E．Excellence in archery target shooting is an accomplishment achieved by relatively few of the people who take up the sport.

ucks rugged appearance. Yet although, these trucks are tough-looking, they are exempt from the governments car-safety standards that dictate minimum roof strength and minimum resistance to impact. Therefore, if involved in a serious high-impact accident , a driver of one of these trucks is more likely to be injured than is a driver of a car that is subject to these government standards. The argument depends on the assumption that

A．the government has established safety standards for the construction of light utility trucks.

B．people who buy automobiles solely for their appearance are more likely than other people to drive recklessly.

C．light utility trucks are more likely than other kinds of vehicles to be involved in accidents that result in injuries.

D．the trucks" rugged appearance is deceptive in that their engines are not especially powerful.

E．light utility trucks are less likely to meet the car-safety standards than are cars that are subject to the standards.

d by blood clots. But a recent report concludes that people with low blood cholesterol levels are at increased risk of the other lethal type of stroke-cerebral hemorrhage, caused when a brain artery bursts. The report suggests that because blood cholesterol plays a vital role in maintaining cell membranes, low blood cholesterol weakens artery walls, making them prone to rupture. The conclusion thus supports a long-standing contention by Japanese researchers that Western diets better protect against cerebral hemorrhage than do non-Western diets. The argument is based on which one of the following assumptions?

A．Western diets are healthier than non-Western diets.

B．Western diets result in higher blood cholesterol levels than do non-Western diets.

C．High blood cholesterol levels preclude the weakening of artery walls.

D．Cerebral hemorrhages are more dangerous than strokes caused by blood clots.

E．People who have low blood pressure are at increased risk of cerebral hemorrhage.

of powerful foreign companies. Principle: In order for a change to be explained by the advantage some person or group gained from it, it must be shown how the interests of the person or group played a role in bringing about the change. Which one of the following, if true, can most logically serve as a premise for an argument that uses the principle to counter the claim?

A．Foreign companies did benefit when Country X lowered tariff barriers, but consumers in Country X benefited just as much.

B．In the period since tariff barriers were lowered, price competition among importers has severely limited importers" profits from selling foreign companies" products in Country X.

C．It was impossible to predict how Country X"s economic reforms, which included lowering tariff barriers, would affect the economy in the short term.

D．Many of the foreign companies that benefited from Country X" s lowering tariff barriers compete fiercely among themselves both in Country X and in other markets.

E．Although foreign companies benefited when Country X lowered tariff barriers, there is no other evidence that these foreign companies induced the change.