GMAT 2 (CR)

Largemouth bass are usually found living in shallow waters near the lake banks wherever minnows are found. There are no largemouth bass living on this side of the lake.
Which of the following would critically complete an argument with the preceding premises given?
I. Therefore, there are no minnows on this side of the lake.
II. Therefore, there are probably no minnows on this side of the lake.
III. Therefore, there will never be any minnows on this side of the lake.

It is sometimes argued that we are reaching the limits of the earths capacity to supply our energy needs with fossil fuels. In the past ten years, however, as a result of techno critical progress making it possible to extract resources from even marginal wells and mines, yields from oil and coal fields have increased tremendously. There is no reason to believe that there is a limit to the earths capacity to supply our energy needs.
Which of the following statements most directly contradicts the conclusion drawn above?

Some sociologists believe that religious sects such as the California-based Waiters, who believe the end of the world is imminent and seek to purify their souls by, among other things, abstaining completely from sexual relations, are a product of growing disaffection with modern, industrialized and urbanized living. As evidence, they cite the fact that there are no other active organizations of the same type which are more than 50 or 60 years old. The evidence, however, fails to support the conclusion for __________.

Which of the following is the most critical completion of the passage?

In recent years, unions have begun to include in their demands at the collective bargaining table requests for contract provisions which give labor an active voice in determining the goals of a corporation. Although it cannot be denied that labor leaders are highly skilled administrators, it must be recognized that their primary loyalty is and must remain to their membership, not to the corporation. Thus, labor participation in corporate management decisions makes about as much sense as __________.
Which of the following represents the best continuation of the passage?

In recent years, unions have begun to include in their demands at the collective bargaining table requests for contract provisions which give labor an active voice in determining the goals of a corporation. Although it cannot be denied that labor leaders are highly skilled administrators, it must be recognized that their primary loyalty is and must remain to their membership, not to the corporation. Thus, labor participation in corporate management decisions makes little sense.
The author's reasoning leads to the further conclusion that

We must do something about the rising cost of our state prisons. It now costs an average of $132 per day to maintain a prisoner in a double-occupancy cell in a state prison. Yet, in the most expensive cities in the world, one can find rooms in the finest hotels which rent for less than $125 per night.
The argument above might be criticized in all of the following ways EXCEPT that

An independent medical research team recently did a survey at a mountain retreat founded to help heavy smokers or cut down on their cigarette smoking. Eight percent of those persons smoking three packs a day or more were able to cut down to one pack a day after they began to try End-Smoke with its patented desire suppressant. Try End-Smoke to help you cut down significantly on your smoking.
Which of the following could be offered as valid criticism of the above advertisement?

I. Heavy smokers may be physically as well as psychologically critically addicted to tobacco.II. A medicine that is effective for very heavy smokers may not be effective for the population of smokers generally.
III. A survey conducted at a mountain retreat to aid smokers may yield different results than one would expect under other circumstance.

When we reflect on the structure of moral decisions, we come across cases in which we seem to be subject to mutually exclusive moral demands. But the conflict is just that, a seeming one. We must be careful to distinguish two levels of moral thinking: The prima facie and the critical. A prima facie moral principle is analogous to a workaday tool, say a(n)(6). It is versatile, that is, useful in many situations, and at your fingertips, while, no special skill is needed to use it. Unfortunately, the value of a prima facie principle derives from its non-specific language, which means that in some situations it will turn out to be an oversimplification. For example, two fairly straightforward moral rules such as keep all promises and assist others in dire need, which work well enough in most cases, seem to clash in the following scenario: I have promised a-friend I will run a very important errand on his behalf (and he is relying on me); but while en route I happen across a person in need of emergency medical assistance, which I can provide, but only at the cost of leaving my original purpose unaccomplished. The appearance of conflict arises from the choice of tools used in analyzing the situation the two prima facie rules do not cut finely enough. What is wanted, therefore, is a more refined analysis which will be applicable to the specific situation. At this, the second level of moral thinking, critical moral thinking employs a finer system of categories so that the end result is__(7)__.

When we reflect on the structure of moral decisions, we come across cases in which we seem to be subject to mutually exclusive moral demands. But the conflict is just that, a seeming one. We must be careful to distinguish two levels of moral thinking: The prima facie and the critical. A prima facie moral principle is analogous to a workaday tool, say a(n)(6). It is versatile, that is, useful in many situations, and at your fingertips, while, no special skill is needed to use it. Unfortunately, the value of a prima facie principle derives from its non-specific language, which means that in some situations it will turn out to be an oversimplification. For example, two fairly straightforward moral rules such as keep all promises and assist others in dire need, which work well enough in most cases, seem to clash in the following scenario: I have promised a-friend I will run a very important errand on his behalf (and he is relying on me); but while en route I happen across a person in need of emergency medical assistance, which I can provide, but only at the cost of leaving my original purpose unaccomplished. The appearance of conflict arises from the choice of tools used in analyzing the situation the two prima facie rules do not cut finely enough. What is wanted, therefore, is a more refined analysis which will be applicable to the specific situation. At this, the second level of moral thinking, critical moral thinking employs a finer system of categories so that the end result is__(7)__.

I often hear smokers insisting that they have a right to smoke whenever and wherever they choose, as though there are no conceivable circumstances in which the law might not legitimately prohibit smoking. This contention is obviously indefensible. Implicit in the development of the concept of a right is the notion that one person's freedom of action is circumscribed by the____(10). It requires nothing more than common sense to realize that there are situations in which smoking presents a clear and present danger: in a crowded theater, around flammable materials, during take-off in an airplane. No one would seriously deny that the potential harm of smoking in such circumstances more than outweighs the satisfaction a smoker would derive from smoking. Yet, this balancing is not unique to situations of potential catastrophe. It allies equally as well to situations where the potential injury is small, though in most cases, as for example a person's table manners, the injury of the offended person is so slight we automatically strike the balance in favor of the person acting. But once it is recognized that a balance of freedoms must be struck, it follows that a smoker has a right to smoke only when and where(11)____.

I often hear smokers insisting that they have a right to smoke whenever and wherever they choose, as though there are no conceivable circumstances in which the law might not legitimately prohibit smoking. This contention is obviously indefensible. Implicit in the development of the concept of a right is the notion that one person's freedom of action is circumscribed by the____(10). It requires nothing more than common sense to realize that there are situations in which smoking presents a clear and present danger: in a crowded theater, around flammable materials, during take-off in an airplane. No one would seriously deny that the potential harm of smoking in such circumstances more than outweighs the satisfaction a smoker would derive from smoking. Yet, this balancing is not unique to situations of potential catastrophe. It allies equally as well to situations where the potential injury is small, though in most cases, as for example a person's table manners, the injury of the offended person is so slight we automatically strike the balance in favor of the person acting. But once it is recognized that a balance of freedoms must be struck, it follows that a smoker has a right to smoke only when and where(11)____.

I often hear smokers insisting that they have a right to smoke whenever and wherever they choose, as though there are no conceivable circumstances in which the law might not legitimately prohibit smoking. This contention is obviously indefensible. Implicit in the development of the concept of a right is the notion that one person's freedom of action is circumscribed by the________. It requires nothing more than common sense to realize that there are situations in which smoking presents a clear and present danger: in a crowded theater, around flammable materials, during take-off in an airplane. No one would seriously deny that the potential harm of smoking in such circumstances more than outweighs the satisfaction a smoker would derive from smoking. Yet, this balancing is not unique to situations of potential catastrophe. It allies equally as well to situations where the potential injury is small, though in most cases, as for example a person's table manners, the injury of the offended person is so slight we automatically strike the balance in favor of the person acting. But once it is recognized that a balance of freedoms must be struck, it follows that a smoker has a right to smoke only when and where________.

The author's strategy in questioning the claim that smokers have a right to smoke is to

Land Management Specialist:
Building the Glenn Canyon dam on the Colorado river caused unforeseen environmental effects. One of these is that, by preventing annual floods, the dam prevents the river from stirring up sediments collected on the river bottom and depositing them high on the banks of the river. The deposited sediments are needed to create and maintain sandbars, which form natural habitats for native fish. By releasing water from the dam annually, we will flood the river and thus recreate the sandbars normally found below the dam.
Which of the following must be true if the prediction of the land management specialist above is also to prove true?

Choose the best completion of the following paragraph.
Parochial education serves the dual functions of education and religious instruction, and church leaders are justifiably concerned to impart important religious values regarding relationships between the sexes. Thus, when the administrators of a parochial school system segregate boys and girls in separate institutions, they believe they are helping to keep the children pure by removing them from a source of temptation. If the administrators realized, however, that children would be more likely to develop the very attitudes they seek to engender in the company of the opposite sex, they would __________.

Every element on the periodic chart is radioactive, though the more stable elements have half-lives which are thousands and thousands of years long. When an atom decays, it splits into two or more smaller atoms. Even considering the fusion taking place inside of stars, there is only a negligible tendency for smaller atoms to transmute into larger ones. Thus, the ratio of lighter to heavier atoms in the universe is increasing at a measurable rate.
Which of the following sentences provides the most critical continuation of this paragraph?