Questions
Though the number of cycle owners in China is increasing by leaps and bounds, yet very few owners make real use of their equipment. For instance, last year more than 100 million bicycles were sold, but not more than 10 million owners cycle down to their workplace at least twice a week or use it for physical exercise at least thrice a week.
Which of the following, if true, tends to cast the most doubt on the assertion that very few Chinese make real use of the bicycles they purchase?
- The Chinese are notorious for exaggerating on surveys about the use of their bicycles.
- The bicyclists who use their bicycles for shopping can use it for other, non-shopping activities, too.
- Bicycle owners often use their bicycles for other activities like shopping, sports etc.
- Most bicycle users own at least one more mode of transportation.
- Studies show that the Chinese bicyclists are less likely to use bicycles in future, if they have been involved in a road accident.
Ever since the liquor sale and use laws have been liberalized, enabling easy sales and consumption by the city people, the crime rate in Dalmatian has significantly come down from 24 crimes per thousand per year to 14 crimes per 1000 per year.
The city council surmises that this is entirely due to the liberal liquor laws and therefore, plans to do away with other liquor restrictions also, so as to achieve its goal of a crime-free city in the next five years.
Which of the following could be a possible flaw in the reasoning employed above?
- Last year, there was a shift in the definition of crime adopted by the city police.
- The city council has failed to take into account the crime rate prevailing in the villages falling under it.
- The rate of serious crimes prevailing in a city is hardly factored into the overall crime rate.
- The city council failed to consider other plausible reasons for the observed decline in the crime rate.
- Similar liquor laws in other states have been entirely unsuccessful.
Serious concern has been expressed by analysts over the declining budget outlays for US defense, especially in view of the continuing threat perception to its security. During the present President's tenure, the budget has showed an increase of 5% each year in contrast with the previous regime, during which the annual rate of budget increase was 9%. Evidently, the slim budgets have played havoc with American plans of re-emerging as a major global military power. With a drop in defense spending, a lot of projects still remain pending.
Which of the following, if true, could seriously weaken the above premises?
- The rate of inflation during the present regime has decreased. At present it is 3% while earlier it was 11%.
- The salaries of defense personnel have stayed almost same over the years.
- The present regime has seen some increase in defense spending every year.
- The present government has introduced several economy measures for the Armed Forces, including a cut in arms requirements.
- Reinforcement of the defense forces' role in American polity is on the top of the agenda for the present government.
To control marine pollution in Chilka Lake, India, the state government had decided 30 years ago to regularly release a certain chemical Vianzone into Gahirmatha where the turtles abound. The marine pollution was controlled considerably ever since the release of the chemical was begun, but the Olive Ridley turtle inhabiting the lake has started reproducing excessively. So much so that now the population of turtles has crossed the manageable mark and it has resulted in overcrowding.
Scientists hypothesize that marine pollution must have been responsible for the lack of enough reproductive capacity among the turtles and the chemical must have been responsible for the increased fertility.
Which of the following, if true, would lend the most support to the scientists' theory?
- The Olive Ridley turtles in other marine locations reproduce at the same rates as they did before.
- The Olive Ridley turtle has experienced an exponential rise in its population in the past 30 years.
- The Olive Ridley turtle is not native to the area and in fact, it was introduced here only 100 years ago.
- The presence of a major marine pollutant called D-Methyl Acromane, earlier at 20 parts per million, has declined to 8 parts per million in Gahirmatha after the introduction of Vianzone.
- The Olive Ridley turtles in other, polluted marine locations in the state still reproduce at the same rate as they did in Gahirmatha before the release of the chemical Vianzone.
There is a sudden increase in the total number of patients registering at hospitals in Salutria. The health authorities claim that this is due to the statewide health awareness campaign that they had conducted.
Which of the following statements most directly contradicts the conclusion drawn above?
- There has been a tremendous influx of new residents to Salutria.
- The hospitals have better healthcare facilities now.
- Residents unable to afford good health care register with state health clinics.
- Older residents make regular visits to state healthcare clinics.
- Basic health queries can now be addressed and remedied electronically.
Diamond, another physical form of carbon, is in much demand globally due to its beauty and rarity, both. It takes millions of years to form under the combined impact of high temperature and pressure deep inside the earth. Therefore, it can be concluded that the continued use of diamond will lead us to a day when there is nothing left of it on the earth and we will have to wait indeed millions of years before we are able to extract it from the earth.
Which of the following would most seriously undermine the argument above?
Diamonds are very time-consuming and expensive to mine.Diamonds started forming at different points of time under the earth and each diamond takes a fixed period of time to get fully formed.Scientists have reported success in creating artificial diamond using very complex chemical processes in the laboratory.Apart from ornamental purposes, diamond is known to find applications in many industrial processes too.
Choose your answer from the following options.
- 2 only
- 1 and 2 only
- 1, 2 and 3
- 2 and 4 only
- None of these
SkyReach mall got a great response when it first opened. However, it now appears that people have lost interest in visiting the malls and it is visible in the visitor count of SkyReach mall too. This has brought a frown on the faces of the mall owners and also has forced the construction companies to stop the construction of new malls until the situation improves.
Which of the following explanations least justifies the above conclusion?
- The builders have been building new malls in the city indiscriminately, which has resulted into oversupply.
- People have more free time available to themselves now than they ever had earlier.
- Some of the malls offer freebies or discounts and are doing pretty well.
- The theme park developed at the outskirts of the city attracts a huge crowd.
- People prefer driving to distant locations for recreation rather than confining themselves to the local places of entertainment.
Eating fruit after dinner increases the chance of contracting diabetes at a younger age. Doctors recommend eating fruit before a meal instead. It has been found that people have a habit of doing the opposite and as a result spend a huge amount of money on treatment. Now that people are being educated about the same, the cost of treatment would drop significantly.
Which of the following reasons would pose a doubt on the conclusion given by the author?
- A drop in the number of patients is erroneously held responsible for a drop in the cost of treatment.
- There is no material difference between fruit taken before or after the main course.
- Taken in moderation, fruit intake does not lead to diabetes.
- Cost of treatment depends upon severity of the ailment.
- Changing a habit can be a difficult task, hence not an effective method for controlling diseases.
A greater amount of health foods and nutritional supplements are sold in Salubria than in Somnosia. From this, researchers conclude that the people of Salubria are more health conscious than are the people of Somnosia.
Which of the following, if true, provides the most support for the above conclusion?
- Salubria has a population much higher than Somnosia has.
- Several residents of Somnosia prefer to shop at the departmental stores of Salubria where the sales transaction gets recorded.
- Due to low overheads, health foods and nutritional supplements are more easily and cheaply available in Somnosia than in Salubria.
- Many people in Salubria buy nutritional supplements as per the prescriptions of physicians.
- Somnosia is a major commercial centre and many people from neighboring areas work and shop there.
The Baltimore Science College, under its prepayment program, allows its students to prepay their future college fees at prevailing rates. The program then pays the fee annually for the student, irrespective of the rates chargeable at that time in future. Intending graduates, who are currently in the first year of their undergraduate degree, ought to participate in this program as a way of decreasing their college-going expenses.
Which of the following, if true, is the most appropriate reason for intending graduates not to participate in the program?
- The undergraduate program students are unsure where they would like to go for their graduate program.
- The money obtained by putting the prepaid funds in an interest-bearing account today will be lesser than the total fee for the Baltimore Science College when they actually enroll for its graduate program.
- The yearly graduate program fee at the college is anticipated to rise at a faster rate than the annual rise in living costs.
- Some other colleges are planning large increases in graduate fees next year.
- The plan would fail to cover the boarding and lodging costs at the college.
This year the total contribution by individuals to educational institutes has increased by 30% over last year. This clearly indicates that a greater number of people are now willing to make donations for the up gradation of educational facilities
Which of the following statements most directly contradicts the conclusion drawn above?
- The disposable individual incomes have gone up substantially this year.
- Educators held a number of seminars this year to increase contributions to universities.
- Contributions from corporations have decreased.
- Fewer people contributed to the education institutes this year than did last year.
- Contributions are made only by those who are aware of current educational needs.
After a survey, BuildStar Construction Company, which owns thirty percent of market share, started adding an elevator to any building having more than three levels. It has been three years since this change was brought and people in the town have reported an increase in the number of cardiac problems. Health experts claim that not using the stairs in daily life is responsible for increasing instances of heart trouble in the city.
Which of the following statement if true would pose a doubt on the conclusion of the health experts?
- BuildStar owns only thirty percent of the market share.
- Other factors like diet, sedentary lifestyles, etc also cause heart related problems.
- Walking up the stairs is just another daily-life activity to keep oneself healthy.
- Discontinuation of a minor workout doesn't result in major ailments.
- Companies usually don't ape the ongoing trends in the market.
In general, patients suffering from depression, upon being given Depsol, a new anti-depressant drug, report a significant enhancement in mood levels. Doctors cite more movie-hall visits, garment purchases and restaurant dine-outs as a proof of the patients' better mood levels.
Which of the following is the best objection to counter the doctors' view?
- The mood enhancement reported by depressed patients is rarely found among seriously ill patients.
- The purchases reported could have led to mood enhancement among the patients studied.
- The same medicine, upon being administered to normal people, produced no significant mood enhancement.
- The patients' observations and reports about their mood level significantly depend on subjective factors.
- More movie-hall visits, garment purchases and restaurant dine-outs are reported by even normal population as a proof of better mood levels.
Ads in the popular media are often misleading about the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the products that are advertised. This results in unsuspecting consumers often purchasing expensive equipment for their homes.
The conclusion above would be most strengthened if which of the following were true?
- Newspaper and journals disclaim any responsibility for the ads they carry.
- Advertisements are an important source of revenue for most media.
- Ads in the popular media provide less accurate information about the products than do the corporate brochures.
- Advertisements are a method of creating awareness among consumers.
- Consumers consider advertisements as a reliable source of information about new products.
Some analysts perceive that the real reason behind the rising oil prices is increased speculation about the future value of oil. Specifically, the belief that oil supply is lower than it is and that future oil supply will be just as low have led the traders to inflate oil prices at present. While most of the data show that the output has been slowing down, it is possible that this speculation could account for some hike in oil prices at present.
Which of the following could best weaken the claims made in the above passage?
- Oil prices are much more a function of global demand and supply than anything else.
- Across the globe, there has been a significant prospecting activity and many oil wells have been discovered in the past five years.
- Several alternative sources of energy like bio-diesel, bio-fuel and CNG have been developed and are becoming more and more popular.
- The rate of growth of oil consumption has slowed down in the past two decades.
- There has been a long drawn campaign in the US by environmentalists against the disadvantages of using oil as a source of energy.