1.All human beings are either optimists or pessimists. Joey is not a pessimist. Therefore, Joey is an optimist.

Which one of the following is assumed by the argument above?

a.Joey is a human being

b.Optimists are never pessimistic about anything.

c.Joey does not believe himself to be a pessimist.

d.Joey does not allow disappointments to upset him.

e.More people are optimists than are pessimists.

2.Although Johnny has broken marriage engagements twice before, we can be sure that he will carry out this plans to marry his fiance, Winona. Just look at his "Winona Forever" tattoo and remember that he never got any tattoos with those other women's names on them. The above argument requires an additional premise to be logically correct. Which one of the following could serve as that premise?

a.A johnny will marry his fiance only if he has her mane on a tattoo.

b.Johnny will tattoo a woman's name on himself only if he will marry her.

c.Tattoos are indelible and one with the name of an ex-girlfriend on it is embarrassing

d.Winona will only marry a man who has her name tattooed on his body.

e.Johnny has never had a tattoo of another woman's name on his body.

3.It is common knowledge that a given word can have various shades of meaning, but how many people are aware that a single word can sometimes be used in completely contradictory ways? For example, the work "cleave" can mean "to adhere" or "to stick together." But just as easily the word "cleave" can mean "to split apart" or "to divide." This proves that words are fundamentally meaningless until they are placed in a sentence. Which one of the following is an assumption necessary to the author's argument?

a.Every sentence is meaningful.

b.Common knowledge is usually wrong.

c.The possession of two contradictory meanings is equivalent to an absence of meaning.

d.The word "cleave" is unique in that it can be used in completely contradictory ways.

e.A word that possesses two shades of meaning is a word that possesses two contradictory meanings.

4.Censorship is poor policy and should be abandoned. Those who promote censorship, and there are more than one might believe, simply refuse to see that it is a far worse state of affairs when people are not free to express themselves than it is when they are free to express themselves. Which one of the following best describes the author's method of argument?

a.It attempts to establish the validity of an argument by denying the truth of the opposite of that argument.

b.It appeals to a false authority.

c.It makes a general conclusion based on one segment of the population.

d.It employs circular reasoning.

e.It draws a conclusion form a whole group form evidence about some members of the group.

5.Olympic swimmers have been shown to have between three and ten percent body fat. If we could all decrease out body fat to that level, we would all swim better. Which one of the following most accurately characterizes the method of reasoning used in the above statement?

a.It bases a conclusion on evident about the argument's source.

b.It illustrates the absurdity of the argument by reaching an illogical conclusion.

c.It uses flawed evidence to support its conclusion.

d.It assumes what it seeks to establish.

e.It assumes a causal relationship is responsible for a correlation.

6.A man cannot lie unwittingly. He is not properly a liar who, while thinking he speaks truly, utters a falsehood. He may be said to be in error, and this perhaps because his will to know has overstepped the boundary of his reason; yet such a man does not lie, for knowledge of the falsity of one's assertions is essential to the act of lying. Thus, when the ancients propounded ridiculous notions concerning the nature of the heavenly bodies, they did not lie, as a proper understanding of celestial phenomena was not within their grasp.

Which one of the following best describes the argument in the passage above?

a.The argument attempts to draw a false conclusion from an inaccurate definition by using an analogy.

b.The argument draws a conclusion about the past from evidence about the present.

c.The argument denies a proposed effect by first denying its proposed cause.

d.The argument uses a specific definition as evidence, and draws a conclusion from the definition.

e.The argument concludes the truth of a general principle from evidence about one instance of the principle.

7.As every mechanic knows, different engine problems can be identified by their effects on car performance. Thus, different brain disorders can be identified by their effects on metal acts, such as counting and sentence formation. Which one of the following most accurately describes a technique used in the author's argument?

a.It cites evidence from a questionable source to support its conclusion

b.It directs the argument at the proponent of a claim rather than at the claim itself.

c.It relies on an analogy to support its conclusion.

d.It relies on circular reasoning to advance the argument.

e.It appeals to an authority

8.Although they were eighteenth century contemporaries, Samuel Johnson and Edward Gibbon possessed starkly contrasting writing styles. Critics would not even consider evaluating the compositions of Mozart, who hewed closely to the conventions of the Classical Period, by the same criteria as those of his contemporary Beethoven, who served as bridge from the classical to the Romantic Period. Thus, one should not judge the works of the two writers by the same standards.

Which of the following best describes the argument in the passage above?

a.The author makes a distinction between the standards for evaluating written and musical composition.

b.The argument provides no evidence other than the personal opinion of the author.

c.The argument points out the contradiction inherent in nineteenth-century musical styles.

d.The author employs analogies as evidence for his conclusion.

e.The author provides anecdotal evidence in order to show that critics have heretofore misinterpreted the styles of Johnson and Gibbon.

9.There is no doubt that situation comedies are escapist nonsense. We can conclude, therefore, that television is detrimental to the education of children. The argument above is most like which one of the following?

a.Music soothes the savage breast; therefore, the arts are beneficial to society's mental health.

b.My brother is an actor; therefore, he is egotistical and does not respond well to others.

c.Drugs are had for people; therefore, taking aspirin is not a wise practice for invalids.

d.Terrorism is on the rise; therefore, people are not very concerned about law and order anymore.

e.Scavengers are highly adaptable; therefore, rats are among the most versatile of animals.

10.No one is both a criminal and a skier. Since Jack is a Skier, he cannot be a murderer. Which one of the following most closely parallels the reasoning expressed in the statement above?

a.All flowers smell sweet. Since garlic does not smell sweet, it is not a flower.

b.No one is both a driver and an athlete. Since John drivers, he cannot be a basketball star.

c.No fish are mammals and no mammals are vegetables. Thus no fish are vegetables.

d.No one is both a drinker and a dean. Since joe is a drinker, he cannot be an educator.

e.If a person is a lawyer, then that person cannot be a philanthropist. Since Jim is not a lawyer, Jim is not a philanthropist.

11.All amarino trees have broad, sloped leaves. Trees with broad, sloped leaves are usually blunt-rooted. This tree has blunt roots, so it is probably an amarino.

Which one of the following most closely parallels the reasoning used in the argument above?

a.All human beings are mortal. Most mortals are wise. Peter is wise, so he is probably a human being.

b.All orange cats are handsome. All handsome cats catch mice. Jerry is a cat who catches mice, so he is orange.

c.All snakes are cold-blooded. The body temperatures of cold-blooded animals vary with the temperature of their environment. This animal is cold-blooded, so it is probably a snake.

d.All penguins have rudimentary wings. Most birds with rudimentary wings cannot fly. This bird can fly, so it must not be penguin.

e.All emeralds are composed of minerals. All emeralds are green. This crystal material is green, so it is likely to be an emerald.

12.Only those with valid licenses can legally drive. Only those who pass the driving test can have valid licenses. Therefore, only those who pass the driving test can legally drive.

Which one of the following arguments most closely parallels the form of the argument above?

a.Only those who walk can run. Only those who walk can fly. Therefore, only those who run can fly.

b.Only lawyers are crafty. Only adults are lawyers. Therefore, only crafty people are adults.

c.Only dogs are cocker spaniels. Only mammals are dogs. Therefore, only mammals are cocker spaniels.

d.Some automobiles are vehicles. All vehicles are artifacts. Therefore, some cars are artifacts.

e.Only married persons can be husbands. Only husbands can be married persons. Therefore, one can be a husband if, and only if, one is a married person.

13.All librarians are responsible for books. Some librarians are library patrons. Some library patrons destroy books. Therefore, some librarians destroy books.

Which one of the following most closely parallels the reasoning in the argument above?

a.Some small birds build nests. All chickadees are small birds. Some chickadees abandon their nests. Therefore, some small birds abandon their nests.

b.All lifeguards are careful. Some lifeguards are surfers. Some suffers are reckless. Therefore, some lifeguards are reckless.

c.All dancers are graceful. All bullfighters are graceful. Some skiers are graceful. Therefore, some skiers are dancers.

d.All cliffs are dangerous. Some cliffs are steep. Some cliffs are breathtaking. Therefore, some cliffs are dangerous and breathtaking.

e.Some vegetables are green. All green vegetables are healthful. Some healthful things are bad-tasting. Therefore, some vegetables are bad-testing.

14." All boys who read one year or more below grade level are invited to spend the summer at Remedial Reading Summer Camp. Let us get your son up to grade level. Have him spend his summer in the classroom, delving into the classics of children's literature and winning spelling bees. Allow him to improve his morale by being surrounded by other underachievers. Make him into the successful, goal-oriented boy he was before he fell behind in his reading- and finally, the 'A' student of your dreams."

Which one of the following statements, if true, is a valid criticism of the ad above?

a.Underachievers can have very high morale in a classroom setting.

b.Children who do not learn good reading skills suffer later in life.

c.The classics of children's literature hold more appeal for girls than they do for boys.

d.Good reading skills are not necessary to earning high grades.

e.Spelling bees are not always helpful to the improvement of reading skills.

15.The industrialized nations should not feed the people of developing countries because it will simply enable them to continue overpopulating. Then we will have to provide even more assistance and, eventually, more will suffer because we won't be able to feed them at all.

Which one of the following statements, if true, would seriously weaken the author's argument?

a.Recent developments in synthetic agriculture provide convincing evidence that food production can increase indefinitely at a rate higher than that of world population growth.

b.A population study just released indicates that the population of one small developing country in West Africa has decreased by ten percent in the last decade.

c.A Red Cross spokesman announced last month that unless industrialized nations immediately increase their aid to developing countries, record numbers of children and the elderly will die of starvation.

d.At a recent conference of leaders of industrialized nations, it was concluded that it is immoral to do nothing to prevent starvation.

e.Religious leaders in developing countries have recently issued a ban on population control measures proposed by industrialized nations.