GMAT PREP P2考试复习资料

PracticeTest#2CriticalReasoning(68Questions)1. (24021-!-item-!-188;#058&000691)OnPacificislands,anewlyarrivedgeckospecies,thehousegecko,isdisplacingthepreviouslyestablishedmourninggeckoinurbanareas,butpopulationsofthetwospeciesaremorestableinruralareasfarfromhumansettlement.Thehousegeckodoesnotattackthemourninggecko,butinareaswhereinsectscongregateitpreventsthemourninggeckofromfeedingonthem.Whichofthefollowingcontributesmosttoanexplanationofthedifferencebetweengeckopopulationsinurbanandruralareas(A)Inurbanareas,geckosarevaluedbecausetheyeatsomanyinsects.(B)Geckosdefendterritoriesagainstothermembersofthesamespecies.(C)Housegeckosthatarriveonislandsarecarriedthereinboatsandplanes.(D)Inplaceswheretherearelightedbuildings,insectstendtogatheraroundthelight.(E)Mourninggeckosareallfemalesandreproduceasexually,buthousegeckosreproducesexually.2. (24069-!-item-!-188;#058&000703)DowntownVillieuwasonceaflourishingbusinessdistrict,butmostVillieu-areabusinessesarenowlocatedonlyinthesuburbs.Theofficebuildingsdowntownlackthemodernamenitiesmostbusinessoperatorsdemandtoday.Toluremorebusinessesdowntown,Villieuofficialsplantohaveseveralmodernofficebuildingsconstructedandtoofferreducedlocaltaxratestoanybusinessthatleasesspaceinanewdowntownbuilding.Whichofthefollowing,iftrue,mostthreatenstheplan'slikelihoodofsuccess(A)MostofthebusinessescurrentlylocatedindowntownVillieuhavelong-termleasesonthespacetheyoccupythere.(B)TheexistingofficebuildingsindowntownVillieuhave,onaverage,amuchhighervacancyratethandoofficebuildingsinVillieu'ssuburbs.(C)ThelocaltaxratesinVillieu'ssuburbsaresignificantlylowerthandowntownVillieu'sproposedrateforbusinessesthatleasespaceinthenewofficebuildings.(D)MostofthebusinessesthatcurrentlyleaseofficespaceindowntownVillieualsoleaseofficespaceinVillieu'ssuburbs.(E)Withthenewofficebuildings,downtownVillieuwouldhaveagreateramountofmodernofficespacethananyotherdowntownbusinessdistrictintheregion.3. (24117-!-item-!-188;#058&000708)NorthernAirhasdozensofflightsdailyintoandoutofBellevilleAirport,whichishighlycongested.NorthernAirdependsforitssuccessoneconomyandquickturnaroundandconsequentlyisplanningtoreplaceitslargeplaneswithSkybuses,whosenovelaerodynamicdesignisextremelyfuelefficient.TheSkybus'fuelefficiencyresultsinbothlowerfuelcostsandreducedtimespentrefueling.Whichofthefollowing,iftrue,couldpresentthemostseriousdisadvantageforNorthernAirinreplacingtheirlargeplaneswithSkybuses(A)TheSkybuswouldenableNorthernAirtoscheduledirectflightstodestinationsthatcurrentlyrequirestopsforrefueling.(B)Aviationfuelisprojectedtodeclineinpriceoverthenextseveralyears.(C)ThefuelefficiencyoftheSkybuswouldenableNorthernAirtoeliminaterefuelingatsomeofitsdestinations,butseveralmechanicswouldlosetheirjobs.(D)NoneofNorthernAir'scompetitorsthatuseBellevilleAirportareconsideringbuyingSkybuses.(E)TheaerodynamicdesignoftheSkybuscausesturbulencebehinditwhentakingoffthatforcesotherplanesontherunwaytodelaytheirtakeoffs.4. (24257-!-item-!-188;#058&001200)WhichofthefollowingmostlogicallycompletestheargumentAnewmachineforharvestingcornwillallowrowstobeplantedonlyfifteeninchesapart,insteadoftheusualthirtyinches.Cornplantedthiscloselywillproduceloweryieldsperplant.Nevertheless,thenewmachinewillallowcorngrowerstodoubletheirprofitsperacrebecause__________.(A)withthecloserspacingoftherows,thegrowingcornplantswillquicklyformadensecanopyofleaves,whichwill,byshadingtheground,minimizetheneedforcostlyweedcontrolandirrigation(B)withthecloserspacingoftherows,cornplantswillbeforcedtogrowtallerbecauseofincreasedcompetitionforsunlightfromneighboringcornplants(C)withthelargernumberofplantsgrowingperacre,morefertilizerwillberequired(D)withthespacingbetweenrowscutbyhalf,thenumberofplantsgrownperacrewillalmostdouble(E)withthecloserspacingoftherows,theacreageonwhichcornisplantedwillbeutilizedmuchmoreintensivelythanitwasbefore,requiringmorefrequentfallowyearsinwhichcornfieldsareleftunplanted5. (24305-!-item-!-188;#058&001204)MicroscopicplantscalledalgaegrowinsidethetoplayerofseaiceintheAntarcticifenoughsunlightreachesthatlayeroficeandenoughseawater,whichcontainsnutrients,reachesthatlayeraftersplashingontothesurface.Eventhoughmoderatesnowcoverreducesthesunlightthatfiltersintothetoplayer,seaicewithmoderatesnowcovertypicallycontainsevenmorealgaeinthetoplayerthandoesseaicewithlesssnowcover.Whichofthefollowing,iftrue,mosthelpstoexplaintheapparentdiscrepancy(A)Astheweightofaccumulatedsnowforcesicelowerinthewater,moreseawatersplashesontothesurfaceandseepsthroughthesnow.(B)SeawaterintheAntarcticoftencontainshigherconcentrationsofnutrientsthandoesseawaterinmoretemperateregions.(C)Astheairtemperaturearoundseaicedecreasesduringthewinter,thelikelihooddecreasesthatsnowwillfallandthusaddtoanyexistingsnowcover.(D)ThenutrientsonwhichalgaerelyarecommoninseawaterthroughouttheAntarctic.(E)Moresunlightfiltersthroughalayeroficethanthroughanequallythicklayerofsnow.6. (24353-!-item-!-188;#058&001207)WhichofthefollowingmostlogicallycompletesthepassageGarnetandRenCoeachprovidehealthcarefortheiremployees.Garnetpaysforbothtestingofitsemployees'cholesterollevelsandtreatmentofhighcholesterol.ThispolicysavesGarnetmoney,sincehighcholesterolleftuntreatedformanyyearsleadstoconditionsthatrequireveryexpensivetreatment.However,RenCodoesnothavethesamefinancialincentivetoadoptsuchapolicy,because__________.(A)earlytreatmentofhighcholesteroldoesnotentirelyeliminatethepossibilityofastrokelaterinlife(B)themassmediaregularlyfeaturestoriesencouragingpeopletomaintaindietsthatarelowincholesterol(C)RenCohassignificantlymoreemployeesthanGarnethas(D)RenCo'semployeesareunlikelytohavehighercholesterollevelsthanGarnet'semployees(E)theaveragelengthoftimeanemployeestayswithRenCoislessthanitiswithGarnet7. (24401-!-item-!-188;#058&001291)UnitedLumberwillusetreesfromitsforestsfortwoproducts.Thetreetrunkswillbeusedforlumberandthebranchesconvertedintowoodchipstomakefiberboard.Thecostofthisconversionwouldbethesamewhetherdoneattheloggingsite,wherethetreesaredebranched,oratUnited'sfactory.However,woodchipsoccupylessthanhalfthevolumeofthebranchesfromwhichtheyaremade.Theinformationgiven,ifaccurate,moststronglysupportswhichofthefollowing(A)Convertingthebranchesintowoodchipsattheloggingsitewouldrequiretransportingafullyassembledwood-chippingmachinetoandfromthesite.(B)Itwouldbemoreeconomicaltodebranchthetreesatthefactorywherethefiberboardismanufactured.(C)ThedebranchingoftreesandtheconversionofthebranchesintochipsaretheonlystagesintheprocessingofbranchesthatitwouldbeinUnited'seconomicadvantagetoperformattheloggingsite.(D)Transportationcostsfromtheloggingsitetothefactorythataredeterminedbyvolumeofcargowouldbeloweriftheconversionintochipsisdoneattheloggingsiteratherthanatthefactory.(E)Inthewood-processingindustry,branchesareusedonlyfortheproductionofwoodchipsforfiberboard.8. (24449-!-item-!-188;#058&001338)WhichofthefollowingmostlogicallycompletestheargumentUtraniawasformerlyamajorpetroleumexporter,butinrecentdecadeseconomicstagnationandrestrictiveregulationsinhibitedinvestmentinnewoilfields.Inconsequence,Utranianoilexportsdroppedsteadilyasoldfieldsbecamedepleted.Utrania'scurrentlyimprovingeconomicsituation,togetherwithless-restrictiveregulations,willundoubtedlyresultintherapiddevelopmentofnewfields.However,itwouldbeprematuretoconcludethattherapiddevelopmentofnewfieldswillresultinhigheroilexports,because__________.(A)thepriceofoilisexpectedtoremainrelativelystableoverthenextseveralyears(B)theimprovementintheeconomicsituationinUtraniaisexpectedtoresultinadramaticincreaseintheproportionofUtranianswhoownautomobiles(C)mostoftheinvestmentinnewoilfieldsinUtraniaisexpectedtocomefromforeignsources(D)newtechnologyisavailabletorecoveroilfromoldoilfieldsformerlyregardedasdepleted(E)manyofthenewoilfieldsinUtraniaarelikelytobeasproductiveasthosethatweredevelopedduringtheperiodwhenUtraniawasamajoroilexporter9. (24497-!-item-!-188;#058&001429)BetaCorporationclaimsthatitnolongerhasenoughworkforthe60computerdata-entryworkersthatitislayingoff.Theseworkershaveheard,however,thatthecompanyisbuying100newcomputers.Sotheworkersconcludedthatthecompany'srealreasonforlayingthemoffistofilltheirjobswithlower-paidworkers.Whichofthefollowing,iftrue,wouldmostunderminetheworkers'conclusion(A)Mostoftheworkersbeinglaidoffknowhowtoenterdataonanumberofdifferentcomputersystems.(B)OrdersforalmostallofBetaCorporationproductshaveincreasedoverthepastyear.(C)ArecentmemorandumfromthepresidentofBetaCorporationrequestedthatalldatageneratedbythecompanybestoredincomputerizedform.(D)BetaCorporation'scomputerdata-entryworkersaremoreexperiencedandhencemorehighlypaidthanpeopledoingcomparableworkinothercompanies.(E)BetaCorporation'snewcomputerswillallowitscurrentmanagementandsalesstafftoperformmanyofthetasksthatthedata-entryworkerswerepreviouslydoing.10. (24867-!-item-!-188;#058&001810)WhichofthefollowingmostlogicallycompletesthepassageForthepastseveralyears,acertaintechnologyhasbeenwidelyusedtotransmitdataamongnetworkedcomputers.Recentlytwodatatransmissioncompanies,AptronandGammatech,haveeachdevelopedseparatesystemsthatallownetworkdatatransmissionatratestentimesfasterthanthecurrenttechnologyallows.Althoughthesystemsaresimilarlypricedandareequallyeasytouse,Aptron'sproductislikelytodominatethemarket,because__________.(A)GammatechhasbeeninthebusinessofdesigningdatatransmissionsystemsforseveralyearsmorethanAptronhas(B)thenumberofsmallbusinessesthatneedcomputernetworkingsystemsislikelytodoubleoverthenextfewyears(C)itismuchmorelikelythatGammatech'ssystemwillbeexpandabletomeetfutureneeds(D)unlikemanydatatransmissioncompanies,AptronandGammatechdevelopcomputersinadditiontodatatransmissionsystems(E)itiseasierforusersofthecurrentdatatransmissiontechnologytoswitchtoAptron'sproductthantoGammatech's11. (24915-!-item-!-188;#058&001837)Radiostationswithradiodatasystem(RDS)technologybroadcastspecialprograminformationthatonlyradioswithanRDSfeaturecanreceive.Between1994and1996,thenumberofRDSradiostationsinVerdlandincreasedfrom250to600.However,sincethenumberofRDS-equippedradiosinVerdlandwasaboutthesamein1996asin1994,thenumberofVerdlandersreceivingthespecialprograminformationprobablydidnotincreasesignificantly.Whichofthefollowingisanassumptiononwhichtheargumentdepends(A)FewifanyoftheRDSradiostationsthatbeganbroadcastinginVerdlandafter1994broadcasttopeoplewithRDS-equippedradioslivinginareasnotpreviouslyreachedbyRDSstations.(B)In1996mostVerdlanderswholivedwithinthelisteningareaofanRDSstationalreadyhadaradioequippedtoreceiveRDS.(C)EquippingaradiostationwithRDStechnologydoesnotdecreasethestation'slisteningarea.(D)In1996VerdlanderswhodidnotownradiosequippedtoreceiveRDScouldnotreceiveanyprogrammingfromtheRDSradiostationsthatbeganbroadcastinginVerdlandafter1994.(E)TheRDSradiostationsinVerdlandin1996didnotallofferthesametypeofprogramming.12. (24967-!-item-!-188;#058&001893)Situation:ForfiveyearstheSouperrestaurantchainhasmaintainedrapidsalesgrowthinDanport,primarilybyopeningnewrestaurantsthatdrawpatronsawayfromotherrestaurantsintheirvicinity.Goal:SouperwishestoachievecontinuedrapidsalesgrowthinDanportoverthenexttwoyears.Proposalforconsideration:ContinuetoopennewrestaurantsinDanportduringthenexttwoyearsatthesamerateasinthelasttwoyears.Inlightofthesituation,whichofthefollowing,iftrue,moststronglyarguesthatadoptingtheproposalwouldbeanineffectivewayofachievingthegoal(A)AttimesatwhichcustomersfindSouperrestaurantstoocrowded,theyoftengotootherrestaurantsnearby.(B)TheSouperchainhasgenerallyopenednewrestaurantsinlocationsthatareinthevicinityofalargenumberofotherrestaurants.(C)Souperrestaurantsgenerallyofferamuchsmallervarietyoffoodsthanmanyoftheotherrestaurantsintheirvicinity.(D)VirtuallyallpotentialsitesfornewSouperrestaurantsinDanportarelocatedinthevicinityofexistingSouperrestaurants.(E)SouperrestaurantshavealwaysofferedmealsthataresomewhatlessexpensivethanmealsatrestaurantsthatcompetewithSouperforpatrons.13. (25752-!-item-!-188;#058&002668)AnunusuallyseverewinteroccurredinEuropeafterthecontinentwasblanketedbyabluehazeresultingfromtheeruptionoftheLakiVolcanointheEuropeanrepublicofWhichofthefollowingstatements,iftrue,mostseriouslyweakenstheargumentabove(A)Thecoolingeffecttriggeredbyvolcaniceruptionsin1985wascounteractedbyanunusualwarmingofPacificwaters.(B)ThereisastrongstatisticallinkbetweenvolcaniceruptionsandtheseverityoftherainyseasoninIndia.(C)AfewmonthsafterElChichn'slargeeruptioninApril1982,airtemperaturesthroughouttheregionremainedhigherthanexpected,giventhelong-termweathertrends.(D)Theclimaticeffectsofmajorvolcaniceruptionscantemporarilymaskthegeneralwarmingtrendresultingfromanexcessofcarbondioxideintheatmosphere.(E)ThreemonthsafteranearlyspringtimeeruptioninSouthAmericaduringthelate19thcentury,seasurfacetemperaturesnearthecoastbegantofall.14. (25938-!-item-!-188;#058&002908)Mosthouseholdappliancesuseelectricityonlywheninuse.Manymicrowaveovens,however,havebuilt-inclocksandsousesomeelectricityevenwhentheyarenotinuse.Theclockseachconsumeabout45kilowatt-hoursperyear.Therefore,householdswhosemicrowaveovenhasnobuilt-inclockuse45kilowatt-hoursperyearless,onaverage,thandocomparablehouseholdswhosemicrowaveovenisotherwisesimilarbuthasabuilt-inclock.Whichofthefollowingisanassumptiononwhichtheargumentdepends(A)Householdsthatdonothaveamicrowaveovenuselessenergyperyear,onaverage,thandohouseholdsthathaveamicrowaveoven.(B)Microwaveovenswithabuilt-inclockdonotgenerallycostmoretobuythanmicrowaveovenswithoutabuilt-inclock.(C)Allhouseholdsthathaveamicrowaveovenalsohaveeitheragasovenoraconventionalelectricoven.(D)Householdswhosemicrowaveovendoesnothaveabuilt-inclockarenomorelikelytohaveaseparateelectricclockpluggedinthanhouseholdswhosemicrowaveovenhasone.(E)Therearemorehouseholdsthathaveamicrowaveovenwithabuilt-inclockthantherearehouseholdsthathaveamicrowaveovenwithoutabuilt-inclock.15. (25986-!-item-!-188;#058&002914)Someairlinesallegedlyreducefaresoncertainroutestoalevelatwhichtheylosemoney,inordertodrivecompetitorsoffthoseroutes.However,thismethodofeliminatingcompetitioncannotbeprofitableinthelongrun.Onceanairlinesuccessfullyimplementsthismethod,anyattempttorecouptheearlierlossesbycharginghighfaresonthatrouteforanextendedperiodwouldonlyprovidecompetitorswithabetteropportunitytoundercuttheairline'sfares.Whichofthefollowing,iftrue,mostseriouslyweakenstheargument(A)Insomecountriesitisnotillegalforacompanytodriveawaycompetitorsbysellingaproductbelowcost.(B)Airlineexecutivesgenerallybelievethatacompanythatonceunderpriceditsfarestodriveawaycompetitorsisverylikelytodosoagainifnewcompetitorsemerge.(C)Aspartofpromotionsdesignedtoattractnewcustomers,airlinessometimesreducetheirticketpricestobelowaneconomicallysustainablelevel.(D)Ondecidingtostopservingparticularroutes,mostairlinesshiftresourcestootherroutesratherthanreducethesizeoftheiroperations.(E)Whenairlinesdramaticallyreducetheirfaresonaparticularroute,thetotalnumberofairpassengersonthatrouteincreasesgreatly.16. (26678-!-item-!-188;#058&003277)Whenanairplaneistakenoutofserviceformaintenance,itisoftenrepaintedaswell,andduringtherepaintingnoothermaintenanceworkcanbedoneontheplane.Inordertoreducemaintenancetime,airlineofficialsareconsideringusinganewnontoxicplasticfilminsteadofpaint.Thefilmtakesjustaslongtoapplyaspaintdoes,butmanyothermaintenancetaskscanbecarriedoutatthesametime.Whichofthefollowing,iftrue,isfurtherevidencethatusingthefilmwillhelptheairlineofficialsachievetheirgoal(A)Unlikepaint,thefilmgivesamilkytonetocertaincolors.(B)Attheendofitsusefullife,thefilmcanberemovedmuchmorequicklythanpaintcan.(C)Thefilmcanbeappliedonlybytechnicianswhohavereceivedspecialtraining.(D)Themetalexteriorsofairplaneshavetobeprotectedfromhightemperaturesandcausticchemicalssuchasexhaustgases.(E)Evenatspeedsconsiderablyhigherthanthenormalspeedofapassengerjet,thefilmremainssecurelyattached.17. (26864-!-item-!-188;#058&003368)AtpresenttheHollywoodRestauranthasonlystandard-heighttables.However,manycustomerscometowatchthecelebritieswhofrequenttheHollywood,andtheywouldprefertalltableswithstoolsbecausesuchseatingwouldaffordabetterviewofthecelebrities.Moreover,dinersseatedonstoolstypicallydonotstayaslongasdinersseatedatstandard-heighttables.Therefore,iftheHollywoodreplacedsomeofitsseatingwithhightablesandstools,itsprofitswouldincrease.Theargumentisvulnerabletocriticismonthegroundsthatitgivesreasontobelievethatitislikelythat(A)somecelebritiescometotheHollywoodtobeseen,andsomightchoosetositatthetalltablesiftheywereavailable(B)thepriceofmealsorderedbycelebritiesdiningattheHollywoodcompensatesforthelongertime,ifany,theyspendlingeringovertheirmeals(C)acustomeroftheHollywoodwhowouldchoosetositatatalltablewouldbeanexceptiontothegeneralizationaboutlingering(D)arestaurant'scustomerswhospendlesstimeattheirmealstypicallyorderlessexpensivemealsthanthosewhoremainattheirmealslonger(E)withenoughtalltablestoaccommodatealltheHollywood'scustomersinterestedinsuchseating,therewouldbenoviewexceptofothertalltables18. (26912-!-item-!-188;#058&003382)TheCalexTelecommunicationsCompanyisplanningtointroducecellulartelephoneserviceintoisolatedcoastalareasofCaladia,amovewhichwillrequireconsiderableinvestment.However,theonlysignificanteconomicactivityintheseareasissmall-scalecoffeefarming,andnoneofthecoffeefarmersmakeenoughmoneytoaffordthemonthlyservicefeesthatCalexwouldhavetochargetomakeaprofit.Nevertheless,Calexcontendsthatmakingtheserviceavailabletothesefarmerswillbeprofitable.Whichofthefollowing,iftrue,providesthestrongestsupportforCalex'scontention(A)Currently,Caladiancoffeefarmersareforcedtoselltheircoffeetolocalbuyersatwhateverpricethosebuyerschoosetopaybecausethefarmersareunabletoremainincontactwithoutsidebuyerswhogenerallyofferhigherprices.(B)InthecoastalareasofCaladiawhereCalexproposestointroducecellulartelephoneservice,thereiscurrentlynofixed-linetelephoneservicebecausefixed-linecompaniesdonotbelievethattheycouldrecouptheirinvestment.(C)Acellulartelephonecompanycanbreakevenwithaconsiderablysmallernumberofsubscribersthanafixed-linecompanycan,eveninareassuchastheCaladiancoast,wherethereisnodifficultterraintodriveupthecostsofinstallingfixedlines.(D)Calexbasesitsmonthlyfeesforcellulartelephoneserviceinagivenregionpartlyonthecostofinstallingthenecessaryequipmenttoprovidetheservicethere.(E)CalexhasforyearsmadeaprofitoncellulartelephoneserviceinCaladia'scapitalcity,whichisnotfarfromthecoastalregion.19. (27788-!-item-!-188;#058&003653)WitharecordnumberofnewcompaniesstartingupinDerderiaandwithpreviouslyestablishedcompaniesaddingmanyjobs,arecordnumberofnewjobswerecreatedlastyearintheDerderianeconomy.Thisyear,previouslyestablishedcompanieswillnotbeaddingasmanynewjobsoverallassuchcompaniesaddedlastyear.Therefore,unlessarecordnumberofcompaniesstartupthisyear,Derderiawillnotbreakitsrecordfornewjobscreated.Whichofthefollowingisanassumptiononwhichtheargumentrelies(A)Eachyear,newcompaniesstartingupcreatemorenewjobsoverallthandopreviouslyestablishedcompanies.(B)Companiesestablishedlastyearwillnotaddagreaternumberofjobsoverallthisyearthantheydidlastyear.(C)Thisyear,thenewcompaniesstartingupwillnotprovidesubstantiallymorejobspercompanythandidnewcompanieslastyear.(D)Thisyear,theoverallnumberofjobscreatedbypreviouslyestablishedcompanieswillbelessthantheoverallnumberofjobslostatthosecompanies.(E)ThenumberofjobscreatedintheDerderianeconomylastyearwassubstantiallylargerthanthenumberofjobslostlastyear.20. (27836-!-item-!-188;#058&003666)Duringthepastyear,Pro-TectInsuranceCompany'stotalpayoutoncar-theftclaimshasbeenlargerthanthecompanycanaffordtosustain.Pro-Tectcannotreducethenumberofcar-theftpoliciesitcarries,soitcannotprotectitselfagainstcontinuedlargepayoutsthatway.Therefore,Pro-Tecthasdecidedtoofferadiscounttoholdersofcar-theftpolicieswhosecarshaveantitheftdevices.Manypolicyholderswillrespondtothediscountbyinstallingsuchdevices,sincetheamountofthediscountwillwithintwoyearstypicallymorethancoverthecostofinstallation.Thus,becausecarswithantitheftdevicesarerarelystolen,Pro-Tect'splanislikelytoreduceitsannualpayouts.Intheargumentabove,thetwoportionsinboldfaceplaywhichofthefollowingroles(A)Thefirstandthesecondarebothevidenceofferedbytheargumentassupportforitsmainconclusion.(B)Thefirstpresentsaproblemaresponsetowhichtheargumentassesses;thesecondisthejudgmentreachedbythatassessment.(C)Thefirstisthepositiontheargumentseekstoestablish;thesecondisajudgmenttheargumentusestosupportthatposition.(D)Thefirstisadevelopmentthattheargumentseekstoexplain;thesecondisapredictiontheargumentmakesinsupportoftheexplanationitoffers.(E)Thefirstpresentsadevelopmentwhoselikelyoutcomeisatissueintheargument;thesecondisajudgmenttheargumentusesinsupportofitsconclusionaboutthatoutcome.21. (28114-!-item-!-188;#058&003832)FilmDirector:ItistruethatcertaincharactersandplottwistsinmynewlyreleasedfilmTheBigHeistarestrikinglysimilartocharactersandplottwistsinThieves,amoviethatcameoutlastyear.Basedonthesesimilarities,thefilmstudiothatproducedThievesisnowaccusingmeoftakingideasfromthatfilm.Theaccusationisclearlywithoutmerit.AllproductionworkonTheBigHeistwasactuallycompletedmonthsbeforeThieveswasreleased.Whichofthefollowing,iftrue,providesthestrongestsupportforthedirector'srejectionoftheaccusation(A)BeforeThievesbeganproduction,itsscripthadbeencirculatingforseveralyearsamongvariousfilmstudios,includingthestudiothatproducedTheBigHeist.(B)Thecharactersandplottwiststhataremostsimilarinthetwofilmshavecloseparallelsinmanyearlierfilmsofthesamegenre.(C)ThefilmstudiothatproducedThievesseldomproducesfilmsinthisgenre.(D)ThedirectorofThievesworkedwiththedirectorofTheBigHeistonseveralearlierprojects.(E)ThetimeittooktoproduceTheBigHeistwasconsiderablyshorterthanthetimeittooktoproduceThieves.22. (28162-!-item-!-188;#058&003858)Herbicidesallowcerealcropstobegrownveryefficiently,withvirtuallynocompetitionfromweeds.InBritain,partridgepopulationshavebeensteadilydecreasingsinceherbicideusebecamewidespread.Someenvironmentalistsclaimthatthesebirds,whichliveinandaroundcerealcropfields,arebeingpoisonedbytheherbicides.However,testsshownomorethantracequantitiesofherbicidesinpartridgesonherbicide-treatedland.Therefore,somethingotherthanherbicideusemustberesponsibleforthepopulationdecrease.Whichofthefollowing,iftrueaboutBritain,mostseriouslyweakenstheargument(A)Theeliminationofcertainweedsfromcerealcropfieldshasreducedthepopulationofthesmallinsectsthatliveonthoseweedsandthatformamajorpartofpartridgechicks'diet.(B)Sincepartridgesarevaluedasgamebirds,recordsoftheirpopulationaremorecarefullykeptthanthoseformanyotherbirds.(C)Someoftheweedsthatareeliminatedfromcerealcropfieldsbyherbicidesaremuchsmallerthanthecropplantsthemselvesandwouldhavenonegativeeffectoncropyieldiftheywereallowedtogrow.(D)Birdsotherthanpartridgesthatliveinoraroundcerealcropfieldshavealsobeensufferingpopulationdeclines.(E)Thetoxinscontainedinherbicidestypicallyusedoncerealcropscanbereadilyidentifiedinthetissuesofanimalsthathaveingestedthem.23. (28303-!-item-!-188;#058&003943)Aproductthatrepresentsacleartechnologicaladvanceovercompetingprodu