RGSW Thinking skills TSA 2008

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Sometimes poverty is defined in relation to average income.

For example, people may be said to be poor if their income is less than 60 percent of the average income for the population.

This is not a legitimate definition, because it is a measure of inequality rather than poverty.

This is obvious if we consider the consequences of using the definition.

It means that a huge pay rise for middle managers automatically throws some people into poverty,

even though their income has not changed. On the other hand, the definition implies that in a society where almost everyone is starving, no one is poor. Which of the following best expresses the main conclusion of the above argument?

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Which of the following is the best statement of the flaw in the argument above?

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Which of the following is a conclusion which can be reliably drawn from the passage as a whole?

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Which one of the following is an underlying assumption of this argument?

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Some of the great sea mammals, such as the sperm whale, have brains many times larger than ours. It is a fact of evolution that organs do not grow or remain large unless they are used; if they are not used, they shrink or even disappear. It must be concluded therefore that the sperm whale makes intelligent use of the vast brain it possesses, perhaps at thought levels well beyond our understanding. Which of the following would, if true, weaken the argument?

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Mrs. Jackson said that if Mrs. List were promoted, she would resign, and we definitely do not want to lose Mrs. Jackson. However, we are not going to promote Mrs. List; we are going to offer the promotion to Mr. Wade. Therefore, Mrs. Jackson will not resign. Which of the following is the best statement of the flaw in the argument?

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Which of the following best expresses the main conclusion of the above argument?

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Which one of the following is a conclusion which can be drawn from the above passage?

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Which of the following is an underlying assumption of the above argument?

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Birds of the tit family are very fond of tearing paper—wallpaper, newspaper, notices, and banknotes included.

They make no use of the paper they have torn.

We might explain this puzzling behavior by noting that the technique they use for tearing paper is identical to their technique for stripping tree bark to search for insects to eat.

This indicates that tits that tear paper are searching for food. Which of the following,

if true, would most weaken the above argument?

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The government has announced that it wants to reduce the level of ill-health due to workplace stress. Ministers could learn a lot from a recent study of 8000 white-collar workers in America which found that men who had a high level of control over the way they carried out their jobs had a low rate of heart disease, a stress-related disease. Clearly, therefore, the most stressful jobs are those in which employees have little control over the pace of their work and how it is organised. If the government is serious about wanting to reduce the level of stress-related disease, then it needs to encourage employers to give their workers greater control over their work.

Which of the following is the best statement of a major flaw in the argument?

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You can become a good pianist if you start to learn at an early age.

You did not start to learn until you were an adult, so you cannot become a good pianist.

Which of the following has the same structure as the above argument?

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What is the principle that the author argues for in the above passage?

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The quantity of food produced has always fluctuated according to environmental conditions: gluts and shortages have been with us for five hundred years or more. In the past, the free operation of market forces limited the adverse effects of these fluctuations, usually with far more success than any attempts at planned responses. But now we are changing the environment irreversibly. These changes will not only be permanent, but will have such devastating effects on world agriculture that market forces alone will be unable to prevent a global famine. So it is now vital to seek some sort of planned response. Which one of the following summarizes the main conclusion of the argument above?

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Scientists are now developing genetically modified crop plants that produce their own pesticide. But pesticides are only effective if they are not overused; if they are applied continuously for long periods, then the pests that they are supposed to kill develop resistance to them. Pesticides only remain effective against pests, therefore, if periods are left during which they are not used. The genetically modified crop plants will produce pesticides continuously. Which of the following is a conclusion that can reliably be drawn from the above passage?

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Which of the following is an underlying assumption of the argument above?

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Catalytic converters are increasingly being fitted to cars as a means of reducing some of the harmful emissions from car exhausts.

But, though they eliminate one form of pollution, their action serves only to create another one.

Ground-level ozone is kept at very low levels in cities by some of the pollutants catalysts remove.

So the more catalytic converters that are fitted, the more such ozone can build up.

Since ozone is a major cause of choking summer smogs, we can assume that people with breathing difficulties, such as asthmatics, will be much worse off the more that catalytic converters are used.

We should stop fitting cars with catalytic converters.

Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the above argument?

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The argument that the European Union should enlarge to include more Eastern Bloc countries is flawed because:

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Which of the following best summarises the main conclusion of the argument about motor racing?

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Which of the following can reliably be inferred from the above passage?

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Which one of the following is an underlying assumption of the above argument?

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Electrical goods retailers often offer 'extended warranties' which guarantee free repairs if the product breaks down during the term of the warranty.

Salespeople are keen to persuade customers to buy these warranties because they gain substantial commission from them.

Customers may also be tempted to buy them, since they ensure that the purchaser will not be faced with huge repair bills.

However, surveys by consumer protection agencies show that the average cost of repairs per customer is less than the average cost of a warranty.

Anybody buying electrical goods would, therefore, be well-advised not to buy an extended warranty, as it represents poor value for money.

Which one of the following, if true, would weaken the above argument?

Which of the following is the best statement of the flaw in the argument above?

Which of the following is a conclusion which can be reliably drawn from the passage as a whole?

Which one of the following is an underlying assumption of this argument?

Which of the following best expresses the main conclusion of the above argument?

Which one of the following is a conclusion which can be drawn from the above passage?

Which of the following is an underlying assumption of the above argument?

You can become a good pianist if you start to learn at an early age. You did not start to learn until you were an adult, so you cannot become a good pianist.Which of the following has the same structure as the above argument?

What is the principle that the author argues for in the above passage?

Which of the following is an underlying assumption of the argument above?

The argument that the European Union should enlarge to include more Eastern Bloc countries is flawed because:

Which of the following best summarises the main conclusion of the argument about motor racing?

Which of the following can reliably be inferred from the above passage?

Which one of the following is an underlying assumption of the above argument?

You can become a good pianist if you start to learn at an early age.

You did not start to learn until you were an adult, so you cannot become a good pianist.

Which of the following has the same structure as the above argument?