QUESTION: 153

The number of young adults that are illiterate has dropped significantly in a certain county over the last fifteen years. Education officials attribute this decrease entirely to improved conditions in the schools, which made for a better teaching environment, reducing the level of illiteracy.

Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the education officials’ explanation for the lower incidence of the disease?

Many similar improvements in school conditions have been made over the last twenty-five years in the county.
Home-schooling has not been more prevalent among the illiterate as compared to people who are not illiterate.
Because of a new assessment scale, many people who until this year would have been considered illiterate are now considered low-level readers.
The same percentage of the population has been tested every year for the last 30 years.
The conditions in the schools were brought up to the standards of the neighboring counties twenty years ago

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

The best answer is C. The education officials assume that the decrease in the number of people who are illiterate reflects a diminution in cases of illiteracy. By pointing out that this assumption is false, choice C undermines the officials’ explanation.

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QUESTION: 154

In many hospitals, more and more monitoring is being carried out by automated equipment instead of human employees who previous carried out the work. This is done in an attempt to save hospital expenses. However, many employees who lose their jobs to automation will need government assistance to get by, and the same corporations that are laying people off will eventually pay for that assistance through increased taxes and unemployment insurance payments.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the author’s argument?

Most of the new jobs created by automated equipment pay less than the jobs that were eliminated by automated equipment did.
Many hospitals that have failed to automate have seen their profits decline.
Unemployment insurance and taxes are paid also by corporations that are not automating.
Many workers who have already lost their jobs to automated equipment have been unable to find new employment.
The initial investment in machinery for automated equipment is often greater than the short-term savings in labor costs.

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

The best answer is D. The threat envisioned by the author to the economic survival of workers displaced by automation will be serious only if they cannot find new jobs. Choice A states that there are already workers that cannot find employment, and so strengthens the author’s argument.

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QUESTION: 155

Unlike musical talent or other creative skills, there is a disinclination on the part of many participants in the program to acknowledge the degree to which their writing talents are weak.

Unlike musical talent or other creative skills, there is a disinclination on the part of many participants in the program to acknowledge the degree to which their writing talents are weak.
Unlike musical talent or other creative skills, which they admit they lack, many participants in the program are disinclined to acknowledge that their writing talents are weak.
Unlike musical talent or other creative skills, writing talents bring out a disinclination in many participants in the program to acknowledge that they are weak to a degree.
Many people in the program, willing to admit that they lack musical talent or other creative skills, are disinclined to acknowledge that their writing skills are weak
Many people in the program have a disinclination to acknowledge the weakness of their writing talents while willing to admit their lack of musical talent or other creative skills.

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

The best answer is D. Choice A illogically compared talents to a disinclination. B compares talent to many people in the program. Choice C is awkward and unidiomatic. In E, have a disinclination… while willing is grammatically incomplete, and admit their lack should be admitting to their lack.

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QUESTION: 156

The Burmese ferret badger burrows its home in the ground. Based on the fact that different local populations of Burmese ferret badgers of the same species dig homes of different styles, zoologists have concluded that the badgers building styles are a culturally acquired, rather than a genetically transmitted, trait.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion drawn by the zoologists?

There are more common characteristics than there are differences among the Burmese ferret badger’s styles of the local Burmese ferret badger population that has been studied most extensively.
Young Burmese ferret badgers are inept at digging burrows and apparently spend years watching their elders before becoming accomplished in the local style.
The homes of one species of badger lack the characteristics of the homes of most other species of badger.
Burmese ferret badgers are found only in Burma and India, where local populations of the badgers apparently seldom have contact with one another.
It is well known that the squeals of some badgers are learned rather than transmitted genetically.

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

The best answer is B. The information in choice B says that young Burmese ferret badgers progress slowly towards mastery of a burrow-digging style. This suggests that the skill is one they must learn, rather than one whose transmission is wholly genetic. Choice B also suggests a means of cultural transmission, namely, observation of older badger’s techniques.

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Free GMAT SECTION 3: VERBAL ABILITY Exam Braindumps (page: 39)

QUESTION: 153

Explanation:

QUESTION: 154

Explanation:

QUESTION: 155

Explanation:

QUESTION: 156

Explanation: