QUESTION: 165

Opponents of laws that require motorcycle riders to wear helmets argue that in a free society people have the right to take risks as long as the people do not harm others as a result of taking the risks. As a result, they conclude that it should be each person’s decision whether or not to wear a helmet.

Which of the following, if true, seriously weakens the conclusion drawn above?

Many new motorcycles are built with safety features that made them less likely to be involved in an accident.
Motorcycle insurance rates for all motorcycle owners are higher because of the need to pay for the increased injuries or deaths of people not wearing helmets.
Participants in certain extreme sports are required to wear helmets.
The rate of automobile fatalities in states that do not have mandatory helmet laws is greater than the rate of fatalities in states that do have such laws.
In motorcycle accidents, a greater number of passengers who do not wear helmets are injured than are passengers who do wear helmets.

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

The principle that people are entitled to risk injury provided they do not thereby harm others fails to justify the individual’s right to decide not to wear a helmet if it can be shown that it does harm others by raising insurance rates.

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QUESTION: 166

A drug that is highly effective in treating certain types of cancerous growth can, at present, be obtained only from the cartilage of a particular sub-species of shark, a sub-species which is quite rare in the wild. One must kill 50 sharks to make one pound of the drug. If follows, therefore, that continued production of the drug must inevitably lead to the extinction of this sub-species of shark.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?

The drug made from the shark cartilage is dispensed to doctors from a central authority.
The drug made from the shark cartilage is expensive to produce.
Other organs of the shark can be utilized to produce different drugs.
The sub-species of shark will reproduce in captivity under the proper conditions.
This sub-species of shark generally lives in largely inaccessible waters.

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

The best answer is D. If the shark can be successfully bred in captivity, it is possible to continue production of the drug without threatening the shark with extinction.

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QUESTION: 167

Harper’s Pencils manufactures and sells the same pencils as Johnson’s Supply. Employee wages account for forty percent of the cost of manufacturing pencils at both factories. Harper’s is seeking a competitive edge over Johnson’s supply. Therefore, to promote this end, Harper’s should lower employee wages.

Which of the following, if true, seriously weakens the argument above?

Because they make a small number of specialty artist’s pencils, pencil manufacturers cannot receive volume discounts on raw materials.
Lowering wages would reduce the quality of employee work and this reduced quality would lead to lowered sales.
Harper’s Pencils has taken away twenty percent of Johnson’s Supply business over the last year.
Johnson’s Supply pays its employees, on average, ten percent more than does Harper’s Pencils.
Many people who work for manufacturing plants live in areas in which the manufacturing plant they work for is the only industry.

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

The best answer is B. The effect of lowering wages is to reduce quality sufficiently to reduce sales. This is a good reason to doubt that wage cuts would give Johnson any competitive edge.

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QUESTION: 168

The technological conservatism of art supply manufacturers is a reflection of the kinds of demands they are trying to meet. The only customers who are seriously interested in purchasing new products are professional artists. Therefore, innovation in art supply technology is limited by what art critics and gallery owners accept as a proper medium of expression for artists.

Which of the following is an assumption made in drawing the conclusion above?

The market for cheap traditional art supplies cannot expand unless the market for new art products expands.
New art products are likely to be improved more as a result of technological innovations developed in small workshops than as a result of technical innovations developed in major manufacturing concerns.
Professional artists do not generate a strong demand for innovations that fall outside what is officially recognized as a standard medium for purposes of artistic creations.
The technological conservatism of art supply manufacturers results primarily from their desire to manufacture a product that can be sold without being altered to suit different national markets.
The critics and gallery owners who set standards for high-quality art do not keep themselves informed about innovations in art supplies.

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

If professional artists, the only customers interested in innovation, created a strong demand for innovations for purposes other than what is officially recognized as a standard medium for purposes of artistic creations, then the conclusion would not follow. Therefore, choice C, which states that professional artists generate no such demand – is assumed and is the best answer.

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Free GMAT SECTION 3: VERBAL ABILITY Exam Braindumps (page: 42)

QUESTION: 165

Explanation:

QUESTION: 166

Explanation:

QUESTION: 167

Explanation:

QUESTION: 168

Explanation: