In Patton City, days are categorized as having heavy rainfall (more than two inches), moderate rainfall (more than one inch, but no more than two inches), light rainfall (at least a trace, but no more than one inch), or no rainfall. In 1990, there were fewer days with light rainfall than in 1910 and fewer with moderate rainfall, yet total rainfall for the year was 20 percent higher in 1990 than in 1910.

If the statements above are true, then it is also possible that in Patton City

During the past year, Pro-Tect Insurance Company's total payouts on car-theft claims were larger than the company can afford to sustain. Pro-Tect cannot reduce the number of car-theft policies it carries, so cannot protect itself against continued large payouts that way. Therefore, Pro-Tect has decided to offer a discount to holders of car-theft policies whose cars have antitheft devices. Many policyholders will respond to the discount by installing antitheft devices, since the amount of the discount will within two years typically more than cover the cost of installation. Thus, because cars with antitheft devices are rarely stolen, Pro-Tect's plan is likely to reduce its annual payouts.

In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

In Kantovia, physicians' income comes from insurance companies, which require physicians to document their decisions in treating patients and to justify deviations from the companies' treatment guidelines. Ten years ago physicians were allowed more discretion. Most physicians believe that the companies' requirements now prevent them from spending enough time with patients. Yet the average amount of time a patient spends with a physician during an office visit has actually increased somewhat over the last ten years.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy between physicians' perceptions and the change in the actual time spent?

Consumers planning to buy recreational equipment tend to buy higher quality, more expensive equipment when the economy is strong than when it is weak. Hill and Dale is a business that sells high-quality, expensive camping and hiking equipment in Boravia. Although all the signs are that Boravia's economy is now entering a period of sustained strength, the managers of the business do not expect a substantial increase in sales.

Which of the following, if true, would provide the strongest justification for the managers' judgment?

Which of the following, if true, provides evidence that most logically completes the argument below?

According to a widely held economic hypothesis, imposing strict environmental regulations reduces economic growth. This hypothesis is undermined by the fact that the states with the strictest environmental regulations also have the highest economic growth. This fact does not show that environmental regulations promote growth, however, since ______.

Whales originated in the freshwater lakes and rivers of ancient Asia about sixty million years ago. Not until about ten million years later did species of whales develop specialized kidneys enabling them to drink salt water. Although fossil evidence shows that some early whale species that lacked such kidneys sometimes swam in the Earth's saltwater oceans, these species must have had to return frequently to freshwater rivers to drink.

Which of the following is most strongly supported by the information given?

Manatees, aquatic mammals inhabiting Florida's rivers and coastal waters, swim close to the surface and are frequently killed in collisions with boats. To address the problem, boat traffic in manatee-populated waters is being required to maintain very low speeds. Unfortunately, manatees are unable to hear low-pitched sounds and a boat's sound lowers in pitch as the boat slows. Therefore, this approach may in fact make things worse rather than better.

Which of the following, if true, casts most doubt on the conclusion?

The total market value of real estate in Altonville has steadily declined over the past four years. This decline has meant that the overall figure on which the city's property tax is based-the assessed value of that real estate-has also declined. The percentage of assessed value that was paid as property taxes to the city, however, did not change from year to year during this period.

The information above most strongly supports which of the following?

Though sucking zinc lozenges has been promoted as a treatment for the common cold, research has revealed no consistent effect. Recently, however, a zinc gel applied nasally has been shown to greatly reduce the duration of colds. Since the gel contains zinc in the same form and concentration as the lozenges, the greater effectiveness of the gel must be due to the fact that cold viruses tend to concentrate in the nose, not the mouth.

In order to evaluate the argument, it would be most helpful to determine which of the following?

Astronomer: Observations of the Shoemaker-Levi comet on its collision course with Jupiter showed that the comet broke into fragments before entering Jupiter's atmosphere in 1994, but they did not show how big those fragments were. Nevertheless, some indication of their size can be inferred from spectrographic analyses of Jupiter's outer atmosphere. After the fragments' entry, these analyses revealed unprecedented traces of sulfur. The fragments themselves almost certainly contained no sulfur, but astronomers believe that the cloud layer below Jupiter's outer atmosphere does contain sulfur. Since sulfur would have seeped into the outer atmosphere if comet fragments had penetrated this cloud layer, it is likely that some of the fragments were at least large enough to have passed through Jupiter's outer atmosphere without being burned up.

In the astronomer's argument, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

In 1960's studies of rats, scientists found that crowding increases the number of attacks among the animals significantly. But in recent experiments in which rhesus monkeys were placed in crowded conditions, although there was an increase in instances of "coping" behavior-such as submissive gestures and avoidance of dominant individuals-attacks did not become any more frequent. Therefore it is not likely that, for any species of monkey, crowding increases aggression as significantly as was seen in rats.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

Background information: This year, each film submitted to the Barbizon Film Festival was submitted in one of ten categories. For each category, there was a panel that decided which submitted films to accept.Fact 1: Within each category, the rate of acceptance for domestic films was the same as that for foreign films. Fact 2: The overall rate of acceptance of domestic films was significantly higher than that of foreign films.

In light of the background information, which of the following, if true, can account for fact 1 and fact 2 both being true of the submissions to this year's Barbizon Film Festival?

Industrial accidents are more common when some of the people in safety-sensitive jobs have drinking problems than when none do. Since, even after treatment, people who have had drinking problems are somewhat more likely than other people to have drinking problems in the future, any employer trying to reduce the risk of accidents should bar anyone who has ever been treated for a drinking problem from holding a safety-sensitive job.

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

A major chemical spill occurred five years ago at Baker's Beach, the world's sole nesting ground for Merrick sea turtles, and prevented nearly all the eggs laid that year from hatching. Yet the number of adult female Merricks returning to lay their eggs at Baker's Beach has actually increased somewhat since five years ago. Clearly, environmentalists' prediction that the world's Merrick population would decline as a result of the spill has proven unfounded.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the argument offered in refutation of the environmentalists' prediction?

In recent years, networks of fiber-optic cable have been replacing electrical wire for transmitting telecommunications signals. Signals running through fiber-optic cables deteriorate, and so the signals must be run through a piece of equipment called a regenerator before being transmitted farther. Light-Line is the leading manufacturer of signal regenerators. Therefore, Light-Line is one of the companies that will most benefit if new long-distance fiber-optic telecommunications networks are constructed.

Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the prediction about Light-Line's prospects?