Five years ago, as part of a plan to encourage citizens of Levaska to increase the amount of money they put into savings, Levaska's government introduced special savings accounts in which up to $3,000 a year can be saved with no tax due on the interest unless money is withdrawn before the account holder reaches the age of sixty-five. Millions of dollars have accumulated in the special accounts, so the government's plan is obviously working.

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

An overwhelming proportion of the most productive employees at SaleCo's regional offices work not eight hours a day, five days a week, as do other SaleCo employees, but rather ten hours a day, four days a week, with Friday off. Noting this phenomenon, SaleCo's president plans to increase overall productivity by keeping the offices closed on Fridays and having all employees work the same schedule-ten hours a day, four days a week.

Which of the following, if true, provides the most reason to doubt that the president's plan, if implemented, will achieve its stated purpose?

Which of the following most logically completes the argument below?

According to promotional material published by the city of Springfield, more tourists stay in hotels in Springfield than stay in the neighboring city of Harristown. A brochure from the largest hotel in Harristown claims that more tourists stay in that hotel than stay in the Royal Arms Hotel in Springfield. If both of these sources are accurate, however, the county's "Report on Tourism" must be in error in indicating that _______.

Although the earliest surviving Greek inscriptions written in an alphabet date from the eighth century B.C., a strong case can be made that the Greeks actually adopted alphabetic writing at least two centuries earlier. Significantly, the text of these earliest surviving Greek inscriptions sometimes runs from right to left and sometimes from left to right. Now, the Greeks learned alphabetic writing from the Phoenicians, and in the process they would surely have adopted whatever convention the Phoenicians were then using with respect to the direction of writing. Originally, Phoenician writing ran in either direction, but by the eighth century B.C. it had been consistently written from right to left for about two centuries.

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

A significant number of complex repair jobs carried out by Ace Repairs have to be reworked under the company's warranty. The reworked jobs are invariably satisfactory. When initial repairs are inadequate, therefore, it is not because the mechanics lack competence; rather, there is clearly a level of focused concentration that complex repairs require that is elicited more reliably by rework jobs than by first-time jobs.

The argument above assumes which of the following?

In the years following an eight-cent increase in the federal tax on a pack of cigarettes, sales of cigarettes fell ten percent. In contrast, in the year prior to the tax increase, sales had fallen one percent. The volume of cigarette sales is therefore strongly related to the after-tax price of a pack of cigarettes.

The argument above requires which of the following assumptions?

In response to viral infection, the immune systems of mice typically produce antibodies that destroy the virus by binding to proteins on its surface. Mice infected with a herpesvirus generally develop keratitis, a degenerative disease affecting part of the eye. Since proteins on the surface of cells in this part of the eye closely resemble those on the herpesvirus surface, scientists hypothesize that these cases of keratitis are caused by antibodies to herpesvirus.

Which of the following, if true, gives the greatest additional support to the scientists' hypothesis?

Scientists typically do their most creative work before the age of forty. It is commonly thought that this happens because aging by itself brings about a loss of creative capacity. However, a study has found that almost all scientists who produce highly creative work beyond the age of forty entered their fields late and less than a dozen years before their creative breakthroughs. Since creative breakthroughs by scientists under forty also generally occur within a dozen years of the scientist's entry into the field, the study's finding strongly suggests that the real reason why scientists over forty rarely produce highly creative work is not due to age but rather because most have spent too long in their fields.

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

Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium transmitted to humans by deer ticks. Generally deer ticks pick up the bacterium while in the larval stage from feeding on infected white-footed mice. However, certain other species on which the larvae feed do not harbor the bacterium. Therefore, if the population of these other species were increased, the number of ticks acquiring the bacterium and hence the number of people contracting Lyme disease-would likely decline.

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

The percentage of households with an annual income of more than $40,000 is higher in Merton county than in any other county. However, the percentage of households with an annual income of $60,000 or more is highest in Sommer county.

If the statements above are true, which of the following can properly be concluded on the basis of them?

Ecologist: The Scottish Highlands were once the site of extensive forests, but these forests have mostly disappeared and been replaced by peat bogs. The common view is that the Highlands' deforestation was caused by human activity, especially agriculture. However, agriculture began in the Highlands less than 2,000 years ago. Peat bogs, which consist of compressed decayed vegetable matter, build up by only about one foot per 1,000 years and, throughout the Highlands, remains of trees in peat bogs are almost all at depths great than four feet. Since climate changes that occurred between 7,000 and 4,000 years ago favored the development of peat bogs rather than the survival of forests, the deforestation was more likely the result of natural processes than of human activity.

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

The traditional treatment of strep infections has been a seven-day course of antibiotics, either penicillin or erythromycin. However, since many patients stop taking those drugs within three days, reinfection is common in cases where those drugs are prescribed. A new antibiotic requires only a three-day course of treatment. Therefore, reinfection will probably be less common in cases where the new antibiotic is prescribed than in cases where either penicillin or erythromycin is prescribed.

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

Driving the steep road to the mountaintop Inca ruins of Machu Picchu is potentially dangerous and hiking there is difficult. Now the Peruvian government is installing a cable car that will make access much easier, and hence result in a large increase in tourism. However, since the presence of large numbers of tourists tends to accelerate the deterioration of a site, installation of the cable car is certain to result in harm to the ruins.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the argument?

Macrophages are cells that play a role in the response of the immune system of mice and other mammals to invasive organisms such as bacteria. Unlike other mice, mice that are genetically incapable of making these particular cells do not show elevated levels of nitrates when infected with bacteria.

The statements above, if true, provide the most support for which of the following conclusions?

During the month of May, crabs arrive on Delaware's beaches to lay eggs. Certain shorebirds depend on these eggs for food during their annual spring migration to their northern breeding grounds. Delaware's crab population has declined recently. This decline, however, poses no serious threat to the migrating shorebird populations: by remaining longer in Delaware, the birds will be able to eat enough crab eggs to allow them to complete their migration.

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