Some GRE sample question (Analytical)

Analytical Section : Logical Reasoning

Directions :Each GRE sample logical reasoning question in this part of the assessment starts with a reading passage containing the information to be used to choose between correct and incorrect logical conclusions. These conclusions are based on the information in the passage. After this reading passage, you are given a lead-in phrase that tells you to choose from among five different responses. These possible responses are generated by correctly or incorrectly applying logical thought to the information in the passage at the beginning of the question. They can be thought of as different ways of completing a sentence that begins with the lead-in phrase.

Each GRE sample logical reasoning reading passage is based on actual Bureau of Labor Statistics documents but is not necessarily a completely accurate representation of BLS work. It is important that you accept every fact in the reading passage as true, when you evaluate the response choices offered. You should use only the information in the passage as the basis for accepting or rejecting any response choices. Be careful not to allow any "facts" that are not clearly stated in the reading passage, or any outside knowledge you may have of the "facts", to influence your thinking.

1. Testifying before the Senate committee investigating charges that cigarette manufacturers had manipulated nicotine levels in cigarettes in order to addict consumers to their products, tobacco executives argued that cigarette smoking is not addictive. The primary reason they gave in support of this claim was that cigarette smoking was not regulated by the Federal Drug Administration.
   For the tobacco executives' argument to be logically correct, which of the following must be assumed?
   1. Substances that are not addictive are not regulated by ...........the Federal Drug Administration.
   2. The tobacco executives lied when they claimed that ...........cigarette smoking was not addictive.
   3. Some addictive substances are not regulated by the ...........Federal Drug Administration.
   4. There is no scientific proof that cigarette smoking is ...........addictive.
   5. Substances that are not regulated by the Federal Drug ...........Administration are not addictive.
   Ans : E
2. People should be held accountable for their own behavior, and if holding people accountable for their own behavior entails capital punishment, then so be it. However, no person should be held accountable for behavior over which he or she had no control.Which of the following is the most logical conclusion of the argument above?
   
   1. People should not be held accountable for the ...........behavior of other people.
   2. People have control over their own behavior.
   3. People cannot control the behavior of other people.
   4. Behavior that cannot be controlled should not be ...........punished.
   5. People have control over behavior that is subject ...........to capital punishment.
   Ans : B
3. There is clear evidence that the mandated use of safety seats by children under age four has resulted in fewer child fatalities over the past five years. Compared to the five-year period prior to the passage of laws requiring the use of safety seats, fatalities of children under age four have decreased by 30 percent.Which one of the following, if true, most substantially strengthens the argument above?
   
   1. The number of serious automobile accidents involving ...........children under age four has remained steady over the ...........past five years.
   2. Automobile accidents involving children have decreased ...........sharply over the past five years.
   3. The use of air bags in automobiles has increased by ...........30 percent over the past five years.
   4. Most fatal automobile accidents involving children under ...........age four occur in the driveway of their home.
   5. The number of teenage drivers has increased by 30 ...........percent over the past five years.
   Ans : A
4. Lycopene, glutathione, and glutamine are powerful antioxidants that neutralize the free radicals that are produced in the body as a result of routine bodily processes. An excess of these free radicals in your system causes rapid aging because they accelerate the rate of cellular damage. Aging is simply the result of this damage. Thus, to slow down aging it is necessary to supplement your diet with these antioxidants on a daily basis.
   Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the author's contention?
   1. Most persons aren't concerned with the effects of aging ...........until it is too late to do anything.
   2. Exercise associated with normal daily activities effectively ...........neutralizes and dissipates the free radicals that are ...........produced as a result of routine bodily processes.
   3. The cost of antioxidants is exorbitantly high and well ...........beyond the budget of most consumers.
   4. Only overweight people who do not exercise on a daily ...........basis are likely to have an excess of free radicals in their ...........systems.
   5. Smoking cigarettes is one of the main causes of cellular ...........damage in humans.
   Ans : B
5. Is it wrong for doctors to lie about their patients' illnesses? Aren't doctors just like any other people we hire to do a job for us? Surely, we would not tolerate not being told the truth about the condition of our automobile from the mechanic we hired to fix it, or the condition of our roof from the carpenter we employed to repair it. Just as these workers would be guilty of violating their good faith contracts with us if they were to do this, doctors who lie to their patients about their illnesses violate these contracts as well, and this is clearly wrong.The conclusion of the argument is best expressed by which of the following?
   
   1. Doctors who lie to their patients about their illnesses ...........violate their good faith contracts with their patients.
   2. Doctors often lie to their patients about their illnesses.
   3. Doctors are just hired workers like mechanics and ...........carpenters.
   4. It is wrong for doctors to lie about their patients' ...........illnesses.
   5. Doctors, like mechanics and carpenters, enter into good ...........faith contracts with us when we hire them.
   Ans : D