GRE Preparation Kit 6 - Section 2

[Samuel]

SECTION 2

Time –30 inutes

25 Questions

1. The ancient Greek playwright Euripides followed the established conventions of verse composition less rigorously at the
    end of his career than at the beginning. Since the lines from a recently discovered Euripidean play adhere to those
    conventions as rigorously as do lines from Euripides' early plays, the recently discovered play must have been composed
    early in Euripides' career. Which of the following is an assumption made in the argument?
    (A) All of Euripides' plays were written in verse.
    (B) Euripides did not write any plays late in his career in which he imitated the style of his early plays.
    (C) Euripides grew increasingly unaware of the established conventions of verse composition as his career progressed.
    (D) Late in his career, Euripides was the only playwright of his day who consciously broke with the established 
          conventions of verse composition.
    (E) Ancient playwrights tended to be less willing to violate certain conventions early in their careers than they were later
          in their careers

6. If tiling is done on day 2 and installing appliances is done on day 5, which of the following are the tasks that must be done
    on days 1 and 6, respectively?
    (A) Plumbing, refinishing
    (B) Plumbing, wallpapering
    (C) Sanding, plumbing
    (D) Sanding, wallpapering
    (E) Wallpapering, sanding

7. If plumbing is done on day 1 and wallpapering is done on day 5, which of the following can be the tasks that are done on
    days 2 and 6, respectively?
    (A) Refinishing, tiling
    (B) Sanding, installing appliances
    (C) Sanding, refinishing
    (D) Tiling, refinishing
    (E) Tiling, sanding

8. If tiling is done on day 3, which of the following must be done on day 2?
    (A) Installing appliances
    (B) Plumbing
    (C) Refinishing
    (D) Sanding
    (E) Wallpapering

Questions 9-10 are based on the following graph.

9. It can be properly concluded from the graph that
   (A) the drought beginning after 1981 affected crops to a similar degree in the four countries
   (B) a country can withstand a severe famine without a substantial increase in mortality
   (C) a substantial decline in production of food per person in a country does not necessarily result in famine and increased
        deaths
   (D) the drought was more severe in the four countries by 1984 than it had been in 1982
   (E) there is no way to differentiate between countries that will and countries that will not suffer severe famine when food 
        production drops sharply

10. Which of the following, if true, contributes most to an explanation of differences in the presence of famine that are shown
      on the graph?
      (A) The drought that began in 1981 was more severe in the countries of Botswana and Zimbabwe than in Sudan and
            Ethiopia.
      (B) Before the drought, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Botswana were exporters of their major food crops, including grain, but
            Zimbabwe was not an exporter of its major food crops.
      (C) During 1979-1984, the population of Botswana and Zimbabwe combined was less than the population of either Sudan
            or Ethiopia.
      (D) At the beginning of the drought, surplus food stocks in Sudan and Botswana were larger, relative to population, than
            in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe.
      (E) Popular demand for relief elic ited a prompt response from the governments of Botswana and Zimbabwe, because
           they were democracies, but not from the nondemocratic governmentsof Sudan and Ethiopia.

11. Between 1970 and 1980, energy consumption by United States industry peaked and then declined, so that by 1980 total
      industrial use of energy was below the 1970 level even though total industrial output had grown substantially in the same
      period. Industry must have instituted highly effective energy conservation measures in those years to have achieved 
      such impressive results. Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion of the argument?
      (A) Many industries switched to the greatest extent possible from high-priced oil to lower-priced alternatives throughout
            the 1970's.
      (B) Total residential energy consumption was higher in the United States in 1980 than it had been in 1970
      (C) Many industrial users of energy had paid little attention to energy conservation prior to 1970.
      (D) Industrial output grew less rapidly from 1970 to 1980 than it had from 1960 to 1970.
      (E) The industries whose production dropped sharply during the 1970's included a disproportionately large number of
           energy-intensive industries.

12. Many people acquire software programs for their home computers by illegally copying those programs rather than
      purchasing them. People who own home computers must be making, on average, fewer illegal copies of software
      programs than before, however, since the average number of software programs that people purchase to use on their
      home computers has increased substantially over the past five years. Which of the following, if true, most strengthens
      the argument?
      (A) The number of home computers in use has increased substantially over the past five years.
      (B) Five years ago, about half of the software programs  used on home computers had been illegally copied rather than
            purchased.
      (C) Most people who have home computers use  their computers more frequently the longer they have them.
      (D) Few people who prefer to copy computer software programs illegally cannot copy the software programs they want
            because they have no acquaintances who have those software programs.
      (E) On average, people with home computers have the same number of software programs today as people with home 
           computers did five years ago.

Questions 13-17

16. Exactly seven detectives? G, H, J, K, M, O, and P— will investigate two cases— case 1 and case 2. Each of the seven 
     detectives will investigate exactly one of the two cases. Four of the detectives will investigate case 1, and three of the
     detectives will investigate case 2. Detectives will be assigned to cases in accordance with the following conditions
     (A) G and M
     (B) k  and O
     (C) H and O
     (D) J and K
     (E) J and M

17. Any of the following can be true EXCEPT number of crimes committed by heroin addicts to support their addiction
     (A) making heroin available legally and cheaply would make it less likely that heroin addicts will attempt to overcome
           their addiction
     (B) decreasing the severity of penalties for individuals who use heroin would not increase the number of new heroin
           addicts

24. Stem borers are insect pests that often ruin North American corn crops. On some other continents, crop damage by stem
      borers is controlled by a certain species of wasp. Since these wasps eat nothing but stem borers, importing them into 
      North America will keep crop damage from stem borers under control without endangering other North American insect
     species. Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
     (A) Corn is the principal food of stem borers that live on continents other than North America.
     (B) The wasps are capable of surviving in North America long enough to eat significant numbers of stem borers.
     (C) No wasp in North America is closely related to the species of wasp that eats stem borers.
     (D) On continent other than North America, the wasps control stem borers more effectively than does any other pest
           control measure.
     (E) Corn crops on continents other than North America are not damaged by any insect pests other than stem borers.

25. In the country of Laurelia, legal restrictions on the sale of lock-picking equipment were relaxed ten years ago, and since
      then Laurelia's burglary rate has risen dramatically. Hence, since legally purchased lock-picking equipment was used in
      most burglaries, reintroducing strict limits on the sale of this equipment would help to reduce Laurelia's burglary rate.
      Which of the following, if true, gives the strongest support to the argument?
      (A) Laurelia's overall crime rate has risen dramatically over the last ten years.
      (B) There is wide popular support in Laurelia for the reintroduction of strict limits on the sale of lockpicking equipment.
      (C) The reintroduction of strict limits on the sale of lock-picking equipment in Laurelia would not prevent legitimate use
            of this equipment by police and other public safety officials.
      (D) Most lock-picking equipment used in Laurelia is fragile and usually breaks irreparably within a few years of purchase.
      (E) The introduction five years ago of harsher punishments for people convicted of burglary had little effect on Laurelia's
            burglary rate.