After successfully completing the CAT 2016 sprint series and the SNAP 2016 sprint series, we are back with the XAT 2017 – Critical Reasoning, Decision Making Marathon – 8 to boost your prep. This series will consist of 15 sets of questions that will test your reasoning skills and will enable you to do well in the crucial Decision Making section of XAT 2017.
You may check out the entire series here: XAT 2017 – Critical Reasoning, Decision Making Marathon
XAT 2017 – Critical Reasoning, Decision Making Marathon – 8
Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages. For some questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question. However, you are to choose the best answer; that is, the response that most accurately and completely answers the question. You should not make assumptions that are by commonsense standards implausible, superfluous, or incompatible with the passage. After you have chosen the best answer, blacken the corresponding space on your answer sheet.
1. Researchers have found that children in large families— particularly the younger siblings—generally have fewer allergies than children in small families do. They hypothesize that exposure to germs during infancy makes people less likely to develop allergies.
Which one of the following, if true, most supports the researchers’ hypothesis?
(A) In countries where the average number of children per family has decreased over the last century, the incidence of allergies has increased.
(B) Children in small families generally eat more kinds of very allergenic foods than children in large families do.
(C) Some allergies are life threatening, while many diseases caused by germs produce only temporary discomfort.
(D) Children whose parents have allergies have an above-average likelihood of developing allergies themselves.
(E) Children from small families who entered day care before age one were less likely to develop allergies than children from small families who entered day care later.
2. Film preservation requires transferring old movies from their original material—unstable, deteriorating nitrate film—to stable acetate film. But this is a time-consuming, expensive process, and there is no way to transfer all currently deteriorating nitrate films to acetate before they disintegrate. So some films from the earliest years of Hollywood will not be preserved.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) No new technology for transferring old movies from nitrate film to acetate film will ever be developed.
(B) Transferring films from nitrate to acetate is not the least expensive way of preserving them.
(C) Not many films from the earliest years of Hollywood have already been transferred to acetate.
(D) Some films from the earliest years of Hollywood currently exist solely in their original material.
(E) The least popular films from the earliest years of Hollywood are the ones most likely to be lost.
3. In a recent study of arthritis, researchers tried but failed to find any correlation between pain intensity and any of those features of the weather—humidity, temperature swings, barometric pressure—usually cited by arthritis sufferers as the cause of their increased pain. Those arthritis sufferers in the study who were convinced of the existence of such a correlation gave widely varying accounts of the time delay between the occurrence of what they believed to be the relevant feature of the weather and the increased intensity of the pain. Thus, this study _______.
Of the following, which one most logically completes the argument?
(A) indicates that the weather affects some arthritis sufferers more quickly than it does other arthritis sufferers
(B) indicates that arthritis sufferers’ beliefs about the causes of the pain they feel may affect their assessment of the intensity of that pain
(C) suggests that arthritis sufferers are imagining the correlation they assert to exist
(D) suggests that some people are more susceptible to weather-induced arthritis pain than are others
(E) suggests that the scientific investigation of possible links between weather and arthritis pain is impossible
4. Cities with healthy economies typically have plenty of job openings. Cities with high-technology businesses also tend to have healthy economies, so those in search of jobs should move to a city with high-technology businesses.
The reasoning in which one of the following is most similar to the reasoning in the argument above?
(A) Older antiques are usually the most valuable. Antique dealers generally authenticate the age of the antiques they sell, so those collectors who want the most valuable antiques should purchase their antiques from antique dealers.
(B) Antique dealers who authenticate the age of the antiques they sell typically have plenty of
antiques for sale. Since the most valuable antiques are those that have had their ages authenticated, antique collectors in search of valuable antiques should purchase their antiques from antique dealers.
(C) Antiques that have had their ages authenticated tend to be valuable. Since antique dealers generally carry antiques that have had their ages authenticated, those collectors who want antiques that are valuable should purchase their antiques from antique dealers.
(D) Many antique collectors know that antique dealers can authenticate the age of the antiques they sell. Since antiques that have had their ages authenticated are always the most valuable, most antique collectors who want antiques that are valuable tend to purchase their antiques from antique dealers.
(E) Many antiques increase in value once they have had their ages authenticated by antique dealers. Since antique dealers tend to have plenty of valuable antiques, antique collectors who prefer to purchase the most valuable antiques should purchase antiques from antique dealers.
5. Sociologist: A recent study of 5,000 individuals found, on the basis of a physical exam, that more than 25 percent of people older than 65 were malnourished, though only 12 percent of the people in this age group fell below government poverty standards. In contrast, a greater percentage of the people 65 or younger fell below poverty standards than were found in the study to be malnourished.
Each of the following, if true, helps to explain the findings of the study cited by the sociologist EXCEPT:
(A) Doctors are less likely to correctly diagnose and treat malnutrition in their patients who are over 65 than in their younger patients.
(B) People over 65 are more likely to take medications that increase their need for certain nutrients than are people 65 or younger.
(C) People over 65 are more likely to suffer from loss of appetite due to medication than are people 65 or younger.
(D) People 65 or younger are no more likely to fall below government poverty standards than are people over 65.
(E) People 65 or younger are less likely to have medical conditions that interfere with their digestion than are people over 65.
6. Backyard gardeners who want to increase the yields of their potato plants should try growing stinging nettles alongside the plants, since stinging nettles attract insects that kill a wide array of insect pests that damage potato plants. It is true that stinging nettles also attract aphids, and that many species of aphids are harmful to potato plants, but that fact in no way contradicts this recommendation, because _______.
Which one of the following most logically completes the argument?
(A) stinging nettles require little care and thus are easy to cultivate
(B) some types of aphids are attracted to stinging nettle plants but do not damage them
(C) the types of aphids that stinging nettles attract do not damage potato plants
(D) insect pests typically cause less damage to potato plants than other harmful organisms do
(E) most aphid species that are harmful to potato plants cause greater harm to other edible food plants
7. Jocko, a chimpanzee, was once given a large bunch of bananas by a zookeeper after the more dominant members of the chimpanzee’s troop had wandered off. In his excitement, Jocko uttered some loud “food barks.” The other chimpanzees returned and took the bananas away. The next day, Jocko was again found alone and was given a single banana. This time, however, he kept silent. The zookeeper concluded that Jocko’s silence was a stratagem to keep the other chimpanzees from his food.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the zookeeper’s conclusion?
(A) Chimpanzees utter food barks only when their favorite foods are available.
(B) Chimpanzees utter food barks only when they encounter a sizable quantity of food.
(C) Chimpanzees frequently take food from other chimpanzees merely to assert dominance.
(D) Even when they are alone, chimpanzees often make noises that appear to be signals to other chimpanzees.
(E) Bananas are a food for which all of the chimpanzees at the zoo show a decided preference.
8. A recent survey quizzed journalism students about the sorts of stories they themselves wished to read. A significant majority said they wanted to see stories dealing with serious governmental and political issues and had little tolerance for the present popularity of stories covering lifestyle trends and celebrity gossip. This indicates that today’s trends in publishing are based on false assumptions about the interests of the public.
Which one of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the argument’s reasoning?
(A) It takes what is more likely to be the effect of a phenomenon to be its cause.
(B) It regards the production of an effect as incontrovertible evidence of an intention to produce that effect.
(C) It relies on the opinions of a group unlikely to be representative of the group at issue in the conclusion.
(D) It employs language that unfairly represents those who are likely to reject the argument’s conclusion.
(E) It treats a hypothesis as fact even though it is admittedly unsupported.
9. Electric bug zappers, which work by attracting insects to light, are a very effective means of ridding an area of flying insects. Despite this, most pest control experts now advise against their use, recommending instead such remedies as insect-eating birds or insecticide sprays.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to account for the pest control experts’ recommendation?
(A) Insect-eating birds will take up residence in any insect-rich area if they are provided with nesting boxes, food, and water.
(B) Bug zappers are less effective against mosquitoes, which are among the more harmful insects, than they are against other harmful insects.
(C) Bug zappers use more electricity but provide less light than do most standard outdoor light sources.
(D) Bug zappers kill many more beneficial insects and fewer harmful insects than do insect-eating birds and insecticide sprays.
(E) Developers of certain new insecticide sprays claim that their products contain no chemicals that are harmful to humans, birds, or pets.
10. Gardener: The design of Japanese gardens should display harmony with nature. Hence, rocks chosen for placement in such gardens should vary widely in appearance, since rocks found in nature also vary widely in appearance.
The gardener’s argument depends on assuming which one of the following?
(A) The selection of rocks for placement in a Japanese garden should reflect every key value embodied in the design of Japanese gardens.
(B) In the selection of rocks for Japanese gardens, imitation of nature helps to achieve harmony with nature.
(C) The only criterion for selecting rocks for placement in a Japanese garden is the expression of harmony with nature.
(D) Expressing harmony with nature and being natural are the same thing.
(E) Each component of a genuine Japanese garden is varied.
Answer key:
1. E
2. D
3. C
4. C
5. D
6. C
7. B
8. C
9. D
10. B
Meanwhile, for those who want to solve quality questions from past year XAT papers, you may check out our ongoing XAT 2017 Sprint Preparation Series.
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