GMAT Verbal CR-3

1. The sustained massive use of pesticides in farming has two effects that are especially pernicious．First，it often kills off the pests’ natural enemies in the area．Second，it often unintentionally gives rise to insecticide resistant pests，since those insects that survive a particular insecticide will be the ones most resistant to it, and they are the ones left to breed．

From the passage above．it can be properly inferred that the effectiveness of the sustained massive use of pesticides can be extended by doing which of the following，assuming that each is a realistic possibility?

(A)  Using only chemically stable insecticides

(B)  Periodically switching the type of insecticide used

(C)  Gradually increasing the quantities of pesticides used

(D)  Leaving a few fields fallow every year

(E)  Breeding higher-yielding varieties of crop plants

2. Large national budget deficits do not cause large trade deficits．If they did，countries with the largest budget deficits would also have the largest trade deficits．In fact，when deficit figures are adjusted so that different countries are reliably comparable to each other, there is no such correlation．

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

(A)  Countries with large national budget deficits tend to restrict foreign trade．

(B)  Reliable comparisons of the deficit figures of one country with those of another are impossible．

(C)  Reducing a country's national budget deficit will not necessarily result in a lowering of any trade deficit that country may have．  

(D)  When countries are ordered from largest to smallest in terms of population，the smallest countries generally have the smallest budget and trade deficits．

(E)  Countries with the largest trade deficits never have similarly large national budget deficits．

3. Transnational cooperation among corporations is experiencing a modest renaissance among United States firms，even though projects undertaken by two or more corporations under a collaborative agreement are less profitable than projects undertaken by a single corporation．The advantage of transnational cooperation is that such joint international projects may allow United States firms to win foreign contracts that they would not otherwise be able to win．

Which of the following statements by a United States corporate officer best fits the situation of United States firms as described in the passage above?

(A) ＂We would rather make only a share of the profit and also risk only a share of a possible loss than run the full risk of a loss．＂

(B) ＂We would rather make a share of a relatively modest profit than end up making none of a potentially much bigger profit．＂

(C) ＂We would rather cooperate and build good will than poison the business climate by all-out competition．＂

(D) ＂We would rather have foreign corporations join us in American projects than join them in projects in their home countries.＂

(E) ＂We would rather win a contract with a truly competitive bid of our own than get involved in less profitable collaborative agreements.＂

4. Increases in the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)in the human bloodstream lower bloodstream cholesterol levels by increasing the body-capacity to rid itself of excess cholesterol．Levels of HDL in the bloodstream of some individuals are significantly increased by a program of regular exercise and weight reduction．

Which of the following can be correctly inferred from the statements above?

(A)  Individuals who are underweight do not run any risk of developing high levels of cholesterol in the bloodstream．

(B)  Individuals who do not exercise regularly have a high risk of developing high levels of cholesterol in the bloodstream late in life．

(C)  Exercise and weight reduction are the most effective methods of lowering bloodstream cholesterol levels in humans．

(D)  A program of regular exercise and weight reduction lowers cholesterol levels in the bloodstream of some individuals．

(E)  Only regular exercise is necessary to decrease cholesterol levels in the bloodstream of individuals of average weight．

5. United States hospitals have traditionally relied primarily on revenues from paying patients to offset losses from unreimbursed care．Almost all paying patients now rely on governmental or private health insurance to pay hospital bills．Recently, insurers have been strictly limiting what they pay hospitals for the care of insured patients to amounts at or below actual costs．

Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the information above?

(A)  Although the advance of technology has made expensive medical procedures available to the wealthy, such procedures are out of the reach of low-income patients．

(B)  If hospitals do not find ways of raising additional income for unreimbursed care，they must either deny some of that care or suffer losses if they give it．

(C)  Some patients have incomes too high for eligibility for governmental health insurance but are unable to afford private insurance for hospital care．

(D)  If the hospitals reduce their costs in providing care，insurance companies will maintain the current level of reimbursement，thereby providing more funds for unreimbursed care.

(E)  Even though philanthropic donations have traditionally provided some support for the hospitals，such donations are at present declining．

6. Parasitic wasps lay their eggs directly into the eggs of various host insects in exactly the right numbers for any suitable size of host egg．If they laid too many eggs in a host egg，the developing wasp larvae would compete with each other to the death for nutrients and space．If too few eggs were laid，potions of the host egg would decay, killing the wasp larvae．

Which of the following conclusions can properly be drawn from the information above?

(A)  The size of the smallest host egg that a wasp could theoretically parasitize can be determined from the  wasp's egg-laying behavior．

(B)  Host insects lack any effective defenses against the form of predation practiced by parasitic wasps．

(C)  Parasitic wasps learn from experience how many eggs to lay into the eggs of different host species．

(D)  Failure to lay enough eggs would lead to the death of the developing wasp larvae more quickly than would laying too many eggs．

(E)  Parasitic wasps use visual clues to calculate the size of a host egg．

7. Meteorite explosions in the Earth's atmosphere as large as the one that destroyed forests in Siberia，with approximately the force of a 12-megaton nuclear blast, occur about once a century．

The response of highly automated systems controlled by complex computer programs to unexpected circumstances is unpredictable．

Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn，if the statements above are true，about a highly automated nuclear-missile defense system controlled by a complex computer program?

(A)  Within a century after its construction，the system would react inappropriately and might accidentally start a nuclear war．

(B)  The system would be destroyed if an explosion of a large meteorite occurred in the Earth's atmosphere．

(C)  It would be impossible for the system to distinguish the explosion of a large meteorite from the explosion of a nuclear weapon．

(D)  Whether the system would respond inappropriately to the explosion of a large meteorite would depend on the location of the blast．

(E)  It is not certain what the system's response to the explosion of a large meteorite would be，if its designers did not plan for such a contingency．

8. High levels of fertilizer and pesticides，needed when farmers try to produce high yields of the same crop year after year pollute water supplies．Experts therefore urge farmers to diversify their crops and to rotate their plantings yearly．

To receive governmental price-support benefits for a crop，farmers must have produced that same crop for the past several years．

The statements above，if true，best support which of the following conclusions?

(A)  The rules for governmental support of farm prices work against efforts to reduce water pollution．

(B)  The only solution to the problem of water pollution from fertilizers and pesticides is to take farmland out of production．

(C)  Farmers can continue to make a profit by rotating diverse crops，thus reducing costs for chemicals，but not by planting the same crop each year．

(D)  New farming techniques will be developed to make it possible for farmers to reduce the application of fertilizers and pesticides．

(E)  Governmental price supports for farm products are set at levels that are not high enough to allow farmers to get out of debt．

9. In an attempt to promote the widespread use of paper rather than plastic，and thus reduce non-biodegradable waste，the council of a small town plans to ban the sale of disposable plastic goods for which substitutes made of paper exist．The council argues that since most paper is entirely biodegradable，paper goods are environmentally preferable．

Which of the following，if true，indicates that the plan to ban the sale of disposable plastic goods is ill suited to the town council's environmental goals?

(A)  Although biodegradable plastic goods are now available，members of the town council believe biodegradable paper goods to be safer for the environment．

(B)  The paper factory at which most of the townspeople are employed plans to increase production of biodegradable paper goods．

(C)  After other towns enacted similar bans on the sale of plastic goods，the environmental benefits were not discernible for several years．

(D)  Since most townspeople prefer plastic goods to paper goods in many instances，they are likely to purchase them in neighboring towns where plastic goods are available for sale．

(E)  Products other than those derived from wood pulp are often used in the manufacture of paper goods that are entirely biodegradable．

10. Since the deregulation of airlines，delays at the nation's increasingly busy airports have increased by 25 percent．To combat this problem，more of the takeoff and landing slots at the busiest airports must be allocated to commercial airlines．

Which of the following，if true，casts the most doubt on the effectiveness of the solution proposed above?

(A)  The major causes of delays at the nation's busiest airports are bad weather and overtaxed air traffic control equipment．

(B)  Since airline deregulation began，the number of airplanes in operation has increased by 25 percent.

(C)  Over 60 percent of the takeoff and landing slots at the nation's busiest airports are reserved for commercial airlines．

(D)  After a small Midwestern airport doubled its allocation of takeoff and landing slots，the number of delays that were reported decreased by 50 percent。

(E)  Since deregulation the average length of delay at the nation’s busiest airports has doubled