9.

A discount retailer of basic household necessities employs thousands of people and pays
most of them at the minimum wage rate. Yet following a federally mandated increase of the
minimum wage rate that increased the retailer’s operating costs considerably, the retailer’s
profits increased markedly.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox?
(A) Over half of the retailer’s operating costs consist of payroll expenditures; yet only a
small percentage of those expenditures go to pay management salaries.
(B) The retailer’s customer base is made up primarily of people who earn, or who depend on
the earnings of others who earn, the minimum wage.
(C) The retailer’s operating costs, other than wages, increased substantially after the increase
in the minimum wage rate went into effect.
(D) When the increase in the minimum wage rate went into effect, the retailer also raised the
wage rate for employees who had been earning just above minimum wage.
(E) The majority of the retailer’s employees work as cashiers, and most cashiers are paid the
minimum wage.
14. The average level of fat in the blood of people suffering from acute cases of disease W is
lower than the average level for the population as a whole. Nevertheless, most doctors
believe that reducing blood-fat levels is an effective way of preventing acute W.
Which one of the following, if true, does most to justify this apparently paradoxical belief?
(A) The blood level of fat for patients who have been cured of W is on average the same as
that for the population at large.
(B) Several of the symptoms characteristic of acute W have been produced in laboratory
animals fed large doses of a synthetic fat substitute, though acute W itself has not been
produced in this way.
(C) The progression from latent to acute W can occur only when the agent that causes acute
W absorbs large quantities of fat from the patient’s blood.
(D) The levels of fat in the blood of patients who have disease W respond abnormally slowly
to changes in dietary intake of fat.
(E) High levels of fat in the blood are indicative of several diseases that are just as serious as
W.
8. Some companies in fields where skilled employees are hard to find make signing an
“agreement not to compete” a condition of employment. In such an agreement the employee
promises not to go work for a competing firm for a set period after leaving his or her current
employer. Courts are increasingly ruling that these agreements are not binding. Yet
paradoxically, for people who signed such agreements when working for competing firms,
many firms are unwilling to consider hiring them during the period covered by the
agreement.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the paradox?
(A) Many companies will not risk having to become involved in lawsuits, even suits that
they expect to have a favorable outcome.
(B) In some industries, for example the broadcast media, companies’ main source of new
employees tends to be people who are already employed by competing firms.
 (C) Most companies that require their employees to sign agreements not to compete are
aware that these documents are not legally binding.
(D) Many people who have signed agreements not to compete are unwilling to renege on a
promise by going to work for a competing firm.
(E) Many companied consider their employees established relationships with clients and
other people outside the company to be valuable company assets.
25. Police statistics have shown that automobile antitheft devices reduce the risk of car theft, but
a statistical study of automobile theft by the automobile insurance industry claims that cars
equipped with antitheft devices are, paradoxically, more likely to be stolen than cars that are
not so equipped.
Which one of the following, if true, does the most to resolve the apparent paradox?
(A) Owners of stolen cars almost invariably report the theft immediately to the police but
tend to delay notifying their insurance company, in the hope that the vehicle will be
recovered.
(B) Most cars that are stolen are not equipped with antitheft devices, and most cars that are
equipped with antitheft devices are not stolen.
(C) The most common automobile antitheft devices are audible alarms, which typically
produce ten false alarms for every actual attempted theft.
(D) Automobile owners who have particularly theft-prone cars and live in areas of greatest
incidence of car theft are those who are most likely to have antitheft devices installed.
(E) Most automobile thefts are the work of professional thieves against whose efforts
antitheft devices offer scant protection.
17. Since the introduction of the Impanian National Health Scheme, Impanians (or their private
insurance companies) have had to pay only for the more unusual and sophisticated medical
procedures. When the scheme was introduced, it was hoped that private insurance to pay for
these procedures would be available at modest cost, since the insurers would no longer be
paying for the bulk of health care costs, as they had done previously. Paradoxically,
however, the cost of private health insurance did not decrease but has instead increased
dramatically in the years since the scheme’s introduction.
Which one of the following, if true, does most to explain the apparently paradoxical
outcome?
(A) The National Health scheme has greatly reduced the number of medical claims handled
annually by Impania’s private insurers, enabling these firms to reduce overhead costs
substantially.
(B) Before the National Health scheme was introduced, more than 80 percent of all
Impanian medical costs were associated with procedures that are now covered by the
scheme.
(C) Impanians who previously were unable to afford regular medical treatment now use the
National Health scheme, but the number of Impanians with private health insurance has
not increased.
(D) Impanians now buy private medical insurance only at times when they expect that they
will need care of kinds not available in the National Health scheme.
(E) The proportion of total expenditures within Impania that is spent on health care has
 declined since the introduction of the National Health scheme.
11. Since 1945 pesticide use in the United Stares has increased tenfold despite an overall
stability in number of acres planted. During the same period, crop loss from insects has
approximately doubled, from about seven to thirteen percent.
Which one of the following, if true, contributes most to explaining the paradoxical findings
above?
(A) Extension agents employed by state governments to advise farmers have recently
advocated using smaller amounts of pesticide, though in past years they promoted
heavy pesticide use.
(B) While pesticide-resistant strains of insects were developing, crop rotation, which for
insects disrupts a stable food supply, was gradually abandoned because farmers’
eligibility to receive government crop subsidies depended on continuing to plant the
same crop.
(C) Since 1970 the pesticides most lethal to people have generally been replaced by less-
lethal chemicals that are equally effective against insects and have a less-damaging
effect on the fish in streams fed by water that runs off from treated agricultural fields.
(D) Because farmers’ decisions about how much land to plant are governed by their
expectations about crop prices at harvest time, the amount of pesticide they apply also
depends in part on expected crop prices.
(E) Although some pesticides can be removed from foodstuffs through washing, others are
taken up into the edible portion of plants, and consumers have begun to boycott foods
containing pesticides that cannot be washed off.
15. Goodbody, Inc., is in the process of finding tenants for its newly completed Parrot Quay
commercial development, which will make available hundreds of thousands of square feet of
new office space on what was formerly derelict property outside the financial center of the
city. Surprisingly enough, the coming recession, though it will hurt most of the city’s
businesses, should help Goodbody to find tenants.
Which one of the following, if true, does most to help resolve the apparent paradox?
(A) Businesses forced to economize by the recession will want to take advantage of the
lower rents available outside the financial center.
(B) Public transportation links the financial center with the area around Parrot Quay.
(C) The area in which the Parrot Quay development is located became derelict after the
heavy industry that used to be there closed down in a previous recession.
(D) Many of Goodbody’s other properties are in financial center and will become vacant if
the recession is severe enough to force Goodbody’s tenants out of business.
(E) The recession is likely to have the most severe effect not on service industries, which
require a lot of office space, but on manufacturers.
2. When old-grow forests are cleared of tall trees, more sunlight reaches the forest floor. This
results in a sharp increase in the population of leafy shrubs on which the mule deer depend
for food. Yet mule deer herds that inhabit cleared forests are less well-nourished than are
herds living in old-growth forests.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox?
(A) Mule deer have enzyme-rich saliva and specialized digestive organs that enable the deer
 to digest tough plants inedible to other deer species.
(B) Mule deer herds that inhabit cleared forests tend to have more female with young
offspring and fewer adult males than do other mule deer populations.
(C) Mule deer populations are spread throughout western North America and inhabit hot,
sunny climates as well as cool, wet climates.
(D) As plants receive more sunlight, they produce higher amounts of tannins, compounds
that inhibit digestion of the plants’ proteins.
(E) Insect parasites, such as certain species of ticks, that feed primary on mule deer often
dwell in trees, from which they drop onto passing deer.
The Gulches is an area of volcanic rock that is gashed by many channels that lead downhill from
the site of a prehistoric glacier to a river. The channels clearly were cut by running water. It was
once accepted as fact that the cutting occurred gradually, as the glacier melted. But one geologist
theorized that the channels were cut in a short time by an enormous flood. The channels do show
physical evidence of having been formed quickly, but the flood theory was originally rejected
because scientists knew of no natural process that could melt so much ice so quickly.
Paradoxically, today the scientific community accepts the flood theory even though scientists
still do not know of a process that can melt so much ice so quickly.
17. Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox in the
passage?
(A) Ripples, which indicate that the channels were cut by water, have been discovered in the
floors of the channels.
(B) The Gulches is known to be similar in certain respects to many other volcanic rock
formations.
(C) More than one glacier was present in the area during prehistoric times.
(D) Volcanic rock is more easily cut by water than are other forms of rock.
(E) Scientists now believe that the prehistoric glacier dammed a source of water, created a
huge lake in the process, and then retreated.
1. Megatrash Co., the country’s largest waste-disposal company, has been sued by
environmental groups who have accused the firm of negligent handling of hazardous waste.
The fines and legal fees that have resulted from the legal attacks against Megatrash have
cost the company substantial amounts of money. Surprisingly, as successful lawsuits against
the company have increased in number, the company has grown stronger and more
profitable.
Which one of the following, if true, does the most to resolve the apparent paradox?
(A) Although waste-disposal firms merely handle but do not generate toxic waste, these
firms have been held legally responsible for environmental damage caused by this
waste.
(B) Megatrash has made substantial contributions to environmental causes, as have other
large waste-disposal companies.
(C) Some of the judgments against Megatrash have legally barred it from entering the more
profitable areas of the waste-management business.
(D) The example of Megatrash’s legal entanglements has driven most of the company’s
competitors from the field and deterred potential rivals from entering it.
 (E) In cases in which Megatrash has been acquitted of charges of negligence, the company
has paid more in legal fees than it would have been likely to pay in fines.
3. The government recently released a study of drinking water, in which it was reported that
consumers who bought bottled water were in many cases getting water that was less safe
than what they could obtain much more cheaply from the public water supply. In spite of the
enormous publicity that the study received, sales of bottled water have continued to rise.
Which one of the following, if true, is most help in resolving the apparent paradox?
(A) Bottled water might contain levels of potentially harmful contaminants that are not
allowed in drinking water.
(B) Most consumers who habitually drink the bottled water discussed in the study cannot
differentiate between the taste of their usual brand of bottled water and that of water
from public sources.
(C) Increased consumption of the five best-selling brands of bottled water, which the report
said were safer than both public water and most other brands of bottled water,
accounted for the increase in sales.
(D) The rate of increase in the sales of bottled water has slowed since the publication of the
government study.
(E) Government health warnings concerning food have become so frequent that consumers
have begun to doubt the safety of many everyday foods.
17. A recent survey of brand preferences showed that R-Bar Beans are considered the best of all
brands among all age groups, leading both Texas T Beans and Aunt Sally’s Beans by a wide
margin. However, the national sales figures show that Texas T and Aunt Sally’s each sold
many more cans of beans last year than did R-Bar.
Each of the following would, by itself, help to resolve the apparent paradox described in the
passage EXCEPT:
(A) Texas T Beans and Aunt Sally’s Beans are each much less expensive than R-Bar Beans.
(B) Some of the surveyed age groups showed more of a preference for R-Bar Beans than did
others.
(C) The survey was carried out only in the small geographic area where R-Bar distributes its
beans, not nationwide.
(D) Most food stores refuse to carry R-Bar Beans because the manufacturer demands that R-
Bar Beans be carried exclusively.
(E) R-Bar Beans were only introduced to the market three months prior to the calculation of
sales figures, while Texas T Beans and Aunt Sally’s Beans had been available for years.
4. The highest-ranking detectives in the city’s police department are also the most adept at
solving crimes. Yet in each of the past ten years, the average success rate for the city’s
highest-ranking detectives in solving criminal cases has been no higher than the average
success rate for its lowest-ranking detectives.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox?
(A) The detectives who have the highest success rate in solving criminal cases are those who
have worked as detectives the longest.
(B) It generally takes at least ten years for a detective to rise from the lowest to the highest
ranks of the city’s detective force.
 (C) Those detectives in the police department who are the most adept at solving criminal
cases are also those most likely to remain in the police department.
(D) The police department generally gives the criminal cases that it expects to be the easiest
to solve to its lowest-ranking detectives.
(E) None of the lowest-ranking detectives in the police department had experience in
solving criminal cases prior to joining the police department.
14. Between 1977 and 1987, the country of Ravonia lost about 12,000 jobs in logging and wood
processing representing a 15 percent decrease in employment in the country’s timber
industry. Paradoxically, this loss of jobs occurred even as the amount of wood taken from the
forests of Ravonia increased by 10 percent.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox?
(A) Not since the 1950s has the timber industry been Ravonia’s most important industry
economically.
(B) Between 1977 and 1987, the total number of acres of timberland in Ravonia fell, while
the demand for wood products increased.
(C) Since 1977, a growing proportion of the timber that has been cut in Ravonia has been
exported as raw, unprocessed wood.
(D) Since 1977, domestic sales of wood and wood products have increased by more than
export sales have increased.
(E) In 1977, overall unemployment in Ravonia was approximately 10 percent; in 1987,
Ravonia’s unemployment rate was 15 percent.
14. Between 1977 and 1987, the country of Ravonia lost about 12,000 jobs in logging and wood
processing representing a 15 percent decrease in employment in the country’s timber
industry. Paradoxically, this loss of jobs occurred even as the amount of wood taken from the
forests of Ravonia increased by 10 percent.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox?
(A) Not since the 1950s has the timber industry been Ravonia’s most important industry
economically.
(B) Between 1977 and 1987, the total number of acres of timberland in Ravonia fell, while
the demand for wood products increased.
(C) Since 1977, a growing proportion of the timber that has been cut in Ravonia has been
exported as raw, unprocessed wood.
(D) Since 1977, domestic sales of wood and wood products have increased by more than
export sales have increased.
(E) In 1977, overall unemployment in Ravonia was approximately 10 percent; in 1987,
Ravonia’s unemployment rate was 15 percent.
23. Construction contractors working on the cutting edge of technology nearly always work on a
“cost-plus” basis only. One kind of cost-plus contract stipulates the contractor’s profit as a
fixed percentage of the contractor’s costs; the other kind stipulates a fixed amount of profit
over and above costs. Under the first kind of contract, higher costs yield higher profits for
the contractor, so this is where one might expect final costs in excess of original cost
estimates to be more common. Paradoxically, such cost overruns are actually more common
if the contract is of the fixed-profit kind.
 Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox in the
situation described above?
(A) Clients are much less likely to agree to a fixed-profit type of cost-plus contract when it
is understood that under certain conditions the project will be scuttled than they are
when there is no such understanding.
(B) On long-term contracts, cost projections take future inflation into account, but since the
figures used are provided by the government, they are usually underestimates.
(C) On any sizable construction project, the contractor bills the client monthly or quarterly,
so any tendency for original cost estimates to be exceeded can be detected early.
(D) Clients billed under a cost-plus contract are free to review individual billings in order to
uncover wasteful expenditures, but they do so only when the contractor’s profit varies
with cost.
(E) The practice of submitting deliberately exaggerated cost estimates is most common in
the case of fixed-profit contracts, because it makes the profit, as a percentage of
estimated cost, appear modest.
18. In recent years the climate has been generally cool in northern Asia. But during periods
when the average daily temperature and humidity in northern Asia were slightly higher than
their normal levels the yields of most crops grown there increased significantly. In the next
century, the increased average daily temperature and humidity attained during those periods
are expected to become the norm. Yet scientists predict that the yearly yields of most of the
region’s crops will decrease during the next century.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox in the
information above?
(A) Crop yields in southern Asia are expected to remain constant even after the average
daily temperature and humidity there increase from recent levels.
(B) Any increases in temperature and humidity would be accompanied by higher levels of
atmospheric carbon dioxide, which is vital to plant respiration.
(C) The climate in northern Asia has generally been too cool and dry in recent years for
populations of many crop insect pests to become established.
(D) In many parts of Asia, the increased annual precipitation that would result from warmer
and wetter climates would cause most edible plant species to flourish.
(E) The recent climate of northern Asia prevents many crops from being farmed there during
the winter.