GMAT Sample Questions

GMAT Verbal Section : GMAT Sample Critical Reasoning Questions

86. The ice on the front windshield of the car had formed when moisture condensed during the night. The ice melted quickly after the car was warmed up the next morning because the defrosting vent, which blows only on the front windshield, was turned on full force.

    Which of the following, if true, most seriously jeopardizes the validity of the explanation for the speed with which the ice melted?

    1. The side windows had no ice condensation on them.
    2. Even though no attempt was made to defrost the back window, the ice there melted at the same rate as did the ice on the front windshield.
    3. The speed at which ice on a window melts increases as the temperature of the air blown on the window increases.
    4. The warm air from the defrosting vent for the front windshield cools rapidly as it dissipates throughout the rest of the car.
    5. The defrosting vent operates efficiently even when the heater, which blows warm air toward the feet or faces of the driver and passengers, is on.

    Answer : B

87. To prevent some conflicts of interest, Congress could prohibit high-level government officials from accepting positions as lobbyists for three years after such officials leave government service. One such official concluded, however, that such a prohibition would be unfortunate because it would prevent high-level government officials from earning a livelihood for three years.

    The official's conclusion logically depends on which of the following assumptions?

    1. Laws should not restrict the behavior of former government officials.
    2. Lobbyists are typically people who have previously been high-level government officials.
    3. Low-level government officials do not often become lobbyists when they leave government service.
    4. High-level government officials who leave government service are capable of earning a livelihood only as lobbyists.
    5. High-level government officials who leave government service are currently permitted to act as lobbyists for only three years.

    Answer : D

88. A conservation group in the United States is trying to change the long-standing image of bats as frightening creatures. The group contends that bats are feared and persecuted solely because they are shy animals that are active only at night.

    Which of the following, if true, would cast the most serious doubt on the accuracy of the group's contention?

    1. Bats are steadily losing natural roosting places such as caves and hollow trees and are thus turning to more developed areas for roosting.
    2. Bats are the chief consumers of nocturnal insects and thus can help make their hunting territory more pleasant for humans.
    3. Bats are regarded as frightening creatures not only in the United States but also in Europe, Africa, and South America.
    4. Raccoons and owls are shy and active only at night; yet they are not generally feared and persecuted.
    5. People know more about the behavior of other greatly feared animal species, such as lions, alligators, and snakes, than they do about the behavior of bats.

    Answer : D

89. Meteorite explosions in the Earth's atmosphere as large as the one that destroyed forests in Siberia, with approximately the force of a twelve-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?

    1. Within a century after its construction, the system would react inappropriately and might accidentally start a nuclear war.
    2. The system would be destroyed if an explosion of a large meteorite occurred in the Earth's atmosphere.
    3. It would be impossible for the system to distinguish the explosion of a large meteorite from the explosion of a nuclear weapon.
    4. Whether the system would respond inappropriately to the explosion of a large meteorite would depend on the location of the blast.
    5. 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.

    Answer : E

90. Defense Department analysts worry that the ability of the United States to wage a prolonged war would be seriously endangered if the machine-tool manufacturing base shrinks further. Before the Defense Department publicly connected this security issue with the import quota issue, however, the machine-tool industry raised the national security issue in its petition for import quotas.

    Which of the following, if true, contributes most to an explanation of the machine-tool industry's raising the issue above regarding national security?

    1. When the aircraft industries retooled, they provided a large amount of work for tool builders.
    2. The Defense Department is only marginally concerned with the effects of foreign competition on the machine-tool industry.
    3. The machine-tool industry encountered difficulty in obtaining governmental protection against imports on grounds other than defense.
    4. A few weapons important for defense consist of parts that do not require extensive machining.
    5. Several federal government programs have been designed which will enable domestic machine-tool manufacturing firms to compete successfully with foreign toolmakers.

    Answer : C