Executives at the Fizzles Beverage Company plan to boost profits in Country X on their range of fruit-flavored drinks by introducing new flavors based on tropical fruits that are little known there. The executives reason that since the fruit drinks of other companies have none of these flavors, Fizzles will not have to compete for customers and thus will be able to sell the drinks at a higher price.

Which of the following, if true, presents the most serious potential weakness of the plan? 

 Loss of the Gocha mangrove forests has caused coastal erosion, reducing fish populations and requiring the Gocha Fishing Cooperative (GFC) to partially fund dredging and new shore facilities. However, as part of its subsidiary businesses, the GFC has now invested in a program to replant significant parts of the coast with mangrove trees. Given income from a controlled harvest of wood with continuing replanting, the mangrove regeneration effort makes it more likely that the cooperative will increase its net income.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument that mangrove replanting will increase the Gocha cooperative's net income?    

Harunia Province has a relatively dry climate and is attracting a fast-growing population that has put increasing demands on its water supply. The two companies that supply water to the region have struggled to keep up with demand and still remain profitable. Yet now they are asking Harunian authorities to write residential water-use regulations that could reduce their revenues and restrict their future flexibility in supplying water profitably.

 Which of the following would, if true, most logically help explain why the water- supply companies are asking the authorities to regulate residential water use?    

Ramirez:The film industry claims that pirated DVDs, which are usually cheaper than legitimate DVDs and become available well before a film's official DVD release date, adversely affect its bottom line. But the industry should note what the spread of piracy indicates: consumers want lower prices and faster DVD releases.Lowering prices of DVDs and releasing them sooner would mitigate piracy's negative effect on film industry profits.

The argument above relies on which of the following assumptions?    

A successful coffee stand that serves the workers in a large office building plans to increase its profits by adding oatmeal—a hot cereal popular among the workers—to its menu. The manager says that oatmeal is “the ultimate convenience food” because it can be served by the cup, as coffee is; further, offering oatmeal will enable the stand to get into the breakfast business without making a large investment, because it does not require elaborate cooking equipment. 

Which of the following would, if true, most strengthen the likelihood that the manager's plan will achieve its goal?

Arts advocate: Few universities require that students who are specializing in science and technology take many art courses. However, real progress in science and technology requires an element of creativity, which the arts foster. Thus, to help science and technology students succeed in their careers, universities should increase the number of art courses required for them.

Which of the following would, if true, most strengthen the argument above?    

Sammy: For my arthritis, I am going to try my aunt’s diet: large amounts of wheat germ and garlic. She was able to move more easily right after she started that diet.
Pat: When my brother began that diet, his arthritis got worse. But he has been doing much better since he stopped eating vegetables in the nightshade family, such as tomatoes and peppers.
Which of the following, if true, would provide a basis for explaining the fact that Sammy’s aunt and Pat’s brother had contrasting experiences with the same diet?

Biologists with a predilection for theory have tried—and largely failed—to define what it is that makes something a living thing. Organisms take in energy-providing materials and excrete waste products, but so do automobiles. Living things replicate and take part in evolution, but so do some computer programs. We must be open to the possibility that there are living things on other planets. Therefore, we will not be successful in defining what it is that makes something a living thing merely by examining living things on Earth—the only ones we know. Trying to do so is analogous to trying to specify __________.
Which of the following most logically completes the passage?

Last year a record number of new manufacturing jobs were created. Will this year bring another record? Well, any new manufacturing job is created either within an existing company or by the start-up of a new company. Within existing firms, new jobs have been created this year at well below last year’s record pace. At the same time, there is considerable evidence that the number of new companies starting up will be no higher this year than it was last year and there is no reason to think that the new companies starting up this year will create more jobs per company than did last year’s start-ups. So clearly, the number of new jobs created this year will fall short of last year’s record.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

Last year a record number of new manufacturing jobs were created. Will this year bring another record? Well, any new manufacturing job is created either within an existing company or by the start-up of a new company. Within existing firms, new jobs have been created this year at well below last year’s record pace. At the same time, there is considerable evidence that the number of new companies starting up this year will be no higher than it was last year and there is no reason to think that the new companies starting up this year will create more jobs per company than did last year’s start-ups. So clearly, the number of new jobs created this year will fall short of last year’s record.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?