Mall owner: Our mall's occupancy rate is so low that we are barely making a profit. We cannot raise rents because of an unacceptably high risk of losing established tenants. On the other hand, a mall that is fully occupied costs about as much to run as one in which a rental space here and a rental space there stands empty. Clearly, therefore, to increase profits we must sign up new tenants.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

In Gandania, where the government has a monopoly on tobacco sales, the incidence of smoking-related health problems has risen steadily for the last twenty years. The health secretary recently proposed a series of laws aimed at curtailing tobacco use in Gandania. Profits from tobacco sales, however, account for ten percent of Gandania's annual revenues. Therefore, Gandania cannot afford to institute the proposed laws.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

Drug manufacturer: Television audiences are sure to realize that the "physician" recommending our brand of cough syrup in our advertisement is actually an actor playing a role. Hence they will not place undue trust in the advice given by this actor. Therefore, networks should relax their guidelines to permit our company to broadcast this advertisement.

Television executive: If the audience can tell that the actor is not a physician, then your advertisement need not have a physician figure recommending your product.

Which of the following is an argumentative strategy used by the television executive in response to the drug manufacturer?

Manufacturers of mechanical pencils make most of their profit on pencil leads rather than on the pencils themselves. The Write Company, which cannot sell its leads as cheaply as other manufacturers can, plans to alter the design of its mechanical pencil so that it will accept only a newly designed Write Company lead, which will be sold at the same price as the Write Company's current lead.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the Write Company's projection that its plan will lead to an increase in its sales of pencil leads?

A museum has been offered an undocumented statue, supposedly Greek and from the sixth century B.C. Possibly the statue is genuine but undocumented because it was recently unearthed or because it has been privately owned.

However, an ancient surface usually has uneven weathering, whereas the surface of this statue has the uniform quality characteristically produced by a chemical bath used by forgers to imitate a weathered surface. Therefore, the statue is probably a forgery.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

Products sold under a brand name used to command premium prices because, in general, they were superior to nonbrand rival products. Technical expertise in product development has become so widespread, however, that special quality advantages are very hard to obtain these days and even harder to maintain. As a consequence, brand-name products generally neither offer higher quality nor sell at higher prices. Paradoxically, brand names are a bigger marketing advantage than ever.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the paradox above?

Letter to the editor: Our city plans to allow major commercial development along the south waterfront and, in so doing, to increase its tax revenue.

But, to succeed commercially, the development would inevitably create far more road traffic than the existing roads to the waterfront can handle, causing serious congestion. Providing enough roads or public transportation to the area would cost far more than the city could gain from the increased tax revenue.

Which of the following, if added to the city's plan, would be most likely to help solve the problem the letter describes?

Manager: Although our corporation lists rules in an orientation booklet, few employees read the booklet carefully enough to familiarize themselves with all the rules. Lecturing employees for inadvertent rule violations often makes them resentful and less cooperative. Thus, to improve employee adherence to rules, we plan to issue gentle reminders about various rules in each issue of our weekly newsletter.

Which of the following would it be most helpful to discover about the employees in the corporation in order to evaluate the likelihood that the plan will succeed?

Public health official: Some researchers suspect that magnetic fields from high-voltage power lines can cause health problems for people who live especially near the lines. However, this is extremely unlikely: Beyond a distance of a few feet, the strength of the magnetic fields from high-voltage power lines is less than the average strength of magnetic fields in homes that are not located near such lines.

Which of the following would it be most useful to establish in order to evaluate the public health argument?

Paper and plastic grocery bags are a continuing problem for the city, both as litter and in landfills. To discourage their use, the city has proposed a tax on each bag, to be paid by the supermarkets that supply them. Several environmental groups, however, oppose the tax, despite having brought the issue to the council's attention in the first place.

Which of the following, if true, would best explain the environmental groups' opposition to the proposed tax?