1. In January there was a large drop in the number of new houses sold， because interest rates for mortgages were falling and many consumers were waiting to see how low the rates would go. This large sales drop was accompanied by a sharp rise in the average price of new houses sold. Which of the following，if true，best explains the sharp rise in the average price of new houses？
（A） Sales of higher-priced houses were unaffected by the sales drop because their purchasers have fewer constraints limiting the total amount they pay.
（B） Labor agreements of builders with construction unions are not due to expire until the next January.
（C） The prices of new houses have been rising slowly over the past three years because there is an increasing shortage of housing.
（D） There was a greater amount of moderate-priced housing available for resale by owners during January than in the preceding three months.
（E） Interest rates for home mortgages are expected to rise sharply later in the year if predictions of increased business activity in general prove to be accurate.
2. An experiment was done in which human subjects recognize a pattern within a matrix of abstract designs and then select another design that completes that pattern. The results of the experiment were surprising. The lowest expenditure of energy in neurons in the brain was found in those subjects who performed most successfully in the experiments.
Which of the following hypotheses best accounts for the findings of the experiment？
（A） The neurons of the brain react less when a subject is trying to recognize patterns than when the subject is doing other kinds of reasoning.
（B） Those who performed best in the experiment experienced more satisfaction when working with abstract patterns than did those who performed less well.
（C） People who are better at abstract pattern recognition have more energyefficient neural connections.
（D） The energy expenditure of the subjects brains increases when a design that completes the initially recognized pattern is determined.
（E） The task of completing a given design is more capably performed by athletes， whose energy expenditure is lower when they are at rest than is that of the general population.
3. Archaeologists have found wheeled ceramic toys made by the Toltec， twelfth-century inhabitants of what is now Veracruz. Although there is no archaeological evidence that the Toltec used wheels for anything but toys， some anthropologists hypothesize that wheeled utility vehicles were used to carry materials needed for the monumental structures the Toltec produced.Which of the following， if true， would most help the anthropologists explain the lack of evidence noted above？
（A） The Toltec sometimes incorporated into their toys representations of utensils or other devices that served some practical purpose.
（B） Any wheeled utility vehicles used by the Toltec could have been made entirely of wood，and unlike ceramic，wood decays rapidly in the humid climate of Veracruz.
（C） Carvings in monument walls suggest that the Toltec's wheeled ceramic toys somtimes had ritual uses in addition to being used by both children and adults as decorations and playthings.
（D） Wheeled utility vehicles were used during the twelfth century in many areas of the world，but during this time wheeled toys were not very common in areas outside Veracruz.
（E） Some of the wheeled ceramic toys were found near the remains of monumental stuctures.
4. A severe drought can actually lessen the total amount of government aid that United States farmers receive as a group. The government pays farmers the amount，if any，by which the market price at which crops are actually sold falls short of a preset target price per bushel for the crops. The drought of 1983，for example，caused farm-program payments to drop by $10 billion.
Given the information above， which of the following，if true，best explains why the drought of 1983 resulted in a reduction in farm-program payments？
（A） Prior to the drought of 1983，the government raised the target price for crops in order to aid farmers in reducing their debt loads.
（B） Due to the drought of 1983，United States farmers exported less food in 1983 than in the preceding year.
（C） Due to the drought of 1983，United States farmers had smaller harvests and thus received a higher market price for the 1983 crop than for the larger crop of the preceding year.
（D） Due to the drought of 1983 ，United States farmers planned to plant smaller crops in 1984 than they had in 1983.
（E） Despite the drought of 1983，retail prices for food did not increase significantly between 1982 and 1983.
5. In the United States， acationers account for more than half of all visitors to what are technically called “pure aquariums” but for fewer than one quarter of all visitors to zoos，which usually include a “zoo aquarium” of relatively modest scope.
Which of the following，if true，most helps to account for the difference described above between visitors to zoos and visitors to pure aquariums？
（A） In cities that have both a zoo and a pure aquarium， local residents are twice as likely to visit the aquarium as they are to visit the zoo.
（B） Virtually all large metropolitan areas have zoos，whereas only a few large metropolitan areas have pure aquariums.
（C） Over the last ten years，newly constructed pure aquariums have outnumbered newly established zoos by a factor of two to one.
（D） People who visit a zoo in a given year are two times more likely to visit a pure aquarium that year than are people who do not visit a zoo.
（E） The zoo aquariums of zoos that are in the same city as a pure aquarium tent to be smaller than the aquariums of zoos that have no pure aquarium nearby.
6. In the United States，the Postal Service has a monopoly on first-class mail， but much of what is sent first class could be transmitted electronically. Electronic transmittal operators argue that if the Postal Service were to offer electronic transmission，it would have an unfair advantage，since its electronic transmission service could be subsidized from the profits of the monopoly.
Which of the following，if each is true，would allay the electronic transmittal operators' fears of unfair competition？
（A） If the Postal Service were to offer electronic transmission，it could not make a profit on first-class mail.
（B） If the Postal Service were to offer electronic transmission，it would have a monopoly on that kind of service.
（C） Much of the material that is now sent by first-class mail could be delivered much faster by special package couriers，but is not sent that way because of cost.
（D） There is no economy of scale in electronic transmission——that is，the cost per transaction does not go down as more pieces of information are transmitted.
（E） Electronic transmission will never be cost-effective for material not sent by first-class mail such as newspaper and bulk mail.
7. Which of the following best completes the passage below？
The computer industry's estimate that it loses millions of dollars when users illegally copy programs without paying for them is greatly exaggerated. Most of the illegal copying is done by people with no serious interest in the programs. Thus， the loss to the industry is much smaller than estimated because
（A） many users who illegally copy programs never find any use for them
（B） most of the illegally copied programs would not be purchased even if purchasing them were the only way to obtain them.
（C） even if the computer industry received all the revenue it claims to be losing，it would still be experiencing financial difficulties.
（D） the total market value of all illegal copies is low in comparison to the total revenue of computer industry.
（E） the number of programs that are frequently copied illegally is low in comparison to the number of programs available for sale
8. Which of the following best completes the passage below？
Sales campaigns aimed at the faltering personal computer market have strongly emphasized ease of use，called user-friendliness. This emphasis is oddly premature and irrelevant in the eyes of most potential buyers，who are trying to address the logically prior issue of whether——。
（A） user-friendliness also implies that owners can service their own computers
（B） personal computers cost more the more user-friendly they are
（C） currently available models are user-friendly enough to suit them
（D） the people promoting personal computers use them in their own homes
（E） they have enough sensible uses for a personal computer to justify the expense of buying one
9. Which of the following best completes the passage below？
At a recent conference on environmental threats to the North Sea， most participating countries favored uniform controls on the quality of effluents， whether or not specific environmental damage could be attributed to a particular source of effluent. What must， of course， be shown， in order to avoid excessively restrictive controls， is that ___________.
（A） any uniform controls that are adopted are likely to be implemented without delay
（B） any substance to be made subject to controls can actually cause environmental damage
（C） the countries favoring uniform controls are those generating the largest quantities of effluents
（D） all of any given pollutant that is to be controlled actually reaches the North Sea at present
（E） environmental damage already inflicted on the North Sea is reversible
10. Which of the following，if true，best completes the argument below？
Comparisons of the average standards of living of the citizens of two countries should reflect the citizens' comparative access to goods and services. Reliable figures in a country's own currency for the average income of its citizens are easily obtained.But it is difficult to get an accurate comparison of average standards of living from these figures. because——。
（A） there are usually no figures comparing how much of two different currencies must be spent in order to purchase a given quantity of goods and services
（B） wage levels for the same job vary greatly from country to country，depending on cultural as well as on purely economic factors
（C） these figures must be calculated by dividing the gross national product of a country by the size of its population
（D） comparative access to goods and services is only one of several factors relevant in determining quality of life
（E） the wealth，and hence the standard of living，of a country's citizens is very closely related to their income
key： ACBCB ABEBA
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