Logical reasoning questions Civil Service Examination 01. Some anthropologists have studied modern nomadic societies in an effort to understand our ancestors who were once nomads. The drawback of this research strategy is that nomadic societies are highly variable. Virtually any nomadic society with which anthropologists are familiar has had considerable contact with modern non-nomadic societies.
Which of the following, if correct, would most undermine the above criticism of anthropologists' strategies?
(A) Nomadic societies throughout history have many important common characteristics that other types of societies lack.
(B)Most ancient nomadic societies either disappeared or switched to another way of life.
(C)All anthropologists study modern societies of one kind or another.
(D) Many anthropologists who study modern nomadic societies do not make inferences about ancient societies based on their studies.
(E) Even modern nomadic societies that have no significant connection with modern society are very different from ancient nomadic societies.
02. Advertisement: For sinusitis pain, three of the four hospitals give their patients N-drug, so when you want to get the most effective sinus pain analgesic, N-drug is the one to choose from
Which of the following , which, if correct, most seriously weakens the ad's argument:
(A) Some competing analgesic brands reduce other types of pain besides sinusitis.
(B) Many hospitals that do not frequently use N-drugs will use N-drugs for patients who cannot tolerate the drugs normally used in the hospital.
(C) Many drug manufacturers increase sales of their products by selling their products to hospitals at prices the manufacturers can afford.
(D) Unlike some competing analgesic brands, N-drug can be purchased from pharmacies without a doctor’s prescription.
(E) Clinical trials have found that N-drug is more effective than competing analgesic brands that have been on the market longer than N-drug.
03. Department Manager: I want to replace the M computer in my department with a V computer.
General Manager: Why?
Department Manager: The cost of training new employees to operate V can be reduced by 20.
General Manager: But that’s not a good enough reason. We could simply hire only people who already know how to use an M computer.
Which of the following, if correct, most seriously weakens the general manager's objection to replacing the M computer with the V computer?
(A) Currently all employees of the company are required to participate in learning how to use the M computer in the application.
(B) Once employees learn how to use computers, they are more likely to change jobs than before.
(C) Employees who are proficient in using M computers will demand higher income than expected employees who have no computer experience.
(D) The average labor productivity of employees in the company where the general manager works is lower than the average labor productivity of employees of its competitors.
(E) The high cost of replacement parts makes the maintenance cost of V computer higher than that of M computer.
04. Between 1975 and 1985, nursing home occupancy rates averaged 87% of capacity, while admission rates remained constant at mid-year? 000 beds can accommodate an average of 95 people. Between 1985 and 1988, the occupancy rate increased to an average of 92 of capacity, while the admission rate dropped to an average of 81 people per 1,000th bed per year.
If the above statement is correct, which of the following conclusions can be most appropriately drawn?
(A) The average length of stay of nursing home residents increased between 1985 and 1988.
(B) The proportion of elderly people living in nursing homes was greater in 1988 than in 1975.
(C) While the occupancy rate increases, the acceptance rate of nursing homes tends to decrease.
(D) Nursing homes built before 1985 have fewer beds than nursing homes built between 1985 and 1988.
(E) The more beds a nursing home has, the higher its occupancy rate is likely to be.
05. Companies using profit-related compensation (PRP) contracts pay wage levels that vary with the company's profits. Last year, companies in the metal crafting industry that appropriately adopted PRP were on average 13 percentage points more productive per worker than their competitors who still used more traditional contracts.
Based on the above evidence, if there is an opinion that PRP contracts improve workers’ labor productivity; which of the following, if correct, most seriously undermines this opinion?
(A) Similar conclusions to those cited above for the metal craft industry can be found in other industries using PRP contracts.
(B) Under PRP contracts, costs other than labor costs—such as building, machine, and energy costs—occupy an increased share of the total cost per unit of output.
(C) Because the introduction of PRP contracts significantly changes the relationship between individual workers and the enterprise, negotiating the introduction of PRP contracts is complex and time-consuming.
(D) Many companies in the metal industry have modernized their production equipment in the past five years, and most of these companies have introduced PRP contracts.
(E) Among companies in the metal craft industry that appropriately use PRP contracts, average take-home wages are 15 percentage points higher than those in companies where workers have more traditional contracts.
06. A discount retailer that sells basic household essentials employs thousands of people and pays most of them minimum wage. But the retailer's profits increased significantly after a federal law raised the minimum wage, significantly increasing the retailer's operating costs.
Which of the following, if true, would best help resolve this apparent paradox?
(A) More than half of the retailer's operating costs are wages; but only a small part of these wages are used to pay managers' salaries.
(B) The retailer's customer base consists primarily of those who earn the minimum wage or who rely on others to earn the minimum wage.
(C) The retailer’s operating costs, not wages, increased significantly after the minimum wage increase was officially implemented.
(D) When the minimum wage increase was enacted, the retailer also increased the wages of employees who had been earning just above the minimum wage.
(E) The retailer’s employees are mainly cashiers, and most cashiers earn the lowest wages.
07. Cotton farmers in Country Q have become so prolific that the market cannot absorb all they produce. As a result, cotton prices fell. The government attempted to drive up cotton prices by paying direct support grants to farmers who had left 25 cotton fields idle, with a fixed limit on the payments per farm.
The government’s plan, if successfully implemented, will not impose a net burden on the fiscal budget. Which of the following, if correct, is the basis for explaining why this is so?
(A) Depressed cotton prices mean operating losses for cotton farms, and the government will lose revenue that relies on taxing farm profits.
(B) In the year when Country Q’s support payment plan was implemented, cotton production in some areas outside Country Q declined slightly.
(C) In the first year of the implementation of the support payment plan, the cotton fields in country Q were 5% lower than the level in the base year of the plan.
(D) Per-farm payments mean that very large cotton farms will receive smaller support payments per acre for those fields that are taken out of production than smaller farms. .
(E) Farmers who wish to qualify for support payments cannot use cotton fields that have been withdrawn from production to grow any other crops.
08. Generally speaking, scientists enter their fields with the goal of conducting important new research and being accepted by colleagues who share similar motivations. So, when a scientist gains a reputation as someone who explains science to a general audience, most other scientists will assume that this famous person can no longer be considered a true colleague.
The explanation provided above for science popularizers not being respected by scientists engaged in research assumes:
(A) Serious scientific research is not an individual activity; Rely on the active collaboration of a group of colleagues.
(B) Don’t scientists engaged in research take their work seriously? br /gt; (C) A scientist can become a famous person without completing any important research.
(D) Research scientists believe that people who become known to the public as scientific celebrities have no incentive to conduct important new research.
(E) Those who are not scientists themselves cannot conduct and cannot accurately evaluate any important new research.
09. Oral cancer is dangerous for people who rarely brush their teeth. In an effort to detect oral cancer in these people at an early stage, public health officials in one town distributed a pamphlet to all residents describing how to perform weekly oral self-examinations to detect tumors in the mouth. .
Which of the following, if correct, criticizes the use of this pamphlet as a means to achieve the goals of public health officials?
(A) Many dental diseases produce symptoms that cannot be detected during a weekly self-examination.
(B) Once oral cancer is discovered, the effectiveness of treatment varies from person to person.
(C) The pamphlet was distributed to all residents of the town, including those who brushed their teeth regularly.
(D) Oral cancer is more common in adults than in children.
(E) People who rarely brush their teeth are less likely to have their mouths checked weekly.
10. Over the past decade, technological advances and lower equipment costs have made converting solar energy directly into electricity more cost-effective. But the threshold for solar's economic feasibility—the price that a barrel of oil must rise to make a new solar generator more economical than a new gas-fired generator—has not changed, at $35.
Which of the following, if correct, best explains why more cost-effective solar energy has failed to lower the threshold for its economic viability?
(A) Oil costs have dropped significantly.
(B) Although the cost of solar equipment has decreased, the cost of raw materials for the equipment has increased.
(C)Technological changes have improved the efficiency of fuel engines.
(D) Most electricity is produced by coal-fired engines or nuclear generators, not oil-fired generators.
(E) When oil prices rise, oil reserves that were not previously worth extracting become economically viable.
11. Since a hornless rhino is worthless to poachers, wildlife conservation groups plan to protect a select group of rhinos from poachers by cutting off their horns.
Wildlife's plan assumes:
(A) Poachers will not kill rhinos that have no value to them.
(B) Hornless rhinos are more threatening to humans, including poachers, than horned rhinos
(C) In the Year of the Rhinoceros, poachers do not kill them for their horns the only animal.
(D) Hornless rhinos can protect their young from non-human predators.
(E) Tougher sanctions against poachers will not reduce the number of rhinos killed by poachers.
12. People who commit crimes are mainly young people. For this reason, simply increasing the number of police officers or simply increasing the expenditure on police services has a small effect on reducing crime rates. In fact, the only factor related to a reduction in crime rates is the number of people in society between the ages of 14 and 30. The number of people was reduced.
Could the following findings serve as part of an objection to that view?
(A) Any law enforcement program is likely to be effective in reducing crime rates in the short term.
(B) Young people found guilty of crimes are spending increasing amounts of time in jail.
(C) Forced recruitment of people aged 17 to 19 into the army.
(D) Raise the age at which students are allowed to leave school.
(E) A program to increase the number of recreational and educational activities in which young people participate.
13. Lobster catches in Maine waters have dropped by 20 percent since 1980, which can reasonably be attributed to the 1972 act to protect harbor seals. Maine's harbor seal population is now twice as high as it was before conservation began, and we know these seals eat fish and lobster.
Which of the following, if correct, would most seriously weaken the conclusion above?
(A) Harbor seals usually eat more fish than lobster, but seals are natural predators of both fish and lobster.
(B)Although harbor seals are experienced lobster hunters, they rarely finish their catch.
(C) Harbor seals attract tourists to Maine's Gulf region, revitalizing the local economy.
(D)The authors of the Harbor Seal Protection Act of 1972 believed that the increase in the animal's population would not have a significant negative impact on lobster catches.
(E) Record-breaking lobster catches in the late 1970s reduced the number of viable adult lobsters by a significant amount.
14. Politician: Fewer people are entering the labor market now than before. If the economy grows, the demand for active and educated people will greatly exceed its supply. Some companies are already reacting to these labor market conditions by looking for ways to retain current employees. They focus on clear indicators that the economy is growing.
Which of the following most strongly criticizes the politician's reasoning process.
(A) The fact that a company is carefully preparing for possible future developments does not mean that such developments have already occurred.
(B)The fact that some companies are now trying harder to retain their employees does not mean that they previously were indifferent to employee morale.
(C) The fact that demand will exceed supply does not mean that there is no supply at all.
(D) The fact that there is a decline in the number of new entrants to the labor market does not mean that the number of new entrants is lower than in any previous period.
(E) For some companies, the fact that existing employees are more valuable does not mean that these employees will do a better job than before.
15. Under current federal law, employers are allowed to provide free parking areas to their employees as a tax-free perk, but they can only provide up to $180 per year in tax-free perks for employees to ride on public transportation. By increasing the limit of this subsidy to cover the transportation costs of frequent riders, the government can significantly increase the number of passengers on public transport.
The above suggestions for increasing the number of passengers on public transport vehicles assume the following:
(A) Today’s public transport vehicles often have unexpected route stops and delays.
(B) Compared with private cars, taking public transportation produces less air pollution per person.
(C) A parking area provided by an employer as a tax-free allowance may be worth $2,500 per year.
(D) Many employees do not take public transportation to work due to cost considerations.
(E) Because of the heavy traffic on the main routes to work, it is much faster to go to work by bus than by private car.
16. “Government” does not exist as an independent entity that makes policy. Instead, there is a group of democratically elected pragmatists who are sensitive to the opinions of voters and who enact policies that will lead to their own re-election. So, for example, if public policy is opposed to environmental considerations, it is not because the government is self-indulgent but because elected officials believe:
Which of the following adds to the above?
(A) No matter how perfect it is in terms of environment, it is difficult for any policy to meet the demands of environmentalists.
(B) Environmental considerations must be adapted to the funds available from the fiscal budget.
(C) The public is too worried about environmental degradation.
(D) The majority of voters vote for certain politicians because of their unique habits in political events
(E) The majority of voters Not really wanting a different policy.
17. A 10-pound bag of fresh potatoes is generally worth $2, while dehydrated ready-made potatoes cost an average of $3 per pound. It can be concluded that some consumers are willing to pay 15 times the price for convenience, as sales of this convenience food continue to increase.
Which of the following, if correct, points out a major flaw in the above argument?
(A) A convenient 2-pound bag of fresh potatoes costs $1 per bag, or 2.5 times more expensive than a 10-pound bag of fresh potatoes.
(B) Because fresh potatoes have 80% moisture, each pound of dehydrated potatoes is equivalent to 5 pounds of fresh potatoes.
(C) Canned peeled potatoes are also more expensive than relatively inconvenient potatoes.
(D)The retail price of dehydrated potatoes has dropped by 20% since 1960, to the current level of $3 per pound.
(E) As a result of labor costs and processing costs, all convenience foods are worth more than the basic foods from which they are made.
18. D is a federal government composed of three autonomous regions, namely K, M and G. Under the federal tax scheme, each region receives a share of the federal tax share equal to the share of the population living in that region relative to the total population as shown in the annual census report. Last year, the share of taxes received by K as a proportion of federal tax revenue fell, even as census reports based on tax apportionment showed that K's population was growing.
If the above statement is correct, what else does the census report based on last year's tax apportionment indicate which of the following?
(A) Among the three areas, D has the fewest residents.
(B)K’s population growth ratio is higher than that of the previous year’s school
(C)M and G’s population growth ratio both exceed K’s population growth ratio.
(D) Among the three regions, K’s population growth is the smallest.
(E)K’s population growth rate is at least higher than that of schools in one of the other two autonomous regions
19. A and B first met and got to know each other at a fitness club.
(1a)A started going to the fitness club on the first Monday in January.
(1b) After that, A went every four days (that is, the fifth day).
(2a) B started going to the fitness club on the first Tuesday in January.
(2b) After that, B went every three days (i.e. the fourth day).
(1) Among the 31 days in January, there was only one day when both A and B went to the fitness club. It was that day when they met for the first time.
Excuse me: On which day in January did A and B meet?
A. 7th
B. 13th
C. 17th
D. 21st
E. 27th
20. When the fat in cream was considered nutritious and wholesome, the country enacted a law requiring all manufacturers to use the term "imitation cream" to describe the amount of cream fat in their water-diluted cream. Today, it is known that the higher cholesterol content in butter fat makes it harmful to human health. Since the public is encouraged to eat foods low in butter fat rather than high in butter fat, and since the false connotations attached to the word "imitation" deter people from purchasing so-named products from manufacturers who wish to reduce butter fat, it should Use the more appealing name, "Light Cream."
If correct, which of the following points best refutes the above argument?
(A) Manufacturers who like to use the word "bland" instead of "imitation" are mainly driven by the financial interests of their shareholders.
(B) Manufacturers who want to call their products "light cream" plan to change the ingredients of their products so that they contain more water than they currently do.
(C) Some people who need to reduce their cholesterol intake are not deterred from purchasing diluted cream products by the negative connotation of the word "imitation."
(D)Cholesterol is just one of many factors that contribute to a variety of health problems commonly associated with excessive consumption of cholesterol.
(E) Most people who are afraid to eat "imitation cream" because of its name choose to use substitutes that contain less cream than "imitation cream".
21. Studies of adults with migraine have revealed that a large proportion of those studied suffer from a very complex syndrome characterized by three symptoms. Those with the syndrome experience extreme anxiety disorders as early as their childhood. By the time they reach their teens, these people begin to suffer from migraines. By the time these people reach their 20s, they also begin to suffer cyclical episodes of depression. Since this pattern is consistent and always begins with excessive anxiety, it follows that excessive anxiety in childhood is a cause of migraines and later depression.
The reasoning in the above debate is most susceptible to criticism on which of the following grounds?
(A) It does not specify the proportion of people in the entire population who suffer from migraine.
(B) It does not rule out the possibility that all symptoms characteristic of the syndrome have a common cause.
(C) Its general statement is inconsistent with the evidence.
(D) It does not prove that the subjects studied are representative of migraine patients.
(E) It does not demonstrate why studies of migraine patients have been limited to adult subjects.
22. Until now, it was thought that inks used before the 16th century did not contain titanium. However, a new analytical method shows that although titanium is not found in the inkblots of numerous other 15th-century books, it is found in the Bible printed by Johannes Gutenberg and in another 15th-century book known as the B-36. Titanium was found in biblical inkblots. This discovery is of great significance, because it not only strongly confirms the hypothesis that B-36 was printed by Gutenberg, but also reveals that the titanium element claimed to have been discovered in the Vinland Map in the 15th century can no longer be used to doubt the painting. One reason for authenticity.
Which of the following reasons can most easily criticize the reasoning in the passage?
The results of (A) analysis are interpreted to mean that the use of titanium as a component of ink in the 15th century was both very limited and very common.
(B) If the technology to detect the presence of titanium in inks had only recently emerged, printers and artists in the 15th century would not have known whether their inks contained titanium.
(C) It is unreasonable to claim that the date and location of documents and paintings can be determined only by measuring whether they contain a single element in the ink marks of paintings.
(D) Regardless of whether the dates of the creation of the B-36 Bible and the Vinland Map are accurate or known by their creators, they have the value of being appreciated in their own right.
(E) The discovery of titanium in the inkblots of the Vinland Map must be earlier than the discovery of titanium in the inkblots of the Guteberg Bible and the B-36 Bible.
23. In a survey of consumers in an Eastern European country, respondents were asked two questions about each of 400 Western trademarks: whether they recognized the name of that trademark and whether they believed the quality of products bearing that trademark higher. The result of the survey report is the rating and corresponding ranking of each trademark based on the degree of awareness and recognition. In terms of awareness, the top 27 trademarks are all those that are actually accessible in this country. The recognition order of these 27 trademarks is usually quite different from the recognition order. In comparison, after most other trademarks are graded and sorted, their rankings in terms of recognition and recognition are actually the same.
If each of the following is a principle of consumer survey reporting, which one does the survey report described above violate?
(A) Never ask all respondents a question if the question cannot reasonably be answered by those who would respond specifically to another question in the same survey report.
(B) Never ask a question that may yield multiple answers and would be difficult to categorize into manageable categories.
(C) Never ask questions that all respondents cannot answer without waiving their right to anonymity.
(D) Asking the same question about 10 different products is better than asking 10 different questions about a single product.
(E) Ask questions that the respondent can answer without fear of getting them wrong.
24. Statement: Country X lowered tariffs because doing so was in the interests of powerful foreign companies.
Principle: In order for a change to be explained by the benefits experienced by some people or groups, it must be shown what role the interests of these people or groups played in causing the change.
Which of the following, if true, would most logically serve as a premise for the use of principles against the statement in the argument above?
(A) When country X lowers tariffs, foreign companies do benefit, but consumers in country X also benefit.
(B) In the period after tariffs were reduced, price competition among importers has severely limited the importers’ profits from selling foreign companies’ products in country X.
(C) It is impossible to predict how the economic changes in Country X that result in lower tariffs will affect that country's economy in the short term.
(D) Many foreign companies that have benefited from Country X’s tariff reductions compete fiercely with each other in X’s domestic and other markets.
(E) Although foreign companies benefited when Country X lowered tariffs, there is no other evidence that these foreign companies caused the change.
25. Computer operating system software is increasingly standardized. But when every computer in a large company's multi-connection system uses the same operating system software, a computer saboteur who gains access to one computer will automatically gain access to all computers.
Using a program called a "virus," vandals can destroy much of the data in any computer. If such a company makes some small changes in its operating system software, it can virtually eliminate unauthorized access to computers at the same time. You can access all computers. Furthermore, changes made to the operating system software will not compromise the compatibility of the company's computers. It is therefore advisable for the company to implement such changes.
Which of the following points, if true, would support the conclusion in the article?
(A) The standardization of computer operating system software has increased the compatibility of computers between different companies.
(B) The cost of correcting the damage caused by the invasion of computer virus programs is much more expensive than preventing it.
(C) It is not expensive for a company to maintain incompatible computer operating systems.
(D) There are other types of destructive computer programs that do not rely on computers being connected to each other.
(E) Not all companies need to share data between their internal computers
Reference answer: 01. (A)02. (D)03. (C)04. (A)05. (D)06. (B)07. (A)08. (D)09. (E)10. (C)11. (A)12. (A)13. (E)14. (A)15. (D)16. (E)17. (B)18. (E)19. (C)20. (E)21. (B)22. (A)23. (A)24. (E)25. (B)