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metaeval 4

[ "None of the other gyms in this town saw any increase in membership during the past year.", "Many of the new members joined because of personal recommendations of those who were already members.", "Dance and martial arts have become particularly popular among the general public over the past year.", "Fewer than 250 members ended their membership at Egidio's Gym over the last year." ]

[ "Anyone who feels too helpless to act to change society for the better should reject the belief that its future will be determined by vast historical forces that individuals are powerless to change.", "Each individual should act to improve society if individuals in general feel powerless in the face of vast historical forces.", "Anyone who believes that individuals can have an effect on society's future should act to change society for the better.", "No one who wants to improve society should accept any belief that makes him or her feel too helpless to act to change society for the better." ]

[ "drawing a conclusion that is simply a restatement of one of the premises on which the argument is based", "taking the nonexistence of something as evidence that a necessary precondition for that thing also did not exist", "taking the fact that something is true of one sample of a class of things as evidence that the same is true of the entire class of things", "interpreting an ambiguous claim in one way in one part of the argument and in another way in another part of the argument" ]

[ "does not present any claims as evidence against the opposing viewpoint", "bases its conclusion on findings from the same article that it is criticizing", "fails to consider the possibility that the vehicle-related fatality rates in other areas are also rising", "fails to consider the possibility that automobile accidents that occur at high speeds often result in fatalities" ]

[ "People are mistaken who insist that whenever they eat large amounts of chocolate they invariably suffer from an outbreak of acne,", "Eating large amounts of chocolate is more likely to cause stress than it is to cause outbreaks of acne.", "The more chocolate a person eats, the more likely that person is to experience the hormonal changes associated with stress.", "It is less likely that eating large amounts of chocolate causes acne than that both the chocolate eating and the acne are caused by stress." ]

[ "A large percentage of United States smokers switched from cigarettes to chewing tobacco between 1973 and 1976.", "Per capita consumption of cigarettes in the United States was lower in 1976 than in 1973.", "The proportion of nonsmokers in the United States population dropped slightly between 1973 and 1976.", "United States manufacturers of tobacco products realize a lower profit on cigarettes than on chewing tobacco." ]

[ "The first presents a goal, strategies for achieving which are being evaluated in the argument; the second is a judgment providing a basis for the argument's advocacy of a particular strategy.", "The first presents a goal that the argument concludes cannot be attained; the second is a reason offered in support of that conclusion.", "The first presents a goal that the argument concludes can be attained; the second is a judgment disputing that conclusion.", "The first presents a goal that the argument endorses; the second presents a situation that the argument contends must be changed if that goal is to be met in the foreseeable future." ]

[ "Poachers hunt at least some immature rhinoceroses whose horns have not yet started to develop.", "The demand for rhinoceros horns will remain constant even if the supply decreases after the periodic trimming-off of the rhinoceros horns has begun.", "Rhinoceroses whose horns have been trimmed off are unable to defend themselves against predators .", "At least some rhinoceroses whose horns are periodically trimmed off will be able to attract mates." ]

[ "it fails to adequately take into account that the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Europe cannot be located with any great precision", "it ignores the fact that the Industrial Revolution did not reach its full maturity until the nineteenth century", "increasing concern with achievement and power may very well have been a cause of the Industrial Revolution", "it fails to consider that there was some concern with achievement and power before the Industrial Revolution" ]

[ "Without government subsidies, railroad companies in Ostronia would have to increase the prices they charge their customers.", "In recent years, some companies in Ostronia that have had little regard for the desires of their customers have nonetheless survived.", "If the government of Ostronia ceases to subsidize railroad companies, few of those companies will continue to operate.", "The transportation system in Ostronia is no more efficient today than in was in the past." ]

[ "If a company becomes satisfied with the quality of its products, then the quality of its products is sure to decline.", "A company that does not correctly anticipate the expectations of its customers is certain to fail in advancing the quality of its products.", "MegaCorp's goal is possible to meet only if continuing advances in product quality are possible.", "MegaCorp's competitors will succeed in attracting customers only if those competitors adopt MegaCorp's goal as their own." ]

[ "The percentage of food imported into the state, from other states and from other countries, has increased significantly over the past 20 years.", "The number of models of large farm machinery this manufacturer will offer is larger than the number of models offered by most other comparable manufacturers of large farm machinery.", "The manufacturer's new factory will be on or close to five different railroad lines, and is expected to have a beneficial impact on the struggling rail transport industry in the state.", "Land previously owned by small, independent farmers has been bought up and consolidated into large industrial farms, which have a much greater need of large farm equipment." ]

[ "Most of Denmark's population favors some sort of ban on cigarette advertising.", "Most of Denmark's population does not smoke cigarettes.", "A minority of Denmark's population feels that banning cigarette advertising would set a bad precedent.", "People's opinions never change very much." ]

[ "It is clear that George knows he will be promoted to shift supervisor, because George will be promoted to shift supervisor only if Helen resigns, and George knows Helen will resign.", "Journalists are the only ones who will be permitted to ask questions at the press conference. Since Marjorie is a journalist, she will be permitted to ask questions.", "John believes that 4 is a prime number and that 4 is divisible by 2. Hence John believes that there is a prime number divisible by 2.", "We know that Patrice works only on Thursday. Today is Thursday, so it follows that Patrice is working today." ]

[ "If the city implements the sorting requirement, the sanitation department will stay within its budget.", "The amount of recyclables going to the city's landfill will increase if the sanitation department stays within its budget.", "Most of the city's residents will continue to recycle even if a sorting requirement is implemented.", "Implementing the sorting requirement would not cause the city's annual cost of sending garbage to its landfill to exceed its current annual cost of sorting recyclables." ]

[ "the recession in the citizen's country is the worst one in its history", "upper-income citizens could use the money gained from the tax cut in ways that increase investment", "in the past tax cuts for certain groups of people have tended to create new jobs", "the greater the tax cut given to a group of people, the more likely it is that members of that group will invest the money" ]

[ "How frequently an airplane's flight crew members will inform each other verbally about flight control changes depends in large part on how long it takes to perform those changes.", "How often flight crew members must share information verbally about flight control changes depends in part on what other means for performing cross-checks are available to the crew.", "The flight crew members operating a recently manufactured airplane cannot observe the flight control changes made by other crew members by viewing the control panel.", "In recently manufactured aircraft, the most valuable means available for performing cross-checks involves frequent verbal exchanges of information among the flight crew members." ]

[ "Private aircraft owners were unwilling to pay the user fees charged at the airport.", "The number of owners of private aircraft who use the county's airport facilities will not change appreciably in the future.", "Most of the county's citizens live a convenient distance from one or another airport now offering commercial airline services.", "The airport's operating expenses were greater than the revenue raised from sources other than the airport user fees for private planes." ]

[ "fails to adequately define the key phrase \"deep empathy\"", "assumes something that it later denies, resulting in a contradiction", "accepts a claim on mere authority, without requiring sufficient justification", "confuses a theoretically best way of accomplishing something with the only way of accomplishing it" ]

[ "suggesting that Keith's argument overlooks a mitigating consequence", "demonstrating that Keith's conclusion is based on evidence that is not relevant to the issue at hand", "agreeing with the main conclusion of Keith's argument but construing that conclusion as grounds for optimism rather than for pessimism", "challenging the plausibility of the evidence that serves as the basis for Keith's argument" ]

[ "Laboratory animals are healthy if they are fed a carefully restricted diet and get plenty of exercise.", "Laboratory conditions that provide animals with ample food but relatively little exercise can be unhealthy for the animals.", "Some animal studies take into consideration the differences between the living conditions of laboratory animals and those of other animals.", "When provided with unlimited food over a long period of time, animals show little day-to-day variation in their eating habits." ]

[ "The effectiveness of the fungicide does not depend on its being more concentrated than one part in ten parts of water.", "When the fungicide is sufficiently diluted, it does not present any risk of harm to people, animals, or beneficial insects.", "If a fungicide is to be effective against powdery mildew on rose plants, it must eliminate the powdery mildew completely.", "Powdery mildew is the only fungal infection that affects rose plants." ]

[ "contending that Lakshmi is presupposing that an exception can properly be made for her but not for anyone else", "relying on the principle that a selfish act is wrong even when it has no harmful effect", "pointing out that apparently insignificant individual acts of a certain kind can have a large cumulative effect", "accusing Lakshmi of improper motives instead of responding to Lakshmi's argument" ]

[ "As a child, Joan was severely punished whenever she played with her father's prize Siamese cat. Ttherefore, since this information makes her present belief that cats are not good pets completely understandable, that belief is justified.", "Emily suspected that apples are unhealthy ever since she almost choked to death while eating an apple when she was a child. Now, evidence that apples treated with certain pesticides can be health hazards shows that Emily's long held belief is fully justified.", "The fact that top executives generally have much larger vocabularies than do their subordinates explains why Sheldon's belief, instilled in him during his childhood, that developing a large vocabulary is the way to get to the top in the world of business is completely justified.", "Studies show that when usually well-behaved children become irritable, they often exhibit symptoms of viral infections the next day. The suspicion, still held by many adults, that misbehavior must always be paid for is thus both explained and justified." ]

[ "If the entire fossil is from a single animal, then it is a well-preserved specimen.", "The only paleontologists who believe that the entire fossil is from a single animal are those who were already convinced that birds evolved from dinosaurs.", "The fossil was stolen from the discovery site and sold by someone who cared much more about personal profit than about the accuracy of the fossil record.", "If the fossil is a composite, then it has pieces of more than one animal." ]

[ "People who are now regular visitors to the city will continue to visit the city if the new convention center is built.", "The city's tax revenues will not increase unless the convention center is built.", "If several national professional organizations hold their conventions in the convention center, those conventions will be large.", "If the number of visitors to the city increases, then the amount of money spent by visitors will increase." ]

[ "infers that something cannot occur merely from the fact that it is unlikely to occur", "rejects a view merely on the grounds that an inadequate argument has been made for it", "draws a conclusion about what must be the case based on evidence about what is probably the case", "infers that something is true of a whole merely from the fact that it is true of each of the parts" ]

[ "The percentage of people suffering from hay fever who also have asthma is lower than 95 percent.", "The number of people who have both of these ailments is greater than the number of people who have only one of them.", "Hay fever is a prerequisite for the development of asthma.", "Those who have neither hay fever nor asthma comprise less than 5 percent of the total population." ]

[ "Some people get impaired vision from long periods of reading printed matter on computer screens, even if they use high quality computer screens.", "Studies consistently show that most computer users will print reading material that is more than a few pages in length rather than read it on the computer screen.", "Books on cassette tape have only a small fraction of the sales of printed versions of the same books, though sales of videos of books that have been turned into movies remain strong.", "Scanning technology is very poor, causing books delivered via computer to be full of errors unless editors carefully read the scanned versions." ]

[ "the idea that medical patients have an instinctual ability to predict sudden changes in their medical status is not a widely held belief", "the patients in the article were not being serious when they predicted sudden changes in their medical status", "patients' predictions of sudden changes in their medical status are less likely to be remembered by medical staff if no such change actually occurs", "babies are less likely to be born during a night with a full moon than during a night without a full moon" ]

[ "Only some of the increase in the preserve's bear population over the past eight years is due to migration of bears from outside the Abbimac Valley.", "The bear population in areas of the Abbimac Valley outside the Kiffer Forest Preserve has decreased over the past eight years.", "The bear population in the Abbimac Valley has remained about the same over the past eight years.", "Only some of the increase in the preserve's bear population over the past eight years is due to migration of bears from other parts of the Abbimac Valley." ]

[ "takes for granted that people who are acting in ways that are personally beneficial expected that their actions would be personally beneficial", "presumes, without justification, that examples of people acting in ways that are not personally beneficial greatly outnumber examples of people acting in ways that are personally beneficial", "concludes that a theory is false merely on the grounds that the evidence for it is hypothetical", "fails to consider that people acting in ways that result in no personal benefit may nonetheless have expected that acting in those ways would produce personal benefit" ]

[ "Similarly, you could conclude that Eric, Diane, and Martin are the only employees who will be laid off. After all, any employee hired within the last year can expect to be laid off, and these three employees are the only ones who were hired within the last year.", "Similarly, you could conclude that Jesse should not expect to get food poisoning. After all, Jesse, Doris, and Christine all attended the company picnic, and only Christine has gotten food poisoning as a result.", "Similarly, you could conclude that Ken, Norma, and Mary routinely drive faster than the speed limit. After all, if you routinely exceed the speed limit, you can expect to get a speeding ticket eventually, and these three people have gotten speeding tickets.", "Similarly, you could conclude that you can expect to win the lottery if you carry a good-luck charm. After all, Annie, Francisco, and Sean carry good-luck charms, and these three people are lottery winners." ]

[ "Most insects are helpful to humans. Nearly all insects have an exoskeleton and a body made up of three parts: a head, thorax, and abdomen. Ttherefore, unless there are some insects that are both helpful to humans and have an exoskeleton, there must be some insects that are both helpful to humans and are made up of three parts.", "All insects have an exoskeleton as well as a body that's composed of three parts: a head, thorax, and abdomen. Most insects are helpful to humans. Ttherefore, there must be some insects that are both helpful to humans and have an exoskeleton and some insects that are helpful to humans and have a head, thorax, and abdomen.", "Most insects are helpful to humans. Virtually every insect has an exoskeleton and is made up of three parts: a head, thorax, and abdomen. Ttherefore, if there are insects that are helpful to humans and have an exoskeleton, there must also be insects that are helpful to humans and have three parts.", "Most certainly, most insects are helpful to humans, for almost all insects have an exoskeleton or three parts (a head, thorax, and abdomen), or both, and there are some insects that are helpful to humans and have exoskeletons and some that are helpful to humans and have three parts." ]

[ "Domestic \"mini-mills\" produce low-volume, specialized types of steels that are not produced by the big American steel mills.", "American quotas on imported goods have often induced other countries to impose similar quotas on American goods.", "Domestic \"mini-mills\" consistently produce better grades of steel than do the big American mills.", "Foreign steel mills have long produced grades of steel comparable in quality to the steel produced by the big American mills." ]

[ "Whether there are any other cities in Alumba that might also emit enough ambient light to confuse migrating birds.", "Whether the period in which birds migrate is consistent each year.", "Whether there are any other migratory birds flying through Alumba.", "The percent of birds flying through Alumba that are drawn to Semanta's night light." ]

[ "The film will not be properly exposed if the camera is not working properly. If the film is not properly exposed, then the photograph will be either blurred or dark. So if the photograph is not blurred, either the camera is working properly or the photograph will be dark.", "If the camera is working properly, the photograph will not be blurred. The photograph will be blurred if the film is either not properly exposed or not properly developed. So if the camera is working properly, the film will be both properly exposed and properly developed.", "If the camera is working properly, the film will be properly exposed. If either the film is properly exposed or corrections are made during the developing process, the photograph will not be dark. So if the camera is working properly, the photograph will not be dark.", "The camera will work properly only if the film is properly exposed. But the film cannot be properly exposed if there is either not enough or too much light. So the camera will not work properly if there is either too much or not enough light." ]

[ "It is cited as evidence that contemporary travel writing is intended for a wider readership.", "It is claimed to be a result of good travel writing.", "It is cited as a reason that travel writing flourishes more today than it has in the past.", "It is cited as a condition that has transformed the task of the travel writer." ]

[ "Outdated public policy inhibits business growth in the region.", "The region needs to find new ways to enhance business growth.", "Shoe manufacturing is no longer a major source of income in the region.", "Business in the region must expand into new areas of manufacturing." ]

[ "If lawmakers mandate penalties for crimes that are proportional to the harm resulting from those crimes, crime in those lawmakers' jurisdictions will be effectively deterred.", "Often, in response to the unusually great harm resulting from a particular instance of a crime, lawmakers will mandate an increased penalty for that crime.", "In general, lawmakers mandate penalties for crimes that are proportional to the harm they believe to result from those crimes.", "In most cases, a victim of theft is harmed no more than a victim of bribery is harmed." ]

[ "it fails to distinguish between evidence concerning the courage required to make a certain decision and evidence concerning the wisdom of making that decision", "it confuses a quality that is merely desirable in a political leader with a quality that is essential to effective political decision-making", "it ignores the likelihood that many citizens have no narrow partisan interest in the proposed election reform plan", "it overlooks the possibility that there was strong opposition to the parliament's plan among members of the president's own party" ]

[ "This was the second such NFA program to aid barley growers; the first one, 14 years ago, was started with high hopes, but did little to change their situation.", "This program was implemented at a time when more than half of barley growers nationwide were reported barely breaking even in their yearly expenses.", "Some of the enzymes in the special mix multiply the growth of a bacteria that feeds on the young barley plants.", "The trucks that drove the special mix from the depot in Wisconsin to the individual farms sometime took as much as 4 or 5 days." ]

[ "The amount by which the cost of producing custom replacements has declined with the introduction of the new technique for producing them", "The degree to which the use of custom replacements is likely to reduce the need for repeat surgery when compared with the use of ordinary replacements", "The amount by which custom replacements produced with the new technique will drop in cost as the production procedures become standardized and applicable on a larger scale", "The amount of time a patient spends in surgery versus the amount of time spent recovering from surgery" ]

[ "presumes, without providing justification, that Fantastic Flakes are more nutritious than other cereals", "infers a cause from a mere correlation", "draws a conclusion about all adults from a sample that is too small to be representative", "infers that a given factor is the sole predictor of a result merely on the grounds that the factor has been shown to contribute to that result" ]

[ "The more emotionally compelling an anecdote is, the more likely it is to change a person's beliefs.", "Statistical information tends to obscure the characteristics of individuals.", "Most people recognize that anecdotes tend to be about unrepresentative cases.", "People tend to base their beliefs about other people on their emotional response to those people." ]

[ "Most jogging injuries result from falls, collisions, and other mishaps on which the flexibility resulting from stretching would have little if any effect.", "For both groups of joggers compared by the scientists, the rate of jogging injuries during the study was lower than the overall rate of jogging injuries.", "Studies have found that, for certain forms of exercise, stretching beforehand can reduce the severity of injuries resulting from that exercise.", "The more prone a jogger is to jogging injuries, the more likely he or she is to develop the habit of performing stretches before jogging." ]

[ "Most people can read a novel in considerably less time than it would take them to listen to a taped reading of it.", "Most of the respondents who had listened to a taped reading of the novel had never read it, and most of the respondents who had read the novel had never listened to a taped reading of it.", "The novel in question, unlike most novels, included dialogue in many different dialects that are more understandable when heard than when read.", "When people are asked their opinion of a best- selling novel that they have read or listened to on tape, they are more likely to say that they enjoyed the novel than that they did not enjoy it." ]

[ "A morally virtuous life requires the rejection of material well-being.", "People who approve of their own character and projects tend to lead morally virtuous lives.", "Attaining happiness is the real goal of people who strive for material well-being.", "Approval of one's own character and projects tends not to result in pleasurable feelings." ]

[ "Planners expect that, without congestion pricing, traffic in Masana is likely to grow by 6 percent in the next five years.", "In other urban areas, congestion pricing has strongly encouraged carpooling (sharing of rides by private commuters).", "Over 30 percent of the vehicles in the city's center are occupied by more than one person.", "Approximately one-fifth of the vehicles in the central business district are in transit from one side of the city to the other." ]

[ "Certain animals that feed on color-changing spiders do so only sparingly in order to keep from ingesting harmful amounts of spider venom.", "The color discrimination of certain birds that feed on color-changing spiders is no more acute than that of human beings.", "Color-changing spiders possess color discrimination that is more acute than that of spiders that lack the ability to change color.", "Among the animals that feed on color- changing spiders are a few species of bat, which find their prey through sound echoes." ]

[ "Whether the vitamins that the artificial fat absorbs are present in foods that contain the fat", "Whether increasing one's intake of the vitamins can compensate for the effects of the artificial fat", "Whether there are any foods that cannot be prepared using the artificial fat as a substitute for other fats", "Whether having an extremely low fat intake for an extended period can endanger the health" ]

[ "Cigarette smokers who quit smoking for a time and who then resume cigarette smoking do not necessarily reduce their risk of smoking-related health problems.", "The kinds of illnesses that smokers run an increased risk of contracting develop no earlier in cigarette smokers than they do in smokers of pipes or cigars.", "At any given period in their lives, virtually all smokers smoke either cigarettes exclusively or cigars exclusively or pipes exclusively, rather than alternating freely among various ways of smoking.", "People who switch from cigarette smoking to smoking pipes or cigars inhale smoke in a way that those who have never smoked cigarettes do not." ]

[ "the decay of organic material in natural history exhibits is natural and cannot be prevented", "the scientific analysis of museum exhibits can be performed in a nondestructive way", "if a museum exhibit is irreplaceable, its preservation is of an importance that overrides economic considerations", "it can be known at this time what data will be of most use to scientific investigators in the future" ]

[ "Most of the gold mines that Moradco operates are not located in Velyena.", "Moradco operates more mines in Velyena than any other company operates there.", "Most of the mines that Moradco operates throughout the world are not gold mines.", "Most of the mines that Moradco operates in Velyena are not gold mines." ]

[ "At least some of what the Minlandians read for pleasure is in the Minlandian language.", "The study of Boltese is required of Minlandian children as part of their schooling.", "The proportion of bilingual residents to total population is greater in Minlandia than anywhere else in the world.", "When Minlandians watch Boltese television programs, they tend to ignore the fact that they are hearing a foreign language spoken." ]

[ "many of the proponents of irradiation are food distributors who gain from food's having a longer shelf life", "for food that is both irradiated and cooked, the reduction of vitamin B1 associated with either process individually is compounded", "it is clear that killing bacteria that may be present on food is not the only effect that irradiation has", "cooking is usually the final step in preparing food for consumption, whereas irradiation serves to ensure a longer shelf life for perishable foods" ]

[ "the incidence of obesity in North American children tends to increase as the children grow older", "when four major studies all produce similar results, those studies must be accurate", "the number of North American children who are not obese increased over the past 15 years", "over the past 15 years, the number of North American children who are underweight has declined" ]

[ "It identifies a view that is ultimately disputed by the argument.", "It provides support for the initial premise in the argument.", "It provides support for a counterargument to the initial premise.", "It identifies a position supported by the initial premise in the argument." ]

[ "Is spinach the only high-nutrient vegetable that is used in soup?", "Which vegetables contain the least nutrients?", "Do substances added during the canning process make soup healthier?", "Are cream soups healthier than vegetable soups?" ]

[ "All of the past leaders who supported higher taxes were hardworking.", "All of the past leaders who supported higher taxes performed their jobs adequately.", "Being opposed to higher taxes is not a sufficient condition for good leadership.", "Opposing higher taxes is not a factor contributing to good leadership." ]

[ "Anissa is a fourth-year student who is on the dean's list. Thus, since Jehan is a second-year student who is also on the dean's list, he can choose a dormitory room before Anissa.", "Ivan and Naomi are both fourth-year students but only Naomi is on the dean's list. Ttherefore, Ivan can choose a dormitory room before Naomi.", "Halle, a third-year student, is on the dean's list. Thus, she is guaranteed a dormitory room.", "Gerald and Katrina are both on the dean's list but only Gerald is a fourth-year student. Thus, Gerald can choose a dormitory room before Katrina." ]

[ "Musical instruments should not be classified based on the way musicians interact with them.", "It is correct to classify the piano as a percussion instrument rather than as a stringed instrument.", "The piano should be classified as a stringed instrument rather than as a percussion instrument.", "Some people classify the piano as a stringed instrument because of the way the piano produces sound." ]

[ "If the present administration is economically successful, then it is an overall success.", "If the present administration had been economically successful, it would have cared for the environment.", "The present administration is not an overall success.", "The present administration is economically successful." ]

[ "By that line of reasoning, we could conclude that most politicians have run for office, since all legislators are politicians and most legislators have run for office.", "By that line of reasoning, we could conclude that not every public servant has run for office, since every legislator is a public servant but some public servants are not legislators.", "By that line of reasoning, we could conclude that most public servants are legislators, since most legislators have run for office and most politicians who have run for office are public servants.", "By that line of reasoning, we could conclude that most legislators have never run for office, since most public servants have never run for office and all legislators are public servants." ]

[ "The ZXC audio system received the overall top ranking for looks, performance, durability, and value in Listeners' Report magazine's ratings of currently produced systems. Ttherefore, the ZXC must have better sound quality than any other currently produced sound system.", "Jerrold's teachers recognize him as the student who has shown more academic improvement than any other student in the junior class this year. Ttherefore, if Jerrold and his classmates are ranked according to their current academic performance, Jerrold must hold the highest ranking.", "The number of consumer visits increased more at Countryside Market last year than at any other market in the region. Ttherefore, Countryside's profits must also have increased more last year than those of any other market in the region.", "Margaret Durring's short story \"The Power Lunch\" won three separate awards for best short fiction of the year. Ttherefore, any of Margaret Durring's earlier stories certainly has enough literary merit to be included in an anthology of the best recent short fiction." ]

[ "only novels that have aesthetic value fail to present profound moral lessons", "today's writing generally fails to confront deep ethical questions", "for a literary work to have aesthetic value it must present a profound ethical message", "there is no distinction between engaging stories and profound moral lessons" ]

[ "Profound spiritual experiences can be achieved without undergoing the serious danger involved in mountain climbing.", "Activities that are extremely dangerous ought to be legally prohibited unless they are necessary to produce spiritual enlightenment.", "Dangerous activities that are unlikely to result in significant spiritual benefits for those undertaking them should be avoided.", "Mountain climbers and other athletes should carefully examine the underlying reasons they have for participating in their sports." ]

[ "Those who have reported sightings of the Tasmanian tiger are not experienced naturalists.", "Every naturalist working in the Tasmanian tiger's natural habitat has looked systematically for evidence of the tiger's survival.", "Some scavengers in Tasmania are capable of destroying tiger carcasses without a trace.", "The Tasmanian tiger did not move and adapt to a different region in response to the loss of habitat." ]

[ "Chemical analysis shows that most of the known fragments of both Han purple and the white glass were produced within a small geographical radius.", "The technique used for producing Han purple was known to very few people during the Qin and Han dynasties.", "The ingredients used in producing both Han purple and the white glass were easily obtainable during the Qin and Han dynasties.", "The white glass is found in more surviving artifacts from the Qin and Han dynasties than Han purple is." ]

[ "defining a concept and then showing that under this definition the concept applies to all of the cases under discussion", "pointing out a difference between the two cases being compared in order to show that a conclusion based on their similarities should not be drawn", "clarifying and defending a moral principle by comparing a case in which it applies to one in which it does not apply", "appealing to a counterexample to undermine an ethical principle that supports an argument the journalist is trying to refute" ]

[ "information about the rarity of treated diamonds is not combined with information about the rarity of naturally colorless, gemstone diamonds", "the currently available method for making colorless diamonds from colored ones is treated as though it were the only possible method for doing so", "comparisons between the price diamonds command as gemstones and their value for other uses are omitted", "the difficulty that a customer of a jeweler would have in distinguishing a naturally colorless diamond from a treated one is not taken into account" ]

[ "Once sports enthusiasts regularly engaged in sports, but now they watch spectator sports when they could be getting physical exercise. Without physical exercise, health deteriorates. Ttherefore, the only remedy is to eliminate spectator sports.", "Once people listened to the radio while pursuing other activities. Now they passively watch television. Ttherefore, radio was less distracting for most people than television is.", "Once people were willing to tailor their day to the constraints of a bus or train schedule; now they are spoiled by the private car. The only solution is for government to offer financial incentives to encourage the use of public transportation.", "Once friendships thrived on shared leisure time. But contemporary economic pressures minimize the amount of free time people have and thus jeopardize many friendships." ]

[ "A person benefits from an education only to the extent that he or she invests effort in it.", "Degrees and certificates do not guarantee that a person has acquired much worthwhile knowledge.", "It has become easier for students to complete their coursework without learning anything of importance.", "Educational institutions should cease to grant degrees and certificates." ]

[ "It identifies a phenomenon for which the argument's main conclusion offers a causal explanation.", "It is the argument's only conclusion.", "It is a claim for which a causal explanation is provided and which itself is used as direct support for the argument's only conclusion.", "It is the argument's main conclusion, but not its only conclusion." ]

[ "denies that an observation that a trait is common to all the events in a pattern can contribute to a causal explanation of the pattern", "undermines its own premise that a particular attribute is present in all instances of a certain pattern or class of events", "concludes that a characteristic of a pattern or class of events at one time is characteristic of similar patterns or classes of events at all times", "takes the occurrence of one particular influence on a pattern or class of events as showing that its influence outweighs any other influence on those events" ]

[ "The love of discovery is the motive behind many significant contributions to science.", "Typically, winners of a Nobel prize for science are not motivated at all by the love of discovery.", "A professional scientist is more likely to make a significant contribution to science if he or she is motivated by the love of discovery.", "Some amateur scientists who did not win a Nobel prize for science nevertheless made significant contributions to science." ]

[ "Over the course of the lessons, the first-graders who showed greater improvement in their ability to write letters automatically also generally showed greater improvement in their composition skills.", "The first-graders who wrote letters the most automatically before receiving the after-school lessons in handwriting showed the greatest improvement in their composition skills over the course of the lessons.", "Among the first-graders who received the lessons in handwriting, those who started out with strong composition skills showed substantial improvement in how automatically they could write letters.", "Before receiving the after-school lessons in handwriting, the 100 first-graders who received the lessons were representative of first-graders more generally, with respect to their skills in both handwriting and composition." ]

[ "Caroline rightly blamed her coworker Monica for failing to assist her in doing a time-consuming project, even though she knew that Monica had offered to help in the project earlier but that her offer had been vetoed by their supervisor.", "Albert correctly criticized Louise for adopting an abandoned dog because he believed that, although she felt sorry for the dog, she did not have sufficient time or space to care for it adequately.", "Daniel was right not to praise Margaret for offering to share her house with a visiting French family, since he believed that she made the offer only because she hoped it would be reciprocated by an invitation to use the family's apartment in Paris.", "It was correct for Sarah not to praise Michael for being charitable when he told her that he donates a tenth of his income to charity, since she guessed that he only told that fact in order to impress her." ]

[ "Infotek achieved the lower price of the new model by using components of lower quality than those used by other manufacturers.", "Most personal computers purchased in Katrovia are intended for home use.", "Katrovians in households that already have computers are unlikely to purchase the new Infotek model as an additional computer for home use.", "The main reason cited by consumers in Katrovia for replacing a personal computer is the desire to have an improved model." ]

[ "the only way to make telescope observations without any interference from debris in orbit is to use telescopes launched into extremely high orbits around the Earth", "a greatly increased number of small particles in Earth's orbit would result in a blanket of reflections that would make certain valuable telescope observations impossible", "there are no known previous instances of satellites' having been exploded on purpose", "for satellites that have ceased to function, repairing them while they are in orbit would be prohibitively expensive" ]

[ "Violent crime and vandalism have remained low in Norwegian towns that had no oil boom.", "Norwegian sociologists expressed grave concern about the increase in violent crime and vandalism in Stavanger.", "The people of Stavanger rarely regret that their town was chosen to be Norway's center for offshore oil exploration", "The oil boom necessitated the building of wider roads for the increased traffic in Stavanger." ]

[ "Two years ago, what proportion of the Greenville Times's total revenue was generated by advertising sales?", "Has the circulation of the Greenville Times increased substantially in the last two years?", "Has there been a substantial turnover in personnel in the advertising sales force over the last two years?", "Has the economy in Greenville and the surrounding regions been growing rapidly over the last two years?" ]

[ "Regulation of computer networks is required in order to ensure the privacy of the messages transmitted through such networks.", "Legislators who do not have extensive experience with computers should not attempt to write legislation regulating computer networks.", "The regulation of computer networks should not be modeled on any single piece of past legislation.", "A computer network merely duplicates the functions of a telephone system and a television network." ]

[ "It assumes that a general pattern is likely to hold true in a specific case.", "It fails to distinguish between giant squids and more diminutive variants.", "It mistakenly asserts that one instance holds true for all cases.", "It discounts the possibility that the largest giant squid was found on the shores of Ryukyu." ]

[ "Life similar to Earth's could evolve under conditions very different from those on Earth.", "If a planet is Earthlike, then life will arise on it.", "Our solar system is similar to many other planetary systems in the universe.", "Most other planetary systems in the universe have nine planets." ]

[ "A maximum temperature of 350 degree C provides more than enough heat for efficient and effective cooking.", "Electric stovetop burners cause fires because they go well above 700 degree C when set on high.", "Electric stovetop burners would cause fewer fires if their highest temperature were limited to 350 degree C.", "The lowest ignition temperature for cooking oil and most common fibers is 387 degree C." ]

[ "The continuing spread of Eurasian watermilfoil in Frida Lake threatens to choke out the lake's rare plant species.", "Because of ecological conditions prevailing in its native habitat, Eurasian watermilfoil is not as dominant there as it is in Frida Lake.", "Unless Eurasian watermilfoil is completely eliminated from Frida Lake, it will quickly spread again once herbicide treatments or other control measures cease.", "The proliferation of Eurasian watermilfoil in Frida Lake has led to reductions in the populations of some species of aquatic animals." ]

[ "The argument attempts to draw its main conclusion from a set of premises that are mutually contradictory.", "The argument treats a result that supports a hypothesis as a result that proves a hypothesis.", "The argument applies a statistical generalization to a particular case to which it was not intended to apply.", "The argument fails to estimate the likelihood that most subjects in the experiment did not know the actual statistics about how common their make of car is nationwide." ]

[ "the way it distinguishes criminal from crimes implicitly denies that someone becomes a criminal solely in virtue of having committed a crime", "it exploits an ambiguity in the term \"environment\"by treating two different meanings of the word as though they were equivalent", "it fails to distinguish between actions that are socially acceptable and actions that are socially unacceptable", "its conclusion contradicts an implicit principle on which an earlier part of the argument is based" ]

[ "The argument uses evidence that supports only rough estimates to draw a precisely quantified conclusion.", "The argument draws a conclusion that merely restates a premise presented in favor of it.", "The argument takes for granted that the preferences of a group as a whole are the preferences of most individual members of the group.", "The argument fails to consider that the survey results might have been influenced by the political biases of the researchers who conducted the survey." ]

[ "Whether QuikFashion's competitors would respond by discounting their own clothing.", "Whether some items of clothing will be discounted more than others.", "Whether QuikFashion can cut the cost of production sufficiently to still make profits from its discounted clothing.", "Whether following a different plan might allow QuikFashion to maintain its current market share but increase profits." ]

[ "In each course, the more a student studied, the better his or her grade was in that course.", "The students who spent the least time studying tended to be students with no more than average involvement in extracurricular activities.", "Students who spent more time studying understood the course material better than other students did.", "The students who spent the most time studying earned higher grades than did some students who studied for less time than the average." ]

[ "Legalized drugs would be more potent than what currently exists on the black market.", "Legalizing drugs would increase the number of drug users.", "Legalizing drugs would raise government healthcare expenditures.", "Some drugs are more dangerous than others." ]

[ "Some people prefer the taste of whole wheat bread to that of white bread.", "Consumers will prefer eating foods that are more nutritious to eating foods that are less nutritious when the foods taste the same.", "Whole-grain white wheat flour costs consumers more than does white flour but less than does whole wheat flour.", "Whole-grain white wheat flour is not significantly more difficult to produce than is white flour." ]

[ "neglects to cite expert authority to substantiate the claim about the subject matter of the painting", "ignores the fact that there can be general agreement that something is the case without its being the case", "attempts to establish a particular conclusion because doing so is in the reasoner's self-interest rather than because of any genuine concern for the truth of the matter", "provides no evidence that the painting is more likely to be an uncataloged van Gogh than to be a painting by someone else who painted that particular subject in van Gogh's style" ]

[ "Children more readily adopt a behavior through habit and repetition than through other means.", "Children often imitate the behavior of others rather than listening to reason.", "Children ordinarily act contrary to their parents' expectations in order to get more attention.", "Children are too young to understand rational arguments for adopting a behavior." ]

[ "The number of people who would be willing to pay the high fares NorthAir charges for its business-class seats would decrease if its economy-class seating were more acceptable.", "A few of NorthAir' s economy-class passengers are satisfied with the service they receive, given the low price they pay.", "Very few people avoid flying on NorthAir because of the cramped seating and poor service offered in economy class.", "None of NorthAir' s competitors offers significantly better seating and service to economy-class passengers than NorthAir does." ]

[ "It ignores the possibility that the patients referred to therapists practicing the new form of therapy had problems more amenable to treatment than did those referred to therapists practicing traditional forms.", "It ignores the possibility that therapists practicing the new form of therapy systematically differ from therapists practicing traditional forms of therapy with regard to some personality attribute relevant to effective treatment.", "It presumes, without providing justification, that the personal rapport between therapist and patient has no influence on the effectiveness of the treatment the patient receives.", "It ignores the possibility that therapists trained in traditional forms of therapy use the same techniques in treating their patients as therapists trained in the new form of therapy do." ]

[ "People are generally more willing to accept a negative characterization of a small group of people if they do not see themselves as members of the group being so characterized.", "It is easier to correct the mistakes of an athlete if it is made clear to him that the criticism is part of an overarching effort to rectify the shortcomings of the entire team on which he plays.", "An actor can more effectively evaluate the merits of her own performance if she can successfully convince herself that she is really evaluating the performance of another actor.", "Children can usually be taught to master subject matter in which they have no interest if they believe that successfully mastering it will earn the respect of their peers." ]

[ "Businesses that install proper accommodations for wheelchair users have greater profits than those that do not.", "Some business areas are not frequented by wheelchair users because the areas lack proper accommodations.", "Most businesses are not modified to accommodate wheelchair users.", "Owners of business areas not frequented by wheelchair users generally are reluctant to make modifications." ]