Critical Thinking and Problem Solving 

CRITICAL READING PRACTICE I The following questions are each based on a short passage. Read the passage and then select the one best answer to the questions below the passage. Use the information provided by or suggested in the passage. Use the information provided by or suggested in the passage. Questions 1 and 2 refer to the following: 

"You should spend your honeymoon in Cancun. We went there for ours and the weather was beautiful—I had a gorgeous tan!" 

1. The speaker assumes that the listener wants to 

a. come back from a honeymoon with a gorgeous tan. 

b. spend a honeymoon where the weather is beautiful. 

c. spend time in the sun. 

d. have a better tan. 

e. have an expensive honeymoon. 

2. Which of the following does the speaker fail to take into account? 

a. Honeymoons should be spent in Cancun. b. Cancun has beautiful weather. c. Cancun's weather is excellent for tanning. d. Honeymooning in Cancun leads to gorgeous tans. e. Couples may not be very interested in getting tanned while honeymooning in Cancun. Questions 3 and 4 refer to the following: "Knitting is a waste of time. I took a knitting course at the community center and the instructor was a narrowminded, picky old maid." 3. What assumption is made by the speaker? a. A craft can be judged based on the personality of the instructor. b. The teacher could have tried harder to be flexible. c. All craft courses are a waste of time. d. Quilting is an interesting craft which the instructor taught badly. e. Knitting is an interesting craft which the instructor taught badly. 4. The speaker's reasoning is an example of a. repetitive use of words. b. arguing by making threats. c. reasoning from explicitly stated assumptions. d. attacking the personal character of an opponent. e. over-generalizing from one specific case. Question 5 refers to the following: The new wife said, "If you don't plan this party my way, I won't plan a party with you again." 5. The new wife a. lives near her mother's house. b. is afraid of her husband. c. avoids a quarrel by leaving. d. wants to plan a very expensive party. e. is usually not hard to get along with. Question 6 refers to the following: The governor said, "You must support my bill to provide educational reform in the public schools. Voting against such a bill can only mean that you don't care about the quality of the education received by your children." 6. The governor a. has been elected two terms. b. is not dealing with the possible cost of the proposal. c. has very few schools in his state that provide low-quality education. d. does not often make statements that he cannot support. e. has many state officials backing his proposal. Question 7 refers to the following: Father: "No, we can't go to the ski lodge this winter." Son: "Why?" Father: "Well, I have several things to buy with that money." Son: "How many is several—three, four, seven?" 7. In this dialogue the son is trying a. to get his father to go to the ski lodge. b. to ensure going to the ski next winter. c. to save his father's money. d. to be as mean as possible. e. to make his father be more specific. Question 8 refers to the following: A television commercial says, "Buy a Krups—the superior coffee maker." 8. The writer of this commercial a. tells a possible customer much about the quality of the coffee maker. b. knows exactly how the listener will interpret "superior". c. wants the listener to be impressed with the word "superior". d. has chosen to emphasize specific details rather than vagueness. Questions 9,10, and 11 refer to the following: "Supporters of the Kinley Bill are college students, farmers, and small businessmen. Vote for the bright future— yes on Kinley." 9. The argument involves which one of the following fallacies? a. The argument is based on circular reasoning. b. The argument is loaded with emotional words. c. The argument treats the subject humorously. d. The argument is disguised by ambiguous words. e. The argument is logically correct. 10. Which of the following words would most likely be the purpose of the Kinley Bill? a. lowering interest rates on loans. b. lowering property taxes on real estate. c. legalizing drug trafficking. d. abolishing the state income tax. e. providing government assistance to hard-working Americans. 2 11. In this argument it is assumed that a. teachers and grocers are opposed to the Kinley Bill. b. these groups are important to the well-being of the nation. c. the Kinley Bill is certain to be voted down. d. the people support the Kinley Bill. e. the people don't know what is in their own interests. Questions 12 through 15 refer to the following: In our small town, Papa's soda shop was the most popular place for high school students to meet. Unlike his brother, our military-minded, sullen principal, Papa was always relaxed, kind, interested, always ready to add extra whipped cream and cherries to our sodas. He was tolerant of the noisy, boisterous students who came to his shop after school. Everyone I knew in town, except our principal, loved Papa. 12. The passage implies reasons for a. Papa's generosity. b. ordering whipped cream and cherries on sodas. c. the existence of a meeting place for students. d. the high volume of noise. e. the popularity of the soda shop. 13. In the passage, the writer a. contrasts the personality of the two men. b. suggests that Papa was hypocritical. c. explains why two brothers were different. d. implies why people like sodas. e. compares Papa's place to others in the town. 14. The writer's observations are apparently not based on a. first hand experience. b. reports from neighborhood friends. c. gossip. d. scholarly research. e. opinions of the writer's principal. 15. If the writer's principal and Papa simultaneously spotted a hundred dollar bill lying on the sidewalk, what would be the most logical result? a. They would fight each other for it. b. Papa would let the principal keep it. c. Neither one would want it. d. The principal would take and give twenty of the one hundred to Papa. e. Papa would quickly claim and laugh at the principal's misfortune. Questions 16, 17, and 18 refer to the following: "Many people insist that cocaine should be legalized because it doesn't do them any harm. But, in fact, cocaine is harmful, because users end up in jail." 16. The speaker believes that legalizing cocaine use should depend on whether a. cocaine will increase tax revenues. b. cocaine is harmful. c. using cocaine is moral or immoral. d. the cocaine is produced domestically or abroad. e. cocaine is produced for personal consumption or commercial sales. 3 17. What kind of harm is attributed to cocaine, according to the speaker? a. spending time in jail b. liver cancer c. mental degeneration d. failure to control one's anger e. blindness 18. What conclusion can be drawn about the harmful effects of cocaine if we accept the speaker's position? a. If people use cocaine, they will associate with criminals. b. Cocaine is harmful to one's health. c. Cocaine is not harmful to those who can afford to spend time in jail. d. Spending time in jail helps people to understand the harmful effects of its use. e. If people disrespect the law, they will use cocaine. In questions 19 through 26, your task is to compare various statements in the light of the questions posed. Pay attention to the tone, emphasis, and implications of each of the statements as you select the one response that is best in each case. 19. In which of the following does the speaker express a feeling of nostalgia? a. It makes me happy that I have lived a long, prosperous life: I need not worry about having anything to prove. b. Who needs to worry about what might have been? c. I often think of my childhood friends; we were very happy. d. I'll never be able to predict the bad times, because I never have. e. When I lived in Houston, I spent a lot of time shopping. 20. Which of the following statements gives direct evidence about the speaker's feelings concerning marriage to Paul? a. Paul is certainly a handsome man. b. I don't think Paul is as interested in starting a family as I am. c. If Paul were the last man on earth, I might think of marrying him. d. Paul is more mechanically inclined than I am. e. All of my friends adore Paul. 21. Which of the following expresses a defeatist attitude? a. I could have owned that store; old Mr. Grundy always treated me as a son. b. All I thought about was playing football, when I was fourteen. c. I have two cats and a new car that I can't afford to make payments on. d. I only know how to clean house. e. Nobody will ever be my friend because I am so stupid. 22. Which of the following sentences states Mr. Bishop's strangest characteristics as chairman of the board? a. Mr. Bishop's leadership has created no great problems for the club. b. The club's funds have increased 12 percent during the past year. c. The club has increased membership 60 percent during the past two years. d. The club's meetings are run efficiently and effectively. e. Mr. Bishop knows how to win the trust of his fellow members. 23. Which of the following most clearly suggests a speaker's opinion about a new movie? a. The credits at the end of the movie provide very little information about the direction of the set. b. The producer used at least two twists that really amazed me. c. The theater was dirty. d. The sound was distorted. e. The movie was thirty minutes too long and became tedious. 4 24. Which of the following makes the most positive statement about Bobby's ability as a football player? a. Bobby knows how to take the most complicated calls and execute them perfectly. b. Bobby has memorized the names of many famous quarterbacks. c. Bobby gets along with all of his teammates. d. Bobby can run the entire length of the field without tiring. e. Bobby has read the game book several times. 25. Which of the following advertisements tells a consumer the most about the safety of a product? a. "This car has never been recalled by the manufacturer." b. "This aspirin bottle comes with a child proof top." c. "Product L has many safety buttons." d. "Acme burglar alarms haven't failed yet." e. "That's one of Ford's brightest ideas." 26. Which has the least significant negative connotations? a. Lisa is proud of her new sports car. b. She is so conceited about her beauty. c. Mildred has a great deal of self-confidence. d. Billy is a brat. e. What a snobby girl! ANSWER KEY CRITICAL READING PRACTICE I 1. B 11. B 21. E 2. E 12. E 22. E 3. A 13. A 23. B 4. E 14. D 24. A 5.. C 15. B 25. B 6. B 16. B 26. C 7. E 17. A 8. C 18. C 9. B 19. C 10. A 20. C Created by Sandra Karnei and Marilyn Dechert Revised: Spring 2002 STUDENT LEARNING ASSISTANCE CENTER (SLAC) Texas State University-San Marcos 5