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[ "Erich would not sacrifice one of his hands in order to possess the world.", "Erich is irrationally risking something that is precious to him for something that is of no value.", "Erich is engaging in irrational behavior by pursuing his quest for the treasure.", "Erich should not risk his physical well-being regardless of the possible gains that such risks might bring." ]

[ "This minor league team is over four hours from the closest major league team, so many of the minor league team's fans do not often attend major league games.", "Other minor league teams in that region of the state reported a similar drop in attendance this week.", "Many minor league baseball franchises attribute a drop in attendance to the quality of play of the team only after a string of losses.", "This was not the first time this team suffered multiple lopsided losses in a single week, prompting similar letters to the local sporting news." ]

[ "The incidence of serious animal-induced allergies among current zoo employees is lower than that among the general population.", "Among members of the general population who have spent as much time with animals as zoo employees typically have, the percentage with animal-induced allergies is significantly more than 30 percent.", "Zoo employees tend to develop animal-induced allergies that are more serious than those of other people who spend equally large amounts of time with animals.", "There is no occupation for which the risk of developing an animal-induced allergy is higher than 30 percent." ]

[ "No one else has yet been found to have psychic powers.", "It is possible to determine whether Selena has psychic powers.", "We will not be able to determine whether it is possible to have psychic powers unless we find out whether Selena's claim is true.", "If it is possible to have psychic powers, then Selena has them." ]

[ "Serving as a subject for medical research can provide a patient access to new treatments but also can subject the patient to risks.", "Restriction to males of the patient base on which data are collected results in inadequate science.", "Government-sponsored medical research is often done in military hospitals or prisons that hold only male residents.", "The training of male and female scientists does not differ according to their sex." ]

[ "It improperly infers from the fact that a substance causally contributes to a condition that a reduction in the consumption of the substance is likely to eliminate that condition.", "It draws a conclusion about a causal relationship between two phenomena from evidence that merely suggests that there is a correlation between those phenomena.", "It confuses a condition that is necessary for establishing the truth of the conclusion with a condition that is sufficient for establishing the truth of the conclusion.", "It draws a conclusion about the population as a whole on the basis of a sample that is unlikely to be representative of that population." ]

[ "the effects of taxes on local businesses may not be immediately apparent in all cases.", "the health effects of some types of sodas may be different than the health effects of others.", "it is possible to weigh known drawbacks against known benefits, but not possible to weigh unknown drawbacks in the same way.", "soda consumption has been strongly linked to rates of obesity and shorter lifespans." ]

[ "All consumers of the shaving cream will test the product on a small area of skin before using it.", "None of the consumers who have yet to use the shaving cream are allergic to it.", "The shaving cream will come with a money-back guarantee if consumers find they are allergic to it.", "The shaving cream can be tested on any area of the body, including the face." ]

[ "With a book contract, an academic writer receives either an advance or a guarantee of royalties. Professor al-Sofi received an advance for a book contract, so al-Sofi did not receive a guarantee of royalties.", "When entering this amusement park, children always choose to take their first ride on either the Rocket or the Mouse. Janine insisted on the Rocket for her first ride. Thus, Janine would not have been standing near the Mouse during her first half hour in the amusement park.", "The elliptical orbit of an asteroid is only slightly eccentric unless it is affected by the gravitational pull of a planet. Asteroid Y is affected by Jupiter's gravitational pull and asteroid X is not. Thus, the orbit of asteroid Y is the more eccentric of the two.", "To avoid predators, rabbits will either double back on their pursuers or flee for nearby cover. The rabbit being pursued by a fox in this wildlife film is in a field that offers no opportunity for nearby cover, so it will try to double back on the fox." ]

[ "People who think they observe supernatural phenomena should not publicize that fact unless they can present corroborating evidence.", "A newspaper should not publish a report unless it is confirmed by an independent source.", "If a media outlet has trusted a source in the past and the source has a good reputation, the outlet should continue to trust that source.", "If a claim is extraordinary, it should not be presented uncritically unless it is backed by evidence of an extraordinarily high standard." ]

[ "Rattlesnakes molt as often when food is scarce as they do when food is plentiful.", "Rattlesnakes molt more frequently when young than when old.", "Rattlesnakes molt exactly once a year.", "The rattles of rattlesnakes of different species are identical in appearance." ]

[ "Recycling benefits the economy, as manufacturers can reuse materials at lower costs.", "Recycling reduces carbon emissions more than green energy programs.", "Recycling prevents waste from entering the oceans -- the leading producer of oxygen.", "Recy cling one aluminum can saves the equivalent amount of energy needed to power a television for three hours." ]

[ "If a chess-playing program is run on two different computers and is allotted more time to examine possible moves when running on the slow computer than when running on the fast computer, it will have an equal chance of winning on either computer.", "How fast a given computer is has no effect on which chess-playing computer programs can run on that computer.", "In general, the more moves a given chess-playing program is able to examine under given time constraints per move, the better the chances that program will win.", "If one chess-playing program can examine more possible moves than a different chess-playing program run on the same computer under the same time constraints per move, the former program will have a better chance of winning than the latter." ]

[ "The sea snail used in the experiment did not differ significantly from other members of its species in its reaction to external stimuli.", "Tensing of the muscular \"foot\" in sea snails is an instinctual rather than a learned response to ocean turbulence.", "All sea snails react to ocean turbulence in the same way as the sea snail in the experiment did.", "The appearance of a bright light alone would ordinarily not result in the sea snail's tensing its \"foot. \"" ]

[ "Is Malvernia among the countries that rely most on imported oil?", "Is the amount of oil used each year in Malvernia for generating electricity and fuel for transportation increasing?", "What proportion of Malvernia's total energy needs is met by hydroelectric, solar, and nuclear power?", "When, if ever, will production of oil in Malvernia outstrip production of natural gas?" ]

[ "The way that people respond to being thanked is generally determined by habit rather than by conscious decision.", "In a commercial transaction, as opposed to a favor, the customer feels that the benefits are mutual.", "Salespeople are often instructed by their employers to thank customers, whereas customers are free to say what they want.", "Salespeople do not regard customers who buy from them as doing them a favor." ]

[ "Maria plants either petunias or geraniums in her garden. If Maria plants petunias, she plants purple ones. If Maria plants geraniums, she plants red ones. Since both petunias and geraniums are flowers, Maria will have either purple or red flowers in her garden.", "If Shawn starts gardening in early spring, he can plant tomatoes early. If Shawn can plant tomatoes early, he will have plenty of tomatoes for canning. But he does not have plenty of tomatoes for canning, so either he did not start gardening in early spring or he did not plant tomatoes early.", "If Bryan's fruit trees are to produce well, he must either prune them in the fall or fertilize them in the spring. Since Bryan wants his trees to produce well but forgot to prune them last fall, Bryan is sure to fertilize his trees this spring.", "If Li plants old rose varieties, her garden will look beautiful. If Li's garden looks beautiful, Li's neighbors will be impressed. So if Li plants old rose varieties, her neighbors will be impressed." ]

[ "Whether the amount of time spent watching television is declining among people who report that they rarely or never use computers", "Whether the survey respondents' reports of time spent using computers included time spent using computers at work", "Whether a large majority of the computer owners in the survey reported spending increasing amounts of time per week using computers", "Whether the survey collected information about the amount of money respondents spent on free-time media use" ]

[ "Some minerals characteristic of the soil of the protected site are also contained in the soil of the private site.", "The basket was too encrusted with soil to be examined accurately.", "The basket was excavated on private property.", "No minerals characteristic of the soil of the private site were detected on the basket." ]

[ "Mortgage lenders are much less likely to consider risk factors other than credit score when evaluating borrowers with the highest credit scores.", "Most potential borrowers have credit scores that are neither very low nor very high.", "Credit scores reported to mortgage lenders are based on collections of data that sometimes include errors or omit relevant information.", "A potential borrower's credit score is based in part on the potential borrower's past history in paying off debts in full and on time." ]

[ "New buildings that include public space are exempt from city taxes for two years and all new buildings in the city's Alton district are exempt for five years, so the building with the large public space that was recently completed in Alton will not be subject to city taxes next year.", "All property on Overton Road will be reassessed for tax purposes by the end of the year and the Elnor Company headquarters is on Overton Road, so Elnor's property taxes will be higher next year.", "The Morrison Building will be fully occupied by May and since if a building is occupied by May the new tax rates apply to it, the Morrison Building will be taxed according to the new rates.", "The revised tax code does not apply at all to buildings built before 1900, and only the first section of the revised code applies to buildings built between 1900 and 1920, so the revised code does not apply to the Norton Building, since it was built in 1873." ]

[ "treating evidence that a given action contributed to bringing about a certain effect as though that evidence established that the given action by itself was sufficient to bring about that effect", "drawing a conclusion on the basis of evidence that provides equally strong support for a competing conclusion", "assuming without warrant that if one thing cannot occur without another thing's already having occurred, then the earlier thing cannot occur without bringing about the later thing", "basing its conclusion on evidence that is almost entirely irrelevant to the point at issue" ]

[ "The two countries that were compared with the physician's country had approximately the same ulcer rates as each other.", "The physician's country has a much better system for reporting the number of prescriptions of a given type that are obtained each year than is present in either of the other two countries.", "A person in the physician's country who is suffering from ulcers is just as likely to obtain a prescription for the ailment as is a person suffering from ulcers in one of the other two countries.", "Several other countries not covered in the physician's comparisons have more prescriptions for ulcer medication than does the physician's country." ]

[ "It is a finding the argument seeks to explain.", "It is the main conclusion of the argument.", "It introduces a judgment that the argument opposes.", "It is an explanation that the argument concludes is correct." ]

[ "Rent control is a common practice even though it does nothing to alleviate shortages in rental housing.", "Rent control is generally introduced for political reasons and it takes political action to have it lifted again.", "Tenants prefer rent control to the alternative of receiving direct government subsidies toward rents they cannot afford.", "Rent control makes it very difficult for landlords to achieve reasonable returns on any investments in maintenance or in new construction." ]

[ "The physical and chemical processes involved in the fossilization of sharks' teeth are as common as those involved in the fossilization of shark skeletons.", "Unlike the bony skeletons of other vertebrates, shark skeletons are composed of cartilage, and teeth and bone are much more likely to fossilize than cartilage is.", "The rare fossilized skeletons of sharks that are found are often found in areas other than those in which fossils of shark teeth are plentiful.", "Fossils of sharks' teeth are quite difficult to distinguish from fossils of other kinds of teeth." ]

[ "Newspaper headlines influence a reader's interpretation of the corresponding articles.", "Newspaper headlines hamper a reader's ability to comprehend the corresponding articles.", "Newspaper headlines tend to be highly misleading.", "Careless reading is more common among first- year undergraduates than among more senior students." ]

[ "Open fireplaces pose more risk of severe accidents inside the home than do woodburning stoves.", "Open fireplaces also produce a large amount of creosote residue.", "The amount of creosote produced depends not only on the type of flame but on how often the stove or fireplace is used.", "The most efficient wood-burning stoves produce less creosote than do many open fireplaces." ]

[ "What percentage of the retail transactions studied were cash transactions?", "Does increasing the extra change to five dollars have an effect on people's behavior?", "Did those who received an extra dollar count their change?", "Did the people who returned the extra dollar suspect that it was given to them intentionally?" ]

[ "A restructuring act, passed in 2003, broadened the duties of the Planning Department.", "Departments other than the Planning Department have had much larger budget increases since 2001.", "The budget figures used in the original editorial were adjusted for inflation.", "In some years between 2001 and this year, the Planning Department budget did not increase." ]

[ "arguing against a hypothesis by showing that the hypothesis cannot account for the behavior of everyone", "arguing that since two groups are disanalogous in important respects, there must be different explanations for their similar behavior", "explaining the susceptibility of medical professionals to the fraudulent claims of those marketing certain medical products by casting doubt on the expertise of the professionals", "showing by analogy that medical professionals should not be susceptible to the fraudulent claims of those who market certain medical products" ]

[ "presumes, without providing justification, that the methods used by Yancey are the only methods that would produce accurate results", "relies on the word of a scholar who is unqualified in the area in question", "attacks the person making the claim at issue rather than addressing the claim", "takes for granted that the popularity of a book is evidence of its accuracy" ]

[ "The first states the conclusion of the economists' argument: the second supports that conclusion.", "The first supports the conclusion of the environmentalists' argument; the second states that conclusion.", "Each supports the conclusion of the economist's argument.", "The first states the conclusion of the environmentalists' argument; the second states the conclusion of the economist's argument" ]

[ "those states with the strictest environmental regulations invest the most in education and job training", "after introducing stricter environmental regulations, many states experienced increased economic growth", "even those states with very weak environmental regulations have experienced at least some growth", "even those states that have only moderately strict environmental regulations have higher growth than those with the least-strict regulations" ]

[ "Items of jewelry found beneath the coins were probably made around 300 A. D.", "The coins were found in a dense cluster that could not have been formed by coins slipping through an accumulation of larger objects.", "The coins had far more value than the kitchen implements did.", "The coins used in the Roman Empire often remained in circulation for many decades." ]

[ "If a bookstore receives discounts from publishers, it will profitably sell books at below-market prices.", "A bookstore that caters to mass tastes or has exclusive access to a large specialized market will have a high sales volume.", "A bookstore that not only caters to mass tastes but also has exclusive access to a large specialized market cannot profitably sell books at below-market prices.", "A bookstore that profitably sells books at below-market prices gets discounts from publishers." ]

[ "Many parents do not pay attention to manufacturers labels when they select toys for their children.", "Most parents believe that the current labels are recommendations regarding level of cognitive skill.", "The majority of children injured by toys are under three years of age.", "Choking is the most serious hazard presented to children by toys." ]

[ "Many animal species, such as deer and bison, continued to thrive in Europe even after humans migrated there.", "Many animal species that became extinct in Europe survived longer in areas that were isolated from human populations but that experienced intense climatic warming.", "Several periods of marked climatic warming have occurred in Europe, during which many large animal species that lived there became extinct.", "Some large animals had become extinct in Europe even before humans migrated there." ]

[ "People could get a thorough understanding of a particular political issue by sorting through information provided by several traditional news sources, each with differing editorial biases.", "Most people who get information on political issues from newspapers and other traditional news sources can readily identify the editorial biases of those sources.", "Information on political issues disseminated through information services does not come almost entirely from advocacy groups that share a single bias.", "Traditional news sources seldom report the views of political advocacy groups accurately." ]

[ "The doses of ginkgo in the diet of the mice in the experiment were significantly higher than the doses that have been shown to reduce stress in mice.", "Scientists have not yet determined which substances in ginkgo are responsible for reducing stress in mice.", "Some chemical substances that reduce stress in mice also at least temporarily impair their memory.", "Neither the mice who received the ginkgo nor the other mice in the experiment exhibited physiological signs of higher-than-normal stress." ]

[ "The bones were already in the sediments by the time the lake dried up.", "The lake contained fish that the human ancestors could have used for food.", "The lake was deep enough that a person could drown in it.", "There were no other lakes in the immediate area before the lava dammed up the river." ]

[ "Any society with good cultural values will have a good cuisine.", "Good soil is a prerequisite of good farming.", "The creation of good meals depends on both natural and cultural conditions.", "Natural resources cannot be maintained properly without good farming practices." ]

[ "The nasal spray vaccine is most effective when administered to adults.", "The injectable vaccine is affordable for all adults.", "Any person who has received the injectable vaccine can safely receive the nasal-spray vaccine as well.", "Adults do not contract influenza primarily from children who have influenza." ]

[ "Experts agreed that the cardiologist made few obvious mistakes in reading and interpreting the EKG data.", "The cardiologist in the study was unrepresentative of cardiologists in general with respect to skill and experience.", "The cardiologist correctly diagnosed a significantly higher proportion of the cases in which no heart attack occurred than did the computer program.", "In a considerable percentage of cases, EKG data alone are insufficient to enable either computer programs or cardiologists to make accurate diagnoses." ]

[ "indicating that Pedro draws a hasty conclusion, based on inadequate evidence about cloth diapers", "claiming that Pedro overstates the negative evidence about disposable diapers in the course of his argument in favor of cloth diapers", "demonstrating that cloth diapers are a far more serious threat to the environment than disposable diapers are", "pointing out that there is an ambiguous use of the word \"disposable\" in Pedro's argument" ]

[ "The shop makes a substantial profit from pastries and other food bought by the coffee drinkers.", "No other coffee shop in the area has such a system.", "The new system, if implemented, would increase the number of customers.", "By roasting its own coffee, the shop has managed to reduce the difficulties (and cost) of maintaining an inventory of freshly roasted coffee." ]

[ "There are common situations in which a journalist must make a decision and in which no principle of journalistic ethics can be of help.", "The ethical principle that Marcus cites does not help the journalist in a typical kind of situation in which a decision needs to be made.", "Marcus' claim that traditional journalistic ethics is clear for most ethical dilemmas in journalism is incorrect.", "A typical case illustrates that Marcus is wrong in claiming that traditional journalistic ethics is essentially correct for most ethical dilemmas in journalism." ]

[ "Changes in the minimum wage are generally not as beneficial to the economy as is commonly believed.", "Any increase to the minimum wage smaller than the one proposed would not substantially affect prices of goods and services.", "The proposed minimum-wage increase would not wholly compensate low-income workers for the resulting increase in prices for goods and services.", "If raising the minimum wage helped low-income workers, this would be a good reason for raising it." ]

[ "The eruption of the Indonesian island of Tambora was even larger than that of Krakatoa, yet the average world temperature did not drop as much as it did following the eruption of Krakatoa.", "In 1883, the ocean-atmospheric phenomenon La Nina occurred, an event that is always followed by a drop of several degrees in the world's average temperature.", "No volcanic eruption in the 20th century was close to the magnitude of the Krakatoa eruption, yet average world temperatures dropped between 1950 and 1960.", "According to sophisticated computer analysis, the eruption of Mt. Toba between 69, 000 and 77, 000 years ago, one of the most powerful ever, may have hastened an ice age." ]

[ "Its management sponsors a monthly safety award for each division in the factory.", "Its old machinery is replaced with modern, automated models.", "Its management hires new workers but lacks the time to train them properly.", "Its employees are less likely to lose their jobs than they are at other times." ]

[ "Both are premises, for which no evidence is provided, and both support the argument's only conclusion.", "The first is the argument's main conclusion; the second is another conclusion supporting the first.", "The first is a conclusion supporting the second; the second is the argument's main conclusion.", "The first is the argument's only conclusion; the second is a premise, for which no evidence is provided." ]

[ "Food processing businesses often add sodium to foods being canned or frozen.", "Potassium is the only mineral that helps to prevent sodium's malign effects.", "Fresh fruits and vegetables contain more potassium than do canned or frozen ones.", "Fresh fruits and vegetables contain more potassium than sodium." ]

[ "The areas where boats would have to maintain low speeds were decided partly on the basis of manatee-population estimates and partly from numbers of reported collisions between manatees and boats.", "When experimenters exposed manatees to the recorded sounds of boats moving at various speeds, the creatures were unable to discern the sounds over normal background noise.", "Over the last several decades, boat traffic in Florida's coastal waters has been increasing almost continuously and now represents the greatest threat to the endangered manatee population.", "The sound of a boat engine generally travels much further under water than it does through the air." ]

[ "Most citizens of Country F want their country to be more economically powerful than Country G.", "Most citizens of Country F want their country to have a GNP higher than $120 billion.", "Most citizens of Country F believe GNP is a poor measure of a nation's economic health.", "Most citizens of Country F believe that their personal welfare is unconnected to GNP." ]

[ "When ground is disturbed in the course of planting trees, more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere by rotting organic matter in the soil than the new trees will absorb in ten years.", "Owners of large tracts of private land are usually unwilling to plant trees unless they are given a financial incentive for doing so.", "Many climate researchers believe that global warming is such an urgent problem that carbon dioxide emissions should be substantially reduced in less than ten years.", "Gases other than carbon dioxide contribute to global warming, and trees do not absorb any of these other gases." ]

[ "The fact that the number of children taking antipsychotic medicines increased 73 percent over the last four years is not an indication that the current level of use is abnormally high.", "The current level of antipsychotic drug use in children is abnormally high.", "It is unlikely that the increase in the use of antipsychotic medicines by children will continue at the same rate.", "If only 6. 6 out of every 1, 000 children are taking an antipsychotic medication, the increase in the use of such medicines cannot be the percentage Antoine cites." ]

[ "A large proportion of the factory workers have not graduated from high school.", "A large proportion of students with high school diplomas have evening obligations that have prevented them from taking the eight week training course.", "Most of the workers who have earned the certificate are high school graduates.", "No factory worker without a high school diploma has completed the course and earned the certificate." ]

[ "Most crimes committed in the country are not reported to local police departments.", "Of crimes committed in the country, a much greater proportion have been reported to local police departments in recent years than were reported 20 years ago.", "Not all of the citizens selected for the series of independent surveys had been the victims of crime.", "In the series of independent surveys, many of the respondents did not accurately describe the crimes to which they had fallen victim." ]

[ "Drivers realize that driving at excessive speeds is the main cause of collisions on highways.", "The state has the financial means to install more highway patrol forces and give funding to the automobile industry.", "The cost to install more highway patrol forces will be less than the amount of funding that would be given to the automobile industry.", "The increased presence of the highway patrol will not itself somehow cause more accidents than it prevents." ]

[ "Getting \"inside\" information about the unique practices of competitors is particularly difficult.", "Comparisons with competitors are most likely to focus on practices that the manager making the comparisons already employs.", "Managers are generally more receptive to new ideas that they find outside their own industry.", "Much of the success of good companies is due to their adoption of practices that take advantage of the special circumstances of their products or markets." ]

[ "Magnesium is needed to prevent sodium from increasing blood pressure.", "The ingestion of magnesium supplements inhibits the effectiveness of many medicines used to treat high blood pressure and heart disease.", "Compounds commonly used to treat hypertension and heart disease diminish the body's capacity to absorb and retain magnesium.", "As people age, their ability to metabolize magnesium deteriorates." ]

[ "takes for granted that the fact that a claim has not been demonstrated to be false establishes that it is true", "overlooks the possibility that some of the scientific studies mentioned reached inaccurate conclusions about whether ESP exists", "takes for granted that proof that many people lack a characteristic does not establish that everyone lacks that characteristic", "takes for granted that the number of unsuccessful attempts to prove a claim is the only factor relevant to whether one should accept that claim" ]

[ "the spot was not the brightest object in the photograph", "stars in the night sky do not appear to shift position relative to each other", "the spot could have been caused by an object that emitted a flash that lasted for only a fraction of the time that the camera shutter was open", "if the camera shutter had not been open for an extended period, it would have recorded substantially fewer celestial objects" ]

[ "People who drive cars having many safety features are likely to drive more aggressively than do people who drive cars having few safety features. Thus, the people who drive the safest cars are likely to be the most dangerous drivers on the road.", "To be attractive to tourists, it is best for a city to have both wide appeal and sufficient hotel space. Though a sufficient number of hotel rooms alone cannot attract tourists, it is much harder for city governments to affect the appeal of their city than for them to affect its amount of hotel space. Thus, governments of cities that want to increase their attractiveness to tourists should put their energies into increasing their hotel space.", "A new surgical technique is developed to treat a dangerous condition. This technique enables people to live longer than does an older form of surgery. But the new surgery's mortality rate is also slightly higher. Thus, if more people choose to undergo the new surgery, more people may die from the dangerous condition than previously.", "Success in attaining one's first academic job depends on the quality of one's dissertation and the amount of time spent working on it in graduate school. But sometimes, so much time is spent on a dissertation that it becomes too lengthy to be coherent and its quality suffers. So spending more time working on a dissertation can lead to less success in attaining a first academic job." ]

[ "The greater the likelihood of a given bee species visiting one or more plants in a given cranberry crop, the more efficient that bee species will be at pollinating that crop.", "The number of plant species other than cranberries that a bee visits affects the efficiency with which the bee pollinates cranberries.", "If a honeybee visits a wider variety of plant species than a bumblebee visits, the honeybee will be less efficient than the bumblebee at pollinating any one of those species.", "Cranberries are typically found concentrated in limited areas that bumblebees are more likely than honeybees ever to visit." ]

[ "Some members of the Frequent Viewers club can receive the special discount coupon at more than one location of VideoKing.", "If Pat rents a movie from the Main Street location, then she will not receive the special discount coupon.", "The only people who can receive the special discount coupon at the Main Street location are Frequent Viewers club members who have not rented more than ten videos.", "Some people who are not members of the Frequent Viewers club can receive the special discount coupon." ]

[ "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 rejects as ill-conceived; the second is evidence that is presented as grounds for that rejection.", "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 endorses; the second presents a situation that the argument contends must be changed if that goal is to be met in the foreseeable future." ]

[ "Texas A&M pays its faculty lower salaries than its competitor.", "Texas A&M is slightly older than University of Texas.", "Texas A&M used to be seven rankings behind University of Texas.", "There has been a decrease in the department staff since the added faculty." ]

[ "The evidence given to support the conclusion actually undermines that conclusion.", "Its conclusion merely restates the evidence given to support it.", "It treats popular opinion as if it constituted conclusive evidence for a claim.", "It draws a general conclusion from cases selected only on the basis of having a characteristic that favors that conclusion." ]

[ "The drug is extremely expensive and would be difficult to make widely available.", "The drug has to be administered several times a day, so patient compliance is likely to be low.", "When misused by taking larger-than-prescribed doses, the drug can be fatal.", "Use of the drug contributes to the development of deadlier forms of chicken pox that are resistant to the drug." ]

[ "All art critics find it difficult to discover art works that truly satisfy them.", "A work of art that receives extensive critical attention can thereby become more widely known than it otherwise would have been.", "The greatest works of art are works that inevitably satisfy all critics.", "No art critic enjoys writing about art works that he or she dislikes intensely." ]

[ "The hiding of hypocrisy is a better way of motivating people to try to be good than is the exposing of it.", "The existence of hypocrisy encourages people to make efforts to live by moral standards.", "The existence of hypocrisy encourages people to believe that no one is morally blameless.", "There is no stronger motivator for people to try to be good than the exposing of hypocrisy." ]

[ "The cost of living in exurbia is significantly lower than that in urban areas.", "Exurban school districts often spend more per capita on their students than do those in urban areas.", "Rates of attendance at houses of worship are much higher in exurban areas than in urban ones.", "Many people who live in exurbia moved there from urban areas." ]

[ "The state law would supersede the local antismoking ordinances, which contain stronger bans than the state law does.", "Health costs associated with smoking cause health insurance premiums to rise for everyone and so affect nonsmokers.", "There is considerable sentiment among voters in most areas of the state for restriction of smoking.", "The state law would not affect existing local ordinances banning smoking in places where the fire authorities have determined that smoking would constitute a fire hazard." ]

[ "change in the economic prosperity of the lowest income quintile is more accurately measured in terms relative to the highest income quintile than in terms relative only to the lowest income quintile", "changes in the average income of people in the lowest quintile should ever be compared to changes in the average income of people in the highest quintile", "change in the economic prosperity of the lowest income quintile relative to the highest is accurately measured by comparing their percentage changes in average income", "there were any improvements at all in the economic situation of those in the lowest income quintile during the ten years being considered" ]

[ "The first states the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second states the conclusion of the argument as a whole.", "The first states the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second provides evidence to undermine the support for the position being opposed.", "The first states the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second is evidence that has been used to support the position being opposed.", "The first is evidence that has been used to support a position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second states the conclusion of the argument as a whole." ]

[ "Questions of character should be raised in political debate if they are relevant to the opponent's argument.", "Debating techniques that do not confront every argument should be avoided.", "Attacks on an opponent's character result from an inability to confront the opponent's argument properly.", "Attacking the character of one's opponent does nothing to preserve one's moral right to enter into further political debates." ]

[ "The older a car is, the more likely it is to be discarded for scrap rather than repaired when major engine work is needed to keep the car in operation.", "Government motor vehicle regulations generally require all cars, whether old or new, to be inspected for emission levels prior to registration.", "Many of the repairs that were performed on the cars that the National Motor Company built in the 1960s could have been avoided if periodic routine maintenance had been performed.", "The cars that the National Motor Company built in the 1970s incorporated simplified engine designs that made the engines less complicated than those of earlier models." ]

[ "fails to justify its presumption that judgments about fact and judgments about value are indistinguishable", "draws a conclusion regarding what is right or wrong entirely on the basis of evidence regarding matters of fact", "concludes that a practice completely lacks a quality on the basis of evidence for its lacking the pure form of that quality", "fails to distinguish between the methods employed by individual members of a particular profession and the methods endorsed by the profession as a whole" ]

[ "Car engines will be radically redesigned so as to do away with the need for cleaning the electronic ignition sensors.", "Something other than the cleansers for electronic ignition sensors will make a relatively greater contribution to meeting emission standards than at present.", "The solvents developed to replace chlorofluorocarbons in car engines will be only marginally less effective than the chlorofluorocarbons themselves.", "As emission standards become more stringent, automakers will increasingly cooperate with each other in the area of emission control." ]

[ "In Jalica, domestically produced oil is more expensive than imported oil.", "Jalicans who get cars that are more fuel-efficient tend to do more driving than before.", "The Jalican government did not intend the new fuel-efficiency requirement to be a pollution-reduction measure.", "Some pollution-control devices mandated in Jalica make cars less fuel-efficient than they would be without those devices." ]

[ "An action performed out of respect for morality cannot also be an action motivated by concern for oneself.", "An action motivated by concern for oneself cannot be deserving of moral condemnation.", "The moral praiseworthiness of an action can be judged only according to standards that refer to the circumstances of the person acting.", "Some actions that are essentially honest are not morally praiseworthy." ]

[ "The intended meaning of a piece of writing is indicated in part by the writer's arrangement of words and sentences.", "The writer's arrangement of words and sentences completely determines the aesthetic value of his or her writing.", "It is easier for a listener to detect the tone of a speaker than for a reader to detect the style of a writer.", "The primary function of style in writing is to augment the literal meanings of the words and sentences used." ]

[ "Print media, such as newspapers and magazines, are a better source of information than are broadcast media.", "Where commercial news media constitute the dominant source of information, public perception of risk does not reflect actual risk.", "A massive outbreak of cholera will be covered more extensively by the news media than will the occurrence of a rarer but less serious disease.", "Events over which people feel they have no control are generally perceived as more dangerous than those which people feel they can avert or avoid." ]

[ "Foamy Soda's competitors lowered their prices even more drastically during the summer months.", "The weather during the summer months was unseasonably cool, decreasing the demand for soft drinks.", "The soft-drink industry as a whole experienced depressed sales during the summer months.", "Because of an increase in the price of sweeteners, the production costs of Foamy Soda rose during the summer months." ]

[ "Electric motors could be restricted to lighter vehicles such as compact cars, which have smaller batteries and ttherefore require less power to charge than do the larger batteries needed to power larger vehicles.", "The increased air pollution resulting from a greater demand for electricity would be offset by the reduction in air pollution emitted by electric vehicles.", "Pollution caused by power plants is generally confined to a small number of locations a significant distance from major cities.", "Hybrid vehicles using both electric and gasoline power moderate the increased demand for electricity produced by power plants." ]

[ "Patrons who are under financial pressure from their credit-card obligations tend to tip less when presented with a restaurant bill on a tray with a credit-card logo than when the tray has no logo.", "The effect noted in the studies is not limited to patrons who have credit cards.", "In virtually all of the cases in the studies, the patrons who paid bills in cash did not possess credit cards.", "The percentage of restaurant bills paid with a given brand of credit card increases when that credit card's logo is displayed on the tray with which the bill is presented." ]

[ "There were humans inhabiting Europe prior to 400, 000 years ago.", "The humans who first mastered fire used it for heat but not for cooking.", "The climate in Europe was significantly colder 400, 000 years ago than it is today.", "Humans would not have mastered fire were it not for the need for heat in a cold climate." ]

[ "They generally eat more when they are older than they did earlier in their adulthood.", "They generally have diets that contain a lower percentage of fat than do the diets of children in country X.", "They generally consume more fat than do people of the same age in other countries.", "They tend to eat more varied kinds of food as they become older." ]

[ "It is a claim that serves as the argument's conclusion.", "It is a claim that provides nonessential background information for the argument's conclusion.", "It is an unsupported claim that is used to provide support for the argument's conclusion.", "It is a claim for which the argument provides some support, and which in turn is used to support the argument's conclusion." ]

[ "Other countries argue that if we are serious about disarming we should go ahead and disarm to show our good intentions, but this is irrational, for we could make the same argument about them.", "We should not be too severe in our condemnation of the salesperson; we have all lied at one point or another. It is irrational to condemn a person for wrongs committed by everybody.", "One should not dismiss the philosopher's argument that matter does not exist by pointing out that the philosopher acts as though matter exists. People's actions have no effect on the strength of their arguments.", "When one country accuses another country of violating human rights standards, the accused country can reduce the damage to its reputation by drawing attention to the human rights record of its accuser because this tactic distracts critical attention." ]

[ "The two chemicals that repel mosquitoes also repel several other varieties of insects.", "The capuchins rarely rub their bodies with the millipedes except during the rainy season, when mosquito populations are at their peak.", "Although the capuchins eat several species of insects, they do not eat the type of millipede they use to rub their bodies.", "The two insect-repelling chemicals in the secretions of the millipedes are carcinogenic for humans but do not appear to be carcinogenic for capuchins." ]

[ "A seller is not obligated to inform a buyer of anything about the merchandise that the seller offers for sale except for the demanded price.", "It is the responsibility of the seller, not the buyer, to make sure that the amount of money a buyer gives a seller in exchange for merchandise matches the amount that the seller demands for that merchandise.", "The obligations that follow from any social relationship between two people who are well acquainted override any obligations that follow from an economic relationship between the two.", "A buyer's sole obligation to a seller is to pay in full the price that the seller demands for a piece of merchandise that the buyer acquires from the seller." ]

[ "overgeneralizes from the example of one deceptive researcher", "uses an irrelevant personal attack on the integrity of someone", "infers that something must be a myth from the fact that the general public believes it", "presupposes that, in general, only evidence from experiments can support beliefs" ]

[ "Art historians are the best judges of the value of an artwork.", "The appropriateness of an interpretation of an artwork is relative to the general history of the period in which the interpretation is made.", "Interpretations of an artwork are appropriate if they originated during the period when the work was created.", "The colors of an artwork are relevant to an appropriate interpretation of that work." ]

[ "the milk from cows infected with S. aureus is generally not of such poor quality as to be entirely unusable", "certain dangerous bacteria that normally cannot take hold can do so in the presence of S. simulans", "the only symptom of mild cases of mastitis is the deterioration in the quality of the milk produced", "the current resistance of S. aureus to antibiotics derives in part from a past pattern of overuse of those antibiotics" ]

[ "The first is evidence that has been used to support an explanation that the argument challenges; the second is that explanation.", "The first is a claim, the accuracy of which is at issue in the argument; the second is a conclusion drawn on the basis of that claim.", "The first is an objection that has been raised against a position defended in the argument; the second is that position.", "The first provides evidence to support an explanation that the argument favors; the second is that explanation." ]

[ "For most people, the total amount of food eaten per day is unaffected by the number of meals eaten per day.", "For most people, increasing the number of meals eaten per day will result in a significant change in the types of food eaten.", "For most people, increasing the number of meals eaten per day will not result in a significantly lower cholesterol level.", "For most people, the amount of food eaten per meal is most strongly affected by the time of day at which the meal is eaten." ]

[ "One should accept the authority of tradition only if one has nontraditional evidence for the traditional hypothesis.", "If there is no overwhelming evidence for or against a hypothesis, then one should suspend judgment as to its truth.", "If there is no overwhelming evidence for or against a hypothesis, one should believe it.", "If a hypothesis goes against tradition, one should not accept the hypothesis without overwhelming evidence." ]

[ "If the Baja peninsula contains spiny cacti, then the dwarf masked owl makes its winter home there.", "On occasion the dwarf masked owl has been known to make its winter home far from its normal migratory route.", "Suitable nesting sites must be present where the dwarf masked owl makes its winter home.", "No birds of prey other than the dwarf masked owl nest in the spiny cactus." ]