GMAT Verbal › Understanding Boldface Reasoning
Many physicians cater to their patients’ insistence that they be given antibiotics for a common cold. However, these illnesses are viral in nature, and such medications have no effect on viruses. This course of treatment is troublesome, as antibiotics have dangerous side effects and unnecessary use of these drugs can lead to resistant bacteria. So clearly doctors need to stop prescribing antibiotics to treat the common cold.
Which of the following best describes the role of the two boldfaced portions above?
A recent survey has found that in areas where marijuana is legal, almost 20% of the people admit to using it occasionally, whereas in areas where it is illegal, less that 5% people do so. But these facts do not warrant the conclusion drawn by some commentators that in areas where marijuana is legal, more people use it. Clearly, in areas where marijuana is illegal, people do not readily admit to using it even if they are doing so.
The statements in boldface play which of the following roles?
Luddite: Though everyone today is wild about their knickknacks and gadgets, the underlying worthlessness of modern technology is demonstrated easily enough. While timeless staples of world commerce like coffee, wheat, and chocolate continue to rise in price, computers, digital cameras, televisions, and the like cost less every year, despite their frequent improvements.
Which of the following best describes the roles played in the argument above by the two statements in boldface?
Some analysts predict that next year will see total worldwide sea shipping tonnage increase by 2% over the current year. However, captains of freight ships generally expect that worldwide shipping tonnage will decrease next year. At issue is the amount of freight that will be shifted from sea ships to freight airplanes as compared to growth in the overall demand for freight transport. The analysts believe growth in demand will outstrip the shift to freight airplanes; the ship captains believe the opposite.
The two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
The latest adaptation in swimming pools is the saltwater pool. The water in such pools is 1/10 as salty as the ocean, approximating the salinity of the human body. Owners of such pools claim that the pools cause no chlorine irritation and that the salt water actually soothes and softens the skin. They also claim that such pools are less expensive to maintain than traditional freshwater pools. However, manufacturers of pool chemicals, such as chlorine, claim that the salt water system is more expensive to install and can leave behind a salt residue on some surfaces.
Which of the following best describes the roles of the boldface portions in the argument above?
It is generally believed that an Indian tribe known as “The Red Paint People” first occupied the coast of Maine in approximately 3000 B.C. This name was given to the Indians because their graves contained quantities of a red pigment (iron ochre) that they presumably used to decorate their faces and bodies. However, recently discovered Indian grave sites on the coast of Maine that contain these same red pigments have been conclusively dated to 4000 B.C. Therefore, the “Red Paint People” must have occupied the coast of Maine much earlier than archaeologists previously believed.
In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?