Dragnet Verbal Reasoning Questions and Answers


The United States’ space programme is at a critical juncture. Between 1971 and 2011, spending on space has declined from 5% of the federal budget to 0.5%. The US government recently announced it has cancelled its Constellation human spaceflight programme, which was intended to provide transportation to the International Space Station (ISS). Instead, NASA will shift its emphasis to developing new technologies and commercializing space flight. NASA will outsource its transportation to the ISS – a move designed to dramatically reduce launch costs. Five private
companies – nearly all of which are headed by internet entrepreneurs – are sharing $50 million of federal funds to develop cargo spacecraft. NASA’s new vision has not been met by enthusiasm from all quarters, with critics calling it the death knell of America’s former supremacy in space travel. Politicians whose states are losing out on jobs as a result of NASA’s cancelled programmes have been among the most vocal critics. With entrepreneurs racing to achieve human spaceflight, the next American to land on the moon could be a commercial passenger rather than a NASA astronaut.


101)

Which two of these options must be true?

(Cannot say) NASA’s new direction marks the end of American leadership in space
This is not a concluded fact from the passage but a view of critics

(False) American’s now land on moon as commercial passenger
This as of when the passage was written had not been achieved, it was a likely projection to happen, if all went well with the proposed plan.

(True) The federal funds are used to develop cargo space aircraft
Very true – as seen in the last 8 lines of the passage

(True) NASA’s new vision has not been met by enthusiasm
Very true – as seen in the last 7 lines of the passage
102)

Which two of these options must be true?

(Cannot say) The five companies’ federal funds are using internet technology to develop
While these companies are headed by internet entrepreneurs, this fact is not necessarily related to  the spacecraft they are developing for NASA

(True) Due to the change in U.S space programs many states are losing out on jobs
Very true – as seen in the last five lines

(Can n ot say) America has lost its former supremacy in space travel
This was not stated as a fact in the passage, it is just the view of critics

(True) The privatisation plan was executed to reduce cost
Very true – as seen in line 8 of the passage

 
103)

Which two of these options must be true?.

(True) NASA aims to save money by outsourcing transport to the International Space Station
The fifth sentence states that outsourcing transportation is “designed to dramatically reduce launch cost”. So NASA has designed something to save money, which is equivalent to aiming to save money

(True)Travels to the International Space Station will now be privatised
This summarises the fifth sentence. Handing operation to private companies is privatistion

(False) More than 5 private companies are into the privitisation bid
Line 8 of the passage accounts for only 5 private companies and no more

(False) NASA is now solely concerned with developing new technologies
They are not only concerned with developing new technologies, but also with commercializing space flight

The merits of single-sex education have long been debated in the United States, where demand for single-sex schools is on the rise. Title IV, a 1972 law prohibiting sex discrimination in education, was amended in 2006,
allowing for the establishment of single-sex state schools so long as a coeducational alternative is available. While critics view single-sex schools as discriminatory and inadequate preparation for adult life, advocates claim that children, and particularly girls, benefit from a single-sex education. American research shows that girls attending single-sex schools have higher self-esteem, participate more in class, and score higher on aptitude tests than their counterparts in co-educational schools. A 2005 study revealed that both girls and boys attending single-sex schools spent more time on homework and had less disciplinary problems. Single-sex schools subvert stereotypical course-taking patterns and results. Advocates of single-sex schooling argue that educators can teach more effectively by tailoring their tuition to reflect current research about gender-based brain development. Many experts, however, believe that research into single-sex education is inconclusive, and that so long as the education provided is gender-fair, both girls and boys can thrive in a co-educational environment


104)

Which two of these options must be true?

(Cannot say) Single sex education reinforces pre existing gender stereotypes.
This is not an argument made in the passage

(Cannot say)There are more single-sex schools than co-educational schools.
Though the passage states in line 2 that the demand for single-sex schools is on the rise, it never stated out rightly that there are more single-sex schools than co-educational school

(True) Claims exist for girls benefiting from a single sex education
Very true as seen in line 7 of the passage

(True) Experts believe that any gender can thrive in a co-educational system
Very true as seen in the last line of the passage
105)

Which two of these options must be true?

(Cannot say) The only advantage for boys in single sex education is improved discipline
Be careful to note that the benefits given of single-sex education in the passage are all opinions; the passage does not give them to us as facts

(True) Girls in single sex schools have higher self esteem than their counterparts in co-educational school
Very true as seen in line 8 of the passage

(True) There are more beliefs than actual conclusions in this passage
In the passage we have only 2 conclusions, the majority of statements made in the passage were views and beliefs

(Cannot say) 1972 law prohibits educational discrimination
Educational discrimination is a wider kind of discrimination which also encompasses sex
educational discrimination. So since the passage only specify that the law prohibited sex
discrimination, we cannot say for sure if the 1972 law prohibits other forms of educational
discrimination.

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