7.     Recent evidence appears to contradict earlier findings that suggested that those who are physically fit cope better with stressful real-life events. Of a group of healthy women, those randomly assigned to a ten-week program of aerobic exercises performed no better in laboratory tests simulating stressful situations than did the subgroup assigned to a program without exercise.Which of the following, if true, provides evidence for determining whether physical fitness makes one react better to stress?

(A) Superior reaction to laboratory stress situations was found to be more prevalent among women than among men.

(B) Healthy men, after training six months in weight lifting, encountered fewer potentially stressful situations in the subsequent six months.

(C) Subjects following a regimen during which they perfected their skills in a variety of relaxation techniques found that their lives seemed calmer after they began the regimen.

(D) College students with previous high levels of stressful life events showed a markedly reduced reaction to such events after training in aerobics for six months.

(E) Subjects with a high level of self-esteem more often engaged in physical-fitness regimens than did a control group of subjects with average levels of self-esteem.

Questions 8-9 are based on the following.

Now is an excellent time to invest in the catering business. A survey conducted by Weddings magazine found that 70 percent of the magazine’s readers want a catered wedding reception. An analysis of the catering industry, however, shows that the current number of caterers can serve only 55 percent of the weddings likely to occur each year.

8.     Which of the following, if true, reveals a weakness in the evidence cited above?

(A) Catering is a highly labor-intensive business.

(B) Caterers are not evenly distributed across the country.

(C) The number of weddings with catered receptions has been growing each year for the past five years.

(D) Readers of Weddings magazine are more likely than most people to want a catered reception.

(E) Weddings magazine includes both articles about catered receptions and articles about preparing food oneself for one’s wedding reception.

9.     Which of the following, if true, would undermine the validity of the investment advice in the paragraph above?

(A) The average wedding reception involves between 50 and 100 guests.

(B) Approximately a quarter of all weddings take place without a reception.

(C) Approximately a quarter of all weddings and their associated receptions are paid for by the couples themselves.

(D) Only half of all catered wedding receptions include sit-down meals.

(E) Only half of those who say they want a catered wedding reception actually have one.

10.   The Commerce Department recently put limits on machine-tool imports from two countries whose exports of machine tools into the United States have been substantial. As a result of these restrictions, analysts predict that domestic sales of machine tools manufactured in the United States are bound to rise considerably, starting in the very near future.

Which of the following, if true, would be most likely to cause the analysts’ prediction to be inaccurate?

(A) A new tax bill that, if passed, would discourage investment in capital equipment such as machine tools is being studied and debated seriously in the United States Congress.

(B) United States companies’ orders for metal-cutting machines, which account for 75 percent of sales by the machine-tool industry, rose faster than orders for other types of machine tools during the past year.

(C) Worldwide orders for machine tools made in the United States dropped by more than 10 percent during the past year.

(D) Substantial inventories of foreign-made machine tools were stockpiled in the United States during the past year.

(E) Companies in the industrial sectors of many countries showed a significantly expanded demand for machine tools during the past year.

11.   The cities with the densest population have the highest ratio of police officers to citizens. Such cities also have the lowest rates of property crime without contact between perpetrator and victim. Thus maintaining a high ratio of police officers to citizens can serve as an effective deterrent to at least certain kinds of property crime.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?

(A) The quality of training that police receive varies from city to city.

(B) High population density itself makes it difficult to commit a property crime that involves no contact between perpetrator and victim.

(C) Many nonviolent crimes in large cities are drug-related.

(D) A majority of the perpetrators of property crimes in densely populated cities are not apprehended by the police.

(E) Property crimes without contact between perpetrator and victim represent only a small proportion of overall crime.