XLRI was founded in 1949 by Fr Quinn Enright, S.J. in the Steel City of Jamshedpur. Fr. Enright visualized XLRI to be a partner in the liberation and development journey of the independent India with a vision of "renewing the face of the earth". Fr. Bill Tome joined hands with him to bring that vision to fruition. Both, together with the other Jesuit companions, worked tirelessly towards translating the Vision "Renewing the face of the earth" into action.

Over many years XLRI has developed its own identity. The hall mark of this identity is, not to walk on the beaten path but to strike new routes; not to benchmark but to be benchmarked, to be second to none but to be the first to respond to the needs of the people and the nation, by taking up the tasks which are bold but necessary which nobody has hitherto taken up.This enterprising and pioneering spirit can be witnessed throughout the history of XLRI.

Applications have been invited by XLRI, Jamshedpur for admission to General Management Programme (GMP) of Academic Session 2012

General Management Programme (GMP)

Eligibility:

SDM Institute for Management Development (SDMIMD), Mysore has invited applications for admission to Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM), the two-year, residential PGDM Programme of Academic Year 2012-14.

Post Graduate Diploma in Management

The two-year, residential PGDM Programme, approved by the AICTE, Ministry of HRD, Government of India, has been recognized as being highly contemporary with a state-of – the art pedagogical practices. The course is compiled from current industry practices and probing business case studies. The faculty has a wide knowledge base and rich teaching experience and this matched with Institute facilities of international standards, constitute the cutting edge advantage. The overall objective of the high degree of academic rigour that is practiced is to ensure that each student is driven from within to think and behave as a leader.

Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) Admissions 2012- 2014:

About the Course:

Duration: AICTE approved Two Year Full time Residential Programme

Eligibility:

• Candidate must have appeared for either of the CAT 2011, XAT 2012, GMAT 2011, GRE 2011 and carries his/her valid score card. (Applies to also those with professional qualifications like Chartered Accountancy, Cost Accounting and Company Secretary)
• Bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised institution, with at least 50% marks in aggregate.

Admission to First Year of Two Year Full Time Post Graduate Management Programmes in Unaided Management Institutes of Member Institutions of Come.

Course Name:

PGDM

Eligibility Criteria:

Passed with minimum 50% marks in aggregate in any bachelor’s degree minimum 3 years duration in any of the above mentioned disciplines by the Association of Indian Universities. Candidates who have appeared for the final year examination of any bachelor degree of minimum three years duration in any discipline recognized by the Association of Indian universities can also appear for CAP process but shall have to fulfill the basic qualification as mentioned above.For CAP-2011 candidate from Maharashtra St ate and other than Maharashtra State can appear who fulfill the basic qualification. Score required in Entrance examination: To become eligible for admission the candidate should secure valid score in any of the qualifying exam namely CAT/ MAT/ XAT/ ATMA/ JMET/ MHCET.

Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar, conducts 3-Continent Master of Global Management, MBA from Antwerp Management School, Belgium.

Eligibility Criteria:

 Graduates in any discipline.

Selection Criteria:

Previous academic record, current GMAT/XAT/CAT/ MAT/GRE scores and a personal interview.

Eligibility:

The Candidate must have

• A Bachelor’s Degree or its equivalent in any discipline.
• A valid CAT /GMAT score
• Minimum 5 years of managerial/ entrepreneurial/ professional experience after graduation.

The Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad is rated among the top 10 business schools in India. It is widely recognized as a centre of excellence in management education, having moulded itself according to the fast changing business and social environment over the last 30 years. The institution is strategically located in Ghaziabad, near the national capital. IMT boasts of one of the best infrastructure in the country which is evident from its consistent high ranking on infrastructure parameter. Its strength lies in its eminent faculty and the quality of its courses that have in many cases, been trendsetters.

Introduction :

Over 70 outstanding faculty members, with many having PhD and industry experience. About 25 visiting faculty with rich experience. Many of the faculty members are from premier institutes like the IIMs, XLRI etc. Fun based learning – bringing best practices from India and abroad. Trimester system being followed. Exceptional infrastructure: Hostels, Serene ambience to pursue learning, Smart Classrooms, Labs with PROWESS, SPSS,  Proquest, ReNet, EMERALD, EBSCO, Well-stocked fully air conditioned library, Video Conferencing facility, etc., International Educational Visits for Experiential Learning Programme. Extensive industry interaction. International connectivity with schools of repute abroad. Fully Flexible Credit System (FFCS) TM that allows you to take up a wide range of subjects at an appropriate pace of learning. Excellent placement service built on the successful VIT University placement system. Above 90% of eligible candidates placed in reputed Indian and MNC firms.

In 1953, the organization now called the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) began as an association of nine business schools, whose goal was to develop a standardized test to help business schools select qualified applicants. In the first year it was offered, the assessment (now known as the Graduate Management Admission Test), was taken just over 2,000 times; in recent years, it has been taken more than 200,000 times annually. Initially used in admissions by 54 schools, the test is now used by more than 1,500 schools and 1,800 programs worldwide.

The Graduate Management Admission Test is a Computer-Adaptive standardized test in mathematics and the English language for measuring aptitude to succeed academically in graduate business studies. Business schools commonly use the test as one of many selection criteria for admission into graduate business administration programs (e.g. MBA, Master of Accountancy, etc.) principally in the United States, but also in other English-speaking countries.

GMAT Test Structure:

Analytical Writing Assessment: Essay must be written within 30 minutes and is scored on a scale of 0–6 (Each of the two essays in the Analytical Writing part of the test is graded on a scale of 0 (the minimum) to 6 (the maximum))

Quantitative Section: The quantitative section consists of 37 multiple choice questions, which must be answered within 75 minutes. It has two different subsections.

• Problem Solving: Problem-solving questions present multiple-choice problems in arithmetic, basic algebra, and elementary geometry. The task is to solve the problems and choose the correct answer from among five answer choices.
• Data Sufficiency: This tests the quantitative reasoning ability using an unusual set of directions.

GMAT Test Centres in India

GMAT is a computer adaptive test that can be taken all round the year. Here is a list of GMAT test centers in India.

Ahmedabad

• Prometric Testing (P) Ltd.
  301-302, Abhijeet-II, Mitha Kali,
  6 Road, Ellisbridge,
  Ahmedabad
  Ph: 91-79-6561088

Allahabad

• Prometric Testing (P) Ltd.
  119/25A, Mahatma Gandhi Marg,
  Civil Lines, Allahabad - 211001
  Ph: 91-532-2622477

Bangalore

• Prometric Testing (P) Ltd.
  Maini Sadan, 1st Floor,
  No 38 Lavelle Road, 7th Cross,
  Bangalore - 560001
  Ph: 91-80-2292553 / 54

Comprehension Passage:
But man is not destined to vanish. He can be killed, but he cannot be destroyed, because his soul is deathless and his spirit is irrepressible. Therefore, though the situation seems dark in the context of the confrontation between the superpowers, the silver lining is provided by amazing phenomenon that the very nations which have spent incalculable resources and energy for the production of deadly weapons are desperately trying to find out how they might never be used. They threaten each other, intimidate each other and go to the brink, but before the total hour arrives they withdraw from the brink.

1. The main point from the author’s view is that

1. Man’s soul and spirit cannot be destroyed by superpowers.
2. Man’s destiny is not fully clear or visible.
3. Man’s soul and spirit are immortal.
4. Man’s safety is assured by the delicate balance of power in terms of nuclear weapons.
5. Human society will survive despite the serious threat of total annihilation.

Answer: E

2. The phrase ‘Go to the brink’ in the passage means

1. Retreating from extreme danger.
2. Declare war on each other.
3. Advancing to the stage of war but not engaging in it.
4. Negotiate for peace.
5. Commit suicide.

Answer: C

3. In the author’s opinion

1. Huge stockpiles of destructive weapons have so far saved mankind from a catastrophe.
2. Superpowers have at last realized the need for abandoning the production of lethal weapons.
3. Mankind is heading towards complete destruction.
4. Nations in possession of huge stockpiles of lethal weapons are trying hard to avoid actual conflict.
5. There is a Silver lining over the production of deadly weapons.

Answer: D

1. A poultry farm has only chickens and pigs. When the manager of the poultry counted the heads of the stock in the farm, the number totaled up to 200. However, when the number of legs was counted, the number totaled up to 540. How many chickens were there in the farm?

1. 70
2. 120
3. 60
4. 130
5. 80

The correct choice is (4) and the correct answer is 130.

Explanatory Answer:
Let there by 'x' chickens and 'y' pigs.
Therefore, x + y = 200 --- (1)
Each chicken has 2 legs and each pig has 4 legs
Therefore, 2x + 4y = 540 --- (2)
Solving equations (1) and (2), we get x = 130 and y = 70.
There were 130 chickens and 70 pigs in the farm.
 

2. Three years back, a father was 24 years older than his son. At present the father is 5 times as old as the son. How old will the son be three years from now?

1. 12 years
2. 6 years
3. 3 years
4. 9 years
5. 27 years

The correct choice is (4) and the correct answer is 9 years.

Explanatory Answer:
Let the age of the son 3 years back be x years
Therefore, the age of the father 3 years back was x + 24
At present the age of the son is x + 3 and the father is 5 times as old as the son.
i.e., x + 24 + 3 = 5(x + 3)
i.e., x + 27 = 5x + 15
or 4x = 12 or x = 3.

Therefore, the son was 3 years old 3 years back and he will be 9 years old three years from now.

3. For what values of 'k' will the pair of equations 3x + 4y = 12 and kx + 12y = 30 not have a unique solution?

1. 12
2. 9
3. 3
4. 7.5
5. 2.5

The correct choice is (2) and the correct answer is 9.

Explanatory Answer:
A system of linear equations ax + by + c = 0 and dx + ey + g = 0 will have a unique solution if the two lines represented by the equations ax + by + c = 0 and dx + ey + g = 0 intersect at a point.

That is, if they are not parallel lines. i.e., the two lines should have different slopes.
ax + by + c = 0 and dx + ey + g = 0 will not represent two parallel lines if their slopes are different.
i.e., when
In the question given above, a = 3, b = 4, d = k and e = 12.
Therefore, or 'k' should not be equal 9 for the pair of equations to have a unique solution.

In other words, when k = 9, the system of equation will not have any solution as the two lines represented by the equations will be parallel lines.

4. The basic one-way air fare for a child aged between 3 and 10 years costs half the regular fare for an adult plus a reservation charge that is the same on the child's ticket as on the adult's ticket. One reserved ticket for an adult costs $216 and the cost of a reserved ticket for an adult and a child (aged between 3 and 10) costs $327. What is the basic fare for the journey for an adult?

1. $111
2. $52.5
3. $210
4. $58.5
5. $6

The correct choice is (3) and the correct answer is $210.

Welcome to Aegis Global Academy. The world's first Institute of Customer Experience Management. AEGIS Global Academy invites application for admission to 15 - month Full - Time Residential Post Graduate Program in Services Management. Offering specialization in the booming banking, insurance, telecom, retail and ITeS sectors. 100% internships with reputed companies and excellent final placement opportunities for all.

• Curriculum designed and taught by IIM Indore, COPC, USA and SQC Singapore.

Eligibility Criteria :

• MAT / CAT / XAT / GMAT scores accepted.
• Graduate students with 50% and above marks and final year students can also apply.

About HBS 2+2 Program:

• Venue : Harvard Business School, Boston
• By: Harvard Business School
• Important Dates :  Deadline for Submission of Applications: June 15, 2010
• Eligibility : Final Year UnderGraduate

Harvard Business School has opened the doors on an innovative new program for college juniors. It's called HBS 2+2: two years of work, then two years of immersion in the Harvard Business School MBA Program. In order to be eligible for the 2+2 Program you must be a current college junior ( i.e. completed pre-final year and entering final year for Indian Students) with at least one remaining semester, after July 2010, necessary for the completion of your degree. 

Students pursuing undergraduate degrees that are shorter or longer than 4 years are also eligible to apply. Students should apply the summer prior to their final year of study.

The HBS 2+2 Program application for the MBA class entering fall of 2013 consists of the following materials. All materials must be submitted online. Please assemble and prepare them to help us access your qualifications.

GMAT TEST-III ( Questions)

30 Minutes 20 Questions

1. Child’s World, a chain of toy stores, has relied on a “supermarket concept” of computerized inventory control and customer self-service to eliminate the category of sales clerks from its force of employees. It now plans to employ the same concept in selling children’s clothes. The plan of Child’s World assumes that
(A) supermarkets will not also be selling children’s clothes in the same manner
(B) personal service by sales personnel is not required for selling children’s clothes successfully
(C) the same kind of computers will be used in inventory control for both clothes and toys at Child’s World
(D) a self-service plan cannot be employed without computerized inventory control
(E) sales clerks are the only employees of Child’s World who could be assigned tasks related to inventory control

2. Continuous indoor fluorescent light benefits the health of hamsters with inherited heart disease. A group of them exposed to continuous fluorescent light survived twenty-five percent longer than a similar group exposed instead to equal periods of indoor fluorescent light and of darkness. The method of the research described above is most likely to be applicable in addressing which of the following questions?
(A) Can industrial workers who need to see their work do so better by sunlight or by fluorescent light?
(B) Can hospital lighting be improved to promote the recovery of patients?
(C) How do deep-sea fish survive in total darkness?
(D) What are the inherited illnesses to which hamsters are subject?
(E) Are there plants that require specific periods of darkness in order to bloom?

3. Millions of identical copies of a plant can be produced using new tissue-culture and cloning techniques. If plant propagation by such methods in laboratories proves economical, each of the following, if true, represents a benefit of the new techniques to farmers EXCEPT:
(A) The techniques allow the development of superior strains to take place more rapidly, requiring fewer generations of plants grown to maturity.
(B) It is less difficult to care for plants that will grow at rates that do not vary widely.
(C) Plant diseases and pests, once they take hold, spread more rapidly among genetically uniform plants than among those with genetic variations.
(D) Mechanical harvesting of crops is less difficult if plants are more uniform in size.
(E) Special genetic traits can more easily be introduced into plant strains with the use of the new techniques.

4. Which of the following best completes the passage below? Sales campaigns aimed at the faltering personal computer market have strongly emphasized ease of use, called user-friendliness. This emphasis is oddly premature and irrelevant in the eyes of most potential buyers, who are trying to address the logically prior issue of whether______
(A) user-friendliness also implies that owners can service their own computers
(B) personal computers cost more the more user-friendly they are
(C) currently available models are user-friendly enough to suit them
(D) the people promoting personal computers use them in their own homes
(E) they have enough sensible uses for a personal computer to justify the expense of buying one

5. A weapons-smuggling incident recently took place in country Y. We all know that Y is a closed society. So Y’s government must have known about the weapons. Which of the following is an assumption that would make the conclusion above logically correct?
(A) If a government knows about a particular weapons-smuggling incident, it must have intended to use the weapons for its own purposes.
(B) If a government claims that it knew nothing about a particular weapons-smuggling incident, it must have known everything about it.
(C) If a government does not permit weapons to enter a country, it is a closed society.
(D) If a country is a closed society, its government has a large contingent of armed guards patrolling its borders.
(E) If a country is a closed society, its government has knowledge about everything that occurs in the country.

6. Banning cigarette advertisements in the mass media will not reduce the number of young people who smoke. They know that cigarettes exist and they know how to get them. They do not need the advertisements to supply that information. The above argument would be most weakened if which of the following were true?
(A) Seeing or hearing an advertisement for a product tends to increase people’s desire for that product.
(B) Banning cigarette advertisements in the mass media will cause an increase in advertisements in places where cigarettes are sold.
(C) Advertisements in the mass media have been an exceedingly large part of the expenditures of the tobacco companies.
(D) Those who oppose cigarette use have advertised against it in the mass media ever since cigarettes were found to be harmful.
(E) Older people tend to be less influenced by mass-media advertisements than younger people tend to be.

7. People tend to estimate the likelihood of an event’s occurrence according to its salience; that is, according to how strongly and how often it comes to their attention. By placement and headlines, newspapers emphasize stories about local crime over stories about crime elsewhere and about many other major events. It can be concluded on the basis of the statements above that, if they are true, which of the following is most probably also true?
(A) The language used in newspaper headlines about local crime is inflammatory and fails to respect the rights of suspects.
(B) The coverage of international events in newspapers is neglected in favor of the coverage of local events.

GMAT TEST-16 ( Questions)

25 Minutes 16 Questions

1. The chanterelle, a type of wild mushroom, grows beneath host trees such as the Douglas fir, which provide it with necessary sugars. The underground filaments of chanterelles, which extract the sugars, in turn provide nutrients and water for their hosts. Because of this mutually beneficial relationship, harvesting the chanterelles growing beneath a Douglas fir seriously endangers the tree. Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the conclusion drawn above?
(A) The number of wild mushrooms harvested has increased in recent years.
(B) Chanterelles grow not only beneath Douglas firs but also beneath other host trees.
(C) Many types of wild mushrooms are found only in forests and cannot easily be grown elsewhere.
(D) The harvesting of wild mushrooms stimulates future growth of those mushrooms.
(E) Young Douglas fir seedlings die without the nutrients and water provided by chanterelle filaments.

2. The reason much refrigerated food spoils is that it ends up out of sight at the back of the shelf. So why not have round shelves that rotate?
Because such rotating shelves would have just the same sort of drawback, since things would fall off the shelves’ edges into the rear corners.
Which of the following is presupposed in the argument against introducing rotating shelves?
(A) Refrigerators would not be made so that their interior space is cylindrical.
(B) Refrigerators would not be made to have a window in front for easy viewing of their contents without opening the door.
(C) The problem of spoilage of refrigerated food is not amenable to any solution based on design changes.
(D) Refrigerators are so well designed that there are bound to be drawbacks to any design change.
(E) Rotating shelves would be designed to rotate only while the refrigerator door was open.

3. It would cost Rosetown one million dollars to repair all of its roads. In the year after completion of those repairs, however, Rosetown would thereby avoid incurring three million dollars worth of damages, since currently Rosetown pays that amount annually in compensation for damage done to cars each year by its unrepaired roads. Which of the following, if true, gives the strongest support to the argument above?
(A) Communities bordering on Rosetown also pay compensation for damage done to cars by their unrepaired roads.
(B) After any Rosetown road has been repaired, several years will elapse before that road begins to damage cars.
(C) Rosetown would need to raise additional taxes if it were to spend one million dollars in one year on road repairs.
(D) The degree of damage caused to Rosetown’s roads by harsh weather can vary widely from year to year.
(E) Trucks cause much of the wear on Rosetown’s roads, but owners of cars file almost all of the claims for compensation for damage caused by unrepaired roads.

4. Two experimental garden plots were each planted with the same number of tomato plants. Magnesium salts were added to the first plot but not to the second. The first plot produced 20 pounds of tomatoes and the second plot produced 10 pounds. Since nothing else but water was added to either plot, the higher yields in the first plot must have been due to the magnesium salts. Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?
(A) A small amount of the magnesium salts from the first plot leached into the second plot.
(B) Tomato plants in a third experimental plot, to which a high-nitrogen fertilizer was added, but no magnesium salts, produced 15 pounds of tomatoes.
(C) Four different types of tomatoes were grown in equal proportions in each of the plots.
(D) Some weeds that compete with tomatoes cannot tolerate high amounts of magnesium salts in the soil.
(E) The two experimental plots differed from each other with respect to soil texture and exposure to sunlight.

5. Archaeologists have found wheeled ceramic toys made by the Toltec, twelfth-century inhabitants of what is now Veracruz. Although there is no archaeological evidence that the Toltec used wheels for anything but toys, some anthropologists hypothesize that wheeled utility vehicles were used to carry materials needed for the monumental structures the Toltec produced. Which of the following, if true, would most help the anthropologists explain the lack of evidence noted above?
(A) The Toltec sometimes incorporated into their toys representations of utensils or other devices that served some practical purpose.
(B) Any wheeled utility vehicles used by the Toltec could have been made entirely of wood, and unlike ceramic, wood decays rapidly in the humid climate of
Veracruz.
(C) Carvings in monument walls suggest that the Toltec’s wheeled ceramic toys sometimes had ritual uses in addition to being used by both children and adults as
decorations and playthings.
(D) Wheeled utility vehicles were used during the twelfth century in many areas of the world, but during this time wheeled toys were not very common in areas
outside Veracruz.
(E) Some of the wheeled ceramic toys were found near the remains of monumental structures.

6. Demographers doing research for an international economics newsletter claim that the average per capita income in the country of Kuptala is substantially lower than that in the country of Bahlton. They also claim, however, that whereas poverty is relatively rare in Kuptala, over half the population of Bahlton lives in extreme poverty. At least one of the demographers’ claims must, therefore, be wrong. The argument above is most vulnerable to which of the following criticisms?
(A) It rejects an empirical claim about the average per capita incomes in the two countries without making any attempt to discredit that claim by offering additional
economic evidence.
(B) It treats the vague term “poverty” as though it had a precise and universally accepted meaning.
(C) It overlooks the possibility that the number of people in the two countries who live in poverty could be the same even though the percentages of the two
populations that live in poverty differ markedly.
(D) It fails to show that wealth and poverty have the same social significance in Kuptala as in Bahlton.
(E) It does not consider the possibility that incomes in Kuptala, unlike those in Bahlton, might all be very close to the country’s average per capita income.

7. Normally, increases in the price of a product decrease its sales except when the price increase accompanies an improvement in the product. Wine is unusual, however. Often increases in the price of a particular producer’s wine will result in increased sales, even when the wine itself is unchanged. Which of the following, if true, does most to explain the anomaly described above?
(A) The retail wine market is characterized by an extremely wide range of competing products.
(B) Many consumers make decisions about which wines to purchase on the basis of reviews of wine published in books and periodicals.
(C) Consumers selecting wine in a store often use the price charged as their main guide to the wine’s quality.
(D) Wine retailers and producers can generally increase the sales of a particular wine temporarily by introducing a price discount.
(E) Consumers who purchase wine regularly generally have strong opinions about which wines they prefer.

8. The recent decline in land prices has hurt many institutions that had invested heavily in real estate. Last year, before the decline began, a local college added 2,000 acres to its holdings. The college, however, did not purchase the land but received it as a gift. Therefore the price decline will probably not affect the college. Which of the following, if true, casts most doubt on the conclusion above?
(A) The 2,000 acres that the college was given last year are located within the same community as the college itself.
(B) The college usually receives more contributions of money than of real estate.
(C) Land prices in the region in which the college is located are currently higher than the national average.
(D) Last year, the amount that the college allocated to pay for renovations included money it expected to receive by selling some of its land this year.
(E) Last year, the college paid no property taxes on land occupied by college buildings but instead paid fees to compensate the local government for services
provided.

9. Civil trials often involve great complexities that are beyond the capacities of jurors to understand. As a result, jurors’ decisions in such trials are frequently incorrect. Justice would therefore be better served if the more complex trials were decided by judges rather than juries. The argument above depends on which of the following assumptions?
(A) A majority of civil trials involve complexities that jurors are not capable of understanding.
(B) The judges who would decide complex civil trials would be better able to understand the complexities of those trials than jurors are.
(C) The judges who would preside over civil trials would disallow the most complex sorts of evidence from being introduced into those trials.
(D) Jurors’ decisions are frequently incorrect even in those civil trials that do not involve great complexities.
(E) The sole reason in favor of having juries decide civil trials is the supposition that their decisions will almost always be correct.

10. Some species of dolphins find their prey by echolocation; they emit clicking sounds and listen for echoes returning from distant objects in the water. Marine biologists have speculated that those same clicking sounds might have a second function: particularly loud clicks might be used by the dolphins to stun their prey at close range through sensory overload. Which of the following, if discovered to be true, would cast the most serious doubt on the correctness of the speculation described above?
(A) Dolphins that use echolocation to locate distant prey also emit frequent clicks at intermediate distances as they close in on their prey.
(B) The usefulness of echolocation as a means of locating prey depends on the clicking sounds being of a type that the prey is incapable of perceiving, regardless of
volume.
(C) If dolphins stun their prey, the effect is bound to be so temporary that stunning from far away, even if possible, would be ineffective.
(D) Echolocation appears to give dolphins that use it information about the richness of a source of food as well as about its direction.
(E) The more distant a dolphin’s prey, the louder the echolocation clicks must be if they are to reveal the prey’s presence to the hunting dolphin.

11. Advertisement: The world’s best coffee beans come from Colombia. The more Colombian beans in a blend of coffee, the better the blend, and no company purchases more Colombian beans than Kreemo Coffee, Inc. So it only stands to reason that if you buy a can of Kreemo’s coffee, you’re buying the best blended coffee available today. The reasoning of the argument in the advertisement is flawed because it overlooks the possibility that
(A) the equipment used by Kreemo to blend and package its coffee is no different from that used by most other coffee producers
(B) not all of Kreemo’s competitors use Colombian coffee beans in the blends of coffee they sell
(C) Kreemo sells more coffee than does any other company
(D) Kreemo’s coffee is the most expensive blended coffee available today
(E) the best unblended coffee is better than the best blended coffee

12. The only purpose for which a particular type of tape is needed is to hold certain surgical wounds closed for ten days—the maximum time such wounds need tape. Newtape is a new brand of this type of tape. Newtape’s salespeople claim that Newtape will improve healing because Newtape adheres twice as long as the currently used tape does. Which of the following statements, if true, would most seriously call into question the claim made by Newtape’s salespeople?
(A) Most surgical wounds take about ten days to heal.
(B) Most surgical tape is purchased by hospitals and clinics rather than by individual surgeons.
(C) The currently used tape’s adhesiveness is more than sufficient to hold wounds closed for ten days.
(D) Neither Newtape nor the currently used tape adheres well to skin that has not been cleaned.
(E) Newtape’s adhesion to skin that has been coated with a special chemical preparation is only half as good as the currently used tape’s adhesion to such coated
skin.

13. A severe drought can actually lessen the total amount of government aid that United States farmers receive as a group. The government pays farmers the amount, if any, by which the market price at which crops are actually sold falls short of a preset target price per bushel for the crops. The drought of 1983, for example, caused farm-program payments to drop by $10 billion. Given the information above, which of the following, if true, best explains why the drought of 1983 resulted in a reduction in farm-program payments?
(A) Prior to the drought of 1983, the government raised the target price for crops in order to aid farmers in reducing their debt loads.
(B) Due to the drought of 1983, United States farmers exported less food in 1983 than in the preceding year.
(C) Due to the drought of 1983, United States farmers had smaller harvests and thus received a higher market price for the 1983 crop than for the larger crop of the
preceding year.
(D) Due to the drought of 1983, United States farmers planned to plant smaller crops in 1984 than they had in 1983.
(E) Despite the drought of 1983, retail prices for food did not increase significantly between 1982 and 1983.

14. In order to increase revenues, an airport plans to change the parking fees it charges at its hourly parking lots. Rather than charging $2.00 for the first two-hour period, or part thereof, and $1.00 for each hour thereafter, the airport will charge $4.00 for the first four-hour period, or part thereof, and $1.00 for each hour thereafter. Which of the following is a consideration that, if true, suggests that the plan will be successful in increasing revenues?
(A) Very few people who park their cars at the hourly parking lot at the airport leave their cars for more than two hours at a time.
(B) Over the past several years, the cost to the airport of operating its hourly parking facilities has been greater than the revenues it has received from them.
(C) People who leave their cars at the airport while on a trip generally park their cars in lots that charge by the day rather than by the hour.
(D) A significant portion of the money spent to operate the airport parking lot is spent to maintain the facilities rather than to pay the salaries of the personnel who
collect the parking fees.
(E) The hourly parking lots at the airport have recently been expanded and are therefore rarely filled to capacity.

15. In the course of her researches, a historian recently found two documents mentioning the same person, Erich Schnitzler. One, dated May 3, 1739, is a record of Schnitzler’s arrest for peddling without a license. The second, undated, is a statement by Schnitzler asserting that he has been peddling off and on for 20 years. The facts above best support which of the following conclusions?
(A) Schnitzler started peddling around 1719.
(B) Schnitzler was arrested repeatedly for peddling.
(C) The undated document was written before 1765.
(D) The arrest record was written after the undated document.

(E) The arrest record provides better evidence that Schnitzler peddled than does the undated document.

16. The recent upheaval in the office-equipment retail business, in which many small firms have gone out of business, has been attributed to the advent of office equipment “superstores” whose high sales volume keeps their prices low. This analysis is flawed, however, since even today the superstores control a very small share of the retail market. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument that the analysis is flawed?
(A) Most of the larger customers for office equipment purchase under contract directly from manufacturers and thus do not participate in the retail market.
(B) The superstores’ heavy advertising of their low prices has forced prices down throughout the retail market for office supplies.
(C) Some of the superstores that only recently opened have themselves gone out of business.
(D) Most of the office equipment superstores are owned by large retailing chains that also own stores selling other types of goods.
(E) The growing importance of computers in most offices has changed the kind of office equipment retailers must stock.

ANSWERS

GMAT TEST-17 ( Questions)

25 Minutes 16 Questions

1. A report on acid rain concluded, “Most forests in Canada are not being damaged by acid rain.” Critics of the report insist the conclusion be changed to, “Most forests in Canada do not show visible symptoms of damage by acid rain, such as abnormal loss of leaves, slower rates of growth, or higher mortality.” Which of the following, if true, provides the best logical justification for the critics’ insistence that the report’s conclusion be changed?
(A) Some forests in Canada are being damaged by acid rain.
(B) Acid rain could be causing damage for which symptoms have not yet become visible.
(C) The report does not compare acid rain damage to Canadian forests with acid rain damage to forests in other countries.
(D) All forests in Canada have received acid rain during the past fifteen years.
(E) The severity of damage by acid rain differs from forest to forest.

2. In the past most airline companies minimized aircraft weight to minimize fuel costs. The safest airline seats were heavy, and airlines equipped their planes with few of these seats. This year the seat that has sold best to airlines has been the safest one—a clear indication that airlines are assigning a higher priority to safe seating than to minimizing fuel costs. Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?
(A) Last year’s best-selling airline seat was not the safest airline seat on the market.
(B) No airline company has announced that it would be making safe seating a higher priority this year.
(C) The price of fuel was higher this year than it had been in most of the years when the safest airline seats sold poorly.
(D) Because of increases in the cost of materials, all airline seats were more expensive to manufacture this year than in any previous year.
(E) Because of technological innovations, the safest airline seat on the market this year weighed less than most other airline seats on the market.

3. A computer equipped with signature-recognition software, which restricts access to a computer to those people whose signatures are on file, identifies a person’s signature by analyzing not only the form of the signature but also such characteristics as pen pressure and signing speed. Even the most adept forgers cannot duplicate all of the characteristics the program analyzes. Which of the following can be logically concluded from the passage above?
(A) The time it takes to record and analyze a signature makes the software impractical for everyday use.
(B) Computers equipped with the software will soon be installed in most banks.
(C) Nobody can gain access to a computer equipped with the software solely by virtue of skill at forging signatures.
(D) Signature-recognition software has taken many years to develop and perfect.
(E) In many cases even authorized users are denied legitimate access to computers equipped with the software.

4. Division manager: I want to replace the Microton computers in my division with Vitech computers. General manager: Why? Division manager: It costs 28 percent less to train new staff on the Vitech. General manager: But that is not a good enough reason. We can simply hire only people who already know how to use the Microton computer. Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the general manager’s objection to the replacement of Microton computers with Vitechs?
(A) Currently all employees in the company are required to attend workshops on how to use Microton computers in new applications.
(B) Once employees learn how to use a computer, they tend to change employers more readily than before.
(C) Experienced users of Microton computers command much higher salaries than do prospective employees who have no experience in the use of computers.
(D) The average productivity of employees in the general manager’s company is below the average productivity of the employees of its competitors.
(E) The high costs of replacement parts make Vitech computers more expensive to maintain than Microton computers.

5. An airplane engine manufacturer developed a new engine model with safety features lacking in the earlier model, which was still being manufactured. During the first year that both were sold, the earlier model far outsold the new model; the manufacturer thus concluded that safety was not the customers’ primary consideration. Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the manufacturer’s conclusion?
(A) Both private plane owners and commercial airlines buy engines from this airplane engine manufacturer.
(B) Many customers consider earlier engine models better safety risks than new engine models, since more is usually known about the safety of the earlier models.
(C) Many customers of this airplane engine manufacturer also bought airplane engines from manufacturers who did not provide additional safety features in their
newer models.
(D) The newer engine model can be used in all planes in which the earlier engine model can be used.
(E) There was no significant difference in price between the newer engine model and the earlier engine model.

6. Between 1975 and 1985, nursing-home occupancy rates averaged 87 percent of capacity, while admission rates remained constant, at an average of 95 admissions per 1,000 beds per year. Between 1985 and 1988, however, occupancy rates rose to an average of 92 percent of capacity, while admission rates declined to 81 per 1,000 beds per year. If the statements above are true, which of the following conclusions can be most properly drawn?
(A) The average length of time nursing-home residents stayed in nursing homes increased between 1985 and 1988.
(B) The proportion of older people living in nursing homes was greater in 1988 than in 1975.
(C) Nursing home admission rates tend to decline whenever occupancy rates rise.
(D) Nursing homes built prior to 1985 generally had fewer beds than did nursing homes built between 1985 and 1988.
(E) The more beds a nursing home has, the higher its occupancy rate is likely to be.

7. Firms adopting “profit-related-pay” (PRP) contracts pay wages at levels that vary with the firm’s profits. In the metalworking industry last year, firms with PRP contracts in place showed productivity per worker on average 13 percent higher than that of their competitors who used more traditional contracts. If, on the basis of the evidence above, it is argued that PRP contracts increase worker productivity, which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken that argument?
(A) Results similar to those cited for the metalworking industry have been found in other industries where PRP contracts are used.
(B) Under PRP contracts costs other than labor costs, such as plant, machinery, and energy, make up an increased proportion of the total cost of each unit of
output.
(C) Because introducing PRP contracts greatly changes individual workers’ relationships to the firm, negotiating the introduction of PRP contracts is complex and
time consuming.
(D) Many firms in the metalworking industry have modernized production equipment in the last five years, and most of these introduced PRP contracts at the same
time.
(E) In firms in the metalworking industry where PRP contracts are in place, the average take-home pay is 15 percent higher than it is in those firms where workers
have more traditional contracts.

8. Crops can be traded on the futures market before they are harvested. If a poor corn harvest is predicted, prices of corn futures rise; if a bountiful corn harvest is predicted, prices of corn futures fall. This morning meteorologists are predicting much-needed rain for the corn-growing region starting tomorrow. Therefore, since adequate moisture is essential for the current crop’s survival, prices of corn futures will fall sharply today. Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument above?
(A) Corn that does not receive adequate moisture during its critical pollination stage will not produce a bountiful harvest.
(B) Futures prices for corn have been fluctuating more dramatically this season than last season.
(C) The rain that meteorologists predicted for tomorrow is expected to extend well beyond the corn-growing region.
(D) Agriculture experts announced today that a disease that has devastated some of the corn crop will spread widely before the end of the growing season.
(E) Most people who trade in corn futures rarely take physical possession of the corn they trade.

9. A discount retailer of basic household necessities employs thousands of people and pays most of them at the minimum wage rate. Yet following a federally mandated increase of the minimum wage rate that increased the retailer’s operating costs considerably, the retailer’s profits increased markedly. Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox?
(A) Over half of the retailer’s operating costs consist of payroll expenditures; yet only a small percentage of those expenditures go to pay management salaries.
(B) The retailer’s customer base is made up primarily of people who earn, or who depend on the earnings of others who earn, the minimum wage.
(C) The retailer’s operating costs, other than wages, increased substantially after the increase in the minimum wage rate went into effect.
(D) When the increase in the minimum wage rate went into effect, the retailer also raised the wage rate for employees who had been earning just above minimum
 wage.
(E) The majority of the retailer’s employees work as cashiers, and most cashiers are paid the minimum wage.

10. The cotton farms of Country Q became so productive that the market could not absorb all that they produced. Consequently, cotton prices fell. The government tried to boost cotton prices by offering farmers who took 25 percent of their cotton acreage out of production direct support payments up to a specified maximum per farm. The government’s program, if successful, will not be a net burden on the budget. Which of the following, if true, is the best basis for an explanation of how this could be so?
(A) Depressed cotton prices meant operating losses for cotton farms, and the government lost revenue from taxes on farm profits.
(B) Cotton production in several counties other than Q declined slightly the year that the support-payment program went into effect in Q.
(C) The first year that the support-payment program was in effect, cotton acreage in Q was 5% below its level in the base year for the program.
(D) The specified maximum per farm meant that for very large cotton farms the support payments were less per acre for those acres that were withdrawn from
production than they were for smaller farms.
(E) Farmers who wished to qualify for support payments could not use the cotton acreage that was withdrawn from production to grow any other crop.

11. United States hospitals have traditionally relied primarily on revenues from paying patients to offset losses from unreimbursed care. Almost all paying patients now rely on governmental or private health insurance to pay hospital bills. Recently, insurers have been strictly limiting what they pay hospitals for the care of insured patients to amounts at or below actual costs. Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the information above?
(A) Although the advance of technology has made expensive medical procedures available to the wealthy, such procedures are out of the reach of low-income
patients.
(B) If hospitals do not find ways to raising additional income for unreimbursed care, they must either deny some of that care or suffer losses if they give it.
(C) Some patients have incomes too high for eligibility for governmental health insurance but are unable to afford private insurance for hospital care.
(D) If the hospitals reduce their costs in providing care, insurance companies will maintain the current level of reimbursement, thereby providing more funds for
unreimbursed care.
(E) Even though philanthropic donations have traditionally provided some support for the hospitals, such donations are at present declining.

12. Generally scientists enter their field with the goal of doing important new research and accept as their colleagues those with similar motivation. Therefore, when any scientist wins renown as an expounder of science to general audiences, most other scientists conclude that this popularizer should no longer be regarded as a true colleague. The explanation offered above for the low esteem in which scientific popularizers are held by research scientists assumes that
(A) serious scientific research is not a solitary activity, but relies on active cooperation among a group of colleagues
(B) research scientists tend not to regard as colleagues those scientists whose renown they envy
(C) a scientist can become a famous popularizer without having completed any important research
(D) research scientists believe that those who are well known as popularizers of science are not motivated to do important new research
(E) no important new research can be accessible to or accurately assessed by those who are not themselves scientists

13. Mouth cancer is a danger for people who rarely brush their teeth. In order to achieve early detection of mouth cancer in these individuals, a town’s public health officials sent a pamphlet to all town residents, describing how to perform weekly self-examinations of the mouth for lumps. Which of the following, if true, is the best criticism of the pamphlet as a method of achieving the public health officials’ goal?
(A) Many dental diseases produce symptoms that cannot be detected in a weekly self-examination.
(B) Once mouth cancer has been detected, the effectiveness of treatment can vary from person to person.
(C) The pamphlet was sent to all town residents, including those individuals who brush their teeth regularly.
(D) Mouth cancer is much more common in adults than in children.
(E) People who rarely brush their teeth are unlikely to perform a weekly

GMAT TEST-11 ( Questions)

30 Minutes 20 Questions

1. The school board has determined that it is necessary to reduce the number of teachers on the staff. Rather than deciding which teachers will be laid off on the basis of seniority, the school board plans to lay off the least effective teachers first. The school board’s plan assumes that
(A) there is a way of determining the effectiveness of teachers
(B) what one individual defines as effective teaching will not be defined as effective teaching by another individual
(C) those with the most experience teaching are the best teachers
(D) those teachers who are paid the most are generally the most qualified
(E) some teachers will be more effective working with some students than with other students

2. Since applied scientific research is required for technological advancement, many have rightly urged an increased emphasis in universities on applied research. But we must not give too little attention to basic research, even though it may have no foreseeable application, for tomorrow’s applied research will depend on the basic research of today. If the statements above are true, which of the following can be most reliably inferred?
(A) If future technological advancement is desired, basic research should receive greater emphasis than applied research.
(B) If basic research is valued in universities, applied research should be given less emphasis than it currently has.
(C) If future technological advancement is desired, research should be limited to that with some foreseeable application.
(D) If too little attention is given to basic research today, future technological advancement will be jeopardized.
(E) If technological advancement is given insufficient emphasis, basic research will also receive too little attention.

3. The First Banking Group’s decision to invest in an electronic network for transferring funds was based on a cost advantage over a nonelectronic system of about ten dollars per transaction in using an electronic system. Executives reasoned further that the system would give them an advantage over competitors. Which of the following, if it is a realistic possibility, most seriously weakens the executives’ projection of an advantage over competitors?
(A) The cost advantage of using the electronic system will not increase sufficiently to match the pace of inflation.
(B) Competitors will for the same reasons install electronic systems, and the resulting overcapacity will lead to mutually damaging price wars.
(C) The electronic system will provide a means for faster transfer of funds, if the First Banking Group wishes to provide faster transfer to its customers.
(D) Large banks from outside the area served by the First Banking Group have recently established branches in that area as competitors to the First Banking Group.
(E) Equipment used in the electronic network for transferring funds will be compatible with equipment used in other such networks.

4. Which of the following best completes the argument below? One effect of the introduction of the electric refrigerator was a collapse in the market for ice. Formerly householders had bought ice to keep their iceboxes cool and the food stored in the iceboxes fresh. Now the iceboxes cool themselves. Similarly, the introduction of crops genetically engineered to be resistant to pests will______
(A) increase the size of crop harvests
(B) increase the cost of seeds
(C) reduce demand for chemical pesticides
(D) reduce the value of farmland
(E) reduce the number of farmers keeping livestock

5. In 1985 the city’s Fine Arts Museum sold 30,000 single-entry tickets. In 1986 the city’s Folk Arts and Interior Design museums opened, and these three museums together sold over 80,000 such tickets that year. These museums were worth the cost, since more than twice as many citizens are now enjoying the arts. Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the author’s assertion that more than twice as many citizens are now enjoying the arts?
(A) Most visitors to one museum also visit the other two.
(B) The cost of building the museums will not be covered by revenues generated by the sale of museum tickets.
(C) As the two new museums become better known, even more citizens will visit them.
(D) The city’s Fine Arts Museum did not experience a decrease in single-entry tickets sold in 1986.
(E) Fewer museum entry tickets were sold in 1986 than the museum planners had hoped to sell.

6. F: We ought not to test the safety of new drugs on sentient animals, such as dogs and rabbits. Our benefit means their pain, and they are equal to us in the capacity to feel pain. G: We must carry out such tests; otherwise, we would irresponsibly sacrifice the human lives that could have been saved by the drugs. Which of the following, if true, is the best objection that could be made from F’s point of view to counter G’s point?
(A) Even though it is not necessary for people to use cosmetics, cosmetics are also being tested on sentient animals.
(B) Medical science already has at its disposal a great number of drugs and other treatments for serious illnesses.
(C) It is not possible to obtain scientifically adequate results by testing drugs in the test tube, without making tests on living tissue.
(D) Some of the drugs to be tested would save human beings from great pain.
(E) Many tests now performed on sentient animals can be performed equally well on fertilized chicken eggs that are at a very early stage of development.

7. Which of the following best completes the passage below? The unemployment rate in the United States fell from 7.5 percent in 1981 to 6.9 percent in 1986. It cannot, however, be properly concluded from these statistics that the number of unemployed in 1986 was lower than it had been in 1981 because______
(A) help-wanted advertisements increased between 1981 and 1986
(B) many of the high-paying industrial jobs available in 1981 were replaced by low-wage service jobs in 1986, resulting in displacements of hundreds of thousands
of workers
(C) in some midwestern industrial states, the unemployment rate was much higher in 1986 than it had been in 1981
(D) the total available work force, including those with and without employment, increased between 1981 and 1986

GMAT TEST-6 ( Questions)

30 Minutes 20 Questions

1. Rural households have more purchasing power than do urban or suburban households at the same income level, since some of the income urban and suburban households use for food and shelter can be used by rural households for other needs. Which of the following inferences is best supported by the statement made above?
(A) The average rural household includes more people than does the average urban or suburban household.
(B) Rural households have lower food and housing costs than do either urban or suburban households.
(C) Suburban households generally have more purchasing power than do either rural or urban households.
(D) The median income of urban and suburban households is generally higher than that of rural households.
(E) All three types of households spend more of their income on food and housing than on all other purchases combined.

2. In 1985 state border colleges in Texas lost the enrollment of more than half, on average, of the Mexican nationals they had previously served each year. Teaching faculties have alleged that this extreme drop resulted from a rise in tuition for international and out-of-state students from $40 to $120 per credit hour. Which of the following, if feasible, offers the best prospects for alleviating the problem of the drop in enrollment of Mexican nationals as the teaching faculties assessed it?
(A) Providing grants-in-aid to Mexican nationals to study in Mexican universities
(B) Allowing Mexican nationals to study in Texas border colleges and to pay in-state tuition rates, which are the same as the previous international rate
(C) Reemphasizing the goals and mission of the Texas state border colleges as serving both in-state students and Mexican nationals
(D) Increasing the financial resources of Texas colleges by raising the tuition for in-state students attending state institutions
(E) Offering career counseling for those Mexican nationals who graduate from state border colleges and intend to return to Mexico

3. Affirmative action is good business. So asserted the National Association of Manufacturers while urging retention of an executive order requiring some federal contractors to set numerical goals for hiring minorities and women. “Diversity in work force participation has produced new ideas in management, product development, and marketing,” the association claimed. The association’s argument as it is presented in the passage above would be most strengthened if which of the following were true?
(A) The percentage of minority and women workers in business has increased more slowly than many minority and women’s groups would prefer.
(B) Those businesses with the highest percentages of minority and women workers are those that have been the most innovative and profitable.
(C) Disposable income has been rising as fast among minorities and women as among the population as a whole.
(D) The biggest growth in sales in the manufacturing sector has come in industries that market the most innovative products.
(E) Recent improvements in management practices have allowed many manufacturers to experience enormous gains in worker productivity.

Questions 4-5 refer to the following.

If the airspace around centrally located airports were restricted to commercial airliners and only those private planes equipped with radar, most of the private-plane traffic would be forced to use outlying airfields. Such a reduction in the amount of private-plane traffic would reduce the risk of midair collision around the centrally located airports.

4. The conclusion drawn in the first sentence depends on which of the following assumptions?
(A) Outlying airfields would be as convenient as centrally located airports for most pilots of private planes.
(B) Most outlying airfields are not equipped to handle commercial-airline traffic.
(C) Most private planes that use centrally located airports are not equipped with radar.
(D) Commercial airliners are at greater risk of becoming involved in midair collisions than are private planes.
(E) A reduction in the risk of midair collision would eventually lead to increases in commercial-airline traffic.

5. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion drawn in the second sentence?
(A) Commercial airliners are already required by law to be equipped with extremely sophisticated radar systems.
(B) Centrally located airports are experiencing over-crowded airspace primarily because of sharp increases in commercial-airline traffic.
(C) Many pilots of private planes would rather buy radar equipment than be excluded from centrally located airports.
(D) The number of midair collisions that occur near centrally located airports has decreased in recent years.
(E) Private planes not equipped with radar systems cause a disproportionately large number of midair collisions around centrally located airports.

6. Which of the following best completes the passage below? Established companies concentrate on defending what they already have. Consequently, they tend not to be innovative themselves and tend to underestimate the effects of the innovations of others. The clearest example of this defensive strategy is the fact that______
(A) ballpoint pens and soft-tip markers have eliminated the traditional market for fountain pens, clearing the way for the marketing of fountain pens as luxury or
prestige items
(B) a highly successful automobile was introduced by the same company that had earlier introduced a model that had been a dismal failure
(C) a once-successful manufacturer of slide rules reacted to the introduction of electronic calculators by trying to make better slide rules
(D) one of the first models of modern accounting machines, designed for use in the banking industry, was purchased by a public library as well as by banks
(E) the inventor of a commonly used anesthetic did not intend the product to be used by dentists, who currently account for almost the entire market for that drug

7. Most archaeologists have held that people first reached the Americas less than 20,000 years ago by crossing a land bridge into North America. But recent discoveries of human shelters in South America dating from 32,000 years ago have led researchers to speculate that people arrived in South America first, after voyaging across the Pacific, and then spread northward. Which of the following, if it were discovered, would be pertinent evidence against the speculation above?