22. When a planetary system forms, the chances that a planet capable of supporting life will be formed are high. The chances that a large planet the size of Jupiter or Saturn¹ will be formed, however, are low. Without Jupiter and Saturn, whose gravitational forces have prevented Earth from being frequently struck by large comets, intelligent life would never have arisen on Earth. Since planetary systems are unlikely to contain any large planets, the chances that intelligent life will emerge on a planet are, therefore, low

Knowing which one of the following would be most useful in evaluating the argument?

(A) whether all planetary systems are formed from similar amounts of matter
(B) whether intelligent species would be likely to survive if a comet struck their planet
(C) whether large comets could be deflected² by only one large planet rather than by two
(D) how high the chances are that planetary systems will contain many large comets
(E) how likely it is that planetary systems containing large planets will also contain planets the size of Earth

23. Construction contractors⁴ working on the cutting edge of technology nearly always work on a "cost-plus" basis only. One kind of cost-plus contract stipulates⁵ the contractor³'s profit as a fixed⁶ percentage of the contractor's costs; the other kind stipulates a fixed amount of profit over and above costs. Under the first kind of contract, higher costs yield higher profits for the contractor, so this is where one might expect final costs in excess of original cost overruns are actually more common if the contract is of the fixed-profit kind.

Which one of the following,if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox⁷ in the situation described above?

(A) Clients are much less likely to agree to a fixed-profit type of cost-plus contract when it is understood that under certain conditions the project will be scuttled⁸ than they are when there is no such understanding.
(B) On long-term contracts, cost projections⁹ take future inflation into account, but since the figures used are provided by the government they are usually underestimates.
(C) On any sizable construction project, the contractor bills the client monthly or quarterly, so any tendency for original cost estimates to be exceeded can be detected early.
(D) Clients billed under a cost-plus contract are free to review individual billings in order to uncover wasteful¹⁰ expenditures¹¹, but they do so only when the contractor's profit varies with cost.
(E) The practice of submitting deliberately¹² exaggerated cost estimates is most common in the case of fixed-profit contracts, because it makes the profit, as a percentage of estimated cost, appear modest

24. That wall is supported by several joists, The only thing that can have caused the bulge¹³ that the wall now has is a broken joist. Therefore, at least one of the joists is broken.

Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its logical features to the argumetn above ?

(A) At least one of the players in the orchestra must have made a mistake, since nothing else would have made the conductor grimace¹⁴ in the way she just did.
(B) The first piece must have been the easiest, since it was the only piece in the entire concert in which the orchestra did not make many mistakes.
(C) The players paly well only when they like the music, since they tend to make mistakes when they play something they do not like.
(D) One of the orchestra's players must be able to play the harp¹⁵, since in one of the pieces they are playing at next week's concert the composer specified¹⁶ that a harp should be played.
(E) The emotin of the music is the only thing that can have caused the conductor to look so angry just then, since the orchestra was playing perfectly¹⁷.

Questions 25-26

Sasha: Handwriting analysis should be banned in court as evidence of a person's character: handwriting analysts¹⁸ called as witnesses habitually¹⁹ exaggerate the reliability²⁰ of their analyses.

Gregory: You are right tha the current use of handwriting analysis as evidence is problematic. But this problem exists only because there is no licensing²¹ board to set professional standards and thus deter²² irresponsible analysts form making exaggerated claims. When such a board is established, however, handwriting analysis by licensed²³ practitioners²⁴ will be a legitimate²⁵ courtroom tool for character assessment²⁶.

25. Gregory does which one of the following in responding to Sasha's argument?

(A) He ignores evidence introduced as support for Sasha's recommendation.
(B) He defends a principle by restricting the class to which it is to be applied²⁷.
(C) He abstracts a general principle from specific evidence.
(D) He identifies a self-contradictory statement in Sasha's argument.
(E) He shows that Sasha's argument itself manifests the undesirable²⁸ characteristic that it condemns²⁹.

26. Which one of the following,if true, would provide Sasha with the strongest counter to Gregory's response?

(A) Courts routinely use means other than handwriting analysis to provide evidence of a person's character.
(B) Many people can provide two samples of their handwriting so different that only a highly trained professional could identify themas having been written by the same person.
(C) A licensing board would inevitably³⁰ refuse to grant licenses³¹ to some responsible handwriting analysts for resasons having nothing to do with their reliability.
(D) The only handwriting analysts who claim that handwriting provides reliable evidence of a person's character are irresponsible.
(E) The number of handwriting analysts who could conform to professional standards set by a licensing board is very small