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David@VeritasPrep
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"The Ivory-billed Woodpecker has been considered extinct for the past several decades. Recently, researchers claim to have found a pair of Ivory-bills in Arkansas. Their best evidence is video that shows a large woodpecker flying away from the camera. The bird has the characteristic large white patches on the trailing edge of the wings. This is one of the factors that distinguishes Ivory-bills from the closely-related Pileated Woodpecker. However, skeptics of the discovery argue that some abnormal Pileated birds can have extra white on the wing and that the bird in the video is most likely an abnormal Pileated. They conclude that the evidence offered for the existence of a living Ivory-billed woodpecker has been overstated and that the species is probably still extinct."
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the skeptics' conclusion?
A) Before this discovery, the last reported Ivory-billed woodpecker was seen in Louisiana, not in Arkansas.
B) In the area where the video was shot, researchers listened for the distinctive "double-tap" drumming sound made exclusively by Ivory-billed woodpeckers, but did not hear the sound.
C) The first person to see the reported Ivory-billed woodpecker and the photographer who shot the footage were not scientists.
D) Of the five key features used to identify Ivory-billed woodpeckers, only the extra white on the wing was seen and this feature also occurs on abnormal Pileated woodpeckers.
E) The bird in the video is clearly seen using the motion of the wing that is characteristic of both the Ivory-billed and the Pileated woodpecker.
Source GMAT for Dummies, Wiley, 2006.
Here is one of the first Critical Reasoning questions that I wrote back in 2005 while contributing to the "GMAT for Dummies" book. I did not see it posted anywhere yet and that makes it almost as good as new. I think those who are very serious about the GMAT are probably not familiar with this book as it is not nearly as in-depth as the other materials we use... However, there are some questions in there that most people have not seen, so why not try this one? Good luck!
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the skeptics' conclusion?
A) Before this discovery, the last reported Ivory-billed woodpecker was seen in Louisiana, not in Arkansas.
B) In the area where the video was shot, researchers listened for the distinctive "double-tap" drumming sound made exclusively by Ivory-billed woodpeckers, but did not hear the sound.
C) The first person to see the reported Ivory-billed woodpecker and the photographer who shot the footage were not scientists.
D) Of the five key features used to identify Ivory-billed woodpeckers, only the extra white on the wing was seen and this feature also occurs on abnormal Pileated woodpeckers.
E) The bird in the video is clearly seen using the motion of the wing that is characteristic of both the Ivory-billed and the Pileated woodpecker.
Source GMAT for Dummies, Wiley, 2006.
Here is one of the first Critical Reasoning questions that I wrote back in 2005 while contributing to the "GMAT for Dummies" book. I did not see it posted anywhere yet and that makes it almost as good as new. I think those who are very serious about the GMAT are probably not familiar with this book as it is not nearly as in-depth as the other materials we use... However, there are some questions in there that most people have not seen, so why not try this one? Good luck!
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