Direction Find the statement that must be true according to the given information.
6.

When they heard news of the hurricane, Maya and Julian decided to change their vacation plans. Instead of traveling to the island beach resort, they booked a room at a fancy new spa in the mountains. Their plans were a bit more expensive, but they'd heard wonderful things about the spa and they were relieved to find availability on such short notice.


A. Maya and Julian take beach vacations every year.
B. The spa is overpriced.
C. It is usually necessary to book at least six months in advance at the spa.
D. Maya and Julian decided to change their vacation plans because of the hurricane.
Answer: D

Explanation: The first sentence makes this statement true. There is no support for choice a. The passage tells us that the spa vacation is more expensive than the island beach resort vacation, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the spa is overpriced; therefore, choice b cannot be supported. And even though the paragraph says that the couple was relieved to find a room on short notice, there is no information to support choice c, which says that it is usually necessary to book at the spa at least six months in advance.





7.

Seahorse populations have declined everywhere that seahorses are fished. During the past five years, seahorse populations have decreased by 50%. Last year, biologists met to discuss what might be done to reverse this trend.


A. Seahorses are likely to become extinct within five years.
B. One way to increase seahorse populations is to ban the fishing of seahorses.
C. Biologists from all over the world are working to save the seahorses.
D. Seahorse fishermen have spoken out against the biologists.
Answer: B

Explanation: Since the seahorse populations have declined as a result of fishing, their populations will increase if seahorse fishing is banned. There is no support for any of the other choices.





8.

Ten new television shows appeared during the month of September. Five of the shows were sitcoms, three were hour-long dramas, and two were news-magazine shows. By January, only seven of these new shows were still on the air. Five of the shows that remained were sitcoms.


A. Only one of the news-magazine shows remained on the air.
B. Only one of the hour-long dramas remained on the air.
C. At least one of the shows that was cancelled was an hour-long drama.
D. Television viewers prefer sitcoms over hour-long dramas.
Answer: C

Explanation: If there were seven shows left and five were sitcoms, this means that only two of the shows could possibly be dramas. Choices a and b may be true, but there is no evidence to indicate this as fact. The fact that all of the sitcoms remained does not necessarily mean that viewers prefer sitcoms (choice d).





9.

On weekends, Mr. Sanchez spends many hours working in his vegetable and flower gardens. Mrs. Sanchez spends her free time reading and listening to classical music. Both Mr. Sanchez and Mrs. Sanchez like to cook.


A. Mr. Sanchez enjoys planting and growing vegetables.
B. Mr. Sanchez does not like classical music.
C. Mrs. Sanchez cooks the vegetables that Mr. Sanchez grows.
D. Mrs. Sanchez enjoys reading nineteenth century novels.
Answer: A

Explanation: Because Mr. Sanchez spends many hours during the weekend working in his vegetable garden, it is reasonable to suggest that he enjoys this work. There is no information to suggest that he does not like classical music. Although Mrs. Sanchez likes to cook, there is nothing that indicates she cooks vegetables (choice c). Mrs. Sanchez likes to read, but there is no information regarding the types of books she reads (choice d).





10.

Georgia is older than her cousin Marsha. Marsh

A. When he plays Monopoly with Marsha and Georgia, Bart often loses.
B. Of the three, Georgia is the oldest.
C. Georgia hates to lose at Monopoly.
D. Of the three, Marsha is the youngest.
Answer: D

Explanation: If Georgia is older than Marsha and Bart is older than Georgia, then Marsha has to be the youngest of the three. Choice b is clearly wrong because Bart is the oldest. There is no information in the paragraph to support either choice a or choice c.