| Critical Reasoning Butler: February 2025 |
| February 13 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 A farmer working in an arid region has been growing cabbages for the past several years, although this crop severely depletes nitrogen from the soil. The farmer continues to do so, although the legume alfalfa is a much more valuable crop and does not deplete nitrogen from the soil at all.
Of the following statements, which, if true, best explains why the farmer has been growing the less profitable of the two crops mentioned above?
A. Arid regions are excellent for the growth of coniferous plants, such as cabbage.
B. Cabbages grown in arid regions are more expensive than cabbages grown in areas with heavy rainfall.
C. The amount of water needed to raise an alfalfa crop is several times as high as the amount needed to raise a cabbage crop.
D. A portion of the cabbages grown each year is eaten by caterpillars.
E. In some parts of the country, income from vegetables, such as cabbage, is more heavily taxed than that from any other agricultural product, including legumes.
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CR 2 The Industrial Labor Relations Department of the Ministry of Human Development is tasked with conducting annual factory safety inspections. After the inspection of Zusak Electricals’s factories last year, the department reported considerably more violations of the Ministry’s regulations, compared to the previous year. This finding explains why Zusak Electricals’s workers suffered more injuries last year, compared to the year before.
Which of the following, if true, would cast most doubt on the conclusion in the passage?
A. The Industrial Labor Relations Department increased the purview and thoroughness of the inspections last year, compared to other years.
B. Zusak Electricals’s manufacturing processes are no more dangerous than are those of most other electrical companies.
C. Some safety experts in other countries consider certain Ministry regulations too slack and easy to circumvent.
D. Before last year, Zusak Electricals’s factories had an excellent safety record with very few injuries.
E. In both years, the safety report on Zusak Electricals included no violations that occurred in factories that the company had leased out.