| Critical Reasoning Butler: September 2025 |
| September 22 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
_____________________________________
CR 1 The 17 countries of the Eurozone are all united by one currency—the euro, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t price disparities in the continent. A sum of 20 Euros can buy you 35 cups of coffee in Portugal but only seven cups of coffee in Greece. The same amount of money can get you 16 cartons of eggs in Malta, but only seven cartons of eggs in Ireland.
Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn from the information above?
(A) On an average, a cup of coffee costs more in Portugal than in Greece.
(B) A carton of eggs costs more in Malta than in Ireland.
(C) Price disparities are an unusual phenomenon in the countries of the Eurozone.
(D) The cost of a cup of coffee in Greece is the same as that of a carton of eggs in Ireland.
(E) Portugal is a cheaper country to stay in than is Greece.
_____________________________________
CR 2 The incidence of suicide in the country of Travonia has increased dramatically in recent years, as evidenced by the fact that since the introduction of several nonprescription brands of sleeping pills, the number of deaths from overdoses alone has nearly doubled. However, certain types of suicides have not increased in number during this period. It is true that elderly suicides have seen a greater than 70 percent increase, but teen suicides now account for only 30 percent of all suicides in the country. This is a significant decrease over 1985, when teen cases represented 65 percent of all country-wide suicides.
The argument above is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it does which of the following?
(A) It discounts the possibility of suicides occurring in groups other than the elderly and teenagers.
(B) It takes for granted that the introduction of non-prescription sleeping pills has had the same effect on two different demographic groups.
(C) It assumes that a decrease in the percentage of teen suicides necessarily signifies a decrease in the number of teen suicides.
(D) It overlooks the possibility that the total number of deaths in Travonia has increased since 1985.
(E) It relies on evidence that contradicts its conclusion