| Critical Reasoning Butler: September 2025 |
| October 7 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 In response to a recent survey conducted by a newspaper in Quantos city, 70% of the respondents stated that they are very happy with the performance of the mayor and 20% stated that they are reasonably happy with the performance of the mayor. Only 10% of the respondents stated that they were unhappy with the performance of the mayor. So, it seems safe to conclude that the residents of Quantos City are in general happy with the mayor’s performance.
Which of the following options most strongly weakens the above argument?
(A) The mayor has been in the news a lot lately because of corruption charges that have been pressed against him.
(B) The primary readership of the newspaper that conducted the survey comprises the economically well to do people, a demographic that makes up only 20% of the population of Quantos City.
(C) The crime rate in Quantos City has not gone down during the term of the mayor.
(D) The mayor is against the abolition of property tax in Quantos City whereas most of the residents of the city are in favour of such a move.
(E) The survey is representative of the entire population of Quantos City.
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CR 2 The supply of iron ore, the most important component in steelmaking, has been steadily declining in Marco city. This has forced steel manufacturing units in Marco city to source iron ore from far off mines leading to an increase in their transportation costs. Because transportation costs make up a large chunk of the total cost of steelmaking, the steel
manufacturers in Marco city have had no option but to increase the selling price of their steel. This has, in turn, led to an increase in the retail price of utensils and other articles of daily use made of steel. Since the retail consumers now have to pay more for these steel items, while their earnings remain unchanged, they have decided to cut down on their nonessential expenditure such as that on movie tickets. This has led movie theatres in Marco city to reduce their ticket prices.
Which of the following provides the most support for the assertion that the prices of movie tickets in Marco city will continue to decline in future?
(A) The people of Marco city will not be willing to cut down their expenditure on eating out.
(B) After the inauguration of the Goldport Bridge, expected to happen very soon, the transportation costs to Marco city will be halved.
(C) There are no blockbuster movies with stellar star casts lined up for release anytime soon.
(D) The supply of iron ore to Marco city is expected to go down even more in the near future.
(E) Residents of Marco city view movie tickets as non-essential items of expenditure.