(A) The number of beneficial soil bacteria increases whenever any kind of plant material is mixed into garden soil.
(B) Nutrients released by dried grass clippings are immediately available to beneficial soil bacteria.
(C) Some dried grass clippings retain nutrients originally derived from commercial lawn fertilizers, and thus provide additional enrichment to the soil.
(D) Fresh grass clippings mixed into soil decompose rapidly, generating high levels of heat that kill beneficial soil bacteria.
(E) When a mix of fresh and dried grass clippings is mixed into garden soil, plant growth often decreases.
5. A gas tax of one cent per gallon would raise one billion dollars per year at current consumption rates. Since a tax of fifty cents per gallon would therefore raise fifty billion dollars per year, it seems a perfect way to deal with the federal budget deficit. This tax would have the additional advantage that the resulting drop in the demand for gasoline would be ecologically sound and would keep our country from being too dependent on foreign oil producers.
Which one of the following most clearly identifies an error in the author’s reasoning?
(A) The author cites irrelevant data.
(B) The author relies on incorrect current consumption figures.
(C) The author makes incompatible assumptions.
(D) The author mistakes an effect for a cause.
(E) The author appeals to conscience rather than reason.
6. As symbols of the freedom of the wilderness, bald eagles have the unique capacity to inspire people and foster in them a sympathetic attitude toward the needs of other threatened species. Clearly, without that sympathy and the political will it engenders, the needs of more obscure species will go unmet. The conservation needs of many obscure species can only be met by beginning with the conservation of this symbolic species, the bald eagle.