GRE考试形式：中国大陆地区、香港、澳门、韩国目前执行分开考试的形式。由机考（分析性写作）和笔试（语文、数学）组成。
"Some studies conducted by Bronston College, which is also located in a small town, reveal
that both male and female professors are happier living in small towns when their spouses are
also employed in the same geographic area. Therefore, in the interest of attracting the most
gifted teachers and researchers to our faculty and improving the morale of our entire staff, we
at Pierce University should offer employment to the spouse of each new faculty member we
hire. Although we cannot expect all offers to be accepted or to be viewed as an ideal job offer,
the money invested in this effort will clearly be well spent because, if their spouses have a
chance of employment, new professors will be more likely to accept our offers."
In this letter, a depaxiax,ent chairperson at Pierce University recommends that Pierce offer
jobs to spouses of new faculty in order to attract the most gifted teachers and researchers. To
support this recommendation, the chairperson cites certain Bronston University studies, which
concluded that in small towns male as well as female faculty are happier when their spouses
are employed in the same geographic area. However, the chairperson's argument relies on
certain unsubstantiated assumptions about the similarity between Pierce faculty and the
faculty involved in the Bronston study, and about how the most gifted teachers and
researchers choose among jobs in the first place.
A threshold problem with the argument involves the Bronston studies themselves. The letter
provides no information about the faculty in the study--specifically, whether they were
representative of college faculty in general, and of potential Pierce faculty in particular. For
example, if the study involved only Bronston faculty, then it would be less reliable than if it
involved Pierce faculty as well. In any case, the smaller and more biased the survey's sample,
the less reliable it is for the purpose of drawing any conclusions about how Pierce might attract
new faculty.
Secondly, the argument relies on the assumption that faculty whose spouses work for the
same employer are just as happy as faculty whose spouses work for other employers.
However, since the letter fails to substantiate this assumption it is entirely possible that the
spouses involved in the Bronston study and who worked in the same geographic area attribute
their happiness to the fact that they work for different employers. If so, then the chairperson's
recommendation that Pierce try to entice gifted teachers and researchers by offering jobs to
their spouses as well would seem ill-advised.Thirdly, the argument assumes that jobs for faculty spouses at Pierce would contribute to the
happiness of Pierce faculty to at least as great an extent as the jobs in the geographical areas
where the study's subjects resided. However, the letter provides no evidence to substantiate
this assumption. Thus it is entirely possible that jobs in the areas where the study's faculty
resided are higher-paying, offer better benefits, or otherwise contribute to the happiness of
employees' spouses--college faculty--more so than a typical staff posi tion at Pierce. In fact,
the letter suggests that this might be the case. By admitting that Pierce job offers are not ideal,
the letter implies that faculty candidates and their spouses might find a more attractive
dual-employment package elsewhere.
Finally, the argument assumes that gifted teachers and researchers consider employment
for spouses a key factor in choosing among job offers. However, the letter provides no
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evidence that this is the case. In fact, it is entirely possible that the faculty in the Bronston
study are not exceptional teachers and researchers and therefore do not have as many job
options as the kind of faculty Pierce hopes to attract. If this is the case, Pierce cannot justifiably
expect the most exceptional teachers to accept positions at Pierce just because Pierce
provides employment to faculty spouses.
In conclusion, the letter is unpersuasive as it stands. To strengthen the argument, the
chairperson must show that jobs for spouses of faculty involved in the Bronston study are no
more attractive than non-faculty jobs at Pierce. The chairperson must also provide clear
evidence that the most gifted teachers and researchers find the sort of benefit that this letter
proposes to be significantly attractive in choosing among job offers. Finally, to better assess
the argument we would need more information about the faculty involved in the Bronston
studies, so that we can determine the study's relevance to Pierce, as well as its statistical
reliability.
Argument 58
For the past five years, consumers in California have been willing to pay twice as much for
oysters from the northeastern Atlantic Coast as for Gulf Coast oysters. This trend began
shortly after harmful bacteria were found in a few raw Gulf Coast oysters. But scientists have
now devised a process for killing the bacteria. Once consumers are made aware of the
increased safety of Gulf Coast oysters, they are likely to be willing to pay as much for Gulf
Coast as for northeastern Atlantic Coast oysters, and greater profits for Gulf Coast oyster
producers will follow.This argument points out that, ever since harmful bacteria were found in a few Gulf Coast
oysters five years ago, California consumers have been willing to pay twice as much for
northeastern Atlantic oysters as for Gulf oysters. The argument then notes that scientists have
now developed a process for killing these bacteria. The argument concludes that once
consumers become aware of this fact they will be willing to pay as much for these oysters as
for Atlantic oysters, and that profits for Gulf oyster producers will thereby increase. The
argument is flawed in three critical respects.
First, the argument assumes that the bacteria discovery is the reason for California
consumers' unwillingness to pay as much for Gulf shrimp during the past five years. However,
this is not necessarily so. Perhaps regional culinary tastes shifted during the last five years,
and perhaps Atlantic oysters have a distinct taste, texture, size, or other quality that has made
them more popular among California consumers. Since the argument fails to rule out this and
other alternative explanations for the willingness of California consumers to pay more for
Atlantic oysters, the argument's conclusion is unwarranted.
Secondly, the argument assumes too hastily that consumer awareness of the process that
kills the bacteria will necessarily result in the behavior that the argument predicts. Perhaps
after five years of favoring Atlantic oysters, consumer oyster tastes and habits have become so
well entrenched that consumers will continue to favor Atlantic oysters and will happily pay a
premium for them. Moreover, in my observation consumers often act unpredictably and
irrationally, and therefore any prediction about consumer preferences is dubious at best.
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Besides, it is entirely possible that Gulf oyster producers will be unwilling to employ the new
bacteria-killing process; if so, and if consumers are aware of this fact, then in all likelihood
consumers will continue to favor Atlantic oysters.
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