“alexander made a reconnaissance in person of the enemy’s strength and dispositions and, despite the eagerness of most of his generals, he decided against a night attack. instead, he retired to his tent to devise his strategy. he ordered his troops to be well fed and then to rest. darius, on the other hand, mindful of alexander’s unpredictable manoeuvres, ordered his army to stand to throughout the night in readiness for a surprise attack. it is certain that the alertness of one side and the fatigue of the other played at least some part in the outcome of the battle next day.” —anthony livesey, great commanders and their battles the last sentence of the passage hints of what outcome? a. there is no battle. c. alexander wins the battle. b. darius wins the battle. d. they fight, but neither side wins.

It is widely assumed that people need to engage in intellectual activities such as solving crossword puzzles or mathematics problems in order to maintain mental sharpness as they age. in fact, however, simply talking to other people—that is, participating in social interaction, which engages many mental and perceptual skills—suffices. evidence to this effect comes from a study showing that the more social contact people report, the better their mental skills. which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the force of the evidence cited? (a) as people grow older, they are often advised to keep exercising their physical and mental capacities in order to maintain or improve them. (b) many medical conditions and treatments that adversely affect a person's mental sharpness also tend to increase that person's social isolation. (c) many people are proficient both in social interactions and in solving mathematical problems. (d) the study did not itself collect data but analyzed data bearing on the issue from prior studies. (e) the tasks evaluating mental sharpness for which data were compiled by the study were more akin to mathematics problems than to conversation.