According to a review of 38 studies of patients suffering from water retention, a large majority of the patients reported that fasting eased their suffering considerably.  Yet fasting is not used to treat water retention even though the conventional medications often has serious side effects.

Which of the following, if true, best explains the fact that fasting is not used as a treatment for water retention?

A. For a small percentage of patients with water retention, fasting induces a temporary sense of nausea

B. Getting patients with water retention to fast regularly is more difficult than getting healthy patients to do so.

C.  Fasting regularly over a long period of time can lead to temporary impairment of balance comparable to that induced by consuming several ounces of alcohol.    

D.  The dramatic shifts in water retention connected with fasting have not been traced to particular changes in brain chemistry.

E.  The water retention returns in full force as soon as the fast is broken by even a small meal.  
 
The best answer is E.  The longer one fasts, the more urgently a patient will need to eat.  According to choice E, the water retention would then return in full force.  This would explain why fasting is not used to treat water retention.  



The more frequently employees that take a break for guided relaxation exercises during working hours each week, the fewer sick days they take.  Even workers who take a guided relaxation break once a week during working hours take less sick leave than those who do not perform relaxation.  Therefore, if companies started guided relaxation programs, the absentee rate in those companies would decrease significantly.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?  

A.  Employees who do guided relaxation exercises during working hours occasionally fall asleep for short periods of time after the exercises.

B.  Employees who are frequently absent are the least likely to cooperate with or to join a corporate relaxation program.

C.  Employees who do guided relaxation exercises only once a week in their company’s fitness program usually also do relaxation exercises at home.

D.  Employees who do guided relaxation exercises in their company’s relaxation program use their working time no more productively than those who do not do relaxation exercises.  

E.  Employees do guided relaxation exercises during working hours take slightly longer lunch breaks than employees who do not do relaxation exercises.  
 

The best answer is B.  Even supposing that increasing the frequency of relaxation leads to less sick time being taken, starting a company-supported relaxation program might not produce significantly lowered absentee rates if employees who are frequently absent would not cooperate with such a program.  Choice B says that such cooperation is unlikely and is the best answer.