Collins GRE Test Preparation

"A Complete GRE Test Preparation Center"

Verbal Reasoning Section
Test: two
Section 1
Text Completion:
1. As expected, the archaeological dig 2. After the board meeting, it became apparent
uncovered only _____tools; the ancient that the union's opposition to more restrictive
tribe being studied had been known to regulations had strengthened, making
have only primitive hunting and implementation of those regulations
gathering skills. more_____.
(A) callous (A) transparent
(B) recalcitrant (B) challenging
(C) intractable (C) fluid
(D) intangible (D) intelligible
(E) rudimentary (E) unnecessary
Questions 3 to 4 are based on the following reading passage:
Writing any history of the Revolutionary War and 3. The author of the passage would
its effects on national identity requires entering into probably consider which of the
a conversation layered with some of the most following to be most similar to the
powerful and enduring narratives and interpretative challenges in (lines 4 through 6?)
frameworks of the historical profession. It also (A) A group of laborers in a factory who
means acknowledging recent Native American go on strike in order to try to
histories Line and challenges from Atlantic World negotiate better working
and African Diaspora studies that assert alternatives conditions.
to the understanding of our national origins. Liam (B) A dissident who questions his
Riordan, in his work Many Identities, One Nation: church’s doctrine about whether
The Revolution and Its Legacy in the Mid-Atlantic, women should be allowed to be
acknowledges these challenges and his relationship priests in the church.
to a third category of analysis: the parochial context (C) A document found in a tomb giving
of community studies that often is overlooked in a contradictory account to the
favor of a more national scope. With these established record of a battle in the
predominate narratives in mind, he argues that Civil War.
everyday life in three towns along (D) A Native American who stages a
The Delaware River from 1770 to 1830 reveals that protest in order to try to change
the nation was composed of local struggles over restrictive reservation laws.
power that held religion, popular sovereignty, (E) A scientist who, after careful
ethnicity, and gender in uneasy tension. experimentation, puts forward a
Overshadowing such local contests, however, were paper that debunks current wisdom
efforts of trans-regional political and religious regarding Atlantic Ocean pollution
organizations through which respectable, white, concentrations.
Protestantism came to present itself as normal, with
special claims to being American by the 1820s. 4. Select the sentence in the passage in
Riordan draws illustrative sources from personal which the author puts forward an
correspondence, local newspapers, church bulletins, assertion that supersedes one of her
and census information. He uses several local previous assertions.
personalities as examples of how individuals
navigated local political and religious environments 5. In the context in which it appears,
and he clearly demonstrates the religious culture in "parochial" (line 9) most nearly means
these towns. Choosing 1770-1830 allows Riordan a (A) limited
nuanced analysis of how colonial parochialism (B) unclear
managed the urgency required by the Revolution as (C) religious
well as the nation-building and millennial (D) historical
movements that followed. (E) partisan
 Question 6 is based on the following reading passage:
In a certain journal covering 6. Which of the following, if true, most seriously
radiation oncology, it was undermines the student's assumption?
noted by a student that, in (A) Safety regulations regarding the operation of gamma
2009, there were 50% fewer knife equipment were recently relaxed, due to new
articles about gamma knife research proving the technology was safer than
radiation machines than there previously thought.
were in 2008. Most major (B) All the articles about gamma knife technology that were
hospitals replaced their older submitted to the journal in 2009 were accepted and
gamma knife technology with published.
a newer iteration of the (C) In 2009, the journal implemented a new editorial policy
technology in 2009, a process that required new articles to undergo a time-consuming
that required several months. and rigorous peer-approval process before publication.
Consequently, the student (D) In 2008, the journal was published in 16 languages, while
assumed the decline in in 2009, it was published in 20 languages.
articles was due to the (E) Gamma knife equipment, due to its delicate nature, can
equipment changeover. only support one research experiment per year.
Text Completion
7. The (i) _____manner by which the poet 8. That the student's progress report
conducted his personal life lay in sharp contrast highlighted his (i) _____nature failed to
to his public persona: on a brightly lit stage, in draw much ire from his parents, for,
front of an appreciative crowd, he displayed (ii) despite his habitual lateness, his grade
_____that cheered even the gloomiest souls. point average was (ii) _____.
Blank (i) Blank (ii) Blank (i) Blank (ii)
(A) methodical (D) a despondency (A) dilatory (D) middling
(B) morose (E) an enormity (B) lackadaisical (E) exemplary
(C) meagerness (F) a jocundity (C) irreverent (F) profound
Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following reading passage:
The public intellectual is one who has 9. It can be inferred from the passage that the
become elevated to a symbol, a person author would agree with which of the following
that stands for something far larger statements? Indicate all that apply.
than the discipline from which he or (A) Public intellectuals often speak about topics
she originated. Such an intellectual is that they would better have avoided due to their
often speaking about things beyond his lack of background knowledge in those subjects.
or her area of expertise. Some people (B) Public intellectuals have a duty to share their
will refuse such an invitation, others expertise with the public.
will Line (5) accept the opportunity that (C) The words of public intellectuals are often
has been given them. Such a person accepted unquestioningly by their audiences.
must be careful, he must be aware of 10. The author uses the word "striving" (line 11)
the limitations of his knowledge, he primarily in order to
must acknowledge his personal (A) underscore the effort necessary for public
prejudices because he is being asked to intellectuals to adequately address their topics
speak for a whole realm of thought, and (B) explain the belief held by the public that public
he must be aware of the huge possible intellectuals are infallible sources of knowledge
consequences of what he says and (C) emphasize the care that public intellectuals
writes and does. He has become, in a must use due to their stature
sense, public property because he (D) convey the idea that public intellectuals
represents something large to the represent the attempt of humanity to
public. He has become an idea himself, understand their world
a human striving. He has enormous (E) indicate that public intellectuals, despite their
power to influence and change, and he prominence, are subject to the same difficulties
must wield that power with respect. as the rest of humanity
 Sentence Equivalence:
11. Never a master of political intrigue, the 13. Never known for deigning to explain
senator was often chastised for his heavy- himself, the editor rejected any submissions
handed approach, which sharply contrasted that he deemed lacking in a certain quality,
with his opponent's _____. a quality that he refused to _____.
(A) craft (A) explicate
(B) ineptitude (B) conflate
(C) caginess (C) concede
(D) ambivalence (D) amalgamate
(E) uncertainty (E) elucidate
(F) clumsiness (F) admit

12. When viewed by itself, the artist's sculpture 14. Despite the servant's reputation for
held little meaning, but when it was placed in what bordered on slavish devotion to the
the garden in _____with his other work, it nobleman, he was not immune to occasional
gracefully added to the scope of the bouts of _____regarding his master's
installation. needs.
(A) isolation (A) immaturity
(B) concert (B) prevarication
(C) intransigence (C) puerility
(D) conjunction (D) nonchalance
(E) obsequy (E) insouciance
(F) insularity (F) deception

Questions 15 and 16 are based on the following reading passage:

The impact of triclosan, an 15. Which of the following statements is supported by
antibacterial agent commonly added the passage? Indicate all that apply.
to consumer products, on microbial (A) In soil irrigated with triclosan-containing waste
populations in soil irrigated with water, the overall number of bacteria decreased.
waste water from households was (B) The use of triclosan should be curtailed whenever
examined. It was found that possible due to its environmental impact.
irrigation of soil with (C) Bacteria that develop a resistance to anti-bacterial
triclosancontaining waste water drugs are of more concern than bacteria that have
results in both an increase in not developed such a resistance.
resistant bacteria and a concomitant
decrease in overall microbial 16. The passage provides information on each of the
community diversity. These changes following except
in the soil microbiota raise public (A) whether soil irrigation with triclosan-containing
health and environmental concerns waste water affects how many different types of
about the release of untreated bacteria will be found in that soil
household waste streams into (B) the origin of the triclosan detected in the soil
terrestrial ecosystems. Before samples studied
irrigation with waste water can (C) whether irrigation with waste water is a viable
become a useful water reuse idea
alternative, additional research (D) what changes soil microbiota undergo when
focusing on the long-term impacts exposed to triclosan
of triclosan and other (E) the reasoning for introducing waste water into the
pharmaceuticals and personal care ecosystem studied
products is needed.
 Text Completion:
17. In the current economic climate, it has become (i) _____to posit that savvy job-seekers
ought to establish at least a year's worth of experience at any given position, so as to
demonstrate their (ii) _____to future employers. Indeed, those who make this suggestion
often quote each other in the media in what essentially amount to congratulatory, self-serving
articles. Yet these so-called (iii) _____often betray their lack of expertise by then suggesting
the omission of jobs that do last less than one year from a job-seeker's resume.
Blank (i) Blank (ii) Blank (iii)
(A) vital (D) steadfastness (G) dilettantes
(B) problematic (E) perversity (H)pundits
(C) popular (F) vigor (I) stalwarts

18. The (i) _____of dissociative disorder sections in commonly used general psychiatric
screening instruments has led to the (ii) _____of dissociative disorders in large-scale
epidemiological studies for many decades. Although studies using specific instruments have
began to correct this lack, the inclusion of testing for dissociative disorders in future general
psychiatric screening studies is (iii) _____for prevention of false negative diagnosis in future
research, will facilitate better differential diagnosis between dissociative and other psychiatric
disorders, and will also help to gather detailed information.
Blank (i) Blank (ii) Blank (iii)
(A) dearth (D) acquittal (G) debatable
(B) abundance (E) justification (H) fundamental
(C) confounding (F) omission (I) incongruous

Questions 19 and 20 are based on the following reading passage:

In general, current practice for inspecting 19. In the context in which it appears, "severe"
cargo shipments of fruits and vegetables most nearly means
at United States ports is based on (A) austere
inspecting 2% of the items in a container (B) strict
for the presence of pests, with some (C) plain
allowances for the size, contents, and (D) momentous
origin of the container. Although simple (E) trivial
to apply, this inspection rule appears not
to have any economic content. That is, it 20. Which of the following best characterizes the
does not consider the costs of inspections function of the following
or the losses of failing to prevent an portion of the passage? ("…..appears not to have
invasive species from entering the any economic
country, nor does it account for the severe content.")
uncertainty associated with finding (A) It reiterates an assertion previously stated in
infestations in shipping containers—which the passage.
are often no better than guesswork—and (B) It provides concrete evidence that supports
the potential losses from introductions of the passage's position.
poorly understood or surreptitiously (C) It provides a specific instance illustrating a
introduced invasive species. Our broader principle.
recommendation is to choose an (D) It suggests that a particular strategy is
inspection strategy that is robust in the unsound.
sense that it maximizes the set of possible (E) It summarizes a justification for a policy with
outcomes under which a performance which the author disagrees.
criterion is met.
 Verbal Reasoning Section
Test: two
Section 2

Questions 1 is based on the following reading passage:

Of the cars in City X, those 1. Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines
built before 1980 have been the argument?
built more skillfully than (A) Cars are generally built more skillfully than other vehicles, since
more are produced.
those built in the past year.
(B) Cars built today generally weigh more than cars built before
Therefore, the way that 1980.
automobile manufacturers (C) The parts used to make cars today are not appreciably different
built cars before 1980 is in quality from parts used in 1980.
superior to the way (D)The more skillfully a car has been built, the less likely it is to be
manufacturers build cars discarded and junked.
today. (E) The average number of training hours for those who
manufacture cars is now half of what it was in 1975.
Text Completion:
2. Often, the fame of a certain artist 3. Since the results of his experiments matched those from
seems to have come out of nowhere laboratories with the most stringent quality standards, the
when in fact his renown is the product scientist was flabbergasted to cover that one of his
of _____. suppliers had been _____its chemicals all along.
(A) polarization (A) adulterating
(B) accolade (B) pirating
(C) accretion (C) refining
(D) hedonism (D) pervading
(E) hubris (E) mincing

Sentence Equivalence:
4. Those who knew Alvarez were immune to 6. Instead of the conventional advice to choose
his portrayal in the press as a boor, knowing friends with personalities that contrast yours—for
that his veneer of churlishness hid a instance, befriending someone histrionic if you're
_____human being. _____you may be happier if you find someone
(A) genial who has a more similar temperament to your
(B) surpassing own.
(C) irascible (A) fervid
(D) affable (B) stolid
(E) choleric (C) phlegmatic
(F) meek (D) demonstrative
(E) vehement
5. The situation was so fraught with (F) saccharine
uncertainty, the potential of discomfiture, and
the threat of violence that even the most 7. Exceedingly _____and only reliably
worldlywise traveler would have considered it produced by one mine in Australia, red diamonds
a/n_____. are second only to jadeite in terms of their rarity.
(A) embroilment (A) diaphanous
(B) encomium (B) brittle
(C) panegyric (C) singular
(D)hermitage (D) translucent
(E) imbroglio (E) valuable
(F) insinuation (F) anomalous
 Text Completion:
8. If one considers that most lenders were (i) 9. Most studies of academic preparedness rank U.S.
_____of the tenuousness of the real estate students far below their peers in math and science.
market last year, it becomes all the more Ever the contrarian, Phillips, in his new book,
reprehensible that they proffered loans they suggests that the studies’ metrics are misguided.
knew consumers could not afford. Today, His (i) _____of the studies has perhaps founded a
when most experts agree that property values school of thought that uses a new measure of
are sliding rapidly, the fact that most lenders success, but unsurprisingly, traditionalists have
are still loaning money demands (ii) _____ usually (ii) _____his viewpoints.
from regulators. Blank (i) Blank (ii)
Blank (i) Blank (ii) (A) touting (D) reprehended
(A) unaware (D) censure (B) unnerving (E) comprehended
(B) cognizant (E) endorsement (C) disparagement (F) eulogized
(C) enamored (F) uncertainty
Question 10 is based on the following reading passage:
The 30 or 40 mounds discovered up to this time in this region of the 10. Select the
Takawgamis have, so far as examined, a uniform structure. Where stone
sentence that
could be obtained, there is found below the surface of the ground a triple
layer of flat limestone blocks, placed over the remains interred. In one supports a theory
mound, at the point where the Rainy Lake enters the Rainy River, there is
put forward by
a mound situated in which there was found on excavation, a structure of
logs some ten feet square, and from six to eight feet high. In all the others the passage.
yet opened, the structure has been simply of earth of various kinds heaped
together. It is possible that the mound containing the log structure may
have been for sacrifice, for the logs are found to have been charred. One
purpose of all the mounds of the Takawgamis was evidently burial, and in
them all, charcoal lumps, calcined bones, and other evidences of fire are
found. Would this conclusion antagonize the theory that the mounds were
used for observation? Perhaps with a limited amount of land, the
Takawgamis, by necessity, built structures with a dual purpose. Studies of
tribes with more territory often show that reconnaissance and
sepulchering had separate domains.
Text Completion:
11. During the Cold War, amidst the threat of a nuclear attack, both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.
endeavored to prepare their populaces for the worst by offering survival tips. In order to give
(i) _____to the efficacy of these strategies, the countries often downplayed the severity of a
post-nuclear war scenario, not wanting a potential panic on their hands. It was therefore
necessary for the countries to hire physicists who were (ii) _____in this deception to write
informational pamphlets about nuclear fallout.
Blank (i) Blank (ii)
(A) credence (D) spurious
(B) gravity (E) particulate
(C) benignity (F) complicit

12. The (i) _____ of online marketplaces has facilitated the "flipping," or quickly reselling at a
profit, of original artwork. Though this practice is (ii) _____by artists and critics who seem to
think art should be kept from the hands of the (iii) _____, is it surprising that goods in the
private sector find their way to the highest bidder?
Blank (i) Blank (ii) Blank (iii)
(A) proliferation (D) ignored (G) mercenary
(B) stagnation (E) reviled (H) orthodox
(C) sanctimony (F) regaled (I) hackneyed
 Questions 13 to 16 are based on the following reading passage:
Use of ecological theory for management of nature needs 13. According to the passage, which of the
to follow different rules than use of physical theory to following would be true if the described
snow leopards were being studied?
build skyscrapers or rockets. Whereas an engineer has a
(A) Predictions of the leopards' persistence
firm concept of stresses in constructing a structure of steel would have to be made on a quantitative
girders or thrust required to carry a rocket payload, an basis due to the animals' small
ecologist has Nothing comparable. In such cases, the numbers.
theory can guide insight, but the insight must be tempered (B) The ecological paradigm used to make
by local understanding of how well the organisms in predictions about the leopards would be
question fit assumptions of relevant models. A manager invalid.
must also realize that even if a population could in theory (C) Insight about the leopards’ behavior
be managed for sustainable yield or maintained in habitat would be more important than selecting
fragments of different size, populations might usually be a model that emulated their behavior.
so Small that firm estimates and therefore predictions of (D) Individual humans living in the valley
persistence, extinction, or colonization are infeasible. If a would have to be closely monitored.
Himalayan valley hosts three snow leopards, a manager of (E) Care would have to be taken so as to
the cats and their prey may benefit from understanding avoid disturbing the leopards' habitat.
that the local population may disappear and be replaced
14. In the passage's final paragraph, the
by other individuals or that the cats may simply trade author is primarily concerned with
individuals with other valleys. The capacity to actually (A) describing the limitations of a method
estimate turnover on a quantitative basis is quite likely out (B) advocating a new ecological model
of reach. (C) postulating that certain fields of study
The quest for developing models that are based on larger, are supported by related fields
rigorous conceptual framework and that can be tested (D) arguing that endangered animals are a
with appropriately sophisticated methodology should be bigger problem than previously thought
pursued in ecology. We may profit, however, by (E) dismissing ecology as a science due to
acknowledging the shortcomings of ecological predictions, its lack of methodological rigor
and frankly admitting when prediction is inappropriate 15. According to the passage, which of
because theories are insufficient or not appropriate for the the following circumstances would have
targeted conservation practices. Development of the greatest chance of undermining a
predictive capabilities may take time but, as latest fishery typical ecological model?
science indicates, we are rapidly advancing toward our (A) The organism being studied populates
destinations. For reasons inherent in the Field and the an area more quickly than anticipated.
nature of nature, resource managers should avoid the (B) Humans native to a studied organism's
habitat hunt it more extensively due to
pretense of predicting precise population changes. The
poor crop yields.
concept of building resilience into policy to accommodate
(C) Experimental data is lost due to faulty
contingency, error, and chance is an operational approach data storage.
to using theory for guidance rather than certainty. So, for (D)Humans native to a studied organism's
instance, a general prediction that abundance of edible habitat migrate to another area.
fish will change the fortunes of whatever game animals (E) The experimental data gathered from a
are common as indigenous people deplete in the Amazon large fishery is found to be based on
may be warranted, but a pretense of predicting what each faulty methodology.
game or fish population will be given exploitation of it by
16. It can be inferred from the passage
indigenous people is not. Regarding reserve size, a that compared to the effect of humans
prediction of persistence of animals and plants as a consuming a species, the effect of native
function of size of habitat patches may work well in animals consuming that species is
uninhabited areas, but proximity of human settlements (A) less likely to influence ecological
may overshadow it in many places. Contingencies that are theorists
not present in armchair models affect both examples. (B) more applicable to the eventual survival
The gist is not that ecological paradigms are failing, but of the species
that expectations of ecology as a science are not realistic in (C) necessary to quantify in order to
the real world in the same way that physics informs establish a precise model for the species'
population
engineering or molecular biology informs medicine.
(D) more important in establishing a
Theory premised on predictions from large numbers is not
workable ecological model for that
much used in local situations where numbers of most species
organisms are low and where contingent effects may be (E) less likely to skew more traditional
overriding. ecological models
 Questions 17 to 19 are based on the following reading passage:
In a cyclotron, charged particles, or 17. Based on the information presented in the passage, which of
ions, are accelerated inside an the following most closely represents the sequence of events
evacuated tank, to prevent them describing the path of an ion in a cyclotron?
from colliding with air molecules (A) A positively charged ion is repelled from a negative dee,
and being scattered. The vacuum then attracted to a positive dee.
tank is placed between the poles of (B) A negatively charged ion is attracted to a positive dee, then
an electromagnet, which creates a repelled by a negative dee.
field that bends the ion beam into a (C) A positively charged ion is attracted to a negative dee, then
circular orbit between two attracted by a magnetic field.
accelerating electrodes, or "dees." (D) A positively charged ion is attracted to a negative dee, then
Because the ions carry a positive attracted to a negative dee.
electric charge, they are attracted (E) A positively charged ion is attracted to a negative dee,
toward the dee, which is which reverses the ion's electric potential.
electrically negative at the
moment. Were it not for the 18. In the context in which it appears, "regular" most
nearly means
magnetic field, the ions would be
(A) normal
accelerated in a straight line;
(B) agreeable
instead, they are deflected into a
(C) average
circular path back toward the dee
(D) predictable
gap. By the time the ions again
(E) useful
reach the dee gap, the sign of the
electric potential on the dees is
19. The author of the passage mentions the magnetic field
reversed, so that now the ions are primarily in order to
attracted toward the opposite dee. (A) argue that the magnetic field is less important than the dee
As this process of alternating the gap in cycling the ions
electric potential is repeated, the (B) suggest that ions would accelerate to dangerous speeds
ions gain speed and energy with without a magnetic field
each revolution. This causes them (C) provide support for the notion that, in nature, ions tend to
to spiral outward in a regular travel in straight lines
manner. Finally, they strike a (D) cast doubt on the hypothesis that ions tend to travel
target inserted into their path or elliptically once deflected
are extracted from the cyclotron for (E) indicate the necessity of deflecting the ions back toward
use as an external beam. the dee gap
Question 20 is based on the following reading passage:
Last year, a certain orchard produced a 20. In the argument given, the two highlighted
record number of oranges. Will this year portions play which of the following roles?
set another record? Consider that each (A) The first is an objection that the argument refutes;
orange is either produced by a current the second is the primary conclusion of the
tree or by the growth of a new tree. For argument.
existing trees this year, oranges have (B) The first is a hypothesis that is used to support the
been growing at a rate much lower than position that the argument opposes; the second is a
for those same trees last year. And, there claim used to support the argument's main
is no evidence that the number of new conclusion.
orange trees this year will be higher than (C) The first is a hypothesis that, if true, would support
the number of new trees last year. It is the argument's primary conclusion; the second is
likely that the new trees this year that primary conclusion.
will not produce more oranges (D) The first is a hypothesis that, if true, would support
than last year's new trees. The the argument's primary conclusion; the second is a
conclusion is obvious. The number of conclusion drawn to support that primary
oranges produced this year will not conclusion.
surpass last year's record. (E) The first is an objection that the argument refutes;
the second is the main conclusion of the argument.