Dr Raju's Institute of Graduate Studies Abroad

[verbal800]

Techniques of Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension questions, test your ability to understand the substance and the logical structure of a written passage. The GRE verbal section may have 2 to 4 reading passages of various lengths, ranging from 200 to 600 words.

The passages are of two basic types: Science and Non-science.
1) The science passage may deal with topics from medicine, zoology, chemistry, physics,geology, astronomy.

2) The non-science passages will be about either Humanities or Social Studies.

a) Humanities passages include art, literature, music, philosophy, folklore. They typically take a specific point of view, or compare several views.
b) Social science passages includes history, economics, sociology, government. They usually introduce an era or event by focussing on a specific problem, topic, person, or group of persons.

The Reading Comprehension passages usually either:
a) Argue a position
b) Discuss a specific subject
c) Explain new findings or research ( generally Science topics)

Even though the reading passages on the GRE may be taken from disciplines outside your field of study, you need not feel any apprehensions of it. The material under discussion may initially
seem foreign to you, but you should find it comprehensible. Remember that the passages on the GRE are chosen because they are self-contained, they explain their own terms, they will give you
all the information which is required to answer the questions which are asked after it. So it is not needed that you should have the knowledge of that subject.

The key words for success in reading comprehension are:

1) Concentration.
2) Patience.
3) Practice.

Strategies for Solving RC's

[b]Strategy-I :[/b]

Read the complete paragraph paying the highest grade of concentration.
Particularly, for the first and the last sentences of a paragraph. Once you have started reading the passage, no person or thing should distract your mind. While going through the passage, scrutinize it and find out what is main idea, or the main theme of the passage. Also while going through the passage check out the mood or the attitude of the author.

[b]Strategy-II :[/b]

Learn to identify the major Reading Comprehension questions, which will
be asked after the passages.

1) Main Idea

The General questions asked on it are:
a) The main point of the passage is to….
b) The primary purpose of the passage is…..
c) The chief theme of passage is…..
d) The central idea is…..
e) Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?

2) Information specifically mentioned

The General questions asked on it are:

a) According to the author…..
b) The passage supplies information that would answer which of the following questions?
c) Which of the following statements are best supported by the passage?
d) According to the passage which of the following is true of the..
e) The author states all of the following EXCEPT?

3) Drawing Inferences

The General questions asked on it are:

a) It can be inferred form the passage that …
b) The author implies that….
c) The passage suggests that….
d) Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

4) Application to other situations

The General questions asked on it are:

a) With which of the statements would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?
b) With which of the statements the author be in strongest agreement ?
c) The authors argument would be most weakened by the discovery of which of the following statements?
d) The authors contention would be strengthen by if which of the following were found to be true?
e) The author is probably addressing which of the following audiences?

5) Tone/Mood/Attitude of the passage

The General questions asked on it are:
a) The authors attitude towards the problem can best be described as ….
b) The author regards the idea that…..
c) The authors tone in the passage is that of a person attempting to ….
d) Which of the following best describes the authors tone in the passage?
e) The mood of the author is ….

6) Logical Structure/ Writing techniques:

The General questions asked on it are:

a) Which of the following best describes the development of this passage?
b) In presenting the argument, the author does all of the following EXCEPT….
c) The relationship between the second paragraph and the first paragraph can best be described as….
d) In the passage, the author makes the central point primarily by ….
e) The organization of the passage can best be described as…

7) Determining the meaning of the words from the context.

The General questions asked on it are:

a) The phrase___________ is used in the passage to mean that….
b) As used by the author , the term _________ refers to………
c) The author uses the phrase__________ to describe….
d) As it is used in the passage, the term___________ can best be described as…..

Strategy-III

Always start reading the answers from option A and then proceed. Before
confirming make sure you have read all the answers.

Strategy-IV

Always use the "Elimination Technique", the process of eliminating the
answers which are wrong i.e. those options which are out of scope of the
passage, those which have complete different meanings than which is asked in the question.


Strategy-V

Always guess the answers if you think the answers are out of your reach,
rather than wasting your valuable time.

Strategy-VI

Answer all the questions on the basis of information provided in the
passage and do not rely on outside knowledge.

Exercise-1

PASSAGE-1

During World War I, the issue of neutral rights on the seas revived to plague America's foreign relations with the belligerents or Central Powers. One of the German justifications for its shoot-on-sight policy was, as we have seen, the fragility of the Uboat and its vulnerability to any armed vessels. To deal with this problem, in early 1916 Lansing proposed a modus vivendi: if the Allies agreed to disarm their merchant ships,
the Germans would agree to the principle, suspended but not yet formally acknowledged, that their submarines would not attack such vessels without warning and without protecting the safety of civilians. In effect, the submarine would function as a surface cruiser and observe the previously established rules of naval warfare.

Unwilling to surrender what they considered to be a well-established right to arm surface vessels in exchange for a German concession to abide by existing international law, the British rejected the proposal immediately. Faced with this hostile response, Lansing quickly dropped the modus vivendi proposal. Unfortunately, he had opened a Pandora's box. In explaining it to the German government, Lansing had implied that the American government regarded Allied armed merchant vessels as warships. This had been the German position all along, and they eagerly seized on the opening the Americans had created. On February 10, the Kaiser's government informed the American State Department that beginning on February 29, German U-boats would resume their
attacks on armed merchant vessels without prior warning. In effect, the truce ushered in by the Arabic pledge was over.

This sequence of events alarmed the pacifists and the isolationists. The Wilson administration, by dropping the modus vivendi, seemed to be saying that it accepted the British position that armed merchant vessels were not warships. If this were so, then by the administration's interpretation, Americans would have the right to travel on such
vessels. Since the Germans now intended to attack them on sight, Wilson was almost guaranteeing a collision with Germany. Hoping to head off such a confrontation, Representative Jeff McLemore of Texas and Senator Thomas P. Gore of Oklahoma introduced resolutions forbidding American travel on armed or contraband-carrying ships. Wilson interpreted this as a challenge to his idealism and his leadership in foreign affairs and a cowardly surrender of American rights. "For my own part, " Wilson wrote
the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "I cannot consent to any abridgment of the rights of American citizens in any respect. Once we accept a single abatement of rights, many other humiliations would certainly follow, and the whole fine fabric of international law might crumble in our hands piece by piece. " Congress backed down under the President's pressure and tabled the Gore-McLemore resolutions. Wilson's victory over Congress and the peace groups would later be viewed as a pivotal incident, since subsequent attacks on U.S. shipping drew America into the war.

1) Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?

a) The role of American diplomacy in enforcing international laws concerning sea travel.
b) How conflicts over control of the sea lanes helped lead to the outbreak of war.
c) The effects on international relations of internal political conflicts in the United States.
d) Wilson's failure to accede in certain steps that could have prevented United States involvement in war.
e) The disagreement between the Germans and the Allies over the rights of merchant ships and how it helped draw the United States into war.

2) According to the passage, the Gore-McLemore resolutions were introduced in an attempt to:
a) Conciliate the British
b) Avoid a confrontation with Germany
c) Appease pro-pacifist sentiment
d) Undercut the Allied bargaining position
e) Assert the rights of U.S. citizens on the seas

3) According to the passage, the U-boat was:
a) A formidable weapon against any type of surface warship.
b) Relatively vulnerable to attack by surface vessels.
c) Clearly subject to the same international laws that governed surface warships.
d) Generally unable to inflict serious damage on large surface vessels.
e) Considered by the Allies as subject to attack without

PASSAGE-2

The full-time unemployment rate cannot be determined with great precision. One thing is certain: it cannot be zero or even close to zero. A zero unemployment rate would mean that no one ever entered or re-entered the labor force, that no one ever quit a job or was laid off, and that for new entrants or re-entrants, the process of searching for a job
consumed no time. Moreover, full-time employment cannot be defined as an equality between the number of unemployed persons and the number of unfilled jobs. By this definition, almost any unemployment rate could be consistent with the full-time employment rate.

The customary definition of the full-time U.S. unemployment rate is the lowest rate of unemployment that can be attained without resulting in an accelerated rate of inflation, given the existing economic conditions. However, no one can be sure exactly what the unemployment rate is, based on this definition, since it is not possible to predict exactly how great a change in the rate of inflation will be associated with any given
change in the unemployment rate. In the early 1960s, President Kennedy's Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) determined that 4 percent was the best estimate of the fulltime U.S. unemployment rate. That rate was based on data collected during the period from mid-1955 to mid-1957, when the U.S. unemployment rate fluctuated around an average of 4.1 percent and the consumer price index advanced at an average rate of 2.5 percent per year. Although a 4-percent U.S. unemployment rate may have been consistent with an acceptably low rate of inflation in the mid-1950s, by the 1960s this proposition had become increasingly doubtful. Our experience since then has been such that those who accept the customary definition of the full-time U.S. unemployment rate now
consider 4.5 percent to be the optimal rate under the existing circumstances.

The principal reason for this upward adjustment in the full-time U.S.
unemployment rate is the changed composition of the labor force. As the labor force becomes increasingly composed of elderly people and women, the number of workers has increased. Similarly, the number of workers who are now eligible to collect benefits has increased. To the extent that these changes have increased voluntary and involuntary layoff rates and the average length of time unemployed persons spend looking for work,
the full-time unemployment rate has risen.

4) The passage states that the full-time unemployment rate represents:

a) A rate consistent with the greatest number of job opportunities for the greatest number of workers.
b) The greatest degree of stability in the placement of the labor force that is practically attainable.
c) A figure below which unemployment is unlikely to fall without having negative economic effects.
d) An ideal matching of unemployed workers with the number and type of unfilled jobs available.
e) The unemployment rate most likely to help keep inflation at the lowest possible level.

5) According to the passage, all of the following factors must be considered in estimating the full-time unemployment rate EXCEPT

a) The percentage of women in the work force
b) The ratio of the number of unemployed workers to the number of vacant positions
c) The strength of inflationary tendencies in the economic system
d) The number of older people in the job market
e) The availability of financial help for those who are out of work

6) The primary purpose of the passage is to
a) Define a term
b) Correct a misconception
c) Suggest a new theory
d) Pose a dilemma
e) Make a prediction

7) The passage provides information to answer which of the following questions?
a) Why is a zero unemployment rate unlikely ever to be attained?
b) What is the likely future trend of the full-employment unemployment rate?
c) Why has the percentage of younger workers in the job market increased?
d) What rate of inflation is generally considered to be the highest acceptable rate?
e) To what extent do workers tend to quit their jobs as a result of increased unemployment benefits?

PASSAGE-3

The magnetic field of Jupiter is approximately twenty to thirty times stronger than that of Earth. Because of its strength and great distance from the sun, Jupiter has a magnetosphere that is considerably larger than the magnetosphere of Earth. If we could see the Jovian magnetosphere from Earth, it would appear close to the size of the moon in the sky, despite our great distance from Jupiter.

Jupiter's magnetosphere has three distinct regions. The inner region is doughnutshaped,with the planet in the hole of the doughnut. This region is similar to Earth's inner magnetosphere, but more intense; containing several shells, where protons and electrons of enormous energies concentrate, as they do in Earth's Van Allen radiation belts.
Jupiter's small innermost satellite, Amalthea, and three of its large satellites Io, Europa, and Ganymede travel through this inner region.
The middle region of Jupiter's magnetosphere has no Earthly counterpart. The middle Jovian region consists of a sheath of electrically charged particles being whirled around rapidly by the rotation of Jupiter's magnetic field. These particles strongly distort the intrinsic magnetic field of Jupiter.
The outer region is similar to the outer magnetosphere of Earth in that its shape is affected by the solar wind, a blizzard of electrons and protons that blows across space from the sun. The solar wind often forces the magnetic field of Jupiter back toward the planet, squeezing the magnetosphere as though it were a great air-filled bag. Leaks develop, from which high-energy particles 'squirt' across the solar system. Some of these particles have been detected in the atmospheres of Earth and Mercury by orbiting and interplanetary spacecraft. The energized particles in the Jovian magnetosphere appear to have several sources. Some originate in the planet's ionosphere; others appear to be injected into the magnetosphere from the surface of the satellites. Io, in particular, is believed to interact with the Jovian magnetic field to produce energetic electrons, while volcanic activity on Io and the bombardment of Io's surface with energetic particles are believed to be responsible for releasing sodium, potassium, and sulfur ions into the magnetosphere.

These atoms and ions form neutral clouds around Io and a doughnut-shaped torus of ions circling Jupiter in the plane of the magnetic equator.
Investigations of this complex toric region of plasma, where gas is fully ionized, are important in understanding not only the magnetosphere of Earth but other plasmas in general. Since most of the intensely energetic processes of the universe take place in plasmas, their study is important to future energy research, particularly in fusion power. The dynamic magnetosphere of Jupiter provides us with a unique laboratory for the study of these and other issues of astrophysics.

The passage states which of the following about the solar wind?

a) It is a major source of the energetic particles found in Jupiter's magnetosphere.
b) It has a distorting effect on the contour of Jupiter's magnetosphere.
c) It produces particles that have been detected near Earth's orbit.
d) It exerts a powerful gravitational attraction upon the magnetosphere of Jupiter
e) It is considerably stronger at the orbit of Jupiter than at that of Earth.

9) The passage provides information to answer which of the following questions?
a) Where is the ionosphere of Jupiter located in relation to its magnetosphere?
b) What is the total number of Jovian satellites?
c) What causes the toric shape of plasma?
d) Is it possible to observe the Jovian magnetosphere with the naked eye from Earth?
e) What is the effect of volcanic activity on the surface of Jupiter upon the planet's magnetosphere?

10) The passage provides information about how the magnetosphere of Jupiter compares with that of Earth in which of the following ways?
I. Strength
II. Size
III. Structure
a) I only
b) II only
c) I and II only
d) I and III only
e) I, II, and III

11) According to the passage, which of the following statements about Io is FALSE?
a) Its surface is under bombardment by energetic particles.
b) It orbits Jupiter in the inner ring of the magnetosphere.
c) It is one source of the ions found orbiting Jupiter.
d) It appears to be marked by volcanic activity.
e) It is one of the smallest satellites of Jupiter.

ANSWERS EXERCISE-1

Ex.01-PASSAGE 01

1.Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?
A) The role of American diplomacy in enforcing international laws concerning sea travel.
B) How conflicts over control of the sea lanes helped lead to the outbreak of war.
C) The effects on international relations of internal political conflicts in the United States.
D) Wilson's failure to accede in certain steps that could have prevented United States involvement in war.
E) The disagreement between the Germans and the Allies over the rights of merchant ships and how it helped draw the United States into war.

(E) As the first sentence of the passage states, it is 'the problem of neutral rights on the seas' that is mainly discussed in the passage. Choice D is too narrow: Wilson's rejectionof the Gore-McLemore resolutions is not the primary subject of the passage, since it only comes up in one place in the passage. And don't be fooled by choice B: the war had already 'broken out' well before the sequence of events discussed in this passage began, as the first-sentence reference to 'the belligerents or Central Powers' implies.

2) According to the passage, the Gore-McLemore resolutions were introduced in an attempt to:
A) conciliate the British
B) avoid a confrontation with Germany
C) appease pro-pacifist sentiment
D) undercut the Allied bargaining position
E) assert the rights of U.S. citizens on the seas

(B) See the beginning of the fifth sentence of paragraph 3, where we read that Gore and McLemore introduced their resolutions hoping to head off' a confrontation with Germany. There is no suggestion that the resolutions were introduced merely to placate those who opposed entry into the war; for this reason, choice C is wrong.

3) According to the passage, the U-boat was:

A) a formidable weapon against any type of surface warship.
B) relatively vulnerable to attack by surface vessels.
C) clearly subject to the same international laws that governed surface warships.
D) generally unable to inflict serious damage on large surface vessels.
E) considered by the Allies as subject to attack without warning.

(B) The second sentence of the passage refers to the 'fragility' and 'vulnerability' of the Uboat. (E) means that the allies would attack the U-boats immediately upon seeing them. Choice E is wrong because the question of shooting without warning discussed in the passage refers to attacks by U-boats, not against U-boats.

Ex.01-PASSAGE 02

4) The passage states that the full-time unemployment rate represents:

A) a rate consistent with the greatest number of job opportunities for the greatest number of workers.
B) the greatest degree of stability in the placement of the labor force that is practically attainable.
C) a figure below which unemployment is unlikely to fall without having negativeeconomic effects.
D) an ideal matching of unemployed workers with the number and type of unfilled jobs available.
E) the unemployment rate most likely to help keep inflation at the lowest possible level.

(C). This definition can be found in the first sentence of paragraph 2. Choice E may sound plausible, but it implies that the maintenance of a low inflation rate is the most important criterion for a full employment unemployment rate, whereas the main criterion is, of course, the low unemployment rate itself.

5) According to the passage, all of the following factors must be considered in estimating the full-time unemployment rate EXCEPT

A) the percentage of women in the work force
B) the ratio of the number of unemployed workers to the number of vacant positions
C) the strength of inflationary tendencies in the economic system
D) the number of older people in the job market
E) the availability of financial help for those who are out of work

(B). Choices A and D are both based on the fourth paragraph, where the importance of the age- and gender-specific (women's) shares of the work force is discussed. Choice C is implied in the passage as a whole, and particularly in the second and third paragraphs, which discuss the need to vary the estimated full-employment unemployment rate as the strength if inflationary tendencies varies. The last paragraph suggests choice E. Choice B, however, is clearly ruled out by the last two sentences of paragraph 1.

6) The primary purpose of the passage is to
A) define a term
B) correct a misconception
C) suggest a new theory
D) pose a dilemma
E) make a prediction

(A) The passage focuses on defining the term 'full-time unemployment rate,' so choice A is correct.

7) The passage provides information to answer which of the following questions?

A) Why is a zero unemployment rate unlikely ever to be attained?
B) What is the likely future trend of the full-employment unemployment rate?
C) Why has the percentage of younger workers in the job market increased?
D) What rate of inflation is generally considered to be the highest acceptable rate?
E) To what extent do workers tend to quit their jobs as a result of increased unemployment benefits?

(A) The question in choice A is discussed in the first paragraph of the passage. The other questions may all be raised by the information provided in the passage, but none of them can be answered by the passage.

Ex.01-PASSAGE 03

The passage states which of the following about the solar wind?

A) It is a major source of the energetic particles found in Jupiter's magnetosphere.
B) It has a distorting effect on the contour of Jupiter's magnetosphere.
C) It produces particles that have been detected near Earth's orbit.
D) It exerts a powerful gravitational attraction upon the magnetosphere of Jupiter
E) It is considerably stronger at the orbit of Jupiter than at that of Earth.

(B) This effect of the solar wind is described in the fourth paragraph. According to the passage, the particles referred to in choice C are not produced by the solar wind but freed by it from Jupiter's magnetosphere.

9) The passage provides information to answer which of the following questions?

A) Where is the ionosphere of Jupiter located in relation to its magnetosphere?
B) What is the total number of Jovian satellites?
C) What causes the toric shape of plasma?
D) Is it possible to observe the Jovian magnetosphere with the naked eye from Earth?
E) What is the effect of volcanic activity on the surface of Jupiter upon the planet's magnetosphere?

(C) The last sentence of paragraph 1 states that it is not possible to see the Jovian magnetosphere from Earth. Choices A, B, and C refer to topics that are mentioned in the passage, but they raise questions that the passage itself does not answer. Choice E is wrong because the only volcanic activity it mentioned in the passage is on Io, not on Jupiter.

10) The passage provides information about how the magnetosphere of Jupiter compares with that of Earth in which of the following ways?

I. Strength
II. Size
III. Structure
A) I only
B) II only
C) I and II only
D) I and III only
E) I, II, and III

(D) The differences in size and strength are mentioned in the first two sentences of the passage. Paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 explain some of the structural similarities and differences.

11) According to the passage, which of the following statements about Io is FALSE?
A) Its surface is under bombardment by energetic particles.
B) It orbits Jupiter in the inner ring of the magnetosphere.
C) It is one source of the ions found orbiting Jupiter.
D) It appears to be marked by volcanic activity.
E) It is one of the smallest satellites of Jupiter.

(E) We are told in paragraph 2 that Io is one of Jupiter's large satellites. Paragraphs 2 and 5 are the sources of the facts alluded to in choices A through D.

Exercise-2
Ex.02-PASSAGE-1

The belief that friendly sociopolitical climates and low costs of government may be important (to competition among states to attract, keep, and enlarge high tech and manufacturing resources) has been reinforced by anecdotal evidence from business publications and business lobbyists who threaten to shift resources among states in response to costs or inconveniences imposed by state governments. Imbedded within the
larger question of whether state policy initiatives affect the interstate movement of developmental resources is the more specific question of whether state-imposed environmental costs affect the interstate allocation of these resources. Do the actual or anticipated costs of complying with expensive environmental regulations in some states encourage producers to shift resources to other states? Extant evidence is mixed.

One set of scholars argues that interstate competition for economic development initiates a process analogous to Gresham's Law in which low regulatory costs in one state 'drive out' higher costs in competing states because states that impose higher marginal costs of government will lose in the competition for economic resources. Empirical tests of the Gresham's Law analogy have produced inconsistent results; however, recent research suggests that, while they have by no means supplanted traditional locational factors, these environmental costs-of-government are increasingly important determinants of plant location, especially of intraregional location choices among states with comparable extra-governmental characteristics.

Others argue that the environmental costs of government, like other costs of government, remain a trivial factor in industries' resource allocation decisions. Christopher Duerkson's extensive study for the Conservation Foundation (1981) found little effect of state regulation on plant siting decisions, corroborating Healy's finding two years earlier that environmental regulation had an insignificant impact on the location of
industry. Moreover, industry publications have consistently ranked environmental regulation as one of the least important elements of 'business climate' influences on location decisions.

What is one to make of this contradictory evidence? To some degree it reflects inherent research design difficulties. Multicollinearity, for example, makes it extremely difficult to distinguish the attractiveness of environmental regulation from other aspects of 'business climate.' Likewise, the concentration of energy and other natural resources in
states with relatively low costs of government make it difficult to distinguish the effects of these two potential influences. But the inherent design difficulties should not obscure the possibility that both sets of evidence are partially correct.

1) According to this passage, what are the main two influences on business competition among states?

a) locational factors and business climate
b) state policy initiatives and state-imposed environmental costs
c) interstate flight of capital and declining business capital
d) actual and anticipated costs of compliance with environmental regulation
e) sociopolitical climate and business climate

2) In the search for the critical factor in plant siting decisions, the weight of the evidence indicates that:

a) higher costs of government outweigh traditional locational factors.
b) environmental costs are critical determinants.
c) environmental costs are a trivial factor.
d) state policy decisions are critical determinants.
e) concentration of energy is a critical factor.

3) Which statement below most comprehensively states the central idea of this passage?

a) Anecdotal evidence from business publications and lobbyists is suspect.
b) The relative weight of critical factors in plant siting decisions is difficult to determine.
c) Environmental regulation is a major deterrent in plant siting decisions.
d) Anticipated and actual costs of environmental regulation differ.
e) Evidence concerning factors in plant siting decisions is consistent.

PASSAGE-2

It is paradoxical that the old countries involve themselves in the most absurd complexities to prevent a shrinkage of their agricultural population and the new countries seem even more anxious to speed up the growth of the industrial population by artificial means. Much of this endeavor on the latter's part seems to be based on a rather naive fallacy of the post hoc ergo propter hoc variety: because historically the growth of wealth
has regularly been accompanied by rapid industrialization, it is assumed that industrialization will bring about a more rapid growth of wealth. This involves a clear confusion of an intermediate effect with a cause. It is true that, as productivity per head increases as a result of investment in knowledge and skill, more and more of the additional output will be wanted in the form of industrial products. It is also true that a
substantial increase in the production of food in those countries will require an increased supply of tools. But neither of these considerations alters the fact that if large-scale industrialization is to be the most rapid way of increasing average income, there must be an agricultural surplus available so that an industrial population can be fed. If unlimited amounts of capital were available and if the mere availability of sufficient capital could speedily change the knowledge and attitudes of an agricultural population, it might be sensible for such countries to impose a planned reconstruction of their economies on the model of the most advanced capitalist countries. This, however, is clearly not within the range of actual possibilities. It would seem, indeed, that if such countries as India and
China are to effect a rapid rise in the standard of living, only a small portion of such capital as becomes available should be devoted to the creation of elaborate industrial equipment and perhaps none of it to the kind of highly automatized, 'capital-intensive' plants that are characteristic of countries where the value of labor is very high, and that these countries should aim at spreading such capital as widely and thinly as possible among those uses that will directly increase the production of food.

The essentially unpredictable developments that may be produced by the application of advanced technological knowledge to economies extremely poor in capital are more likely to be speeded up if opportunity for free development is provided than if a pattern is imposed which is borrowed from societies in which the proportion between capital and labor is altogether different from what it will be in the newer economies in the
foreseeable future. However strong a case there may exist in such countries for the government's taking the initiative in providing examples and spending freely on spreading knowledge and education, it seems to me that the case against over-all planning and direction of all economic activity is even stronger there than in more advanced countries.

1) According to this passage, which term below describes the argument that industrialization will accelerate the growth of wealth?
a) illogical
b) probabilistic
c) possible
d) economic
e) deterministic

2) What does the author of this passage recommend in order to produce a rapid rise in standard of living in India and China?

a) direction of capital to the creation of industrial equipment
b) direction of capital to automated, capital-intensive plants
c) direction of capital to increased production of food
d) modeling of their economies on those of advanced capitalist countries
e) increased investment in knowledge and skill

3) Capital-intensive plants are characteristic of countries where
a) All economic activity is planned and directed.
b) Economies are poor in capital.
c) The value of labor is very high.
d) The value of labor is low.
e) capital is spread thinly and widely.

4) The major objective of this passage is

a) To argue that developing countries should increase productivity per head.
b) To compare industrial/agricultural policies of developing countries to those of the most advanced countries.
c) To argue against overall planning and direction of all economic activity in developing countries.
d) To advocate management of proportion between capital and labor in developing countries.
e) To link increased standard of living with increased industrialization.

PASSAGE-3

Sound travels through the air in waves from a central source much as ripples from a pebble dropped into a pond travel across the surface of the pond, diminishing in intensity as they move away from the source. The speed at which sound waves travel in the air is affected by the air temperature, but for most purposes we can consider the speed of sound
to be relativelyconstant at 1,100 feet per second. The distance between the peaks of the waves is the wavelength of the sound just as the distance between the ripples in the pond is the wavelength of the water. If we continue with the ripple-in-the-pond analogy and imagine a cork floating on the surface of the water, we can think of the frequency of
sound waves as the number of times the cork bobs up and down during a given interval as the waves of water pass it.

The frequency is simply the speed of propagation of the wave divided by its wavelength. Therefore, if a sound is created at a given point, a system of spherical waves propagates from that point outward through the air at a speed of 1,100 feet per second, with the first wave making an ever-increasing sphere with time. On that sphere, the sound energy remains essentially constant in an ideal case. As the wave spreads, the height of
the wave or the intensity of the sound at any given point must diminish as the fixed amount of energy is spread over the increasing surface area of the sphere. This phenomenon is known as the geometric attenuation of the sound. If we placed monitoring stations along the path of propagation of the sound, we would find that the intensity of the sound near the source would be much higher than the intensity of the sound at a great
distance due to this phenomenon.

Mathematical relationships have been derived to describe this geometric attenuation, according to which for every doubling of distance the sound level will decrease by 6 decibels (dB). In other words, if station I were at a distance of 50 feet from the point source, and if station 2 were 100 feet from the point source, the sound level measured at station 2 would be 6 dB less than the sound level measured at station 1.

This kind of relationship holds true when the sound source is a single vehicle or an aircraft and when sound is propagating in free air, either from an airplane to the ground in completely spherical propagation or, in the case of an automobile on the ground, when the propagation field is only half a sphere. When a number of vehicles are lined up and
constitute a continuous stream of noise sources, the situation is no longer characterized by a spherical or hemispherical spreading of the sound. Instead, the reinforcement by the line of point sources makes the propagation field more like a cylinder or half-cylinder. In this case, the decrease in sound for each doubling of the distance from the line source is
only 3 decibels.

1) In the analogy of a ripple in a pond to a sound in the air drawn in the first paragraph of the passage, the floating cork is analogous to:

a) a solid medium that retards sound propagation
b) a sound-frequency monitoring device
c) an object on which a sound is likely to echo
d) the source of a particular sound
e) a sound wave moving through space

2) According to the passage, sound waves and water waves are similar in all of the following ways EXCEPT:

a) Each forms a sphere of ever-increasing size.
b) Each is characterized by a particular wavelength.
c) Each is propagated outward from a central source.
d) Each is characterized by a particular wave frequency.
e) Each is characterized by a diminishing average strength at greater distances from the source.

3) The intensity of a sound is lower farther from the source because..

a) the amount of sound energy present decreases rapidly with outward movement of the sound waves
b) the frequency of the sound waves decreases as the sound spreads
c) the same amount of sound energy is spread over a larger area
d) most of the sound energy is lost within a few feet of the source
e) the wavelength of the sound increases with its distance from the source

4) The propagation field of a sound produced by an automobile on the ground is half a sphere because...

a) the surface of most highways reflects sounds upward
b) the engine of an automobile is generally located in the front half of the vehicle
c) the metal body of an automobile conducts sound relatively well
d) most highways are surrounded by embankments on either side
e) The sound is not propagated through the ground below the automobile

EXERCISE- 02 Answers

1) B

According to this passage, what are the main two influences on business
competition among states?

A) locational factors and business climate
B) state policy initiatives and state-imposed environmental costs
C) interstate flight of capital and declining business capital
D) actual and anticipated costs of compliance with environmental regulation
E) sociopolitical climate and business climate

(B) is correct. (A) is incorrect, since it names factors too broadly and too
abstractly. Plainly, the passage focuses on state policy initiatives and
environmental costs. (C) is incorrect, because interstate flight is a consequence, not an influence. (D) is incorrect, for it names only costs of environmental regulation, not state policy initiatives. (E) is incorrect, because it is too abstract, (B) is much more specific.

2) C

In the search for the critical factor in plant siting decisions, the weight of the evidence indicates that:

A) higher costs of government outweigh traditional locational factors.
B) environmental costs are critical determinants.
C) environmental costs are a trivial factor.
D) state policy decisions are critical determinants.
E) concentration of energy is a critical factor.

Duerkson's finding corroborates Healy's earlier finding that environmental costs are a trivial factor. Industry publications confirm this finding. (A) may be an accurate statement, but it does not answer the question. (B), (D), and (E) are incorrect, for the passage flatly declares the contrary.

3) B

Which statement below most comprehensively states the central idea of this passage?

A) Anecdotal evidence from business publications and lobbyists is suspect.
B) The relative weight of critical factors in plant siting decisions is difficult to determine.
C) Environmental regulation is a major deterrent in plant siting decisions.
D) Anticipated and actual costs of environmental regulation differ.
E) Evidence concerning factors in plant siting decisions is consistent.

(A) is incorrect, because it cites a flaw in the data gathering concerning critical factors in plant siting decisions. (C) is incorrect. According to the passage, evidence from research declares the contrary. (D) is incorrect, since the passage says nothing about the difference between actual and anticipated costs of environmental regulation. (E) is incorrect, because the passage flatly indicates that evidence concerning factors in plant siting decisions is inconsistent.

4) A

According to this passage, which term below describes the argument that
industrialization will accelerate the growth of wealth?

A) illogical
B) probabilistic
C) possible
D) economic
E) deterministic

The author declares that the argument is based on a naive fallacy (a flaw resulting from ignorance of logic) of the post hoc ergo proper hoc variety. (B) is incorrect, for what is probable is not at issue here. (C) is incorrect, since what is possible is not at issue here. (D) is incorrect, for although the passage concerns economic conditions, the central argument is not an economic argument but a logical argument. (E) is incorrect; nowhere does the passage mention deterministic impetus for economic conditions.

5) C

What does the author of this passage recommend in order to produce a rapid rise in standard of living in India and China?

A) direction of capital to the creation of industrial equipment
B) direction of capital to automated, capital-intensive plants
C) direction of capital to increased production of food
D) modeling of their economies on those of advanced capitalist countries
E) increased investment in knowledge and skill

(A), (B), and (D) are incorrect, for the passage flatly declares the contrary. (E) may be partially correct, but the best answer is (C), direction of capital to increased production of food. Everything in the passage points to this answer.

6) C

Capital-intensive plants are characteristic of countries where

A) all economic activity is planned and directed.
B) economies are poor in capital.
C) the value of labor is very high.
D) the value of labor is low.
E) capital is spread thinly and widely.

(B) is correct, the passage states that capital-intensive plants are characteristic of developed countries where the value of labor is very high. Choice (A) is incorrect, for nowhere does the passage associate planning and direction of all economic activity with the creation of capital-intensive plants. (B) is incorrect, because the passage does not associate economies poor in capital with capital-intensive plants. (D) is incorrect, since the passage flatly declares the contrary. (E) is incorrect; nowhere does the passage describe a country where capital is spread thinly and widely.

7) C

The major objective of this passage is

A) to argue that developing countries should increase productivity per head.
B) to compare industrial/agricultural policies of developing countries to those of the most advanced countries.
C) to argue against overall planning and direction of all economic activity in developing countries.
D) to advocate management of proportion between capital and labor in
developing countries.
E) to link increased standard of living with increased industrialization.

(C) is the correct answer, the passage argues against overall economic planning in developing countries. (A) is incorrect, for the passage connects productivity per head to increased need for industrial products, yet the passage argues most strongly for increased production of food. (B) is incorrect, since the task of the passage is not detailed comparison but argument. (D) is incorrect, because the passage advocates nothing about the management of proportion between capital and labor. (E) is incorrect, for although it may be objectively true, it is not a position argued by this passage


B

In the analogy of a ripple in a pond to a sound in the air drawn in the first
paragraph of the passage, the floating cork is analogous to:

A) a solid medium that retards sound propagation
B) a sound-frequency monitoring device
C) an object on which a sound is likely to echo
D) the source of a particular sound
E) a sound wave moving through space

The cork is mentioned as a simple device for measuring the frequency of water waves, which the author compares to sound waves.

9) A

According to the passage, sound waves and water waves are similar in all of the following ways EXCEPT:

A) Each forms a sphere of ever-increasing size.
B) Each is characterized by a particular wavelength.
C) Each is propagated outward from a central source.
D) Each is characterized by a particular wave frequency.
E) Each is characterized by a diminishing average strength at greater distances from the source.

(A) Soundwaves may radiate in a sphere, but water waves radiate only in two dimensions, forming a circle.

10) C

The intensity of a sound is lower farther from the source because..

A) the amount of sound energy present decreases rapidly with outward
movement of the sound waves
B) the frequency of the sound waves decreases as the sound spreads
C) the same amount of sound energy is spread over a larger area
D) most of the sound energy is lost within a few feet of the source
E) the wavelength of the sound increases with its distance from the source
Reread the third, fourth, and fifth sentences of paragraph 2, which describe and name this phenomenon (geometric attenuation of sound).

11) E

The propagation field of a sound produced by an automobile on the ground is half a sphere because...

A) the surface of most highways reflects sounds upward
B) the engine of an automobile is generally located in the front half of the vehicle
C) the metal body of an automobile conducts sound relatively well
D) most highways are surrounded by embankments on either side
E) the sound is not propagated through the ground below the automobile
The sound produced by the car, unlike that produced by the aircraft in flight, is not 'propa ating in free air.' Instead, it is partially blocked by the ground on which the car rests. See the first sentence of the last paragraph: the situation being discussed involves 'a number of vehicles . . . lined up to form a continuous stream of noise sources'.

EXERCISE-3

Ex.03 PASSAGE-1

The answers to our research questions can easily be summarized. States do vary substantially in the pollution abatement expenses (PAE) they impose on the chemical industry and in their ability to attract that industry's capital. This variance is not accounted for by frostbelt/sunbelt differences; variance within each region rendered differences between regions insignificant. Variance in ability to attract new capital shares
is, however, related to private PAE; interstate variance in pollution abatement expense explains more than half the 1977-1981 change in states' ability to attract a share of the chemical industry's new capital.
In addition to the straightforward statistical findings, these data suggest that, for the chemical industry, the relationship between resource allocation and environmental costs may not be linear. While states which impose high pollution abatement costs tend to compete unsuccessfully for new capital, those who impose the lowest marginal costs are not necessarily the most successful in increasing their share of new capital.

Rather, there appears to be a PAE threshold; when a state exceeds it, the state loses capital to states that remain below it. In all likelihood states with limited capacity to socialize the costs of environmental regulation must exceed that marginal-cost threshold to meet federally imposed environmental standards while states with greater fiscal capacity can meet such standards without exceeding the threshold and compete for developmental resources on the basis of other incentives.

Firmer conclusions are limited by some implicit caveats and design limitations. First, our findings tell us little about the relationship between overall quality of environmental protection and the allocation of CAP (chemical and allied producers') resources. We do not, therefore, know whether the adequacy of regulation is affected by economic development. Second, our conclusions are limited to our sample and time frame. Third,
we could not, in this exploratory study, control the possibility that our statistical relationships are the spurious artifact of other, unexamined, effects. Finally, we have not controlled for the possibility that a large relative pollution abatement expense in 1977 may be accounted for partially by an exodus of resources before 1977 that left relatively
fixed expenses to be balanced against a shrinking pool of shipments.

1) Which inference below may be derived from the information given in this passage?

a) The relationship between resource allocation and environmental costs is linear.
b) States that impose lowest pollution abatement expenses compete most successfully for new chemical industry capital.
c) States that impose highest pollution abatement expenses compete least successfully for new chemical industry capital.
d) Pollution abatement expenses are a negligible factor in competition for new chemical industry capital.
e) Variance in ability to attract new chemical industry capital appears to relate to a threshold figure for pollution abatement expenses.

2) States with greater fiscal capacity:

a) Can meet federal environmental standards and compete for resources on the basis of other incentives.
b) Must exceed marginal-cost threshold.
c) Can control quality of environmental protection.
d) Can adjust pollution abatement costs to increase share of new capital.
e) Can balance quality and cost of environmental protection.

3) Which of the following is not a statistical finding summarized in this passage?

a) The ability of states to attract chemical industry capital varies greatly.
b) Variance in ability to attract chemical industry capital is not explained by frostbelt/sunbelt differences.
c) Pollution abatement expenses imposed by states on the chemical industry vary greatly.
d) Quality of environmental protection and attraction of new capital correlate strongly.
e) Variance within regions renders differences between regions insignificant.

PASSAGE-2

The English spoken across the Atlantic nevertheless began to receive admiring commentaries from British visitors. William Eddis, who toured the colonies in 1770, was surprised to find that 'the language of the
immediate descendants of such a promiscuous ancestry is perfectly uniform, and unadulterated; nor has it borrowed any provincial, or national accent, from its British or foreign parentage.

A few years later, another visitor noted: 'It is a curious fact that there is perhaps no one portion of the British empire, in which two or three millions of persons speak their mother-tongue with greater purity, or a truer pronunciation, than the white inhabitants of the United States. And even John Witherspoon noted that 'the vulgar in America speak
much better than the vulgar in England.'

L. Dillard has suggested that the colonists created a koine language-a kind of standardized dialect that often emerges among a group of emigrants speaking various dialects of one basic language. When the colonists came to North America, they left behind their old social order, including the social rankings of dialects. They came in contact with a wide range of other languages: the foreign tongues of the maritime trade,
the Creoles of slaves, the languages of the Indians. These influences accelerated the breakdown of the colonists' English regional dialects and resulted in the formation of a naturally standardized American speech pattern, which British visitors later discovered and praised.

English opinions of American speech, of course, were of relatively little interest to the colonists, who quite impolitely proceeded to separate themselves from the empire. In the aftermath of the Revolution, there was understandably even less of an urge to subscribe to English authority, in matters of language or anything else, and the Americans embarked on a period of furious growth, industry and, occasionally,
romanticism.

4) The author of this passage points out that favorable appraisals by the English of the qualities of American speech:
a) were encouraging to American colonists, who accelerated the breakdown of English dialects
b) were of little interest to American colonists, who energetically promoted the formation of a standard speech
c) were increasingly sensitive to the dialectal divergence of the colonists' speech patterns from the standard language
d) reflected the admiration of English visitors for the uniformity and purity of the Americans' language
e) derived from the English visitors' comparison of the language of the mercantile classes and the language of the vulgar in America

5) Which of the following influences did not accelerate the formation of a standardized English in the American colonies?

a) exposure of emigrants to various dialects of one basic language
b) isolation from social rankings of dialects
c) contact with foreign tongues of maritime trade
d) contact with Creoles of slaves and languages of Indians
e) isolation from substandard speech of the vulgar

6) A promiscuous ancestry is one that is:

a) vulgar
b) mixed
c) licentious
d) homogeneous
e) differentiated according to social rank

7) The approving commentary of English visitors to the American colonies on the quality of the language spoken by the colonists reflects:

a) gratification
b) provincial bias
c) mystified surprise
d) fulfilled expectation
e) self-congratulatory class prejudice

PASSAGE-3

Many readers assume that, as a neoclassical literary critic, Samuel Johnson would normally prefer the abstract, the formal, and the regulated to the concrete, the natural, and the spontaneous in a work of literature. Yet any close reading of Johnson's criticism shows that Johnson is not blind to the importance of the immediate, vivid, specific detail in literature; rather, he would underscore the need for the 'telling' rather than the merely 'accidental' detail.

In other ways, too, Johnson's critical method has much in common with that of the Romantics, with whom Johnson and, indeed, the entire neoclassical tradition, are generally supposed to be in conflict. Johnson was well aware, for example, of the sterility of literary criticism that is legalistic or pedantic, as was the case with the worst products
of the neoclassical school. His famous argument against the slavish following of the 'three unities' of classical drama is a good example, as is his defense of the supposedly illegitimate 'tragicomic' mode of Shakespeare's latest plays. Note, in particular, the basis
of that defense: 'That this is a practice contrary to the rules of criticism,' Johnson wrote, 'will be readily allowed; but there is always an appeal from criticism to nature.

The sentiment thus expressed could easily be endorsed by any of the Romantics; the empiricism it exemplifies is a vital quality of Johnson's criticism, as is the willingness to jettison 'laws' of criticism when to do so makes possible a more direct appeal to the emotions of the reader. Addison's Cato, highly praised in Johnson's day for its 'correctness,' is damned with faint praise by Johnson: 'Cato affords a splendid exhibition
of artificial and fictitious manners, and delivers just and noble sentiments, in diction easy, elevated, and harmonious, but its hopes and fears communicate no vibration to the heart.Wordsworth could hardly demur.

Even on the question of poetic diction, which, according to the usual interpretation of Wordsworth's 1800 Preface to the 'Lyrical Ballads', was the central area of conflict between Romantic and Augustan, Johnson's views are surprisingly 'modern.' In his 'Life of Dryden', he defends the use of a special diction for poetry, it is true; but his reasons are all important. For Johnson, poetic diction should serve the ends of direct emotional impact and ease of comprehension, not those of false profundity or grandiosity- 'Words too familiar,' he wrote, or too remote, defeat the purpose of a poet. From those sounds that we hear on small or on coarse occasions, we do not easily receive strong impressions, or delightful images; and words to which we are nearly strangers, whenever
they occur, draw that attention on themselves which they should transmit to things. If the poetic diction of the neoclassical poets, at its worst, erects needless barriers between reader and meaning, that envisioned by Johnson would do just the opposite: it would put the reader in closer contact with the 'things' that are the poem's subject.

The author of the passage demonstrates his ideas concerning Johnson mainly by:

a) contrasting Johnson's critical methods with those of his contemporaries
b) citing specific illustrations drawn from Johnson's work
c) alluding to contemporary comments concerning Johnson's theories
d) quoting Johnson's remarks about the critical approaches prevalent in his own day
e) Emphasizing the fallacies inherent in the most common view of Johnson.

9) The passage implies that the judging of literary works according to preconceived rules:

a) tends to lessen the effectiveness of much modern literary criticism
b) is the primary distinguishing mark of the neoclassical critic
c) was the primary neoclassical technique against which the Romantics rebelled
d) is the underlying basis of much of Johnson's critical work
e) characterizes examples of the worst neoclassical criticism

10) The passage implies that the neoclassical critics generally condemned:

a) Shakespeare's use of the 'tragicomic' literary mode
b) the slavish following of the 'three unities' in drama
c) attempts to judge literary merit on the basis of 'correctness'
d) artificiality and abstraction in literary works
e) the use of a special diction in the writing of poetry

11) According to the passage, Johnson's opinion of Addison's 'Cato' was:

a) roundly condemnatory
b) somewhat self-contradictory
c) ultimately negative
d) effusively adulatory
e) uncharacteristically bold

Exercise-03 Answers

Ex.03-Passage-011) E

Which inference below may be derived from the information given in this passage?
A) The relationship between resource allocation and environmental costs is linear.
B) States that impose lowest pollution abatement expenses compete most successfully for new chemical industry capital.
C) States that impose highest pollution abatement expenses compete least successfully for new chemical industry capital.
D) Pollution abatement expenses are a negligible factor in competition for new chemical industry capital.
E) Variance in ability to attract new chemical industry capital appears to relate to a threshold figure for pollution abatement expenses.

Answer (E). (A) is incorrect, since the passage clearly declares that the relationship 'may not be linear.' (B) and (C) are incorrect, since neither accurately identifies the cause of variance in ability to attract new chemical industry capital. (D) is incorrect, because the passage
does not give enough evidence to warrant the conclusion that pollution abatement expenses are a negligible factor. The only acceptable inference is (E), that variance in the ability to attract new industry appears to relate to a threshold figure for pollution expenses.

2) A
States with greater fiscal capacity:
A) can meet federal environmental standards and compete for resources on the basis of other incentives.
B) must exceed marginal-cost threshold.
C) can control quality of environmental protection.
D) can adjust pollution abatement costs to incre