All questions of Verbal Sectional Tests for GMAT Exam

Given his luminous treatment of light, sky, and water, J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) is often viewed in hindsight as a precursor of Impressionism. Yet as Turner authority Andrew Wilton has argued, his roots lie in a specifically eighteenth century tradition, that of the "sublime." Before landscape painting was accepted in England as the rendition of everyday reality, it was seen as the expression of a state of spiritual exaltation.

The roots of the notion of the sublime, Wilton notes, go back to antiquity: Longinus observed (according to an eighteenth century paraphrase) that "the effect of the sublime is to lift up the soul...so that participating, as it were, of the splendors of the divinity, it becomes filled with joy and exultation." The sublime, therefore, was understood to produce an effect of elevation toward unity with divine. In its origins, the sublime was associated with literary rather than visual art, as its connotations of power and mystery could most easily be conveyed in words; and its subject matter was epic, historical, or religious. To eighteenth century commentators, Homer, the Bible, and Milton were quintessentially sublime. When the concept was applied to painting, this narrative emphasis was maintained, leading almost by necessity to a focus on the human figure; for Joshua Reynolds, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel frescoes exemplified the sublime in art. Because it did not show figures (except incidentally) landscape was necessarily seen as inferior.

The transition to the conception that produced Turner's landscapes had several sources. One was the eighteenth century's quasi-religious excitement in the scientific investigation of nature, shown for example when Addison exclaimed upon the astronomer's "pleasing astonishment, to see so many worlds, hanging one above another, and sliding round their axles in such an amazing pomp and solemnity." A second was the rise of a middle class with the leisure to travel, which led to an interest in the Rigged vistas of Wales and Scotland. Finally, James Thomson's immensely popular nature epic "The Seasons" (1726-30) applied blank verse, with its connotations of loftiness, to portrayal of nature's immensities. By the latter part of the century, there was a well-defined notion of the sublime in literature and painting, which included nature while by no means excluding earlier referents. According to Edmund Burke's definitive essay of 1757, the sublime in nature was closely tied up with vastness, lack of habitation and cultivation, and danger— which, as in the reaction to high mountain passes or storms at sea, was conducive to awe. These qualities, as evoked in the painting of landscapes (and urban vistas, an important though subordinate field), produced a series of genres that, Wilton stresses, form the key to Turner's work: the "picturesque sublime," the "terrific" (wild crags, cataracts, etc.), the sublime of the sea, mountains, and darkness, and finally the "architectural sublime" and the urban sublime.

According to the passage, landscapes were not originally seen as embodying the sublime because

Today, children whose parents are deemed incapable of caring for them are put into foster care. These children are moved into strangers' homes, where they are cared for until their own parents can regain custody, which may not happen for years, if it happens at all. Although it means well, the current foster care program is so poorly funded, staffed, and managed that it cannot ensure the safety and well being of the children in the system. The laudable idea behind foster care is that children will fare best if placed in a family setting until they can be reunited with their parents, even if it is a family of strangers. However while in foster care, children typically get shuffled between many different foster homes, preventing them from developing long-term, supportive relationships with their foster families.

Foster care placements can also force siblings to be separated, further isolating these vulnerable children. When a child is moved to a new foster home, he or she may also have to enroll in a new school, a disruptive process that has a negative impact on the child's education. The bureaucracy that oversees this system is overwhelmed to the point that social workers are unable to adequately screen potential foster parents and keep accurate track of the children placed in foster care. There must be a better means of caring for these children. Perhaps it is time to consider creating special group homes as a means of providing these children with stable and safe environments.

A child could live in one group home for the duration of his or her time in foster care and be supervised by a team of social workers and other lay people. Children would receive proper meals and healthcare, attend the same school, and develop relationships with others experiencing the trauma of being separated from their parents. In addition, social workers and staff would have daily access to these children, enabling them to better determine if a child has a special physical or psychological need and arrange for the necessary services. Would this approach be perfect? No, but it would solve many of the problems that plague the current system. For some, the idea of a government agency housing, clothing, and feeding needy children may sound extreme, but it only suggests that we provide these children with the same basic necessities that we give to prison inmates.

The passage suggests that the idea of creating group homes in lieu of foster care

Today, children whose parents are deemed incapable of caring for them are put into foster care. These children are moved into strangers' homes, where they are cared for until their own parents can regain custody, which may not happen for years, if it happens at all. Although it means well, the current foster care program is so poorly funded, staffed, and managed that it cannot ensure the safety and well being of the children in the system. The laudable idea behind foster care is that children will fare best if placed in a family setting until they can be reunited with their parents, even if it is a family of strangers. However while in foster care, children typically get shuffled between many different foster homes, preventing them from developing long-term, supportive relationships with their foster families.

Foster care placements can also force siblings to be separated, further isolating these vulnerable children. When a child is moved to a new foster home, he or she may also have to enroll in a new school, a disruptive process that has a negative impact on the child's education. The bureaucracy that oversees this system is overwhelmed to the point that social workers are unable to adequately screen potential foster parents and keep accurate track of the children placed in foster care. There must be a better means of caring for these children. Perhaps it is time to consider creating special group homes as a means of providing these children with stable and safe environments.

A child could live in one group home for the duration of his or her time in foster care and be supervised by a team of social workers and other lay people. Children would receive proper meals and healthcare, attend the same school, and develop relationships with others experiencing the trauma of being separated from their parents. In addition, social workers and staff would have daily access to these children, enabling them to better determine if a child has a special physical or psychological need and arrange for the necessary services. Would this approach be perfect? No, but it would solve many of the problems that plague the current system. For some, the idea of a government agency housing, clothing, and feeding needy children may sound extreme, but it only suggests that we provide these children with the same basic necessities that we give to prison inmates.

Which of the following best expresses the main idea of this passage?

The financial markets in London underwent significant development during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The establishment of the Bank of England in 1694, amidst the Nine Years' War, marked the creation of a national debt system and introduced Bills of Exchange, which became the foundation of modern banking. London's financial landscape was further invigorated by overseas investments, particularly from Amsterdam and France, and by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which granted Britain the right to supply slaves to Spanish America. This influx of capital, combined with other financial innovations like joint-stock companies, lotteries, and insurance firms, fueled London’s rise as a global financial center.

Among these ventures was the South Sea Company, founded in 1711 with the purpose of managing part of Britain’s national debt and exploiting lucrative trade opportunities in Spanish South America. The Company quickly became the subject of intense speculation, with its stock prices soaring in 1720. Investors from all classes, including royalty, were swept into a speculative frenzy. John Blunt, one of the company’s leaders, was even knighted for his role in elevating public credit.

However, the South Sea Company’s promises of vast profits proved hollow. The stock price, artificially inflated through loans and speculative trading, eventually collapsed. By late 1720, shares had plummeted, leaving many investors, including brilliant physicists such as Isaac Newton, in financial ruin. The fallout led to a parliamentary inquiry that uncovered widespread corruption, including insider trading and political bribery. Key figures, such as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, faced impeachment and punishment.

Despite the catastrophic impact on investors, the broader economic system endured. The South Sea Company itself continued to operate until 1853, serving as a sobering reminder of the dangers inherent in speculative financial bubbles. The event also sparked public debate about the need for stricter regulation and transparency in financial markets.

Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

The financial markets in London underwent significant development during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The establishment of the Bank of England in 1694, amidst the Nine Years' War, marked the creation of a national debt system and introduced Bills of Exchange, which became the foundation of modern banking. London's financial landscape was further invigorated by overseas investments, particularly from Amsterdam and France, and by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which granted Britain the right to supply slaves to Spanish America. This influx of capital, combined with other financial innovations like joint-stock companies, lotteries, and insurance firms, fueled London’s rise as a global financial center.

Among these ventures was the South Sea Company, founded in 1711 with the purpose of managing part of Britain’s national debt and exploiting lucrative trade opportunities in Spanish South America. The Company quickly became the subject of intense speculation, with its stock prices soaring in 1720. Investors from all classes, including royalty, were swept into a speculative frenzy. John Blunt, one of the company’s leaders, was even knighted for his role in elevating public credit.

However, the South Sea Company’s promises of vast profits proved hollow. The stock price, artificially inflated through loans and speculative trading, eventually collapsed. By late 1720, shares had plummeted, leaving many investors, including brilliant physicists such as Isaac Newton, in financial ruin. The fallout led to a parliamentary inquiry that uncovered widespread corruption, including insider trading and political bribery. Key figures, such as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, faced impeachment and punishment.

Despite the catastrophic impact on investors, the broader economic system endured. The South Sea Company itself continued to operate until 1853, serving as a sobering reminder of the dangers inherent in speculative financial bubbles. The event also sparked public debate about the need for stricter regulation and transparency in financial markets.

Which of the following is most likely the reason for the passage’s mention of Isaac Newton’s involvement in the South Sea Company?

Today, children whose parents are deemed incapable of caring for them are put into foster care. These children are moved into strangers' homes, where they are cared for until their own parents can regain custody, which may not happen for years, if it happens at all. Although it means well, the current foster care program is so poorly funded, staffed, and managed that it cannot ensure the safety and well being of the children in the system. The laudable idea behind foster care is that children will fare best if placed in a family setting until they can be reunited with their parents, even if it is a family of strangers. However while in foster care, children typically get shuffled between many different foster homes, preventing them from developing long-term, supportive relationships with their foster families.

Foster care placements can also force siblings to be separated, further isolating these vulnerable children. When a child is moved to a new foster home, he or she may also have to enroll in a new school, a disruptive process that has a negative impact on the child's education. The bureaucracy that oversees this system is overwhelmed to the point that social workers are unable to adequately screen potential foster parents and keep accurate track of the children placed in foster care. There must be a better means of caring for these children. Perhaps it is time to consider creating special group homes as a means of providing these children with stable and safe environments.

A child could live in one group home for the duration of his or her time in foster care and be supervised by a team of social workers and other lay people. Children would receive proper meals and healthcare, attend the same school, and develop relationships with others experiencing the trauma of being separated from their parents. In addition, social workers and staff would have daily access to these children, enabling them to better determine if a child has a special physical or psychological need and arrange for the necessary services. Would this approach be perfect? No, but it would solve many of the problems that plague the current system. For some, the idea of a government agency housing, clothing, and feeding needy children may sound extreme, but it only suggests that we provide these children with the same basic necessities that we give to prison inmates.

It can be inferred from the passage that the author

The financial markets in London underwent significant development during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The establishment of the Bank of England in 1694, amidst the Nine Years' War, marked the creation of a national debt system and introduced Bills of Exchange, which became the foundation of modern banking. London's financial landscape was further invigorated by overseas investments, particularly from Amsterdam and France, and by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which granted Britain the right to supply slaves to Spanish America. This influx of capital, combined with other financial innovations like joint-stock companies, lotteries, and insurance firms, fueled London’s rise as a global financial center.

Among these ventures was the South Sea Company, founded in 1711 with the purpose of managing part of Britain’s national debt and exploiting lucrative trade opportunities in Spanish South America. The Company quickly became the subject of intense speculation, with its stock prices soaring in 1720. Investors from all classes, including royalty, were swept into a speculative frenzy. John Blunt, one of the company’s leaders, was even knighted for his role in elevating public credit.

However, the South Sea Company’s promises of vast profits proved hollow. The stock price, artificially inflated through loans and speculative trading, eventually collapsed. By late 1720, shares had plummeted, leaving many investors, including brilliant physicists such as Isaac Newton, in financial ruin. The fallout led to a parliamentary inquiry that uncovered widespread corruption, including insider trading and political bribery. Key figures, such as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, faced impeachment and punishment.

Despite the catastrophic impact on investors, the broader economic system endured. The South Sea Company itself continued to operate until 1853, serving as a sobering reminder of the dangers inherent in speculative financial bubbles. The event also sparked public debate about the need for stricter regulation and transparency in financial markets.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument that the broader economic system endured in the long-term despite the collapse of the South Sea Company?

Today, children whose parents are deemed incapable of caring for them are put into foster care. These children are moved into strangers' homes, where they are cared for until their own parents can regain custody, which may not happen for years, if it happens at all. Although it means well, the current foster care program is so poorly funded, staffed, and managed that it cannot ensure the safety and well being of the children in the system. The laudable idea behind foster care is that children will fare best if placed in a family setting until they can be reunited with their parents, even if it is a family of strangers. However while in foster care, children typically get shuffled between many different foster homes, preventing them from developing long-term, supportive relationships with their foster families.

Foster care placements can also force siblings to be separated, further isolating these vulnerable children. When a child is moved to a new foster home, he or she may also have to enroll in a new school, a disruptive process that has a negative impact on the child's education. The bureaucracy that oversees this system is overwhelmed to the point that social workers are unable to adequately screen potential foster parents and keep accurate track of the children placed in foster care. There must be a better means of caring for these children. Perhaps it is time to consider creating special group homes as a means of providing these children with stable and safe environments.

A child could live in one group home for the duration of his or her time in foster care and be supervised by a team of social workers and other lay people. Children would receive proper meals and healthcare, attend the same school, and develop relationships with others experiencing the trauma of being separated from their parents. In addition, social workers and staff would have daily access to these children, enabling them to better determine if a child has a special physical or psychological need and arrange for the necessary services. Would this approach be perfect? No, but it would solve many of the problems that plague the current system. For some, the idea of a government agency housing, clothing, and feeding needy children may sound extreme, but it only suggests that we provide these children with the same basic necessities that we give to prison inmates.

The passage states that

There are three necessary prerequisites for effective self-regulation in any market: 1) there must be an association, 2) it must be motivated to regulate its members' behavior, 3) it must maintain sufficient powers of control for this purpose. In respect to stock exchanges, the first condition is undoubtedly satisfied, exchanges being, by definition, associations of member-brokers. As to the third condition, stock exchanges, through their decision-making bodies, have wide powers to discipline members and to make rules protecting investors. Whether the second condition would be satisfied in the absence of existing government regulation is, however, debatable.

In principle, stock exchanges have ample motivation to regulate their members. A failure to curb abuses by member-brokers would deter investors, reducing the volume of trading on an exchange, hence lowering all members' profits. However, brokers are a diverse group of rivals and, as such, will regulate themselves effectively only within a system of checks and balances that fairly harmonizes their conflicting interests. Given sufficient diversity in its makeup and sufficient emphasis on consensual decision-making, the governing body of a stock exchange could provide an adequate check on dishonest practice by powerful individual members of the exchange, or groups of members. There is, however, no evidence to confirm that such a pluralistic model accurately describes stock exchange governance in the real­ world.

The passage suggests that self-regulation would fail if which of the following were to occur in a stock exchange?

Given his luminous treatment of light, sky, and water, J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) is often viewed in hindsight as a precursor of Impressionism. Yet as Turner authority Andrew Wilton has argued, his roots lie in a specifically eighteenth century tradition, that of the "sublime." Before landscape painting was accepted in England as the rendition of everyday reality, it was seen as the expression of a state of spiritual exaltation.

The roots of the notion of the sublime, Wilton notes, go back to antiquity: Longinus observed (according to an eighteenth century paraphrase) that "the effect of the sublime is to lift up the soul...so that participating, as it were, of the splendors of the divinity, it becomes filled with joy and exultation." The sublime, therefore, was understood to produce an effect of elevation toward unity with divine. In its origins, the sublime was associated with literary rather than visual art, as its connotations of power and mystery could most easily be conveyed in words; and its subject matter was epic, historical, or religious. To eighteenth century commentators, Homer, the Bible, and Milton were quintessentially sublime. When the concept was applied to painting, this narrative emphasis was maintained, leading almost by necessity to a focus on the human figure; for Joshua Reynolds, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel frescoes exemplified the sublime in art. Because it did not show figures (except incidentally) landscape was necessarily seen as inferior.

The transition to the conception that produced Turner's landscapes had several sources. One was the eighteenth century's quasi-religious excitement in the scientific investigation of nature, shown for example when Addison exclaimed upon the astronomer's "pleasing astonishment, to see so many worlds, hanging one above another, and sliding round their axles in such an amazing pomp and solemnity." A second was the rise of a middle class with the leisure to travel, which led to an interest in the Rigged vistas of Wales and Scotland. Finally, James Thomson's immensely popular nature epic "The Seasons" (1726-30) applied blank verse, with its connotations of loftiness, to portrayal of nature's immensities. By the latter part of the century, there was a well-defined notion of the sublime in literature and painting, which included nature while by no means excluding earlier referents. According to Edmund Burke's definitive essay of 1757, the sublime in nature was closely tied up with vastness, lack of habitation and cultivation, and danger— which, as in the reaction to high mountain passes or storms at sea, was conducive to awe. These qualities, as evoked in the painting of landscapes (and urban vistas, an important though subordinate field), produced a series of genres that, Wilton stresses, form the key to Turner's work: the "picturesque sublime," the "terrific" (wild crags, cataracts, etc.), the sublime of the sea, mountains, and darkness, and finally the "architectural sublime" and the urban sublime.

According to the author, Burke contributed to the development of the concept of the sublime by

The financial markets in London underwent significant development during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The establishment of the Bank of England in 1694, amidst the Nine Years' War, marked the creation of a national debt system and introduced Bills of Exchange, which became the foundation of modern banking. London's financial landscape was further invigorated by overseas investments, particularly from Amsterdam and France, and by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which granted Britain the right to supply slaves to Spanish America. This influx of capital, combined with other financial innovations like joint-stock companies, lotteries, and insurance firms, fueled London’s rise as a global financial center.

Among these ventures was the South Sea Company, founded in 1711 with the purpose of managing part of Britain’s national debt and exploiting lucrative trade opportunities in Spanish South America. The Company quickly became the subject of intense speculation, with its stock prices soaring in 1720. Investors from all classes, including royalty, were swept into a speculative frenzy. John Blunt, one of the company’s leaders, was even knighted for his role in elevating public credit.

However, the South Sea Company’s promises of vast profits proved hollow. The stock price, artificially inflated through loans and speculative trading, eventually collapsed. By late 1720, shares had plummeted, leaving many investors, including brilliant physicists such as Isaac Newton, in financial ruin. The fallout led to a parliamentary inquiry that uncovered widespread corruption, including insider trading and political bribery. Key figures, such as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, faced impeachment and punishment.

Despite the catastrophic impact on investors, the broader economic system endured. The South Sea Company itself continued to operate until 1853, serving as a sobering reminder of the dangers inherent in speculative financial bubbles. The event also sparked public debate about the need for stricter regulation and transparency in financial markets.

According to the passage, which of the following was NOT a contributing factor to London’s rise as a global financial center during the late 17th and early 18th centuries?

Amsden has divided Navajo weaving into four distinct styles. He argues that three of them can be identified by the type of design used to form horizontal bands: colored strips, zigzags, or diamonds. The fourth, or bordered, style he identifies by a distinct border surrounding centrally placed, dominating figures.
Amsden believes that the diamond style appeared after 1869 when, under Anglo influence and encouragement, the blanket became a rug with larger designs and bolder lines. The bordered style appeared about 1890, and, Amsden argues, it reflects the greatest number of Anglo influences on the newly emerging rug business. The Anglo desire that anything with a graphic designs have a top, bottom, and border is a cultural preference that the Navajo abhorred, as evidenced, he suggests, by the fact that in early bordered specimens strips of color unexpectedly break through the enclosing pattern.
Amsden argues that the bordered rug represents a radical break with previous styles. He asserts that the border changed the artistic problem facing weavers: a blank area suggests the use of isolated figures, while traditional, banded Navajo designs were continuous and did not use isolated figures. The old patterns alternated horizontal decorative zones in a regular order.
Amsden’s view raises several questions. First, what is involved in altering artistic styles? Some studies suggest that artisans’ motor habits and thought processes must be revised when a style changes precipitously. In the evolution of Navajo weaving, however, no radical revisions in the way articles are produced need be assumed. After all, all weaving subordinates design to the physical limitations created by the process of weaving, which includes creating an edge or border. The habits required to make decorative borders are, therefore, latent and easily brought to the surface.
Second, is the relationship between the banded and bordered styles as simple as Amsden suggests? He assumes that a break in style is a break in psychology. But if style results from constant quests for invention, such stylistic breaks are inevitable. When a style has exhausted the possibilities inherent in its principles, artists cast about for new, but not necessarily alien, principles. Navajo weaving may have reached this turning point prior to 1890.
Third, is there really a significant stylistic gap? Two other styles lie between the banded styles and the bordered styles. They suggest that disintegration of the bands may have altered visual and motor habits and prepared the way for a border filled with separate units. In the Chief White Antelope blanket, dated prior to 1865, ten years before the first Anglo trading post on the Navajo reservation, whole and partial diamonds interrupt the flowing design and become separate forms. Parts of diamonds arranged vertically at each side may be seen to anticipate the border.

The author’s central thesis is that