Test: GRE Verbal - 2 - GRE MCQ

The final sentence of the passage reads, "As long as the turtle was in the window and I in the street outside, there was no chance of our comprehending one another." This summation neatly follows the tone and argument of rest of the passage. The discussion of the turtle's shell, its interactions with the world, and the turtle looking at the author through the window all reinforce the idea that a turtle and a human cannot comprehend each other.

Most of the adjectives used to describe the turtle have a mystifying or awe-inspiring quality. The words "fatuousness" and "stultify," along with the fact that the mind cannot comprehend the turtle's existence with "any thoroughness" means the narrator was astonished by the turtle. The narrator can best be said to view the turtle with a sense of awe and wonder.

The only reference to Cheapside in the entire passage is in the first sentence, "Walking the other day in Cheapside I saw some turtles in Mr. Sweeting’s window." This indicates that Cheapside is a few things: a place in which one can walk around; an area with at least one shop; and a place that is somewhat familiar to the author's intended audience. The only answer choice that can be deduced from this information is that "it has a commercial section with many stores."

The opening sentence makes passing reference to stores and shop windows, indicating the reader should understand these concepts. Also, while turtles, or at least a turtle, are described in great detail, the general conversation assumes a great deal of knowledge about turtles.

The use of "fatuousness" relates to the turtle's inability to defend itself effectively in its own shell. "The fatuousness of trying to hedge that in at all which, if hedged thoroughly, must die of its own defensefulness" also indicates how trying does not help the turtle. "Uselessness and inanity" is the best answer choice.

The author primarily focuses on the turtle in the shop window, and in particular the turtle's incomprehensibility. The final phrase, "there was no chance of our comprehending one another," puts the author and the turtle on a similar level, while also showing that they do not understand each other.

The author passes by the shop window holding the turtle on a casual walk. His examination of the turtle then focuses on how different the turtle is from his own sense of self. While the specific turtle is important, the larger point the author is making has to do with how humans interact with any other type of creature.

Clearly, the scene being described is implied to be peaceful and serene; however, do not be tempted by "limpid" or "flowing." These are very possible, but the associations of the pastoral scenery are more related to the word "bucolic" (having to do with idyllic pastoral environments) than these. Elimination is key for working out this sentence because of the potential ambiguity.

The sentence conveys the idea is that LaRhette does not have too big of a problem with long commutes, but it also suggests that she is happy that she does not have to undertake long commutes anymore. Thus "averse," meaning opposed, and "indisposed," meaning unwilling, do not work at all in the sentence's context. "Agreeable," meaning willing, or "inclined," meaning leaning towards, could each work; however, since it seems that she prefers her now-shorter commute, even though she was used to longer commutes, "inured," meaning accustomed to, makes the most sense, because it doesn't convey as much of a positive view of LaRhette's previous, longer commute.

"Urbane" makes no sense whatsoever, as it means refined and would not really be used to describe someone's mass. "Lithe" and "slender" both mean lean, but the use of the word "though" indicates that the blank will be filled with something that means the opposite of "lean." An "inconsequent" mass would be a very small amount, which would once more indicate that Henry VIII's physique did not change much. Thus "ponderous", meaning of great weight, makes the most sense.

The fact that he needed a holiday indicates what the CEO needed was a rest. While "renewal" and "reenergizing" might look potentially correct, they do not make sense when followed by "from his hectic work schedule." Of the given answer choices, only "respite," meaning a break during which one can rest, works appropriately in context with the mention of a "holiday" and the CEO's "hectic work schedule."

The sentence gives few clues, but it does tell us that the behavior of the teenagers upset the older women. So, the word that goes in the first blank must describe a personality trait that could potentially upset someone else; thus, we can eliminate "reticent" (rarely speaking) and "egalitarian" (fair and equal), neither of which make sense in the sentence. It is possible, though, that being "boorish" (ill-mannered and rude), "puerile" (immature), or "histrionic" (excessively dramatic) could upset someone else. Examining the remaining potential answers for the second blank describing the teenagers' behavior—"callow" (immature) "sophisticated" (complex or experienced) and "poised" (elegant)—only "callow" makes sense in the sentence, so "boorish . . . callow" is the correct answer.

The subject's "approach to relationships" affects how he sees others. The "cynical" approach, or looking for the worst in others, would "preclude," or prevent, the subject from "seeing the good in people."

The sentence explicitly notes that the two descriptions are "distinctly at odds," so the correct answer will have two words that mean opposite things. "Terse," meaning concise and to the point, and "loquacious," meaning extremely talkative, together make the best choice.

For the first blank, we're looking for a word that means growing, so we can eliminate the answer choices that start with "waning," "wilting," and "antediluvian." Considering the remaining choices, we're looking for a word for the second blank that means dry or dead. Since "arable" means able to be cultivated, we can eliminate that choice in favor of "desiccated," which means dried out. The correct answer choice is "burgeoning . . . desiccated." 

The two most tempting answers are "gesticulations . . . bombastic . . . tirade" and "demeanor . . . addled . . . rant." Two points help to make the final determination. First, the sentence clearly notes the candidate's hand motions. This at least works in favor of the set containing "gesticulations" (hand movements). Furthermore, "addled" means confused, but "rant" indicates an angry speech; therefore, the match between the second and third term is tenuous at best. "Bombastic" and "tirade" particularly work well, giving us the correct answer.

In this sentence, someone is watching a woman from outside her bedroom window, which has curtains on or around it. Despite the curtains, however, he can "clearly see" the woman.  This indicates that the first word has something to do with the intention of curtains to block sight, and the second indicates that the curtain isn't doing this. The third word is another way of stating exactly how clearly he can see the woman's body. 
Taking it one word at a time, "revealed" is the opposite of what the sentence implies, and "sequestered" refers to an object being hidden, not a view. The window might plausibly be obscured,  hidden, or decorated by curtains; however, "redolent" means smelling strongly of, which would be a nonsensical way to describe curtains in this context. For the third word, "shrouded" implies covered in cloth, and the woman can be "clearly seen"; therefore the only word set that works is "obscured," (meaning covered from sight) "diaphanous,"(meaning sheer or transparent) and "limned" (meaning outlined).

The first answer must be something to soothe, like a soothing lotion, or "liniment." The second must be a synonym for lessen, like "allay," and the third must be a synonym for make worse, such as "exacerbate."

The passage is based on the foundation that many "popular ideas" are in fact wrong, but both camps of historians understand this, and are merely arguing about the value of these myths. The author mostly discusses the historians who are actually studying these myths, and the response to their research.

The sentence explicitly notes that "popular characters and myths" are "a large part of the common historical imagination." This does not mean the "common historical imagination" is made up entirely of such myths, but is simply a part of it. The word "common" indicates this imagination is held by many people.

The author mentions Paul Revere (along with Napoleon Bonaparte, Robin Hood, Johnny Appleseed, and John Henry) immediately after noting that certain popular notions about history are "fallacious" (false). The only definitive statement is that Paul Revere "did not make a solo midnight ride." This means the author's purpose in mentioninging Revere is to "illustrate a historical misconception."

The author does believe that "misunderstanding about historical figures" are a bad phenomenon in the "common historical imagination." On the contrary, the author thinks that "the legends hold a key to how people interpret history," so saying that the author views misunderstandings about historical figures as "interesting elements of popular understanding that reveal a great deal" is the best answer choice.

The question only asks what can be inferred from the passage. Only one sentence mentions Napoleon Bonaparte, noting he "was not short, but a perfectly average size for his time." The other sentences mentioning erroneous historical assumptions give some other clues, particularly that Napoleon Bonaparte was a historical figure of more certain authenticity than Robin Hood, Johnny Appleseed, and John Henry. The reference in the passage does make it possible to infer that Napoleon Bonaparte was an important figure in history.

The studies disproved the claims of cigarette companies, meaning those claims had to be the opposite of "caus[ing] great harm." While other choices make sense in the sentence, "therapeutic," meaning curative or medicinal, is the best fit.

"Vestigial" means bearing a trace or (metaphorical) footprint. This best describes the evidence given of previous stages in evolutionary history. "Unquestioned" is perhaps the next best answer choice, though it doesn't give the sense of the antecedence mentioned in the sentence. Nearly as tempting is "recondite" (not commonly known) but given that the stages are bearing evidence (and hence aren't totally hidden like recondite things), do not be tempted to select this "smarter" word, though it seems to fit. "Clear" is far too vague, as is "exciting."

The smuggling that was going on is a good indicator that the restrictions were not working. The correct answer, therefore, will indicate the restrictions were not very serious. "Lax," meaning loose or careless, is the correct answer.

The list of issues that makes up the second part of the sentence indicates there were many problems, and the correct answer will indicate that. "Myriad," meaning a variety or large numbers, is the best choice.

Some of the defenders of evolution as described in the sentence are calm when defending the theory, but others are implied to be more aggressive. "Vitriolic" means bitter or scathing, and therefore is the best choice for this sentence, as a more aggressive defender would likely be more scathing in their arguments with critics. While "pernicious" may look like a correct answer, it actually means causing harm gradually, so it doesn't make sense in the sentence.

The sentence indicates that the man's look was angry. The only words that might fit that are "baleful" and "irate." "Sidereal" means having to do with the stars and is nonsensical here; "solicitous" means caring or inquiring; and "avaricious" means greedy. The second word has to describe darkness in a cave, which makes it impossible for the two people to see each other's faces. "Inchoate" means unformed or undeveloped, so it's not a word one would use to describe darkness. "Stygian" refers to a complete and unfathomable darkness like that thought to exist over the river Styx in mythology, so the answer is "baleful . . . stygian."

Since we can infer that the little girl did take cookies out of the cookie jar but insists that she didn't, we're looking for an adjective for the first blank that has something to do with lying. "Disingenuous" (not candid or sincere) and "mendacious" (not telling the truth) could each work. For the second blank, we need to pick between "contrite" (penitent and guilty) and "stolid" (showing little emotion). "Contrite" makes the most sense as an adjective describing the little girl's expression, since if she had a stolid expression, her parents might not have figured out she took cookies from the jar; so, the answer is "mendacious . . . contrite."