Sectional Tests: Verbal - 3 - GMAT MCQ

A. Different opinions exist because people are imperfect.
1st para, 6th sentence: "As it is useful that while mankind are imperfect there should be different opinions..." does not imply BECAUSE "people are imperfect" there are "different opinions"

B. An opinion can be relatively harmless in one context and dangerous in another.
1st para, 2nd sentence: "An opinion that corn dealers are starvers of the poor, or that owning private property is robbery, ought to be unmolested when simply circulated through the press, but may justly incur punishment when delivered orally to an excited mob assembled before the house of a corn dealer, or when handed about among the same mob in the form of a placard" This is an example ditto of what is describe in option B. CORRECT.

C. Opinions directed specifically against fellow human beings should be punished.
1st para, 3rd sentence: "Acts, of whatever kind, which without justifiable cause do harm to others, may be, and in the more important cases are absolutely required to be, controlled by the unfavourable sentiments, and, when needful, by the active interference of mankind." The underlined portion only goes far that "when needful, active interference of mankind" can be used. It does not go as far to say it SHOULD be punished.

D. All expressions of opinion should really be considered actions.
The whole of 1st para explains scenarios where expressions of opinions could be considered or non-considered actions (the ones which cause harm to others)

E. An opinion always has an additional unintended effect
No support for this anywhere

I. traditions and customs are usually the result of misinterpreted experiences.
2nd para, 3rd line: "The traditions and customs of other people are,... evidence of what their experience has taught them...but, in the first place, their experience may be too narrow, or they may have not interpreted it rightly. "
So the passage says that people MIGHT have had narrow experience, and MIGHT have not interpreted it rightly. So the use of "usually" in I is not justified.
II. customs are based on experiences in the past, which are different from modern experiences.
No support for past/ present in the 2nd part of the passage.
III. customs can stifle one‘s individual development.
2nd para, last line: "does not educate him or develop in him any of the qualities which are the distinctive endowments of a human being. He gains no practice either in discerning or desiring what is best." III is simply a concise way of what is said in the passage.

Just to re-iterate, the passage, in its last line said that to conform to custom merely as custom does not educate him or develop a person. He gains no practice either in discerning or desiring what is best.
We have to challenge (weaken) the conclusion by saying that conforming to custom DOES educate/develop a person and he DOES gain practice in distinguishing what is best for him.

A. A class in morality taught at a parochial high school
No talk about how "a class in morality" can help a person distinguish what is best for him.
B. An important discovery made by a researcher who uses unconventional methods
It is a discovery, so it does not even fall as a "custom" which as the passage says needs to be trained in youth, and inculcated through experience.
C. A culture in which it is traditional to let children make their own decisions
Well, if a culture allows little kids to make decisions for themselves then it has transferred the onus of making the decision of good or bad from parents to kids. CORRECT
D. A custom that involves celebrating a noteworthy historical event
Celebrating an event may be a part of custom, however, it does not help in understanding how it helps to distinguish good from bad.
E. a culture in which only the senior most person takes the important decisions
Well this is a strengthener!

This is an inference question. The answer is in the first paragraph, where the author discusses Marx. The author says “it has been said that no thinker has ever had his words more badly misrepresented, by supporters and detractors alike, than Karl Marx.” This supports choice C. Choice A is a trap that goes too far. There is a difference between saying someone is “one of the most influential” and “the most influential.” Choice B is not a valid inference. Nothing in the passage suggests Marx spent “too much” time on economics, just that he was “especially concerned” with it. Choice D is incorrect because the passage states that “Marx’s followers” launched an assault, not Marx. Choice E uses some of the right words, but gets the meaning wrong. Marx’s views have been less than successful in describing global relations, not economics.

The author discusses Poland to illustrate a deficiency in the viewpoint held by certain scholars. The passage highlights how Marxist scholars often ignore the importance of nationalism and other factors in understanding global power relations. Despite Poland's history of Communist rule, strong nationalism persists, demonstrating that Marxist theories don't fully capture the realities of such nations.

This example shows that while Marxist perspectives focus heavily on economics, they may overlook critical social dynamics, leading to an incomplete analysis of countries like Poland.

This is an inference question. Use the answer choices to guide your reading. The passage mentions the “simplifications” of the Marxist view and says “Ultimately, a Marxist view of global interactions sacrifices a great many crucial concepts at the altar of one overarching economic perspective.” This supports choice A. Choices B and E both go too far; the author may not agree with the Marxist view but never says it should be abandoned. And while the passage calls nationalism, security, and the state “key concepts,” the passage doesn’t say they “must” be included. There is no support for choice C because the author doesn’t discuss what will happen in the future. Choice D uses a lot of words from the passage but the meaning is incorrect.

This is a supporting idea question. The phrase is used in the final paragraph.The author says the world capitalist system “has less and less relevance when applied to the variety of economies at work in the world.” So the phrase must apply to a system that does not have a lot of variety. Choice C matches this description. Choices A and B are not supported by the passage. The Marxist scholars have failed to account for transitional economies, not the system itself, so choice D is a clever trap answer. Choice E quotes the wrong part of the passage and is not supported by the passage.

The author has conceded the current line of thought about the origin of different species found on earth. However, he also points out inconsistencies which he is convinced need to be delved into further. Hence, option (A) is the correct answer.
(B) The author does not disprove anyone. He merely states that some inconsistencies in a belief make it important to revisit that belief.
(C) The author talks of factors other than external that need to be explored—‘it is equally …plant itself. ’
(D) The author does not try to substantiate anything in the passage.
(E) The author does not dedicate the entire passage to discussing the structure of different species.

Towards the end of para 1, the author has put forward his opinion that besides the factors mentioned by naturalists (the options), it is imperative to consider how such perfect co-dependence exists between species. Hence, option (E) is the correct answer. A, B, and C are mentioned in the opening sentence of Para 1 and D is mentioned in the last sentence of para 2.

The last part of the second para clearly explains that the mistletoe has flowers having separate sexes, so it needs the assistance of certain insects to bring pollen from one flower to the other. It obviously can’t do so on its own. Thus, (E) is the correct answer.
(A) Opposite. Most naturalists believe that each species has descended from some other species.
(B) Opposite. The author states, in the last sentence of the passage, that the unique characteristics of the woodpecker and the mistletoe cannot be explained merely as the effect of external conditions.
(C) Opposite. According to the author, this commonly accepted belief is clearly not sufficient to explain the existence of species such as the woodpecker and the mistletoe.
(D) This may or may not be true but cannot be ascertained for sure from the passage.

The author has first stated the accepted theories about origin of species. Then, he has put forth his opinion and substantiated it with relevant examples. Hence, (B) is the correct answer.
(A) The author is not critical of the views—he merely does not accept them as the final explanation.
(C) The words are extreme—the author does agree to the prevalent line of thought, but he also wants the alternatives explored.
(D) Same as C.
(E) The author has not used any word/phrase which would imply exuberance.

Here, paradoxically hints that we should choose an option which is opposite of what the conservatives appeal, i.e. something which is not in line with the Jeffersonian ideal of limited government.
Therefore, we can eliminate A, B and D. Between C and E, C suggests that the conservatives call for a limitation on an issue, which becomes an individual's opinion and not a governmental restriction. This is not exactly what we are looking for. We should look out for the option which evinces increased governmental role (opposite to Jeffersonian ideal). Hence, E is the correct choice.

To evaluate the validity of the conclusion that classical music had a more positive effect on the neonates in Nursery A compared to the rock music in Nursery B, it is crucial to establish that both groups of babies started out under similar conditions. This means that the newborns in both nurseries should have been equally healthy and happy at the beginning of the experiment.
If there were significant differences in the initial health and happiness levels between the two groups, the observed differences in crying, ailments, and weight gain might be due to those initial differences rather than the type of music played. Ensuring that the starting conditions were similar allows us to more confidently attribute the differences in outcomes to the variable being tested—in this case, the type of music.